I have been busy at work, so I haven't really had the time to discuss this set. I have thought about it more and this set in particular really disturbs me. The one thing that has driven the LEGO secondary market for years are sets geared towards the adult collector. The nonsense I read above from a LEGO rep talking about "LEGO sets need to be played with" is just dumb. They are all played with...aren't they? The large display models don't come assembled, do they? If you want to destroy the LEGO company, just go back to the dull set designs of the 80s and 90s that were based on "play." The company almost went bankrupt releasing the same retreads over and over again.
This set is an example of laziness. It has been redone in smaller sets dozens of times. Enough. It is nowhere close to the old UCS standards, the same standards that helped bring LEGO out of its financial and creative hole. If the new standard of a UCS set is brick count, we are all in trouble. LEGO is messing with the flagship theme of LEGO with uninspiring sets like this. Even the rumored reissue of the Snowspeeder hurts the theme. You are telling me they have run out of ideas and have to remake another UCS set? Maybe this is a one time deal. Maybe the up and coming UCS sets will meet the previous standards. The recent Slave I and TIE Fighter were excellent sets. But if we start getting more of these large retreads based around "play" then lookout. The Ultimate Collector Series will no longer be "ultimate" as a collectible or even as a LEGO set.