Lego Star Wars The Visual Dictionary

• 3rd Nov 2011

Author: Simon Beecroft

Expect this one to be image heavy and word-light. But then when it comes to LEGO you want as many visual references as possible – with a few words with pointing arrows.

Visual Dictionary is an odd title. Encyclopaedia may have been a bit more accurate. This doesn’t give you definitions, nor are they listed alphabetically. What you get is mini-figures and models released through LEGO in the Star Wars brand. They are divided up into films, then The Clone Wars and special sets.

But before you get to those you get a LEGO timeline which features images of all box sets released since 1999 including the serial number. This goes right up to 2010.

The main chapter covers characters, ships and scenes from the film series. It’s a great way to whet your appetite for the Death Star, Cloud City or the Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon (which is over 5,000 pieces!)

The Clone Wars chapter will appeal to those who followed that show, but won’t make much sense to those that didn’t. But it is by and large an extended vehicles and ships chapter.

The third chapter devoted to specialist sets is great fun. You get mini sets (which are all dead cute and impressive in their simplicity); Technic sets and Ultimate Collector sets (such as LEGO busts as well as other larger scale models).

A fourth chapter then goes “Beyond the Brick” and the words come more into play here with an interview with the design manager of LEGO Star Wars. There’s also a peek at merchandising and then an impressive look at community – and you need to have a look at 200,000 brick fan-made Mos Eisley to believe it! Not to mention the 10,000 brick Han Solo in carbonite.

For £17 this is worth adding to someone’s Christmas list as a cool gift, or even just picking up for yourself if you like both Star Wars and LEGO.

Steven Hurst