They're back, they're bigger and they're more powerful than ever. Those pesky Blacktron folk have been playing a long game, and on 1 January 2025, it all comes to fruition as LEGO® Icons set 10355 Blacktron Renegade invades stores!
Who better to introduce it than Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer at The LEGO Group, who has brought his own swoosh factor to this 1987 classic LEGO® Space set?
Time-jump to August 2022, when set 10497 Galaxy Explorer designed by Mike Psiaki properly brought the Classic Space nostalgia back to LEGO products. It featured a 1.5x scale version of the spaceship in set 497 from 1978, and alternate model instructions were made available digitally to also build set 918 or 924 from the same pieces.
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Page contents
- What is LEGO Blacktron?
- The new remake, 10355 Blacktron Renegade
- B-model: the remade Blacktron Alienator
- Recommended retail price in more countries
10355 Blacktron Renegade
- Release date: 1 January 2025
- Pieces: 1151
- Ages: 18+
Price:
- US$ 99.99 on LEGO.com US
- CA$ 129.99 on LEGO.com Canada
- GB£ 89.99 on LEGO.com UK
- AU$ 179.99 on LEGO.com Australia
- DE€ 99,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
- NL€ 99,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
- FR€ 99,99 on LEGO.com France
- PLN 439.99 on LEGO.com Polska
- NOK 1399,90 on LEGO.com Norge
- DKK 899.95 on LEGO.com Danmark
What is LEGO Blacktron?
The LEGO Space line was introduced in 1978 and despite several refreshes of the colour scheme over the following years, and the exciting addition of many new elements, play features and freakin' robots, by the mid-1980s customers wanted more. Especially customers in America, where toys increasingly depicted "good guys and baddies", and were based on intellectual properties like Masters of the Universe.
For the first time ever, two sub-themes of LEGO Space were introduced in 1987: Futuron and Blacktron. The marketing varied from continent to continent and year to year, but once thing was pretty clear to most: the white-suited Futuron were the good guys, while Blacktron were... um, perhaps just misunderstood?
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| ©1987 The LEGO Group |
One product, 6954 Renegade, stood out. And not always for the right reasons, as its designer explained in my 2023 book LEGO Space: 1978–1992:
Blacktron sets were tested in Europe with consumers, and some were just too scared by the Renegade... Also, we couldn't show the Blacktron people with their visors down on many illustrations, because that might seem scary. They had to show their smiling faces.
– Bjarne Panduro Tveskov
The original Renegade was never released in Europe, but that's certainly not going to be the case with the revitalised version!
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| ©2022 The LEGO Group |
Time-jump to August 2022, when set 10497 Galaxy Explorer designed by Mike Psiaki properly brought the Classic Space nostalgia back to LEGO products. It featured a 1.5x scale version of the spaceship in set 497 from 1978, and alternate model instructions were made available digitally to also build set 918 or 924 from the same pieces.
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| ©2022 The LEGO Group |
A few months later, Blacktron began their reconquest of the universe! The gift with purchase 40580 Blacktron Cruiser, based upon set 6894 Invader from 1987, was available in January 2023.
Clearly, the Cruiser was just a scout ship sent to spy on nostalgic AFOLs, because in 2025, the mothership returns.
The rover features many references to the original design, including the angled rear mudguards which were not so common in LEGO Space vehicles by the mid-1980s.
The new remake, 10355 Blacktron Renegade
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| ©2024 The LEGO Group |
Like 10497 Galaxy Explorer, 10355 Blacktron Renegade is a 1.5x scale reinterpretation of the original, measuring over 11.5in x 18.5in (30cm x 47cm). Most notably, its weapon-like planform retains the iconic asymmetrical design of the original.
That's why the Renegade is so special, and that was a very big challenge of this set, to make it balance – left and right and back and forth – because the cockpit, like everything, is larger than before. That's why we added new landing gears under the ship.
– Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer
Once again a rover is included, which was stored in the central cargo pod in the 1987 version but this is taken a step further in 2025, with the rover attaching to the framework – able to be deployed with the press of a lever.
In the original one, the main function is a way to add a small vehicle into the cargo, but I needed something new for the new Renegade. I just really like the dropship!
– Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer
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| ©2024 The LEGO Group |
Actually, the Blacktron haven't had any droids before, so in my story, Blacktron steal one of the droids from the other LEGO® Space sets, and they paint it black so they have a new droid! This droid, it came from the 6952 Solar Power Transporter, those great trucks.
– Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer
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| ©2024 The LEGO Group |
The original has the six modules, and the new one also has six modules: cockpit, communication unit, hyper boosters, vehicle, mainframe and the one-person speeders. We changed the [original style of] connections on the Blacktron Cruiser, because we needed to make them stronger than before.
– Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer
Note those speeders attached to each wing. They use yellow triangular road signs to replicate the Blacktron logo!
