Review : LEGO Star Wars 75343 Dark Trooper Helmet

We end this series of reviews of the 2022 novelties of the LEGO Star Wars range helmet collection with a quick look at the contents of the set 75343 Dark Trooper Helmet, a box of 693 pieces which will be available at the retail price of €59.99 from March 1, 2022.

For those wondering where the helmet to be assembled here comes from, it is actually the head of a Dark Trooper battle droid, an armor that made the heyday of several Star Wars licensed video games, including the very pixelated Dark Forces which I spent long hours on in the 90s, and which is here based on the third generation version seen on screen in the second season of The Mandalorian series.

This model is undoubtedly the most divisive of the three launched this year: it is not really a helmet, it is content with a completely black surface, it is also covered with visible tenons on its upper part and the interpretation in LEGO version of what was featured in The Mandalorian series won't be to everyone's taste.

Once again, this product will only exist aesthetically from certain angles or under lighting that will make it possible to reinforce the shadow areas essential to the legibility of the design. In full light, it's a graphic mess with improbable angles and a front face that will inevitably make one think of an animal's muzzle which would be made up of smooth elements as opposed to the rest of the construction with its visible tenons.

The two "eyes" of the droid may seem a little too small, but there is an explanation for this choice: the head of this droid in the LEGO version is tilted slightly forward and the designer will have wanted to adapt the size of the eyes to reproduce the effect seen on the screen. The translucent red pieces are fixed on white elements, the contrast obtained is not to the advantage of the reproduction with eyes which struggle a little to be noticed in the middle of all this black carcass. As you will have noticed, the photo of the product on the packaging is retouched to really highlight the eyes.

The finish on the front of the droid's head is not quite true to the version seen on screen, only those who vaguely remember the various scenes where these droids are present will think otherwise. The face of the droids is not made up of angular pieces that go all over the place like on the LEGO version. On screen, the "cheeks" are simply made up of several layers that converge relatively cleanly towards the muzzle.

On the LEGO model, there are only two left, the eye area being an amalgamation of parts that are too complex and messy for my taste. We could also discuss the two ingots which are in principle present to add a finishing touch to the muzzle, we only see them on arrival thanks to the reflections on this part of the helmet.

LEGO misses in my opinion here the opportunity to bring an original finishing touch to this product, even if it means breaking the usual codes of this range: The integration of a luminous brick in the half-empty skull of the droid to allow even light up the eyes occasionally at the push of a button. At €60 for the pile of black pieces, there was room to add this element without cutting too much on the margin and the product would then have taken on a whole new dimension, this lighting making it possible to forget the aesthetic approximations of the product.

Here too, the cluster of studs on the upper area of ​​the helmet contrasts a bit with the smooth parts, as if this Dark Trooper was wearing a hat that was too tight. It has become the signature gimmick of the range, it will have to be done with or turn to other products with a finish that is more respectful of the reference object.

This model does not escape a sheet of stickers which allows to refine some areas of the droid's head. As usual, I don't give much credit for the condition of these stickers after a few months of exposure, they will eventually peel off and LEGO does not deign to provide replacement stickers in the box.

On the staging side, the head is slightly tilted forward, so we can see some mechanical elements of the droid's neck under the border of the armor. It's nicely executed and the product can be admired from every angle without disappointing even if we think that LEGO could almost have offered us a complete bust of the thing rather than cutting off the head of this droid to put it on the base usually used by products in this range.

As often with products that use an inventory mainly composed of black elements, you will have to sort out the parts that are too scratched to deserve to be placed on the model and contact customer service to obtain the replacement of those that do not meet your requirements. finishing criteria.

The opportunity to exploit the presence of this new generation of Dark Troopers in The Mandalorian series was too good, LEGO had to try something. The minifigs are convincing, this head of the helmet collection is in my opinion a little less even if it is finally fitting with the other helmets both in the interpretation and the inevitable approximations imposed by the format.

It will therefore be up to everyone to assess the interest of the three new products in this collection of affordable decorative objects that take up little space. You have my opinion on these three products, it's up to you to make your own. I remind all the same to those who have a little trouble with the criticism of products derived from their adored range that passion should not prevent criticism. I collect products from the LEGO Star Wars range without discernment, this does not prevent me from finding some of them less successful than others, or even completely missed.

Only two of these three sets are currently offered for pre-order on the official online store, the references 75327 Luke Skywalker (Red Five) Helmet et 75328 The Mandalorian Helmet. You will have to wait until March 1 to buy a copy of the set 75343 Dark Trooper Helmet.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 23th February 2022 next at 23:59 p.m. Not agreeing with me is not grounds for disqualification.

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