LEGO Icons 2025 Blacktron Renegade review!
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
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The opinions I express are mine and mine alone and not for sale for any price.
I appreciate the dedication of actually traveling to space to review the set
HA HA HA
As Lego continues to creep ever closer to an Ice Planet revival...
If they don't bring back trans neon orange, it'd be a waste of time and effort.
let's goooooooo
But what about the missing color?
Yeah... What about trans neon orange?
they NEED to bring back Trans Neon Orange first though. it is absolutely not the same with Trans Orange.
same reason why M-Tron, and Black Tron II is not looking great for a reboot
I really appreciate how even-handed you are. No constant nitpicking and hate-baiting but also no (sponsorship induced) fanboying.
Thank you! :)
I think blacktron is missing that wow factor. The galaxy explorer had it and I’m shocked it didn’t sale well. It was one of the best sets I ever built.
I have zero nostalgia for the og galaxy explorer and the modern version looks quite boring. My era of lego starts around blacktron so this remake speaks to me more. But I don't find it a nice display piece, it's a play set, so I'm not going to buy it.
1:19 Counterpoint: If you were crazy enough, you could acquire four of those parts and create a Blacktron Jedi Interceptor
Since the Blacktron people are already wearing air tanks, I like to believe the glass on the small rover is for blocking lasers or bullets instead of keeping the air in.
Having zero nostalgia for classic space, i adore these remakes so much. I remember when i saw the Galaxy Explorer on a store shelf with my friends and despite the fact i hadn't bought a lego set in YEARS it totally captured me and i had to have it; It brought me out of my Dark Ages.
This is is doing similar things for me and gets me really excited for more classic space style stuff. I know people would be upset if an Ice Planet remake or M-Tron remake didn't use their respective neon trans colors but i would be so so excited to see modern interpretations of those themes.
Shame that there is no real interior space, but given the overall design of the ship that probably would have necessitated giving up the truck to pull off.
Visually I absolutely love the design. It's both sleek and industrial looking at the same time. This is coming from someone too young to have any nostalgia of the original. Price is maybe a bit too much, but nothing too outrageous.
Thanks for the thorough review Jang!
I am curious about this ship because I don't have a nostalgia connection to it. Same for the Galaxy Explorer. So I am basing my take solely on it being a new set. I think the Galaxy Explorer looks more modern to some degree. But as someone who plays video games and watches science fiction the sort of rustic more industrial design is appealing.
Appreciate the review. With so many January sets may wait on this a bit longer.
Hey Jang. Just wanted to report, not sure if anyone else had this issue. But the blaster gun for my Cruiser set weren’t cut completely out of the mold near the scope part. There was no gap between the scope and the main barrel making it impossible to connect to the front of the cockpit section. I had spares but it was annoying and a quality control issue. Thanks again for all you do and sharing your experience.
I haven't gotten mine yet; but I would guess that's a very rare mistake, not something that will happen a lot. We'll see I guess!
I did have that too. The one in the bag with the cockpit (where the clearance was needed) had the extra material
Thankfully the one from the earlier bag on the rover was the way it should have been so I just moved the bad one to the rover
Reach out to Lego customer service, & I'm sure that they'll replace the faulty pieces for you!
I usually wait and watch reviews until Jang posts up since he isn’t sponsored and is usually pretty chill
Exactly, I go here for the chill. I can't stand the hype.
As a classic space fan I'm totally fine with the frequency they have been releasing these sets. I hope they continue making one every couple years around this price range.
My only nitpick was the front nose... though seeing that it actually flips up to reveal something and that there is some build-up underneath it so it's not just 'oh we didn't want to drag that one old brick and detail out of retirement' makes it less awkward for me.
Great that they kept the asymmetrical look and modular aspects, then updated it in ways like the logo-speeders. I absolutely love the space rover truck and it's deploy/loading feature over the old one's tiny cargo space. Haul your contraband away from the scene of the crime for the main ship to pick up fits Blacktron being the 'bad guys' of Classic Space.