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| ©2024 The LEGO Group |
Above left you can see how the triangles can be adjusted to fit a pilot. The minifigures are the same design from 40580 Blacktron Cruiser.
We interviewed Jae Won Lee at Fan Media days in Denmark in September 2024, where we took the following video and additional photos. Be aware that the video is filmed in portrait orientation.
The booster joined with the communication unit can be a satellite. I was very lucky because I had the original set, so I already knew how to play with these modules. Modularity with the other Blacktron sets, like the Battrax, is very good. So Renegade is optimised for that system. So I made a checklist – keep this, make something new – for the main functions and everything.
– Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer
Decorations
We will discuss all of the recoloured elements in our review by Kev tomorrow, but let's take a quick look at the printed designs by Ashwin Visser.
The prototype we viewed at Fan Media Days still only had stickers, but the final products has none – these are all printed elements!
- Slope 30° 1 x 2 x 2/3 with Blacktron astronaut intercom design Print in Black (6525967 | 85984pr)
- Slope 30° 1 x 2 x 2/3 with buttons, radar and manoeuvring chart design Print in Black (6525966 | 85984pr)
- Tile 2 x 2 with Groove with Console with sine wave, targeting screen, buttons and readout print in Black
- Tile 2 x 2 with Groove with big yellow arrow and line Print in Black
- Slope 45° 2 x 1 with console print of red and yellow circles in Black
I really love these kinds of slopes, this dashboard is too awesome. I really wanted to keep this, to bring it back to go with my new ship. So this one is quite meaningful to me.
– Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer
- Flag 5 x 6 Hexagonal with U Clips with print New Print in Black (6525968 | 17979pr)
This leaves one question.... what's under the hood?...
We have a laser blaster with the cameras, because in LEGO Space history, the Blacktron are kind of spying, and intercept some telecommunications. So those are the kinds of modules that I will really wanted, to put some cameras for spying.
– Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer
B-model: the remade Blacktron Alienator
But that's not all! Like 10497 Galaxy Explorer, there is an alternate build to download – just the one this time.
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| ©2024 The LEGO Group |
Two modules are retained for the B-model, based upon the Alienator – the most popular Blacktron set ever, according to Jae Won Lee.
At the time, the Alienator had a very simple walker system. It's just only two turntables, just on plates. To me, it was very innovative, so I just tried to make the function very simple.
– Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer
After I designed this walker, I felt I needed something new for this set. So I designed this repair mechanic.
– Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer
Come back for our double-length review, starting tomorrow!
Recommended retail price in more countries
- Australia 179.99 AUD
- Austria 99.99 EUR
- Belgium 99.99 EUR
- China 899 CNY
- Croatia 104.99 EUR
- Czech Republic 2449 CZK
- Denmark 899.95 DKK
- Estonia 109.99 EUR
- Finland 119.95 EUR
- France 99.99 EUR
- Germany 99.99 EUR
- Greece 104.99 EUR
- Hong Kong 789 HKD
- Hungary 41990 HUF
- India 9999 INR
- Ireland 99.99 EUR
- Israel 120 EUR
- Italy 99.99 EUR
- Japan 15480 JPY
- Latvia 109.99 EUR
- Lithuania 109.99 EUR
- Luxembourg 99.99 EUR
- Malaysia 449.9 MYR
- New Zealand 179.99 NZD
- Norway 1399.9 NOK
- Poland 439.99 PLN
- Portugal 99.99 EUR
- Romania 549.99 RON
- Singapore 159.9 SGD
- Slovakia 100.44 EUR
- Slovenia 104.99 EUR
- South Africa 1899 ZAR
- South Korea 149900 KRW
- Spain 99.99 EUR
- Sweden 1349.9 SEK
- Switzerland 109 CHF
- Taiwan 3779 TWD
- The Netherlands 99.99 EUR
- Turkey 4199 TRY
- Ukraine 4599 UAH
- United Kingdom 89.99 GBP
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Day 1 buy for me! The design, the nostalgia, the price, it's all right. Nice job Lego.
ReplyDeleteSlightly disappointed to not have an enclosed central cargo area, but a dropship function will be really fun to play with (my kiddo loves the way the rover deploys on the 10497 Galaxy Explorer).
Will there be a GWP to go with this one too? I sure hope so.
Not holding my breath for a Battrax, which was my absolute favorite Blacktron set, but we have plenty of the right color parts to build my own!
A part of me hopes that if there's a GWP it'll be something from another faction, like the Blacktron GWP that launched alongside the Galaxy Explorer. A smaller Space Police ship like 6886 Galactic Peace Keeper could probably make a decent GWP and provide more ways to play with the Blacktron crew...
DeleteIs that red hunk a straight-up Mini-Kit from the Lego video games? Makes me smile.
ReplyDeleteIt's not exactly the same as those but it certainly is reminiscent of them!
Delete