Let’s take a trip back in time. No, we’re not going to head all the way back to 2005 when the Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser first made its appearance on screen in Revenge of the Sith, but it’s close. The year is 2007, and I’ve just begun my junior year of college at the University of Minnesota (Go Gophers!). I go with some friends to IKEA for dorm room accoutrements, and we stop at the Mall of America on the way back. It’s at that mall’s LEGO store that I, irrational college student that I am at the time, purchase 10143 Death Star II. It was epic! I sat in my room watching Episodes I through VI while I assembled the great ball of bricks, feeling my love of the SW Universe course through my fingers and into this mammoth set I could barely afford. To this day, it’s the only LEGO Star Wars UCS set I’ve ever purchased. I thought back on this time quite a bit as I tackled the construction of the latest offering in the Ultimate Collector Series: 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser. Star Wars certainly has come a long way since then, as has LEGO. You’ll have to read on to uncover my nostalgia-laden build of this new model. Constructed of 5,374 pieces, and available from LEGO stores and their website on October 4 (October 1 for Insiders), 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser retails for US $649.99 | CAN $849.99 | UK £559.99.
