Retro Review: 8099 Midi-scale Imperial Star Destroyer [2010]

Never remeber seeing that set but it does look cool.

Quite nice set, but I remember very well this and the midi Millennium Falcon being massive shelfwarmers back then.

It Needed a to-scale Tantive IV then, and still does today.

I love this build but I do have a major complaint: it is much more fragile than similar contemporary sets. Whenever I store it in a tote, it comes out fractured. It can fall apart with just a nudge, so even permanent display doesn't help. I'm not sure it'll ever make it back to my shelves, even though it would be a nice companion to the frigate and upcoming Vader's flagship.

“75356 Executor Super Star Destroyer outwardly heralds the revival of midi-scale, launched in 2009”

Surely the Executor is micro-scale. It includes two Star Destroyers for scale which are minute compared to this midi-scale version.

I have just bought this set last month and at a reduced price!

Don't know why midi scale were not popular and kinda failed, I love it and for 2010 this was comparable to UCS detail!

I don't have this set, but I love my midi Millennium Falcon.

@Doctor_Hugh said:
I've long said that Midi-Scale was one of my favorite sub-themes of LEGO Star Wars. Affordably displayable, but with designs that weren't compromised to make them playable with minifigs, they offered an opportunity to produce a much broader range of vehicles than any other line. The Nebulon B is a perfect example of that. It would be pointless as a minifig playset, unwieldy as a UCS set, and overly simplistic at mini scale. But man, does it look great in midi-scale.

"Surely the Executor is micro-scale. It includes two Star Destroyers for scale which are minute compared to this midi-scale version. "

Compare it to Galoob's lineup pre-prequels. They started their SW run with Micro Machines. Every vessel, whether a speederbike, or a Death Star, was pocketable. Then they came out with Action Fleet, where everything was sized to rest on your palm, again, whether it was a Snowspeeder or a Star Destroyer. The Micro Machine A-Wing was probably close to the same scale as the Action Fleet Millennium Falcon, but the two were sold under different lines.

Never heard of this one before, so it was a fun read and (what I hope is) the start of a great series of reviews. I think a picture with a mini figure (or the famous goat) would help with understanding the scale a bit easier.

Also, the mention at the end was a fun surprise :)

Interesting that you don't use a picture from starwars.com or Wookiepedia for the reference image. Also, add me to the list of people who wishes the midi-scale line had continued. I understand why they were discontinued; as @ao_ka says, they were shelfwarmers. So I guess what I really wish is that they were more popular so Lego had seen profit in continuing the line. I also wish I'd gotten 77904 . I'll have to make sure I don't make the same mistake with 75356 , although it is more expensive than the others. Maybe if there's a good enough May the Fourth promotion.

@Doctor_Hugh : If "midi-scale" refers to the relative actual scales of the vehicles, then this should have been much bigger, as 7778 came first. Also, consider the broad range of ships that have been done at "mini-scale" whose models are all the same size.

@elangab said:
"Also, the mention at the end was a fun surprise :)"

Indeed! I saw the title and thought, "Hey, @CapnRex101 used my suggestion!" then reached the end of the article and got further warm fuzzies.

Ok, I would like to get your opinion on something: in light of the new Executor being released soon, how do you personally pronounce it?

Do you say it like:

A. Eggs-eck-you-torr
B. Ex-eh-cute-or

I had a debate with someone about the proper way to say it, and we could not reach an agreement.

Like basically everyone else I'd love to see midi-scale ships return - not so much a 'scale' as just 'Star Wars ships, all the sets are about the same size' (I mean, the midi-Falcon was hardly in scale with the midi-Star Destroyer; and plenty of people myself included bought shelves full of the Eaglemoss Star Trek models and none of them were to scale with each other; I'd be perfectly happy with non-minifig-scaled X-Wings and TIEs at this size too). Surprising to read they were shelfwarmers back in the day, I thought they'd fly off, but that's just me - perhaps the Star Wars market has shifted now though, with the tv series attracting an older audience who'd be into 'models' more than 'toys', and they can really make a go of it this time (I'd be stunned if they didn't sell at least as well as the helmets line - and they can throw in spaceships and aircraft from any other license they have going, I'd go for a midi-Quinjet, or even the whatsitsname from Avatar). Good fodder for Baby's First MOCs as well, my midi-Star Destroyer's a Victory class, and the midi-Falcon became the Outrider - bring the line back and I can easily see myself getting the whole set, plus extras where suitable to turn into every obscure background thing EC Henry keeps making videos about.

