I bought this set second-hand on bricklink from a guy in Germany, and paid around £400 after shipping costs etc. While most pieces were in great condition on arrival, there were as per usual some missing pieces, some discoloured pieces, some chewed up or damaged pieces, and some extra pieces. Well that's all normal on the second hand market in my experience, but I warn potential second-hand buyers to be careful of discolouration on the white bricks, as it can really affect the look of this set. Anyway, on with the review!

First things first, this set is enormous. It's only when you see it in front of you that you can really appreciate just how big it is. Simply put, the online images and printed images don't do this thing justice. Even the video reviews didn't quite prepare me for its enormity. As an owner of the newer UCS Falcon and the older playable UCS Death Star as well as 4 other UCS as well, I have to say this set has the most presence and draws the eye by far the most out of all of the ones I own. In a way, its more impressive than the Falcon as well, because although it has 1/3 the number of pieces, it uses them to tremendous effect, producing an outcome that is sleek, smooth and truly awe-inspiring.

Parts:

What can I say, most of them are white. Well if you were expecting anything else then try looking at it again. The parts are by modern standards, pretty basic, but there are a lot of larger pieces, especially the white technic beams in various lengths and the bigger white bricks used in the fins, cockpit, sides and top of the main body. Nowadays though it would be a pretty expensive set if you just wanted the parts, so maybe this category has got less relevant with time; nowadays if you buy this, it's for the whole completed set.

Build:

While not 100% symmetrical, due to slight differences either side of the main fin, the build is obviously fairly repetitive due to the symmetry, especially when you get to the wings. It starts off quite slowly, but once you start working on the outer bodywork it picks up quite quickly and becomes pretty fun until the end. The fin and wings were actually very fun, and although repetitive I didn't really mind just because they were pretty quick and enjoyable anyway. The cockpit and upper part of the main body flew by, and were definitely the best parts.

Finished Model:

The design is awesome, and makes superb use of sloped parts to create effect to create a smooth finish, with just enough studs showing to remind you it's LEGO. I like the fact that the wings can be raised or lowered, but would advise against changing them on the stand as it is a bit too fragile. Design-wise I understand having built it the lack of a boarding ramp; unlike on the Falcon I don't think it would work very well on this model without serious adaption, and similarly the fact that the landing gear is a separate piece as opposed to folding out from inside is easy to understand once you realise the stand needs room to extend inside the ship for stability, and its directly underneath where the landing gear would be. I love the technic in the wings, and even if you're not a fan of technic, it doesn't feel (or look) technic-heavy while building, but it does offer the stability necessary for wings of this size, and it adds to the design, offering some texture without disturbing the overall clean look. The only thing I will say about the fins is that, due to the use of both system and technic techniques, it's quite hard to get the system bricks to lie flush with each other, and they will want to separate vertically. However there are no stability issues due to this as the technic does most of the supporting, and the small lines produced can actually add detail and look good if you make sure they don't get too big.

Minifigs:

When this set was first released, i imagine these were probably nothing that special, but nowadays their simpler designs are actually quite refreshing, not to mention the fact that the designs for stormtroopers, and imperial officers and pilots have changed, so these designs are no longer available in new sets. For anyone with an older imperial collection this set is good because you can add to your outdated collection without the minifigs having different designs; I actually prefer the older style pilots and officers, and for me this variety of stormtooper was made classic by the first playable UCS Death Star.

Overall:

Overall this is an amazing set, and I would say that if you are a fan of LEGO, Star Wars, or even just beautifully crafted objects, you should buy this set. Who am I kidding, everyone reading this is a fan of LEGO, and probably Star Wars. But seriously, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't love this set. If you have the money, and you have somewhere out of the sun to display it in all its glory, I recommend wholeheartedly that you buy it. I paid £400 for a used copy with some slightly discoloured white pieces, 4 missing pieces, and 6 or so chewed up pieces. But hey, I got over 10 random extras. Most people might say £400 is expensive for what you get but the Falcon is £650 and this is, in a way, more impressive, so I'd say if you have the money, it's worth it. I would suggest buying one MISB however, because although you're looking at about £600 it saves the hassle of missing or broken pieces, and with this set in particular, the issue of discolouration. If you buy one used, the chances are none of the white pieces will be perfect after 10 years, so if you want it to really stand out and look super clean, this is the one set I would recommend buying new and sealed. But if you just want it as a LEGO fan or a Star Wars fan, and you can find one in good condition used, that's also a great option so long as you're not going to lose sleep over slightly yellowed bricks. And when I say "slightly", I do mean slightly, it's not really that noticeable. TLG will probably never make a bigger model of this craft, due to the wing stability, and it's hard to see them making a massive improvement on this model, so I recommend buying this one before prices get too ridiculous as they may in future if it doesn't get a remake / rerelease.

