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Q: How did you plan the design for the Slave I? Did you use
artist sketches or film stills to assist your creation of
the model?
A: Getting the shape and proportions of the ship right was the
main priority. For exterior details I had screen shots from the
movies and reference material supplied by Lucasfilm. While
looking at cross sections of the original Slave I, I realised that
while it’s filled with cool features, weapons, and living space,
it is completely missing any internal support structure. Appar-
ently the hull is all it takes to hold the Slave I together, like an
eggshell. The biggest challenge in designing the model was
to create a sturdy but light support structure.
Q: Does this model feature/accomplish something that no
other LEGO®building set has? What elements or features
make it unique? Other than scale, what really sets this
version of the Slave I apart from previous LEGO versions?
A: This is the largest, most detailed LEGO®Slave I so far, and
more true to the original than previous versions. In fact, the
size of the model makes it both a collector series model and
a playset, because it actually is in minifigure-scale. Even the
underside of the model is very detailed, which is uncommon
in LEGO sets.
Q: Were any new elements or minifigures created for
this model?
A: A new, eight-brick-wide windscreen was created especially
for this Slave I in trans-clear, same as on the original movie
prop. Several other elements are exclusive to this set, in dark
red, dark green, and sand green. We included a Bespin
Guard and a Stormtrooper to go along with Boba and Han so
that kids can re-enact the scene on the Cloud City landing
platform when Boba Fett boards his craft with his frozen
trophy.
Q: How long did this take to design? How many people worked
on designing it?
A: I needed a week from the first draft in LEGO Digital
Designer to the first brick-built copy. Then it took almost three
months, until the final model review, to create this set. I was
the only designer assigned to this task, but of course I had
plenty of assistance from colleagues. My technical coach,
Anders G. Christensen, especially had a hand in optimising
the internal structure of the ship.
Q: What are you most proud of on this model?
A: Of course I am most proud of having been chosen to
design the whole set in the first place. I’m a huge Star Wars
fan, and the Slave I is an iconic spacecraft - one of the
remaining few that haven’t been produced as a LEGO
collector’s edition already. Having been able to create the
next addition to my sizeable collection of LEGO Star Wars
sets myself feels great!