@Zoniax said:
"Ok, I would like to get your opinion on something: in light of the new Executor being released soon, how do you personally pronounce it?

Do you say it like:

A. Eggs-eck-you-torr
B. Ex-eh-cute-or

I had a debate with someone about the proper way to say it, and we could not reach an agreement."

The correct pronunciation is A: “Eggs-eck-you-torr”, as in the executor of an estate.

Tbh, I'd be a lot more interested in this scale, compared to the UCS or Playsets.

@Zoniax:
While I can figure out what you meant by the "gg" vs "x", I could see someone looking at the pronunciations you listed and not being able to tell that they're not the same. Anyways, see below:

@Mr__Thrawn said:
"The correct pronunciation is A: “Eggs-eck-you-torr”, as in the executor of an estate."

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/executor

In terms of just the word itself, either pronunciation is valid. In terms of the SW capital ship, most sources seem to agree that it's pronounced like "executive" rather than "execute".

Always wondered why midi-scale stopped after the MF and ISD.

I thought they were ace sets. Lets hope 75356 means Lego are returning to the midi-scale for the long-haul this time, the change in parts and techniques since 2010 should mean some cracking sets!

@PurpleDave: You ninja'd me; I was going to reference dictionary.com to help @Zoniax!

@Slave2lego:
Poor sales. They didn't appeal to kids, and the adult market probably wasn't big enough at the time to make up for that. If this performs well, they may continue with this scale of set. If it doesn't, it may be a long time before they make a third attempt.

I am not at all a fan if Star Wars, so I am looking at this as fan of lego only. And from that perspective this is such a boring pile of grey. There is nothing of interest here if you are not a fan of SW, no interesting parts, no exciting minifigs and the final model looks like grey plates stacked randomly. No wonder it was a shelf warmer when it was released.

This is a very nice set, but when it comes to Star Destroyers, all I want is another playset of an Imperial Star Destroyer with an interior as good as the First Order version.

Thank you for the review! It's always nice to get a throwback review, even if it's not Thursday!

I remember seeing the midi-scale MF in a store in Norway but that's about it. Afterwards I learned this set had been released too.
A closer look like this shows just how well done it is. But at the same time, it looks a bit boring. But that's just the ship. It's a grey triangle. One with interesting angles and such. But not exactly a visual marvel. To be honest I don't see the appeal of the UCS versions either beside their size and greebling fidelity. But that's just me.

In fact, I think this is the best model of an ISD precisely because it doesn't really need anything more than this.

I think it would be great if LEGO remade this set again in the new midi-scale lineup;, as with most older sets, it'd be great to see a redesign with contemporary elements and building techniques - all those new wedge plates developed between now and 2010 can be put to great use!

I know this would drive the price up a bit, but it would be amazing if LEGO included an accompanying relevant minifigure to go on the display stands, so this new midi-scale lineup (that is, if LEGO makes more sets in a similar downscale) can become something of a cheaper UCS line.

Didn't buy this set because it had no minifigures, but now want it to match the Nebulon-B and SSD.
I tried to find it second-hand but since prices are upwards of 60€, I decided to rebrick it instead. Even if I would buy all parts new from B&P it would still be less than that. But luckily I have about half the parts already in my spares.

Kinda off topic but I’m disappointed they retired the UCS star destroyer already, even though it came out a year or so after the UCS millennium falcon. Sure the MF is the more popular ship, but I had hoped of owning the ucs imperial star destroyer too, it was already a big price but even bigger now from resellers.

@Binnekamp:
The ISD may not have been that interesting a design (other than behind-the-scenes info, like how the main engines were L’eggs pantyhose containers), but it made one heck of an impression the first time you saw it on the big screen. It no longer has quite the same impact, especially after Spaceballs pushed that joke to the extreme, but for those of us who saw Star Wars when it was just Star Wars, that shot lives with you. Even seeing the Executor with a herd of tiny ISDs swarming around it didn’t have the same degree of impact.

