Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship review

Lego has done it again: It has designed a small, space-friendly, wallet-friendly Star Wars set for adults, and we absolutely love it. That's all you need to know, really — but if you insist on more details, read on for a full review of the Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship.

We've had several ships of this size over the last couple of years, including a Millennium Falcon and an Executor Super Star Destroyer. Still, for our money, the Acclamator-Class Assault Ship might be the best yet. It's on the smaller side, but that keeps the price down, and it's also completely sticker-free, which is always a boon, especially for a set that contains as much detail as this one does. All those red blocks and stripes on its body? They're all printed.

Affixed atop a neat stand, this is a ship that looks great by itself, standing alone on a desk or shelf, or as part of a larger collection. Whether you've got Lego Star Wars helmets or more similarly-sized ships, it looks great as part of a display.

A set that looks great and that's fun to build makes the Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship a sure-fire contender for a spot in our guide to the best Lego Star Wars sets. For Lego Star Wars fans who don't have the money to drop on something like the Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser, consider this a must-have.

Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship review: The build

• A quick and straightforward build
• Fun to put together
• No clever/unique elements to the build

Being made of 450 pieces, it's not going to take you a long time to put together the Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship. You'll be done with it in roughly 90 minutes — maybe a little longer if, like us, you want to casually build it with a movie on in the background.

The bricks are separated across four bags, with each bag strategically introducing a new part of the build. Starting with the stand, you'll see the ship come together piece-by-piece, with the more interesting parts of the build coming in the later bags. The patterned upper section of the ship is a real highlight, but we also love how it all looks from the back: The engines are very effective.

This is a very easy set to put together, and if you're new to Lego, it would make a great place to start. You won't find anything too complex here, with the 100-page instruction booklet being straightforward to follow. For seasoned Lego builders, it might be a little disappointing that there aren't advanced or out-of-the-box building methodologies used, but it makes for a straightforward, laid-back experience.

We're very grateful for the sturdy black base that the Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship stands on, but it's probably the dullest part of the build. It looks great, but stacking black bricks on top of each other isn't the most exciting thing, especially if you've built similar sets before. Still, we're glad for the uniformity from one ship to the next.

When you get on to shaping out the Acclamator-Class Assault Ship, however, things get more interesting, and it comes together very quickly. It's a surprisingly sturdy ship, and although it is designed for display rather than play, we wouldn't be too worried about a child getting their hands on it to 'swoosh' it through the air.

Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship review: Design

• Lots of great details, despite the ship's small size
• Looks great on display
• No 'playability' but it is an 18+ set, designed with adults in mind

We're surprised by just how many details have been packed into the Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship, given its small size. It measures just 23cm in length, but you'll find carefully-constructed engines, a command tower, a bridge and a detailed tail. If you're familiar with "Attack of the Clones", the Star Wars movie in which the Acclamator-Class Assault Ship first appeared, you'll find this mid-sized model is very much like the source material. The Lego designers have done a fantastic job of capturing the ship's likeness.

As we've said, this is a set designed for display, not play — but that's apparent from the set's 18+ labelling. It might disappoint kids who'd like an Acclamator-Class ship to woosh through the air, particularly considering this is a fairly rare model for Lego to create (compared to something like the Millennium Falcon, which it has released and re-released dozens of times), but given how lovely this looks on a shelf, it's understandable why Lego has decided to make it an adult-focused set. The curves of the ship are wonderful; it feels chunky and substantial despite being fairly small in stature.

We really hope that Lego continues to release mid-size ships. For adults who want a good display model without spending a substantial amount of money, they're a great option, and the Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship is perhaps the best example we've seen. Sure, it might not be as impressive as an Ultimate Collector's Series set, but not everyone has space in their house for a 5,000+ piece set, let alone the funds to cover the $600+ price tag that most of them carry.

We really cannot emphasise enough the importance of accessible sub-$50 sets, especially when they're designed as well as this.

Should you buy Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship?

If you're a Lego Star Wars collector, then adding the Acclamator-Class Assault Ship to your collection is a no-brainer. We'd even go as far as to say that this is a great set for newcomers to Lego; its straightforward building process provides a good introduction for adults wanting to graduate to larger sets but want to test out the waters first.

It looks fantastic, it's fun to build, it's reasonably priced, and it makes a fantastic display piece: what more could you want from a Lego set?

Other Lego sets to consider

Lego has several mid-sized Star Wars ships, and although we think the Acclamator-Class Assault Ship might be the best yet, we've loved all of them. There's the Millennium Falcon, the Home One Starcruiser, the Executor Super Star Destroyer and Invisible Hand, all of which make excellent builds that aren't going to break the bank.

If you do want something bigger and more expensive, however, we just love the Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser, but with a price tag of $650, it's a purchase not to be taken lightly. If you want the joy of putting together an Ultimate Collector's Series set but don't want to spend quite as much, take a look at the X-Wing Starfighter. It's not exactly cheap at $239.99, but being made up of almost 2,000 pieces, it's a substantial build that looks seriously impressive when it's complete.