Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama has carved out its very own sweet spot between being a display piece and a full-on playset, thanks to a simple yet dynamic feature that harnesses the interactive potential of a LEGO Star Wars set – while still managing to add credibility and authenticity to something specifically designed for older collectors. What is the total mass of the parts here? How much does the set weigh - how does the total volume of material compare to sets at similar price points?" Inspired by Star Wars: A New Hope, the LEGO Star Wars Death Star™ Trench Run Diorama invites builders to recreate the gripping scene of Darth Vader™’s pursuit of Luke Skywalker™, as Luke fights to destroy the newly-built Death Star for a victory on the Rebellion side. Finish off the build with the memorable words of Darth Vader, “The Force is strong with this one.” You’ll be able to get your hands on 75329 Death Star Trench Run, 75330 Dagobah Jedi Training and 75339 Death Star Trash Compactor from LEGO.com and in LEGO Stores from April 26.

We’ve long been waiting to actually see any confirmation that the rumored Star Wars quote dioramas were actually still happening, and now Walmart has stepped in. While we’ll have to wait another week to actually see the set, it’s at least exciting to know we have a new build from a galaxy far, far away to look forward to. If you are going to recreate the trash compactor scene from A New Hope with any degree of accuracy and detail, then it needs to be able to function as it does in the film, and pleasingly, 75339 Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama does just that. Yes, previous trash compactor appearances in LEGO form – namely in both Death Star playsets – have also had walls that close in as you would hope, but certainly not to the same quality as is seen here. The Death Star Trench Run diorama is an intricately designed cutaway of one of the most famous scenes in movie history. It has Luke’s X-Wing racing ahead of three TIE Fighters that are blasting away, trying to stop him. It’s a more scaled-down set, so it doesn’t include any minifigures, but anyone who sees it will instantly recognize the scene. As mentioned, it’s necessary to the scene in question, and from an authenticity and quality perspective it adds a level of dynamism and literal movement that can’t otherwise be achieved in any other way. It does, however, also encourage a lot of touching and play – there’s nothing wrong with that, but it muddies the waters around the marketing for the series of sets that it belongs to. While this will be exclusive to Walmart here in the United States, the LEGO Group has firmly stated in the past that regional exclusive sets are a thing of the past. So there will likely be a retailer in other countries carrying the set, if the LEGO Group themselves don’t sell it via LEGO Shop Online. 9to5Toys’ Take:

The Completed Model

beloved characters bring the scene to life – 5 LEGO minifigures: Luke Skywalker and Han Solo dressed as Stormtroopers, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO, plus an R2-D2 LEGO droid figure R2-D2 appears more frequently than almost any other Star Wars character, but experiences infrequent changes. The introduction of printing on the reverse therefore appears simple, but represents an important update and looks brilliant. The decoration across the front has been altered as well, albeit subtly. For example, the octagonal vent now features more dark blue.

The drab colour scheme is not necessarily ideal for display, but definitely reflects the onscreen location and captures lovely detail. This integration of reddish brown, dark bluish grey and dark tan gives the impression of wear and the mangled junk inside contrasts against its surroundings, being predominantly light bluish grey. Like the other two dioramas, 75339 Death Star Trash Compactor measures 15cm deep – or 20 studs – but varies in length, coming in at 21cm wide. According to LEGO Star Wars Creative Lead Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, all three of the sets are designed to match in depth, presenting a consistent style for this subtheme of builds. This high price is essentially a consequence of prioritising the all-round experience of and authenticity across the set. The number of minifigures included is because they are all part of the scene and to miss one would be to perhaps write off the set’s value to collectors and fans. In addition, the piece count is as it is due to a high number of small 1×1 pieces and such like, through which comes the ability to offer greater colour variation, finer parts usage and overall better accuracy to what is being built here. Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama is part of April 2022’s LEGO Star Wars Diorama Collection, which represents a new creative direction for the theme, offering older fans a higher level of detail and authenticity at the expense of playability and other design considerations usually built into sets for younger audiences.The alterations on C-3PO are more conspicuous, including decoration on the arms and feet, along with new metallic gold printing on the torso. These shiny highlights are superb and the cables have become more intricate too. The designs on both feet are also welcome, but I am frustrated by the gap on C-3PO's silver leg, which could easily have been rectified with dual-moulding.

As the walls slide inwards, everything attached to the walls moves together. The result looks surprisingly realistic, although my favourite feature is actually the flexible hose that links both walls. This naturally bends as the walls move, recreating the gradual mangling of metal which takes place during the movie! Again, this substantially improves the illusion. Unlike their allies, Princess Leia and Chewbacca remain unchanged. Leia's famous hairstyle looks perfect and I love her double-sided head, that captures the character's feisty personality. The torso looks splendid too, although I was hoping the dress component introduced in 75244 Tantive IV would return. These undecorated legs look very bland, by comparison. In amongst the trash there are vantage points for the four characters of Leia, Luke, Han and Chewbacca to sit or stand as they try to navigate the junk around them as the walls close in, and these placement positions remain useable at any width you want to set the walls to. It’s a scene complete with the entire cast of characters too, including even R2-D2 and C-3PO who, otherwise in a different area of the Death Star entirely, are represented as standing on just the other side of the trash compactor here. Authentic details – includes moving walls, a dianoga's head, compactor control panel, plus a plaque with Han Solo's ''One thing's for sure. We're all gonna be a lot thinner.'' line

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C-3PO was released during 2015 and included printed arms, which was significant because that minifigure depicted the character with his red arm from The Force Awakens. An equivalent standard of detail is present here and corresponds with the onscreen character, as seams between panels and the energy transducers on Threepio's shoulders look great.