The latest Star Wars Lego set is part of the line's Ultimate Collector Series, named as such because of this range's high piece count and increased accuracy to film models.

At 2503 the piece count is high and it is refreshing to see that Lego saw fit to include a number of figures; Darth Vader, an Imperial Pilot, an Imperial Officer, Luke Skywalker and a Stormtrooper. Adding figures to these larger sets certainly adds to the appeal. It's wonderful to have a highly detailed model to display but even more fun to play with these big models.

The Lambda-class T-4a shuttle is a classic Star Wars vehicle, first featured in the Special Edition of the Empire Strikes Back (though really first featured in the opening scene of Return of the Jedi). It was used as a transportation vehicle for cargo, troops or "Very Important Imperials" like Darth Vader and The Emperor.

Lego has made a number of versions of the Imperial Shuttle but this is by far the best. It is a large ship (you can check out an official Lego Designer video on Youtube and see it for yourself) and you will really want to have alot of space to display this, it is as high as it is wide, coming in at 28" (71 cm) tall when placed on the stand and 22" (57 cm) wide.

The set comes with stickers, which is a shame, mainly for the information plate that sits under the ship when it is displayed. The construction is fairly straight forward, with technic pieces that allow you to fold up the wings with the help of two keys.

The landing gear is detachable so the shuttle can be displayed either on the stand in flight mode or on a flat surface in landing mode. Other play features include an opening cockpit which can sit the minifigures and rotating laser cannons.

A beautiful model that displays well it could have been made even better with a boarding ramp or a playable interior but purely as a display piece it is striking and I imagine won't last long on the shelves. You can find the instructions online at Lego.com