Can't wait for mine to arrive. It will go great with the Galaxy Explorer and Benny's SPACESHIP!!
I like the front nose mimicking that old piece at a slightly larger scale to match the rest of the ship being larger! The added details underneath are also cool!
Also looking forward to mine arriving! :D
They should have done a fully airlocked habitable interior like the Galaxy Explorer.
Happy New Year, best Lego Review content on UA-cam! Thanks!
Happy New Year to you too and thank you so much for the kind support!
This will go nice with the galaxy explorer will be big space battle great detail awesome review jang and space background 👍
Thank you so much 😀
if they had dropped the rover for a storage pod but then made it so the central module could be converted to a platform/rig, I think it would be a lot easier to justify. the design is wonderful, but it's just missing something to do with the big bulk of it in regards to all those modular points.
Their inverted triforce symbol means they have declared inter dimensional war against Hyrule
Ah, you are a national treasure. I love your thorough reviews. It really helps people make informed decisions.
I LOVE this set overall. It has inspired me to finally make both of the alt builds for the Galaxy Explorer, but to also order the parts so that I can make the Invader fully compatible with the Renegade. I'd love to hear people's theories on the other modular part at the front of the Renegade. A deflector assembly?
I have two gripes for this set:
1. The little flyers don't have controls. That could have been easily remedied without adding a significant cost to the set, and I'm probably going to try and fix that myself.
2. The larger trans-yellow cockpit piece not being individually packed. Mine was scratched, but thankfully not so much that I had to request a replacement. However, I had to do that THREE times in a row with my Galaxy Explorer.
As a very ancient human, I had the original Blacktron sets as a child. As a very nostalgic human, I will need this new one. Need.
Now I really want to see a modern interpretation of one of the big Space Police sets
Good, honest review!
I am excited to get this (HOPEFULLY tomorrow!)
I think it's cool how the designer mimicked the old sloped brick at a slightly larger size for the front of the cockpit using the flag piece. Reminds me of how they mimicked the 1x2 plate with bars on the sides on the original Galaxy Explorer at a larger size with more pieces!
While I don't generally mod my sets, I'd be interested to see what sort of mods you make to this one, Jang!
I'm disappointed by the lack of a cargo module. I think that additional modular section added a lot of play value.
Would be cool if they had the ability out of the box to connect the Blacktron Cruiser's cargo container into the Renegade's bracket
from the frame, I could certainly see a cargo capacity of atleast 48 SCU.
I know I plan to try and make my own cargo module in a similar design to the modules found in the modern space theme sets. It should not be too hard to fashion my own using the second copy of this set I plan to buy (I plan to get two copies, one for the main ship and the second for the alt builds.).
Yep - same. The vehicle unload mechanism is clever, but could have been applied to a cargo module that carries a rover. Why omit one of the literal core parts of the original Blacktron Renegade? Just feels like a shortcut.
Seeing these sets brings me back to Christmas, when I was a kid lol.
The original Invader was incompatible with the rest of the Blacktron sets in a very similar way*, so I’m choosing to treat the partial compatibility between the new Renegade and the Blacktron Cruiser as an homage to the originals.
* The pins and receivers were reversed on the Invader modules, compared to every other Blacktron set, so you could only connect the Invader’s cockpit to other cockpit modules, and you could only connect the Invader’s engine module to other engines. By turning it around, the Invader’s cargo module would of course work with everything else.
Also, all of the other sets standardized the connectors at 4 plates from the bottom of the module, but the Invader’s connectors were 1 plate from the bottom, so it looks a little odd even if you fix the connector orientation.
So what? There's been decades between those releases and these ones. They easily could have changed it to make it fully module in the modern day
I’ve been waiting for this. Thanks Jang! Really good review. Thanks for including the GWP model too
I remember being ecstatic about the Galaxy Explorer when it came out, managed to finally get it at a local Lego Store, this Blacktron one, not so much, I might get it at some point, but I will have the think about it.
