I think it took me and my wife a week of about 2 hours a day to put our Death Star together.

I would not worry about the time or your sons age. Build the model with him. My son was 4 when I started him in Legos and he learned fast. 3 years later he can build the technics and other larger ships on his own.

Last year we built the death star together. We both took bages and built sections. Went smooth and the fun lasted a week. With Lego's it more for the memories that are built then the blocks

I really do want to build it with my son, but I'm just concerned that his younger brother will just take the joy out of it for him. My youngest just turned 2 and I think he is trying to break a record for worst case of terrible 2's. He can't let his big brother do anything for more then 5 minutes before he starts bugging him. But I probably will just wait to build it with him as I am probably already short on time to finish it now. I haven't even had a chance to start on it since starting this post. We will probably just have to hide it and pull it out to work on when my youngest is napping. Will probably take a few months, but it will help him learn patience.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I really appreciate it!

So I'm a bit late to the thread but if you are talking about this one...

It took me about 15 total hours to build over the course of about week or so. Now this was a brand new kit and I am an experienced lego builder. If you got a used kit and the pieces are not bagged that will tack on some time, probably an extra 2-4 hours of hunting altogether. It really is not hard to build but since you haven't built a model like this before here is a couple of tips.

Make sure in each step you find and separate all of the pieces for that step (the ones in the little box). It seems obvious but it does save you time in the long run and you don't leave any pieces out. The second is that there are several places where you repeat the same step to make multiples, especially on this kit. If you feel comfortable doing it, build several of them all at the same time instead of individually.

All in all it is a great kit and you won't be sorry. It a total pain in the *** to move around though. The only place to hold it is the base. Just walk slowly. Have fun!

So I'm a bit late to the thread but if you are talking about this one...

It took me about 15 total hours to build over the course of about week or so. Now this was a brand new kit and I am an experienced lego builder. If you got a used kit and the pieces are not bagged that will tack on some time, probably an extra 2-4 hours of hunting altogether. It really is not hard to build but since you haven't built a model like this before here is a couple of tips.

Make sure in each step you find and separate all of the pieces for that step (the ones in the little box). It seems obvious but it does save you time in the long run and you don't leave any pieces out. The second is that there are several places where you repeat the same step to make multiples, especially on this kit. If you feel comfortable doing it, build several of them all at the same time instead of individually.

All in all it is a great kit and you won't be sorry. It a total pain in the *** to move around though. The only place to hold it is the base. Just walk slowly. Have fun!

I bought him the one that is the play set with all the interior rooms and comes with all the Lego figures. I would like to buy the one you have for myself as I like the model like replica style. But that one is worth a fortune for my budget. The one I got my son is brand new, ordered from Toys-r-Us. It's not as pricey as yours, but was still a pretty steep buy for a 4 year olds birthday, in our house anyway. But I know he will get endless days of enjoyment out of it so I couldn't resist. He has been drooling over it in his Lego books for a few years now, and I want to encourage my 2 boys Star Wars obsessions. They didn't fall far from the tree, but I guess when your mother and father are both obsessed with Star Wars, its bound to work out that way.

Thanks for the advice.

*snip*

I bought him the one that is the play set with all the interior rooms and comes with all the Lego figures. I would like to buy the one you have for myself as I like the model like replica style. But that one is worth a fortune for my budget. The one I got my son is brand new, ordered from Toys-r-Us. It's not as pricey as yours, but was still a pretty steep buy for a 4 year olds birthday, in our house anyway. But I know he will get endless days of enjoyment out of it so I couldn't resist. He has been drooling over it in his Lego books for a few years now, and I want to encourage my 2 boys Star Wars obsessions. They didn't fall far from the tree, but I guess when your mother and father are both obsessed with Star Wars, its bound to work out that way.

Thanks for the advice.

Ah ok. That is a great set too. I have almost bought that that set a several times for the figures. I haven't really been able to adequately explain to my wife why I need two lego death stars. It's pretty crazy how expensive the big sets get. The only time to really get them is when they are available for retail, even then they are rather steep. I have this falcon set that I am debating on selling just because the prices on it are really nutty.

My son (5) always wants to get into my star wars lego cabinet. I can't blame him either and I let him for the most part. It is the great part about legos, I can always put it back together when he breaks it.

I do not remember how many pieces that one has but it won't take you nearly as long. Maybe 5-6 hours or so, probably less if you get on a roll.

Beware the lego star wars path, long and expensive it is, but awesome.

This thread reminds me the first time I saw an official lightsaber replica in a Toys R US. Surrounding the display were kids tugging at their dads, hoping to see the other toys... while the dads were surrounding the lightsaber and trying to think of a good excuse to buy it

I hope your kid enjoys his gift! I hope there will still be lego death stars by the time that I have some of my own

I just looked up 2015 lego sets after look at this thread. I see the Slave 1 is getting the UCS treatment and here's what's got me really excited: it has minifigs! Holy hell I can't wait to get this thing! I missed out on the ucs Lambda but there's no way I'm missing this one.

Am I alone in thinking that any UCS that doesn't come with or properly fit minifigs doesn't interest me?

I just hope my lady is over my buying the AT-AT, Star Destroyer, and B-wing by then