LEGO Icons 10355 Blacktron Renegade aims to tug on the community's nostalgic heartstrings – but does it succeed?
24 hours on from the official reveal of 10355 Blacktron Renegade, the LEGO community has been having its say on the return of Blacktron in the upcoming LEGO Icons set – and they're certainly divided. Some remember the original sets, some don't but everyone has an opinion.
Read on for a summary of what people have to say about 10355 Blacktron Renegade, available to buy from January 1 for LEGO Insiders and from January 4 for everyone else.
You should be expecting ugly
The unique blocky style of Blacktron has always been a bold look, made all the more so with its black, yellow, and red colour scheme. Even back in the '80s, that divided fans of classic LEGO Space and the same is true now.
"This one was before my time, and without nostalgia it's kinda…ugly," said uppity_chucklehead on reddit. On the other hand, another use 556_FMJs wrote: "I have no nostalgia either, but I think it’s pretty badass. Different strokes."
Defenders of 10355 Blacktron Renegade and the faction as a whole argue that its supposed 'ugliness' is the whole point.
"People complaining [about it being ugly] really need to look at the original set," argued the aptly-named Classic_Spaceman on another reddit post. "An update was never going to be as sleek as the Galaxy Explorer! 10497 Galaxy Explorer was always a sleek craft; the Renegade was always an odd, angular, asymmetrical craft, so the update is the same."
Where did the piece count go?
10355 Blacktron Renegade has more than 800 pieces more than the original 6954 Renegade, so you'd likely expect more detail, more play functions, and perhaps even more modularity than the original. However, some fans are let down by where that much higher piece count has gone.
"Almost four times the pieces from the OG," commented reddit user mruxtina. "Not sure I can say it’s two times better. But I like it."
It's worth noting that modern building techniques often use more pieces for greater integrity and the 2025 set is definitely bigger than its predecessor.
Disappointment is inevitable with nostalgic sets...
Arguably, 10355 Blacktron Renegade was doomed to fail. When people have been waiting for something for decades and have fond memories going all the way back to childhood, can anything ever live up to the expectation? Predictably, there are always going to be hopes dashed and disappointment raised, as sketchystony pointed out on reddit: "I don't know much about this theme other than that people constantly say they want it back so when I saw this somehow I just knew it was going to be full of disappointment, regardless of quality."
...but it's not stopping people buying it
Nonetheless, nostalgia is a powerful thing and plenty of people are commenting compliments and pledging to buy the LEGO Icons set, regardless of any potential qualms.
"Man… That is underwhelming. Buying it anyway," commented reddit user Glenngineer.
Others are using their LEGO purchases to guide the LEGO Group on what they want to see more of, with MR1120 writing: "I almost feel obligated to buy it, mainly to show there’s a nostalgia market so they keep putting out updated versions of vintage sets, but I’m not crazy about this."
"I just hope this set sells well enough for LEGO to make more classic space," agreed Winterbite-Enjoyer. "I grew up with the latest space police line but my older cousin had these OG sets and they looked awesome. Blacktron never seemed to interest me so I hope they do the Ice Planet."
A strong balance between old and new
Despite those criticisms, there's also plenty to love about 10355 Blacktron Renegade and fans have also been quick to praise its design.
"I love it!" said LavandeSunn. "It still manages to capture the slight wonkiness of the original while updating to look much more modern! I was hoping for a little bit more from the minifigures, I don’t mind the slightly updated torso we got with 40580 Blacktron Cruiser, but I was hoping for something a little more complex, like the various Blacktron figs they’ve made for the Collectible Minifigure Series."
10355 Blacktron Renegade will be available to buy for LEGO Insiders from January 1 for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 and for everyone else from January 4.
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