Review: LEGO ICONS 10355 Blacktron Renegade

Today we very quickly go around the contents of the LEGO ICONS set 10355 Blacktron Renegade, a box of 1151 pieces which will be available on the official online store from January 1, 2025 at the public price of €99,99.

As you already know, this set pays direct homage to a reference in the Blacktron range initially marketed in 1987: the set 6954 Blacktron Renegade. If you have no memory of this box, that's normal, it was then an exclusive reserved for the US market that was never sold in the shelves of our toy stores. For the nostalgia linked to this particular model, you will have to come back, but if you had some of the other products from the Blacktron universe during your youth, this box may catch your attention.

This marketing limited to a geographical area also explains the choice of design at the packaging level of this new product. It is not a question here of imitating the design of a particular product that only a part of the clientele today adult of the brand will have really had in their hands in the 80s and the use of the very sober concept reserved for products of the ICONS universe makes this box a little less directly associated with the reference set and puts it more forward as a tribute to the entire range.

Otherwise, know that you can also assemble an alternative model with the product inventory, the alienator already seen in 1988 in the set 6876 Blacktron Alienator, a box that was then well marketed in Europe. The necessary instructions will be available exclusively in digital format from the launch of this 2025 novelty.

It is known that many European fans have since undertaken to reproduce the ship from the set. 6954 Blacktron Renegade by purchasing at retail the inventory elements necessary for the assembly of the model, they will have one day had in their hands the reference ship in question here. The 2025 version is obviously a "modernized" interpretation of the original ship with a very basic design, in my opinion it should be seen more as a tribute seen through the prism of a designer's vision in charge of the project than a perfectly faithful reissue but using modern elements available since the 80s.

We can always try to criticize LEGO for its aesthetic bias on one point or another about this homage, the proposal is there and it is up to everyone to appreciate it. In any case, it was difficult to make it more simplistic than the reference model which was then content with a few stacks of pieces with a result that can today leave even the most tolerant of fans perplexed. We were already very far from the slightly more accomplished and readable look of the set 928/497 Galaxy Explorer marketed in 1979 and whose reinterpretation marketed in 2022 under the reference 10497 Galaxy Explorer had logically found its audience very quickly. Here, you will have to have really been a fan of the Blacktron universe to find what you are looking for.

That being said, the assembly of the product remains pleasant if you manage not to pay too much attention to the scratches on the supplied canopies and to ignore the state of the black parts which are also for some in a disappointing state. I am also not a big fan of the alternation of textures between the different black parts and we go from matte grainy to shiny smooth with a result which in my opinion lacks a little homogeneity in places on the visual level.

The yellow color is also much more present on this adaptation than on the reference ship. No need to be offended, I think this choice brings a little readability and texture to a ship that sorely lacks it in both cases. No stickers in this box, everything is pad printed.

For the rest, the pretty rover is detachable and can be fitted without too much manipulation and it can be dropped and recovered very simply. The ship also benefits from retractable landing gear and a few detachable modules, some of which can possibly be combined with each other. The spirit of the reference toy with its pseudo-modularity is there, those who will be sensitive to the proposed homage will find their account in terms of nostalgia.

LEGO provides three minifigs and a small droid to build. The pad printing of the three characters is a little sad, it is in the spirit of that used at the time but the white printed on a black background lacks as often. The torso has a different reference from the one delivered in the promotional set 40580 Blacktron Cruiser, we will have to try to find a difference between the two versions, if there is one.

I'm not going to pretend to be enthusiastic about this homage to a ship I didn't play with when I was younger. And it's obvious that those who will have actually known the reference ship in France, apart from later reconstruction, can be counted on the fingers of one hand. For the most nostalgic fans of the great era of flat ships at LEGO, this Renegade will perhaps be a suitable display companion next to the ship from the set. 10497 Galaxy Explorer, and for a relatively reasonable price that won't require much thought before you buy.

This set is obviously a niche product that targets a specific clientele mainly located across the Atlantic for the subject covered and a slightly more global clientele for the reference to a range very popular in the 80s. It is pure fan service for nostalgic adults that some will judge more or less balanced with on one side those who will be satisfied with this minimalist version certainly more detailed than the reference model and on the other those who will not be sensitive to the falsely vintage look of the product and who would have liked something more contemporary.

LEGO cannot be blamed for ignoring the demand for its many ranges around Space marketed in the 80s/90s, there is enough to (re)produce many cult ships for several generations of children. We will see if the manufacturer renews the concept in the future with tributes to other universes, even if for many of these sub-ranges the marketing window was relatively short and it was necessary to be in the target during the period concerned.

For those who are wondering and who have not found the answer via the official visuals of the two products: this ship is not compatible with the one in the promotional set. 40580 Blacktron Cruiser offered in 2023, the latter not having the same clip system.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at January 7, 2025 at 23:59 pm. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid "I'm participating" or "I'm trying my luck", we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.