Review: 40917 The Darksaber
Posted by CapnRex101,
40917 The Darksaber continues the selection of large-scale lightsabers launched as promotional sets in recent years. These models have usually accompanied larger Ultimate Collector Series or Master Builder Series sets, which is not ideal for collecting them all.
Thankfully, the Darksaber will be more readily available, as a gift-with-purchase for May the Fourth when you spend £145, $160 or €160 or more on Star Wars sets. Previous lightsabers have been quite appealing and it seems the Darksaber is the most detailed one yet.
Summary
40917 The Darksaber, 278 pieces.
Of the four lightsabers in this series to date, 40917 The Darksaber is easily the best
- Very accurate design
- Clever building techniques
- Matches past lightsabers
- Fair purchase threshold
- Guard should be a bit longer
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The Completed Model
Created by Tarre Vizsla a millennium before the events of the Star Wars films, the Darksaber is a lightsaber like no other. This recreation of the weapon is therefore constructed very differently to others in the series, hence its considerably higher piece count. Moreover, its angular shape is accurate to the onscreen hilt, with rounded sides to match the live-action design.
The saber is presented on a simple base, similar to those provided with past lightsabers, albeit without the standard 1x2 slopes on either side. Also, the cradle is adapted to accommodate the distinctive shape of the Darksaber, but the printed plaque matches others in this collection.
However, the lightsabers have not always shared a consistent scale. 40483 Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber was smaller than life-size, while both 5006290 Yoda's Lightsaber and Luke's green lightsaber are more realistic in scale, as is the Darksaber. The model measures 26cm long and has a satisfying weight, with 278 pieces, so the hilt feels very tactile.
The Darksaber possesses an unusual black blade, so the precise nature of its kyber crystal is unknown. I think purple is a reasonable guess though and I am glad the crystal is represented, like in the other lightsabers. It is not designed to be accessed once the lightsaber is assembled, but is still a welcome addition.
You can also see a hint of trans-purple inside the emitter, which really stands out. The textured details on the sides look excellent, making great use of wand boxes, while the slender guard is nicely designed as well. Ideally, it would extend a little further on top, though only by half a stud, which would be difficult to achieve. The grey and black patterns are not wholly accurate either, but they still match the onscreen hilt pretty closely.
Overall
My favourite May the Fourth gifts-with-purchase have generally been those with minifigures in the past, but 40917 The Darksaber is certainly a match for any of those because the design is so well executed! Its shape is remarkably accurate to the source material and this model looks superb on display, especially with the other lightsabers.
On that subject, this set also has the advantage of being much more accessible. £145, $160 or €160 is quite a high purchase threshold, although a fair one for such a substantial model, in my opinion. Also, the Darksaber has a thematic connection to The Mandalorian, which is clearly the focus of May the Fourth this year, so this is pretty much a faultless gift-with-purchase!
Thanks to Huw for the photos in this review.
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31 comments on this article
These are kind of weird items to me; without the blade they look very abstract, although actually creating said blade is clearly a design leap too far at the moment.
Great review! Looks like a great build.
Instead of the lightsaber series being a GWP series, it would've been neat if this had been another subtheme like the helmets.
The lightsaber hilt GWPs haven't been for me so far (which is lucky as I've never had occasion to spend enough to get one), but this is my favourite one so far.
Are there any unique parts in it apart from the plaque ? I have managed to Bricklink the previous ones quite well.
Looks like a midi-scale capital ship of some sort by itself.
@hardwax said:
"Are there any unique parts in it apart from the plaque ? I have managed to Bricklink the previous ones quite well."
It looks like the black wand boxes are unique to this model. Let's hope they appear in other sets or PaB otherwise they alone will drive up the price to build this.
@The_Boba_Brick said:
" @hardwax said:
"Are there any unique parts in it apart from the plaque ? I have managed to Bricklink the previous ones quite well."
It looks like the black wand boxes are unique to this model. Let's hope they appear in other sets or PaB otherwise they alone will drive up the price to build this. "
In the meantime, you can replace the wand boxes with 6382491. You'll need 8 of them (4 each side). ($0.19 each in Canada - much cheaper in your country)
Alternatively you can simply rebrick it if the single printed plaque is not important to you. Find my 40917.io file on Eurobricks.
@BabuBrick said:
"Great review! Looks like a great build.
Instead of the lightsaber series being a GWP series, it would've been neat if this had been another subtheme like the helmets."
Don't worry, I'm sure they will release them as an official line sometime. And they will change the current versions enough that people will want to buy them also. That's the beauty of capitalism. :D
@HOBBES - those look like they would work well enough, but it won't have the same texture, so hopefully the official piece will be released eventually. But good idea!
To me and possibly other casual observers (not having seen any episodes featuring it) it looks too much like a blaster rifle, with the left part being the stock, the right part the barrel with some cooling ribs and/or picatinny-style add-on mount, and the trigger hidden by the plaque.
@Denmark_Dragon said: "Looks like a midi-scale capital ship of some sort by itself"
Yeah, it reminds me of the ship (the Argamemnon?) from Alien II, which itself looks like some kinda rifle thing.
Looks like a chainsaw...
The least iconic lightsaber for me, probably because it comes from the Filoniverse.
