LEGO is kicking 2023 off with a bang with one gift with purchase set that will be dropping at the beginning of the year with the Blacktron Cruiser (40580). This is the second Classic Space set that has been updated with updated parts and building techniques with the first one being the Galaxy Explorer (10497). The Blacktron Cruiser has 356 pieces and you can get for free with purchases of $190/€190/£170 from January 1 – February 14, while supplies last.
Minifigure
The black suit astronaut returns for this set which includes the black visor. The front of the torso has the air tank tube printing but something new is on the back as it now also has printing. This is one of the modern, updated look that this set has.
Build
The small robot has a similar look to its predecessor but there are some update parts on it.
The Blacktron Cruiser is a modernized version of the Invader (6894) from 1987. The main difference here is that the yellow windshield is now much longer. As a result, it seems to make the ship much sleeker than before. This also allows the area to store the metal detector and the minifigure. In turn, the cannons and the side wings are also longer to match up with the windshield. The wings themselves are on hinges so you can have the open or closed.
The middle section of the ship is a cargo area and the flaps are able to open up to access the inside. Here you can store the box containing two black ingots. Two of the side panels have stickers of the Blacktron logo.
The back of the ship has the transparent red rear fins that are on clips. The sloped brick from the original has been replaced with more wedge plates and sloped grills to have more sleekness to it. Again, there’s another sticker of the Blacktron logo here as well.
If you’re not familiar with LEGO Blacktron, one of their main features is that the sets are modular. There are various sections of the ship that can be pulled apart and rearranged to your liking. The shorter ship below doesn’t look too bad either.
Results
The LEGO Blacktron Cruiser (40580) is a nice updated version of the Invader with the modernized parts and look. It is pretty faithful to the original set including the play features. I would’ve preferred the stickers to be printed parts but we can’t have everything. It also matches up great with the Galaxy Explorer as well even though they’re from different subthemes.
The price point of $190/€190/£170 to get it is fairly high but there are a lot of new sets releasing on January 1 on the LEGO Shop so it’ll be somewhat easy to get. Unless LEGO made a ton of this set, I could see it selling out before the promotion end date of February 14.
Thank you to LEGO for sending in this set for me to review. The content above represents my own opinion and not the company. Review sets sent in does not guarantee a positive review.
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