LEGO Blacktron Renegade was made by a fan, for fans

You only have to look at LEGO designer Jae Won Lee's smile while discussing 10355 Blacktron Renegade to know that this was a labour of love.

"I was really lucky because this is my first official set and the Renegade was one of the best spaceships from my childhood," explained Jae while speaking to YouTuber Tiago Catarino. "Now after more than 40 years, I've revealed my own Renegade in Billund. It's my great honour."

That honour and joy is plain to see – and that's not only heartwarming to see but also pays off with a wealth of carefully thought-out features.

"Blacktron is the coolest in LEGO classic space history," he continued while speaking to Zusammengebaut. "The black and yellow colour scheme was quite unique and, at the time, it set them apart from the other colourful LEGO space sets. That's why Blacktron is quite special."

Hearing Jae discuss the importance of Blacktron as a faction for both the wider LEGO system and he himself as a fan, it feels as though there could be no one better suited to design the set. Not only is his enthusiasm and joy catching, but it also pays off in some details in 10355 Blacktron Renegade that only a fan would have thought to include.

One element, a bigger story

One of Jae's personal favourite details that he pointed out to Zusammengebaut stems from his love of original Renegade from 1987 that he built as a child.

"I found this element and I really wanted to keep it in its original form," he explained.

No stickers on this ship

Jae's attachment to the original design and elements from 6954 Renegade could be in part responsible for why there are absolutely no stickers in 10355 Blacktron Renegade, a rarity in modern LEGO designs but certainly a welcome one. What's more, the original designs stay true to the original set from the '80s, keeping a close tie between old and new Blacktron builds.

"All decorations came from the original set," Jae confirmed while speaking to MiniSuperHeroesToday, showing off the printed elements from the interior. "We designed all the new decorations to look the same as the original set, except for one dashboard."

New design, original features

There were even attempts to include more original features, like the yellow tubing that was present in 6954 Renegade. Jae noted: "I tried to keep that yellow hose element because it was very cool. It was a little bit weak when we tried to play with the modules, so we had to take it off."

The look of the yellow hoses remains, however, with one thin line of yellow plates running down the side of the ship that pays homage to the original feature.

All of those characteristics and surely plenty more details that aren't listed here are a testament to Jae's personal love of Blacktron. It's clearly fed a lot into the design choices going into 10355 Blacktron Renegade and has paid off with details that fellow fans of the faction can pick up on.

Check out our thoughts on the upcoming LEGO Icons set in our in-depth review. 10355 Blacktron Renegade will retail at £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 for LEGO Insiders from January 1 and for everyone else from January 4.

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