I mean, it looks fine. I don’t hate it. I’m sure big fans of Mandalorian (& the more obscure Jedi) lore are very excited to see Tarre Vizsla’s weapon in Lego form.
@Sethro3 said:
" @HOBBES - those look like they would work well enough, but it won't have the same texture, so hopefully the official piece will be released eventually. But good idea!"
Yes definitely - it's (hopefully) just a temporary replacement. The biggest problem with those 'replacement' parts is not so much the texture but the fact that they will protrude by one plate more.
It's an ok solution but far from ideal and Lego is sometimes quite slow in offering rare parts on PaB.
Since, this GWP is apparently not tied to SW, I might be able to come up with an order large enough to get it (if that is true, that will be my first one - with no real need to get the others).
@BabuBrick said:
"Great review! Looks like a great build.
Instead of the lightsaber series being a GWP series, it would've been neat if this had been another subtheme like the helmets."
In the UK, there is a guy that does the brickfest events and makes a wide array of these with real Lego bricks. Sorry I don't know his website but the ones I saw were pretty impressive.
I’m kind of glad this is the GWP this year as I don’t have any of the other hilts and don’t need this one either. I’m just hoping for some decent discounts on a few sets on my wanted list.
@axeleng said:
"To me and possibly other casual observers (not having seen any episodes featuring it) it looks too much like a blaster rifle, with the left part being the stock, the right part the barrel with some cooling ribs and/or picatinny-style add-on mount, and the trigger hidden by the plaque.
@Denmark_Dragon said: "Looks like a midi-scale capital ship of some sort by itself"
Yeah, it reminds me of the ship (the Argamemnon?) from Alien II, which itself looks like some kinda rifle thing."
The ship in Alien II is the Sulaco.
It was/is available by BlueBrixx as Starship Sulu as they don’t have the proper license.
Stand it upright and it would make a good microscale high rise building.
@BabuBrick said:
"Instead of the lightsaber series being a GWP series, it would've been neat if this had been another subtheme like the helmets."
I’d have been fine with GWP as long as they weren’t tied to specific sets. I think I bought one of the qualifying sets, and well after the promo ran out.
@axeleng said:
"Yeah, it reminds me of the ship (the Argamemnon?) from Alien II, which itself looks like some kinda rifle thing."
The Agamemnon (no “r”) is an Earthforce ship from Babylon 5.
@HOBBES said:
"Since, this GWP is apparently not tied to SW, I might be able to come up with an order large enough to get it (if that is true, that will be my first one - with no real need to get the others)."
Not tied to a specific set. Definitely tied to Star Wars.
@yellowcastle said:
" @HOBBES said:
"Since, this GWP is apparently not tied to SW, I might be able to come up with an order large enough to get it (if that is true, that will be my first one - with no real need to get the others)."
Not tied to a specific set. Definitely tied to Star Wars."
Yeah. I reread the whole thing and that is the case. I could not find anything worth CAD$210 in the Star Wars Lego universe that I like enough to justify that. So, no darksaber for me - and won't miss a minute of sleep over that!
This will look very nice on display. A minifigure would have been nice to go with it.
What a crab. IMO that’s the most boring looking thing I’ve seen in a while. Seriously. Who thinks this looks nice on a shelf ? A Lego-Screwdriver would look more interesting than this.
@Eichinger said:
"What a crab. IMO that’s the most boring looking thing I’ve seen in a while. Seriously. Who thinks this looks nice on a shelf ? A Lego-Screwdriver would look more interesting than this."
True. But since it's Star Wars stuff like this seems to always have an audience.
@Eichinger said:
"What a crab. IMO that’s the most boring looking thing I’ve seen in a while. Seriously. Who thinks this looks nice on a shelf ? A Lego-Screwdriver would look more interesting than this."
I'm guessing a Sonic Screwdriver from Dr. Who would sell like hotcakes
Is it bad to say this is the first of these lightsaber hilt GWPs that has looked good to me? The other ones were well-designed perhaps but I always detested the look of them. Not something I will get, however.
@Sethro3 said:
" @Eichinger said:
"What a crab. IMO that’s the most boring looking thing I’ve seen in a while. Seriously. Who thinks this looks nice on a shelf ? A Lego-Screwdriver would look more interesting than this."
I'm guessing a Sonic Screwdriver from Dr. Who would sell like hotcakes"
Agreed... but which one? There've been quite a few sonic screwdrivers.
@Sethro3 said:
" @Eichinger said:
"What a crab. IMO that’s the most boring looking thing I’ve seen in a while. Seriously. Who thinks this looks nice on a shelf ? A Lego-Screwdriver would look more interesting than this."
I'm guessing a Sonic Screwdriver from Dr. Who would sell like hotcakes"
Considering that I have four electronic sonic screwdrivers (Those wielded by the Fourth, Ninth/Tenth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth), I'd definitely pick one up.
@Murdoch17 said:"Agreed... but which one? There've been quite a few sonic screwdrivers."
As many as possible, I say.
40917 The Darksaber brings back memories of my childhood building swords with LEGO bricks.
I think that's cool.
@MarkingX said:
"40917 The Darksaber brings back memories of my childhood building swords with LEGO bricks.
I think that's cool."
I still remember the alt-builds that 7140 and 7150 had.