Let’s take a deeper look at the features highlighted for this build of the Slave 1 and some of the play functions. One of the built-in functions made with Technic liftarms is a grip. It can be neatly folded away. Obviously, a good part of the motivation for the slave Leia costume had to have been fan-service. The outfit caters both to hormonal pubescents, for whom Princess Leia was already a sex symbol, and to Lucas’s love affair with all those old adventure serials, with Leia playing Dale Arden, and Jabba as Ming the Merciless. In a romance, the declaration of love would lead directly to bliss and the conclusion of the narrative. But Star Wars isn’t a romance, and true love leads not to marriage and happily ever after, but to a manically gendered mess. At the beginning of Return of the Jedi, Leia, who up to this point has mostly been dressed in utilitarian but recognizably female attire, suddenly starts switching wardrobes. First she disguises herself as the male bounty hunter Boushh. Then she switches to the sexed-up slave bikini.

Although many LEGO sets typically have a bad unfurnished side, but for this particular build, there’s no getting away with it as the underside of the base of the Slave 1 is part of its signature look. It’s good to see that a decent design effort was made to dress it up. Anniversary Edition Features and playabilityReleased on October 1st, 2018, this 2,812-piece LEGO Star Wars set includes a Slave I that measures over 4 inches high, 7 inches long and 7 inches wide. There are 18 minifigures contained in this set, including Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker in Bespin outfits, C-3PO, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Lobot, 2 Cloud City Guards, 2 Cloud Car Pilots, 2 Stormtroopers, Leia and Han in Hoth outfits, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and an Ugnaught, plus R2-D2 and an IG-88 droid. This set is suitable for ages 14 and above. This set was the first ever to be classed as a Master Builder Series set rather than a UCS set which in my opinion is correct. UCS should be saved for large sets that are meant for display rather than play-set style sets such as the Ewok Village. Leia rejects the slave identity emphatically; as critic Vom Marlowe puts it, she “strangles Jabba the Hutt with the literal chains of the patriarchy”. Those patriarchal chains aren’t just patriarchal chains, though; they’re also a BDSM fever dream. The specter of adult relationships and adult sexuality causes Lucas, and his film, to freak out, erupting in a cacophony of fetishes: bondage, submission, Orientalism, tentacle sex and rape fantasy. Leia is objectified – but as the woman seeking to free her man, and as the fascinating protagonist running through different outfits and different identities, she’s also the driving subject of the narrative, in a way she almost never is for the rest of the Han-and-Luke focused series. On the top right of the box is an updated, monochrome version of the classic LEGO Star Wars logo, now in pseudo-metallic silver.

The finished build of the Slave 1 is quite the view. For a 1,000-piece design, and the odd shape of the Slave 1, I think the design team pretty much nailed it.

Minifig details

Two silver lines extend out from the main Star Wars Logo to wrap around the edges of the box, which is a very similar retro look to the old Star Wars 3.75 inch Kenner-issued action figures. If you don’t already own the Ultimate Collector Series ship, it’s almost a no brainer to get this and experience the build and play features, as this definitely outshines the previous non-UCS sets. If you’re a minifigure collector, you know you’ve got to have the exclusives with the unique 20th Anniversary Edition print. All said and done, this is a safe bet to re-live the Classic Star Wars theme that started two decades ago. LEGO 75243 Slave I – 20th Anniversary Edition includes 1,007 pieces and 5 minifigs. The set is available at the LEGO Shop Online starting April 1 ( USD 119.99 | CAD 159.99 | GBP 109.99).