Thanks for covering this Jang!
You are of course always very welcome; and thank *you* for your very kind tip 🙏🙏
Great review as usual Jang, been looking forward to this particular video from you!
Was an insta-buy for me! Always wanted original blacktron but it was before my time, so happy they're bringing it back with the OG color scheme.. if they made a new message intercept base, i would be all over it
I wonder if this is gonna be more or less popular than the galaxy explorer. Another great video Jang.
Interesting question considering how this may be more popular now that this set has a known direct adversary. That being said, I think the galaxy explorer will remain more popular. I think the colors just look more pleasing, the overall shaping was superb, and the features included were just awesome
we must remember, galaxy explorer still had a lego movie to make it more popular (I know it was not in the movie, but that part of space line was more popular after the movie released)
The galaxy explorer is just so sleek and classic looking. Love it.
How popular was the Galaxy Explorer really though? I’ve only heard praise from UA-camrs and Lego-websites like Brickset, but they seem to have been on sale a whole lot if all the reddit posts are anything to go by. And it’s been retired for a year now whereas the Lion Knight’s Castle which came out at the same time is still available. Granted it costs 3 or 4 times as much, but still.
Galaxy Explorer will be more popular simply because classic space is more iconic than Blacktron 1, especially since Lego movie 1 and 2 brought it back into the limelight. Also the Galaxy Explorer is a 3 in 1 build whereas this set is only 2 in 1
“Sir! The gift-with-purchase-cruiser is approaching.”
Jang's references and general knowledge are on FULL display in videos like this! Minikits, tri-force, Alien....lots of information!
I like this set and look forward to buying… on sale. I’d pay full price like I did for Galaxy Explorer if it came with 1-2 more pieces of cargo. That would make up for the two main fuselages being useless for play purposes. Container, satellite, lil flier, something would be nice. I know parts budget and all, what I’m saying is they should have increased the parts budget and accepted a smaller profit margin for this set. The designer did a good job with the resources made available to them by corporate!
Just bought this set yesterday for my Bday (Woo) and I ran into a (possibly) odd Quality Control issue. The two Camera pieces that came with my set had additional plastic around the eyepiece connecting to the body of the piece that made putting the 2 yellow 1x1 round plates impossible (you can see what I'm talking about at 1:25, I can't physically do that with either of the pieces I got)
I already reached out to Lego, but have yet to hear back from them.
Besides that, love the set and it goes pretty dang well with my Gal Explorers, and one thing I would like to see is a Classic Space Version of the Renegade, it almost seems like a CS set that was captured, torn down almost to the super structure to reduce it's radar appearance and painted Blacktron colours. Interesting Lore potential there.
Excited to see your customisation choices, if you decide to make a video on it
I just built mine last night and put this video off so I could go in building fresh. I panicked a little in the beginning thinking I wasn't given a sticker sheet only to realize everything was printed. Very cool surprise! It was a fun build but I am off to heavily mod it! I'm thinking keeping the general shape but making those main booms as hallways and then close off the center to make a living/storage area.
I was coming out of my dark ages when the original run of blacktron was wrapping up. I have the original walker from the time, and am excited for this.
Thank you for the honest review!
This looks sick, wish we could see more sets like this
Love Classic Lego Space and glad they're bringing it back. I'm sure it'll do well once they build a world with more vehicles and stations etc maybe in different sizes. I"m happy to see Space in its original form and will gladly buy it all. This is what imagination was all about and not just copying existing designs from the films/TV etc like Marvel, Star Wars and Harry Potter.
The amount of great information in this review is second to none.
Great video Jang. I can’t say i’m impressed by this set, having no nostalgia for the theme, but i really respect the design.
The more I see it, the more I like the rover technical.
I'd like to think the vehicle seat not being sealed up is because they're wearing suits in space and it's just a windshield for debris
The thing that sold me on this was the official B model and its interesting functionality. Looking forward to that video. As someone who values the building experience first and foremost, I appreciate seeing alternative models being produced still.