I got this set pretty late thus had to pay a premium price for it! Read the reviews here before considering the purchase. It did not disappoint me. It took me 3 hours to complete this built and i enjoyed every moment of the built.

The parts were pretty unique and also the gear mechanism that links to the manual operation of the two huge wings.

This is a huge model and you would really need the space if you had thought of displaying it!

Pros

• The minifigures
  
• The built experience
  
• Gear Mechanism for the wing
• Sturdy stand!
• Overall WHITE clean look!
  

Cons

• Playability is low as it is tool heavy
  
• Price as i bought it after EOP
• Replace this text with your conclusion.

I was a huge fan of the UCS genre when Lego first started producing the large sets, and quickly nabbed the X-Wing, Tie-Intercepter, and the prized Star Destroyer. Unfortunately life moved on and I lost track of the work Lego was doing, and now I'm forced to pay a bit of a premium for some of the sets I missed while they were on the shelves.

I purchased a MISB 10212 for a fairly reasonable price nowadays ($320) off eBay and just completed the build last night. The primary reaction is pure awe at the finished model; it is far larger and even more beautiful than I had imagined. Even my wife commented on how attractive it is! It is definitely a [large] sight to behold.

Beyond that, this was just an incredibly fun model to build. It wasn't as monotonous a build as the Star Destroyer, and had some really interesting approaches to construction, particularly for the wings.

Pros

• Incredibly fun build. Excellent pieces and construction techniques.
• Beautiful finished product. Nicely displayed in an office or den.
• HUGE! Much larger than anticipated, with fine details. Make sure you have the space!

Cons

• Price. If you're like me and missed the boat on the production run, then you will pay a pretty penny for an MISB set. Get one now...don't delay!

Bottom line, if you can get the 10212 at a reasonable price, then you should definitely do so. It's a great build, and a wonderful display piece. I'm not sure that I love it as much as my 10030, but it's awfully close!

A lot has been said about the Imperial Shuttle. It truly is a beautiful model for display and you can even swoosh it if you handle it correctly. It's sturdy due to the high number of technic beams that keep the wings intact. My favorite part of the build was the hull due to the 'SNOT' technique. The wings were a bit tedious, but I actually found myself enjoying it more as I went along. Originally I had a gripe that this set did not include a boarding ramp. I think it's possible to incorporate with some modifications. However, most of the time this set will be displayed on its stand with the wings un-folded for flight.

As far as value goes that will be subjective. I'm a Star Wars fan but not a nut. I would of never purchased this set at retail price. Like most UCS ships there is a premium. I did catch a good deal on it so my value rating is split.

Overall I give the Imperial Shuttle five bricks. The whole is a greater sum than the parts with this set.

This set was a fantastic build. Took about 10-15 hours across a couple of days. The beginning was the most tedious, but once that was done it was smooth sailing.

Pros

• Amazing looking set. Very detailed, or as must as it could be in comparison with the movies.
• It included minifigs so at least there is some playability with it.
• The part assortment is pretty amazing. Definitely some quality parts for people who want to MOC after building the set.

Cons

• Too big - Even though it is probably close to scale, the thing is just gigantic. Not to mention, the display stand adds almost another foot to the set, just too much height to display it.
• My set was missing pieces, so I say shame on you Lego.
• …

Definitely a must have for another collector or someone who wants to MOC. Also, I don't have an issue with the landing gear as others had. Only recommendation is take the pieces for the stand and make one similar to the R2-D2. It will allow you to display the storm trooper and the decal, but not add excessive height to the model.