The 2005 Celebration III Darth Vader Statue
A One-of-One Prize Nobody Has Seen in Twenty Years
One made. Ten medallions. Three photographs. And twenty years of silence.
In April 2005, at Star Wars Celebration III in Indianapolis, LEGO ran a building contest. Ten teams competed to build the Ultimate Star Destroyer against the clock. The winning team received a one-of-a-kind brick-built Darth Vader statue — the only one ever made. Each member of the winning team received one of ten brick-built Darth Vader medallions produced exclusively for the event. The statue and medallions were photographed at Toy Fair 2005 before the contest took place. After Celebration III ended on April 24, 2005, they disappeared. Nobody has reported seeing the statue in collector hands since.
This is the most undocumented one-of-a-kind item in the entire LEGO Star Wars universe — and this collection is actively looking for it.
The Contest
Star Wars Celebration III ran from April 21 to 24, 2005 in Indianapolis, Indiana. LEGO hosted a Star Destroyer building tournament at the event. Teams of contestants competed to build the UCS Imperial Star Destroyer (set 10030) against the clock. The winning team was awarded the brick-built Darth Vader statue as a team prize. Each of the ten winning team members additionally received one of ten individually produced Darth Vader medallions — numbered and unique to this event.
The contest details were previewed at the 2005 New York Toy Fair in February, where both the statue and the medallions were on display alongside the UCS Star Destroyer set — the only time either item has been publicly documented in photographs.
The Statue
The statue is documented in a single photograph taken at Toy Fair 2005 — blurry but detailed enough to establish the following:
- Height: Approximately 22–24 inches tall, estimated by comparison to the UCS Star Destroyer box (approximately 20 inches tall) which appears next to it in the photograph
- Base: Dark bluish gray with sand blue plates and light bluish gray vent tiles
- Mounting: The figure appears to be mounted on a non-LEGO metal rod or armature — not standard LEGO construction. The attachment point to the base is not visible in the photograph.
- Build style: Articulated figure with visible joints at the knees, wrists, and elbows — predating but conceptually similar to LEGO’s later buildable figures line
- Colors: Predominantly black with red, white, gray, silver, and transparent red, blue, and green decorative elements
- Lightsaber: Constructed from trans-orange 1×1 round bricks
- Costuming: The figure wears an elaborate multilayer cloth robe — a mixed-media construction combining brick-built elements with actual fabric, similar to display pieces produced for LEGOLAND locations
- Plaque: A brass-colored metal plaque on a small LEGO display stand at the base reads: “LEGO® Star Destroyer™ Tournament Champion — Star Wars™ Celebration III — Indianapolis, IN — April 23, 2005”
The Medallions
Ten medallions were produced — one for each member of the winning team. Both sides are documented in photographs taken at Toy Fair 2005.
The medallion is a brick-built SNOT construction approximately 4 inches wide, 5 inches tall, and 1 inch deep — calculated from the visible stud and plate count in the photographs (16 studs wide, 26 plates plus 5 studs tall, 3 studs deep). The face depicts Darth Vader’s helmet with blue eyes and light gray or white vent tiles for the mouth area. The top carries a Tile, Round 2×2 with Lifting Ring (part 2376) connected to a yellow lanyard with a metal hook — designed to be worn around the neck.
The back of the medallion carries a silver-colored metal plaque with identical text to the statue plaque: “LEGO® Star Destroyer™ Tournament Champion — Star Wars™ Celebration III — Indianapolis, IN — April 23, 2005.”
Ten medallions were distributed to the winning team members. Like the statue, none have ever surfaced publicly in collector hands.
The Only Known Photographs
Three photographs of these items exist, all taken at the 2005 New York Toy Fair in February — before the Celebration III contest even took place. They are hosted in the Rebelscum Toy Fair 2005 gallery and are reproduced here with permission.
Photos courtesy of Rebelscum.com
Twenty Years of Silence
The Celebration III Darth Vader statue is the only known one-of-one LEGO Star Wars item that has never appeared in collector documentation of any kind after its original distribution. No forum posts from the winner. No auction listings. No photographs in private hands. No Reddit threads. Nothing.
There are a few possible explanations. The winning team may not have been serious collectors — they may have received a remarkable prize and simply kept it in a garage or basement without understanding its significance. The statue may have been damaged or discarded. It may have changed hands privately multiple times without any public record. Or the winner may simply have no interest in the collector community and no reason to surface it.
The ten medallion recipients are a separate population — ten people who each received one of the rarest LEGO Star Wars items ever produced and almost certainly have no idea. If even one of those ten people is reading this, please get in touch.
This Collection Is Looking for It
A serious offer is on the table for the statue, any of the ten medallions, or any information that leads to either. Full discretion guaranteed — the source will never be disclosed.
If you were part of the winning team at Celebration III in 2005, if you know someone who was, or if you have any information about where these items ended up — please get in touch.
What We Don’t Know
- The winning team — their identities have never been publicly disclosed. Does anyone know who won?
- The statue’s current location — twenty years of silence. Where is it?
- The medallion mouth color — the photograph is not clear enough to determine whether the vent tiles are white or light gray. Anyone who has handled one would know.
- The exact piece count — no parts inventory has ever been documented for either the statue or the medallions.
- The mounting mechanism — how the figure attaches to the base and to the metal rod is not visible in the photograph.
- The cloth robe construction — who made it, what material, whether it was produced by LEGO or a third party.
Celebration III Darth Vader Tournament Champion Statue
Produced: 2005
Distribution: Star Wars Celebration III building contest prize, April 23, 2005
Quantity: 1 (statue) + 10 (medallions)
Height: Approximately 22–24 inches
Status: Whereabouts unknown — actively seeking
Primary source: Rebelscum Toy Fair 2005