I'm definitely going to pick one of these up, but I'm holding out for a sale, possibly at Walmart if this follows similarly to the Galaxy Explorer.
Here we go
With all these detachable modules, massive engine parts, minifigures, dual color scheme and general asymmetry, this set reminds me of Aquazone Sea Scorpion :)
Awesome Jang!! And I love the shirt! It’s very apt. Not only does it express my feelings (“Oh Yeah!!!) but Randy Savage would say “Space is the place”, so this whole video is perfection at its best!
I’ve been wanting Blacktron for such a long time, and finally Lego is doing this. I hope they do more Blacktron sets, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. I can’t figure out why they just done reprint all their old Lego sets. They do it with transformers, there’s definitely a market. The old guys like us, plus, what kid wouldn’t want to play with these sets? The old stuff is so much better than the current stuff in my opinion.
YES. This is the one actually Lego series I collect. I've got all three Galaxy Explorer builds and the Blacktron cruiser, so this is good news
Thank you for your review! This review actually convinced me to buy the set eventually if it does go on sale for black friday or something later this year. Keep it up!
I'm just waiting until the remakes get up to the Lego space era that I'm specifically nostalgic for.
It's great that LEGO came with another set inspired by older space sets. Blacktron space ship is good to have and great addition to Galaxy Explorer and other Blacktron sets. I'll buy at least 2 of them to be able to build both builds including alternate build. Good review... 😊
If they keep this up, I have fond memories of the ice planet theme
This is my favorite Jan1st set
Its very interesting to see these remakes of old stuff
It's always fresh to get a modernised classic
Both the Galaxy explorer and this Blacktron would sell better if they came in a whole line with smaller affordable sets. A casual parent looking for a weekend treat for thier kid, ain't gonna drop $100 plus for one of these. That $100 will go towards a birthday bicycle and in the meantime that $25 Speed Champions or Friends set will do.
Real. I think they could make like a battrax or an allied avenger to so Lego could still profit off of kids
Lego does this with a lot of themes/quasi-themes like this. The pricey sets like these nostalgia-based ones are designed for 40- and 50-somethings with relatively deep pockets.
I think this is for adults with nostalgia.
This is definitely not intended for parents looking for a toy for their kids. This is for 40+ year olds with nostalgia and money to spare.
As a 50 year old European I sadly don’t have a connection with the Renegade. But I still find the original one better as a design, especially the sleek and more elegant look with the small jet-like cockpit. I truly wish that the next classic space re-imagination will be my favourite 6980 Galaxy Commander, I love that ship so much.
This set is amazing. Really hoping for an M-Tron or space police remake next. The cmfs were such a great appetizer.
Great new look with back drops and multiple camera angles etc 👍
Mine is arriving tomorrow and I am so hyped. Great review Jang!
With regards to the cargo area, it shouldn’t be too hard to build a custom module to fit in that space where the truck goes. Of course that’s beyond the purview of the sets design, but it’s something I’m looking forward to doing lol
I really approve this Set.
Getting this for sure. Going to be my opener for my BlackTron Display.
Using those Bounty Hunter BlackTron Minifigures from the Collectibles as apart of it too.
Great channel, my son and I have made many Lego purchases based on your reviews! I had the original back in the 80’s and picked up the Renegade from the Lego. Also picked the Galaxy Explorer and Cruiser.
I'm an old head who has more nostalgia for the first space sets. I was thrilled with the Galaxy Explorer and did my best to reward Walmart for dropping the price. I'm glad Blacktron fans now get a set. Would be interesting if Lego does Mtron or Ice Planet next.
I think the new Modular Galactic Spaceship from City line is a superior set in every single way. That set has amazing interiors, modularity, more aesthetically pleasing to look at and overall it just makes much more sense as a spaceship. I hope Jang reviews that set soon. Blacktron Renegade looks like a bunch of black and yellow scaffolding with all empty wasted space and goofy looking engines.
