The new Darksaber accessory
Posted by CapnRex101,
Following the announcement of 75361 Spider Tank, the included Darksaber has drawn great interest because it features a dedicated blade component for the first time. Previously, a standard black 4L bar has been used.
Given the discussion concerning whether the new piece should also have integrated a hilt, rather than using the usual lightsaber hilt, we asked the LEGO Star Wars team for comment:
'Since the Darksaber is a weapon, that can be turned on and off like a standard lightsaber, we from the beginning thought that the best way to replicate it in LEGO minifigure form was to use the LEGO Star Wars lightsaber hilt and a separate blade. It is not a set rule by default, but again it just works well here, because kids can “turn it off” by removing the blade.'
Personally, I rather like the uniformity between lightsaber-type weapons, although I may be tempted to replace the metallic silver hilt with a black piece. Even so, I hope Count Dooku's curved hilt accessory returns whenever the sinister Count next appears in minifigure form.
Do you like the new Darksaber blade? Let us know in the comments.
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73 comments on this article
A white outline would've been nice but this version is so much better than just a black bar element.
It's fine like it is.
I have been wanting that blade piece since 9525 in 2012.
Blade is ok, but hilt not so much. Black or dark pearl grey would fit better but still I think it deserve for new mold.
It's fine either way, but one new part doesn't make the spider set any more or less appealing (to me).
I feel it would have been more successful as a white piece with black printing, without the outline it looks less like the plasma blade and more like a black sword stuck onto a hilt - which is what it is. Still miles better than the black bar.
@darthnorman said:
"A white outline would've been nice but this version is so much better than just a black bar element."
I think this is better too, but I would be curious to see if they could make a part like some of the ninjago fire pieces. This black plastic inside and a clear plastic on the outside
As a singular black blade piece, there is much more value in MOC as it is here. Need a cheaper way to get many, but it is better this way then alternatives.
@darthnorman said:
"A white outline would've been nice but this version is so much better than just a black bar element."
You can't really achieve an outline effect on a three-dimensional cylinder.
Almost same bladepiece was part of the ninjago prepacked blades
I think the new darksaber looks good. A black hilt would have been a bit more accurate I guess but honestly I would have loved to see the blade be cast in a clear 'smoke' color (much like the lightsaber blades are colored). Again, this is just trifles here...I'm glad that we have a respectable representation and it works for me.
At the end of the day, the beauty of Lego is using existing parts to make things. We don’t need dedicated pieces for everything. I appreciate the new blade, but the hilt is just fine. A recolor wouldn’t have hurt either, but it’s fine. It’s not like kids won’t know what it is.
Stick piece is a stick.
Of course it can be 'better', but in the end Mando himself is hardly accurate either, right? I thought that the 4L bar was fine. It's dark, it's a saber: The Darksaber! It's Lego, it is OK to look like Lego sometimes.
I agree that they should do a black or dark Pearl hilt like they did for Kylo Ren, but I’m fine with just the blade. It’s better than the modified katana I’ve been using!
@mandrproductions made an awesome custom one that blows this one away :)
The whole point of LEGO is putting pieces together. That sabre blade is far more useful for other things like this than it would be as a single-moulded weapon.
This is the way.
One solution to making a custom hilt without burning a mold slot on it would have been to mold the blade and hilt in a single shot from the same mold, and then pre-pack them like they’ve done for Clonetrooper accessories, bat-gear, or energy effects. But then the two parts would never be able to appear without each other.
@8BrickMario:
Except this is flat, not a cylinder. And you can on a cylinder. Mold the core in one color, and overmold the exposed portion in transparent or translucent plastic. Against the core, the thinner layer of transparent plastic will barely register. On the sides, where you’re looking at the skin edgewise, and there’s no core behind it, you’ll see the outer layer’s color in a more saturated form. If you’ve ever looked at the edge of a piece of “clear” glass or plastic, that’s the same effect. Matter of fact, you can do this with many LEGO parts, like clear panels, windshields, and door/window glass. This would work great for lightsaber blades as well. White core with trans colored skin would perfectly replicate the look of a lightsaber blade as seen in the films.
@MrGurt said:
" @darthnorman said:
"A white outline would've been nice but this version is so much better than just a black bar element."
I think this is better too, but I would be curious to see if they could make a part like some of the ninjago fire pieces. This black plastic inside and a clear plastic on the outside"
This would have been a great idea. It stays as a Lego piece, but just a recolor. As it is, I like it... I just prefer when they don't make new molds.
@Graysmith said:
"The whole point of LEGO is putting pieces together. That sabre blade is far more useful for other things like this than it would be as a single-moulded weapon.
This is the way."
This is the way.
It's better than just a black bar.
