I acquired this set shortly before it retired.

Minifigs.

This set has five minifigures that come with it. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Chewie, and Han Solo. Nothing especially remarkable about the figures unless you get lucky (like I did!). You can get the gold chrome plated C3PO, which is a remarkable addition to any minifig collection.

Building experience:

The building experience is the most remarkable lego has to offer. Beautiful technique. The reason the Taj Mahal is not the most remarkable build is that its flat and boring. The Millennium Falcon, however, has cool technique. It can help win those contests in the Lego magazine ;p!!

Playability:

If you're a kid lego collector who likes to play with their sets, DO NOT GET THIS SET! This is purely a collectors' item. Besides, it weighs around 50 pounds and is 3x3. It's just TOO big to play with!

Value for Money:

The reason I give it such a high rating for value for money is that it has gone up 5 times its price! Even a used one can sell for a lot, just make sure you have your ticket of authenticness on you! So if you ever plan to sell it, you can make 5x your cash. Or more!

Overall:

5/5. No more needs to be said about the overall. Get one of these, if you can afford one, that is!

First off I own 5 UCS sets:

-Imperial Shuttle (10212)

-Tantive IV Rebel Blockade Runner (10019)

-Star Destroyer (10030)

-Super Star Destroyer

- and many other 1000+ piece star wars set

I just got this set (September of 2012) and i spent $1,800 on it. (for perspective of what us late enthusiasts have to pay) :/

The Millenium Falcon is by far my favorite. When you have 2 to 3 thousand more pieces than any other UCS sets it kind of has an unfair advantage but wow the detail is amazing.

Like many mentioned it is so big an awkward that you really have to plan for a spot to put it. I made a big wall bracket and I put a video on youtube of it. Just search "Lego UCS Millenium Falcon wall mount".

Compared to my other UCS sets im serious when i say if i didnt have the Millenium Falcon, none of the other sets would matter to me. It was blast to build and i love having it displayed.

The price was hard to pay but i haven't regret it once. The best set the Lego may possibly ever come out with.

-onelogue-

I'll start off by repeating what others have said about this kit. That being, that it IS NOT a toy to be played with, but rather it is a collector's set that is designed for display purposes. Now, onto the stuff that everyone really wants to know...

I became aware of this kit in mid-2009 but, like many other LEGO fanatics, balked at the original $500 price tag and put off picking one up until it was too late (i.e. no longer in production). I finally broke down and purchased one through eBay in late-2010 for almost double the original price tag (which is the only way that you can get them anymore, unfortunately). And, it was used (i.e. assembled once by the original owner) rather than brand new in a factory-sealed box.

Just as a "sticker shock" warning to anyone who is considering picking up one of these collector's items up for themselves now that they are out of production, eBay and Amazon are the best (and just about the only) places to find one. Be prepared to pay between $1,000 (£645) and $1,300 (£835) for a "used" kit in good condition, and to pay $1,500 (£965) or more for a "new" kit still in the factory-sealed box.

I was fortunate with the one that I eventually acquired, however. This particular kit was made in a limited run of only 20,000 units, with the first 5,000 being released as a special "Collector's Edition" that came with a numbered and signed "Certificate of Authenticity" from LEGO. My kit is #1,934 in this first-run series, which adds value to it even though it is considered "used". But enough history, on to the assembly...

Factory-packed LEGO kits are packed in something resembling a strategic fashion, meaning that the parts are packed generally into similar groups or types that will facilitate easier assembly. However, since my particular kit was used, the parts were simply packaged by the original owner in the order in which he removed them from the model. This resulted in my spending approximately 8 hours just sorting parts before I could even being assembly. Once I started assembly, it took me approximately 21 hours in total (working on and off, when I had spare time) to complete the model.

I will offer several piece of advice that I'm sure others who have assembled this model will agree with:

First, make sure that you have plenty of space to work in a location that will be relatively undisturbed until you're done. This is a very large kit with almost 5,200 pieces, and it is not something that can be moved around easily once you start working on it.