I was really excited for this set. I think i will wait for it to go on sale. I also cant wait to see what rebrickable will do with it. I think it has unlimited moc potential. Great review jang. Excited for the B model review.
I honestly love the look of this set. I just really wish Lego did like a poly bag set that fits with these large classic revival icons sets so that kids have a better taste of old Lego and fans who don’t want to shell out for these big expensive sets can get something new for themselves.
I didn’t even grow up with these sets and I love them, they have the magic that a lot of Lego licensed and even modern original themes have lost.
(I love dreams but sometimes it feels, muddy? I guess?
I already have the Galaxy explorer and love it having grown up playing with my father's old lego space system sets, I remember building the original version of this from those parts so I'm definitely getting this if only for nostalgia
It’s crazy how you get a huge spaceship + a cool mech for €200
$179 here in Aus. Reeeeally need it to also go on a big discount soon, before I cave and buy it. 😅
I'd stopped collecting Lego around the time Blacktron came out.. so it's just the "droid" that is the big nostalgia-inducing carrot, lol. The alternate build actually gives me some nostalgic feelings, too, however. At times I've been thinking I might need to get TWO sets so I can have both builds.. other times I've thought I'd be better off putting the money towards a WickedBrick display case for my beloved Galaxy Explorer.. maybe I should just be patient, get the one set if/when discounted, and just build/display the alternate build(s) of this set. First, need to check out your alternate build review, thanks Jang!!
The background looks awesome
Best Lego review channel, thanks for being honest.
It's a shame Lego cancelled the 'Trans Neon Orange' and 'Trans Neon Green' colours. Makes for really slim pickings when it comes to remakes of classic space theme's considering how common those colours were. Not sure if i'll get this one, Sweden (or Europe) lost the 'Renegade' somewhere over the Atlantic, so i have no nostalgia for it even if i like the rest of the theme.
Yeah. I'm simply too young to remember Blacktron (and I'm not exactly a young guy!). If they remade Ice Planet I'd be all over that, but their target audience for a set like this is narrow simply because the originals came out 40+ years ago. Something newer for the 90's kids would be great, and there was a ton of neon orange in those sets.
Yep, and in my opinion that’s what kept the Space CMF series from being great, and not just pretty good.
Bought 2 of these to make a big boy ship. Those sensor array/engine combo parts make for a good escort drone if you ask me
The land rover only has a windshield to protect you from space bugs. Which breathe space dust.
As a Classic Space fan, I am happy they are releasing modern versions of those sets every 2 years [so far]. I would obviously love an entire theme with dozens of remakes, but I know that won't sell well, so making one every 2 years is great. Since the Galaxy Explorer was a 3-in-1, I ended up getting 3 of them for each of the prices Jang mentioned. That's why I am holding off buying 2 of these until I see them on sale at Walmart.
Unlike others, I don't mind the use of more yellow in this set. Surprisingly I am not a fan of the cockpit area - both the flap/flag piece for the nose and the style of canopy used. I still have the original Renegade as it is one of my favorite designs from back in the day, and it's on display here, so, unlike the Galaxy Explorer, I will have this new one displayed with the original [I never got any of the original 3 Galaxy Explorer spaceships as a kid].
The drop rover does look cool but it is too bad it has such a gappy canopy.
I do wonder if the GE was *the* Classic Space revival. And now TLG is making different space themes - BlackTron being the 2nd - could M-Tron or Ice Planet be coming in a few years?
I still have the original and and in fairness the criticisms of the new design also apply to the original. However, I do think replacing the cargo pod with a vehicle was a mistake. That pod was a huge part of the appeal and when I played with this set as a kid I wasn't necessarily thinking ground-based action. I'm also not liking the nose cone design at all.
The original still holds a special place in my heart but I'm unsure if I want to grab the new one. Maybe when it goes on sale. If that ever happens because sets seem to get discounted less often nowadays.
