Many brands and franchises have staked out their own special day over the years, Back to the Future Day is in October. Top Gun has a day in mid-May. But none is quite so well known as the unofficial, and sometimes official, Star Wars holiday, May the Fourth. It has become embraced by Disney and Lucasfilm over the years which frequently means releases of news about upcoming projects, if not the projects themselves. Last year we got our first look at a brand new “real” lightsaber design, for example. And if you want to grab that special Star Wars fan in your life an equally special gift, I think I’ve found the perfect LEGO set.
LEGO and Star Wars are two of those things that seem to go perfectly together. There have been LEGO Star Wars video games. There have been LEGO Star Wars movies and TV specials. And of course, there have just been actual LEGOs that use the Star Wars theme. And soon there will be a few more excellent Star Wars LEGO diorama sets, including my favorite, the Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama, which is available now ahead of Star Wars Day.
There are, I think, two main types of LEGO fans out there. There’s the kind, usually on the older side, that builds LEGOs in order to display their work. Then there’s the type, usually on the younger side, that builds LEGOs in order to play with the finished product. What’s so great about this Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama is that it works equally well for both sides of the fence.
A diorama is, by definition, a display item, it’s supposed to sit on a shelf or hang on a wall and look nice. Many LEGO fans probably have display cases full of LEGOs they’ve built over the years and any serious Star Wars fan probably has a lot of various merchandise on display. This guy would be perfect sitting next to your Disneyland lightsaber or other Star Wars merch.
If, however, your favorite Star Wars fan is on the younger side, and would rather play with this as a toy once it’s done, that’s fine too. It’s got all the pieces you need in order to recreate the trash compactor scene, and the walls even move, so this is designed to be a play thing as much as it is a display piece.
There are a couple of other cool brand new LEGO dioramas that have recently launched. One is another diorama piece that displays the Death Star Trench Run diorama from the first movie. The other is the Dagobah Jedi Training diorama, which includes Yoda’s home and even the single wing of X-wing, as the rest of the ship has sunk into the swamp.
Any of these LEGO sets would make great gifts for your favorite Star Wars fan on May the Fourth, especially if that fan is you.