Next, as the assembly progresses, it is necessary to turn the model over and work on the undercarriage. This is a bit problematic in that there are several attachment points for top-side assemblies that stick up above the frame that could be damaged by supporting the full weight of the model. Plan ahead and get help if you need it.

Finally, repeating what I said at the beginning of this review, the finished model IS NOT a toy and is not designed to be played with. Not only is it fairly heavy when completed (almost 17 pounds [8 kg]), but there really are no good places to hold onto it that won't cause damage or cause it to break because of how the exterior cover assemblies are attached.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied in my decision to acquire this collector's item. It is investment in both time and money that I don't regret for a second. I would highly recommend this kit to anyone who is interested in acquiring one. Personally, I found searching for it almost as much fun as putting it together.

I'm along with everyone else who pointed out the obvious: THIS IS NOT A TOY! Yes, it's Lego, but that does not automatically make it a toy and, therefore, it should not be used as one. A simple parallel is a Lamborghini, Ferrari, or Bugatti: while you CAN pick up the groceries and take your kids to school in it, that is neither the intended purpose nor an advisable use of said machine.

I became aware of the existence of this kit back when it was first released but didn't purchase one until March of 2010. But I drooled over it. I wanted it desperately! And, when I finally got a bonus and my wife gave me permission to buy any Lego I want as long as I'd get my hair cut, I took her on a beeline to the Lego store as soon as our haircuts were over. I'm sure I was quite a sight, a grown man walking around the mall with that ridiculously huge, ridiculously heavy box, grinning like the cat who got the cream!

Now to the good stuff. It took me about 3 weeks working on and off (mostly off) to build this thing; had I worked at it solidly, I probably could have finished it in about 12 hours. I used to joke that half the time of assembling a Lego kit is finding the piece(s) for a particular step. That is no longer a joke to me. I didn't sort the pieces at all before starting, partly because I don't have the room or enough sorting containers, but mostly because I was too darn excited to start this build!

My poor knees! My poor back! But I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat just to get the sheer satisfaction of performing such a complex and in-depth build. I LOVE the way it looks on the side table (which is now the Millennium Falcon table), I love taking the top skin off to see the inner structure, and I thoroughly enjoyed building it. I do wish, just a little bit, that it were sturdy enough for me to pick up and fly around, but then I just remember how much it weighs; I'd probably hurt myself or someone around me if I did that...

First off, let's get something straight: this set is not for playing, but for building! All these people saying there is no internal detail and stuff; that's because this is a collectors item, and you are only supposed to teke away parts to see how it looks like on the inside.
And alle those people saying you can't turn it upside down because there are so many loose parts; that's because it is not supposed to be turned upside-down. Again, those parts are to be reoved only when you want to look at the internal structure of the building!

Well, that's enough fighting for this review, let's get to the set.

Starting off with the box; well, let's just say it's big. And with that I mean really big. But that is no big surprise if you want it to contain over 5000 LEGO pieces and an instruction booklet of over 300 pages. Opening the box, and sorting the pieces out is an adventure itself, that will take you about 3 1/2 hours (in my case it took that long, maybe it's diffrent when you are taking the job). 5000 pieces is a lot, so we had the whole living room fillid up with LEGO pieces.

BUILDING:

Building this thing is just great. First, there's the framework - all LEGO technic, for you guys who love that - that will take you a long time to assemble. After that, it's just covering the whole thing. Beginning with the back, underneath the whole structure, and then working your way forward. Same thing up top, but then you start at the front, and work backwards. Overall, building took me about 8 hours (all one day).

PLAYABILITY:

Going to say it again. This thing is not for playing, but for building.

PROS:

Very, very large set;
Great detail;
Very sturdy frame to build on;
What else to say?

CONS:

Fragile covering, but if you handle it with care, no problems will occur;

OVERALL:

Very, very nice set, but only or collectors.
Do not buy this if you intend to play with it.