I remember using the Blacktron minifig as Darth Vader decades before they made official Star Wars sets.
If I remember correctly the original set could have made that mini section on the left side with one of the rockets modules becoming a sky sled or something. And the original version only had two mini figures. This remake is ok but it doesn’t pull off the original modules properly.
Set seems pretty good. Thanks for the informative review.
I'm still waiting for LEGO to do a remake of Blacktron II, or Ice Planet, Space Police II, Spyrius. Classic Space was before my time and the designs don't really appeal to me. It is very unfortunate that trans-neon-green and trans-neon-orange were discontinued, however.
Any idea why LEGO stopped using technic bricks and pins for modularity? There'd be no issue with compatibility, if they did that.
Oh, and I love the Macho Man hoodie. 😄
I had a few sets with pins for connecting.
They were always a bit loose.
You also had the problem that either you used removable pins (which meant you inevitably had to rearrange them after pulling two modules apart), or parts had to remain in the same orientation.
The complaints about it as a toy make sense, however this was clearly designed with the intent of being a display piece, not intended for play.
This is just so nice I would never want anyone to mess with it, let alone a child.
I guess to change things up more by rotating the main body, as in put the front items on the back
Yeah, I do miss the pod, some way to at least cover up the back would have been a decent nod since the pod DID have a vehicle in it. I treasured the original Invader, the whole system then just used a pin system but it all worked together. I have to admit I really dig the set, though, maybe because a regular commercial Blacktron release just makes me happy. It doesn't have anywhere near the heft of the Galaxy Explorer though, at least visually, and the GE would be a decent place for a character to hang out, especially if it wasn't overcrowded. I used to see the Blacktron sets as just a cool alternate style, I get that they wanted to position them as a sort of bad guys. Quoth the Marge: I just think they're neat!
I really like this set. I get some of the spots are a lil bit off but I’m glad we’re getting more classic stuff. Hopefully they do another castle one this year and maybe another classic theme like western
Good sir jang! Make our voices be listened, lol. We need ice planet asap!
It's presuming the player will imagine space as Hanna-Barbera did: breathable and no vacuum in sight. :3
As always, well worth waiting for your review!
Others did not go into the detail of the clips and attachments with the GIP Blacktron Cruiser. But to be honest I really dislike LEGO using this kind of clip system everywhere now. One of my sets Anakins Jedi Interceptor used this for the wings / s-foils, after many years on the shelves I took it out and opened up the wings... 4 or 5 of the 8 clips just broke.
I think LEGO should have went with the old style clips in general but especially for these remakes, the fact that they even managed to stay inconsistent with their most recent GIP is just... let's just say suboptimal.
I’m looking forward to getting this! Thanks so much for the review, Jang! Much appreciated! ⚠️❤️
For miserable actual Lego standards this one is simply outstanding!!! I bought 4 at Newyear 1:10 am - couldn’t get it earlier. Much better to all other items of last 2 years portfolio
Great vid! This set should have just come with the few pieces needed to make the old gwp compatible I think
I'm definitly going to get parts and build a second cockpit once(if) they get added to PAB.
Jang with that rockin hoodie FTW! Ohhh yaaaaa!
I'm mostly thrilled to have a Blacktron flagship set so I can overlook most of the flaws. The price though just seems too high for what is arguably a simplistic ship compared to the majestic Galaxy Explorer remake. I agree $75 is likely where things will drop soon. Also no decent double VIP or gwp right now = a wait and see approach. Lego will have to work much harder to prove value and convince me to buy than in previous years because they are applying a greedflation across all lines now.
Wish they would remake some of the Sprius Robot sets. I definitely will be picking up two of these.
I’ve been looking forward to this review. A little more mixed than I expected - not a bad thing though. Even though Blacktron 1 is slightly before my time I just think the retro space appeal of this set is just awesome. I’m not gonna overthink it - I’m going all Benny with this one.
I think I prefer the look with the rover separated. Thank you for the review!
Finaly my blacktron bounty hunter has a ship