@Torrent_Studios:
I’ve had the thing built on display for so long now, that I forgot how messy the innards are until seeing them again in this article. The whole engine plate is attached by two studs? Yeah, it’d be interesting to see how much even just the interior could be improved. This feels too much like how the first UCS ISD used magnets to hold the hull plates in position because they couldn’t figure out a more direct connection.

Love this set, i built another one. https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/duplicates/5fzlgm/finally_found_sufficient_quantities_of_bricks_in/

@PurpleDave said:
" @Binnekamp:
The ISD may not have been that interesting a design (other than behind-the-scenes info, like how the main engines were L’eggs pantyhose containers), but it made one heck of an impression the first time you saw it on the big screen. It no longer has quite the same impact, especially after Spaceballs pushed that joke to the extreme, but for those of us who saw Star Wars when it was just Star Wars, that shot lives with you. Even seeing the Executor with a herd of tiny ISDs swarming around it didn’t have the same degree of impact.

@Torrent_Studios:
I’ve had the thing built on display for so long now, that I forgot how messy the innards are until seeing them again in this article. The whole engine plate is attached by two studs? Yeah, it’d be interesting to see how much even just the interior could be improved. This feels too much like how the first UCS ISD used magnets to hold the hull plates in position because they couldn’t figure out a more direct connection."

Wow. The ISD must have really been impactful to the people who saw it back in 1977. The first Star Wars movie I watched was Revenge of the Sith, back in 2015 and on a flight to England, and I vividly remember how overwhelming the Battle of Coruscant was, and how cool that "giant red wedge ship thing" looked.

I went into the movie not at all aware of how cool Star Wars was, and literally the only thing I knew was that there was a Luke Skywalker, whose father was Anakin Skywalker who was also Darth Vader.

When watching A New Hope on the return flight, I was also quite captivated by how real the Star Destroyer looked, even though I was mildly confused as to why the bridge looked a little different.

Also, I wasn't even aware that LEGO made magnetised elements, much less back more than twenty years ago. That's pretty cool.

@Cyno01:
Link doesn’t work.

@Torrent_Studios:
Have you seen the opening to Spaceballs? That’s how much of an impact the ISD rolling through the shot was back in ‘77. Remember, before Star Wars, most sci-fi of the time was sterile and cerebral. Probably the biggest sci-fi hit before that time was 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s not exactly packed full of action. There’s a board meeting that doesn’t result in anyone getting choked. Star Wars was the Beatles of cinema. People were lining up around the block to watch it _after_ it had opened.

I’m not old enough to remember a time before Star Wars, but I am old enough to remember a time before Star Wars was a franchise.

I found this set, new in the box, mint condition, in a department store back in 2015 or 2016 and was delighted. It had fallen in a gap between the store shelves, just waiting for me. It was marked down, when it rang-in too. Surprised, it was still in the system. Was fun to build and I’ve enjoyed it, ever-since. A great display set, along with its Falcon companion. Thanks for the retro-review.

@ronvining said:
"I found this set, new in the box, mint condition, in a department store back in 2015 or 2016 and was delighted. It had fallen in a gap between the store shelves, just waiting for me. It was marked down, when it rang-in too. Surprised, it was still in the system. Was fun to build and I’ve enjoyed it, ever-since. A great display set, along with its Falcon companion. Thanks for the retro-review. "

Bruh that's so lucky. It's like the people here and there who find old retired sets still in stores, just last month I remember seeing a post from someone who had found a MISB Speedorz set at Walmart.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave: You ninja'd me; I was going to reference dictionary.com to help @Zoniax!"

Are you allowed to say that when someone beats you by more than half an hour?

@PurpleDave: I didn't look at the timestamp before I posted that.

@CapnRex101

"Apology Accepted, Captain Rex" ;-)

@PurpleDave said:
"Probably the biggest sci-fi hit before that time was 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s not exactly packed full of action. There’s a board meeting that doesn’t result in anyone getting choked."

I'm reminded of the MST3K episode with Apace Mutiny. "This is the rare meeting where something actually gets accomplished!"