But you can buy a much better version from a 3rd party store that has a white outline and accurate rectangular handle for like $2.
I think this new Darksaber blade is a great improvement over the black bar we've received for over ten years now. Finally matching the shape of the blade in LEGO form.
The standard lightsaber hilt works well enough for me, but I may swap in a black or dark gray one I have lying around for a bit closer color match.
That said, I'm iffy on the new Spider Tank set overall. I thought it looked cool and well detailed at first, and thought they MUST have included the little scuttling eye-brain cyborg pilot too. But I guess not. LEGO must have just used concept art with minimal Disney input, though the cage/trap, pilot, and its humanoid cyborg suit were a pretty integral part of that scene too. I wish LEGO didn't finalize some sets before details like that are known. It makes the set seem incomplete without the cyborg.
It reminds me of how 75177 First Order Scout Walker got a release, though not only was it not used in the The Last Jedi, the walker hasn't been used in any Star Wars content!
How come non-licensed themes like Ninjago can get specialized dual molded weapons, but a big player like Disney is satisfied with the cheapest solutions? I mean this sword blade is almost identical to the already existing 37341 katana blade piece that people were already using instead of the black 318 bar to fix this ridiculous design. But there are custom pieces out there with square hilts and everything much closer to the source material. Even a black katana with painted white edge would look better than LEGO's solution.
Realizing that the show displays the Darksaber as pointy: there's no need for an energy weapon to have a pointed end.
There's an old Star Wars EU novel where one of the characters--it might have been Jacen Solo--had a speech about lightsabers where he noted that the weapons are paradoxically round, but every part of it cuts.
This feels at home within the LEGO design language; I like it a lot. A dual molded or printed piece would be too much, in my opinion, and it would probably require the element to get bigger—which would look ridiculous. As for the hilt color, it's not the best but it's an easy mod if someone wants to change it out for a black one!
Excited to see how else this new element is used.
Agree it makes more sense as a separate blade and hilt, but also agree with above comments that a white component with black printing would be ideal... but not at the cost of increasing price...
I can perfectly understand wanting to have a seperate hilt piece, but I feel like there were much better existing pieces that could have been used.
Yes, it's better than a plain black bar. But the dark saber is so visually distinct from any other lightsaber with the boxy hilt and flat blade. If you 'turn off' this one as the designers said, you're left with a regular lightsaber hilt that doesn't in any way resemble the dark saber. If they didn't want to do a new hilt mold then I think a recolored and/or dual-molded katana piece would've looked more accurate.
My problem is it feels cheap, as others have mentioned Ninjago have had numerous unique swords/blades over the years. Everything Star wars receives a premium price point but increasingly Lego are reducing the quality and unique content whilst milking valued customers.
Despite that my gripe is that 3rd party sellers can produce a genuinely good darksabre, Lego finally produce one and it's half hearted at best.
I’m happy with it! I feel it would look strange being all black with the hilt. Also feel the hilt doesn’t need a new mold. Overall, I’m a fan.
@kkoster79 said:
" @mandrproductions made an awesome custom one that blows this one away :)"
Credit where credit is due, he resells it. It’s made by Bricktactical.
I like it. Lego shouldn't be about replicas. People who want every blaster and lightsaber to precisely match their on screen designs are always going to be better served by the secondary market, which is absolutely fine. I'd rather the company focused on reusable moulds, which I think this blade is.
The hilt is fine IMO, it doesn't look any less like the darksaber than it does any other lightsaber. The colour would be better as black though.
The real thing I'm missing in this set is Bo's energy shield!
@ResIpsaLoquitur:
And yet lightsaber blades are pointy, albeit in a conical or paraboloidical shape.
@PurpleDave said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur:
And yet lightsaber blades are pointy, albeit in a conical or paraboloidical shape."
To quote my earlier comment: "Realizing that the show displays the Darksaber as pointy...."
Realizing that you can occasionally find images where on-screen lightsabers have had a pointy(er) end, they've generally been portrayed as rounded. (I'm literally running a Google image search now, and on-screen portrayals of sabers are typically cylindrical with a half-spherical end, and the toys have always been made like that.)
I could go on about how cool this is but you mentioned Count Dooku and I just realized it has been 10 years since they’ve done a Dooku Minifigure. AOTC wasn’t the best Star Wars movie for sure but it surely deserves more. Rogue One not getting any sets since it released is also kind of jarring but the release wave did terribly so I see why in that case.
Wait, doesn't this new part have a printed white blade edge? That's what I'm seeing.
@Trigger_ said:
"I could go on about how cool this is but you mentioned Count Dooku and I just realized it has been 10 years since they’ve done a Dooku Minifigure. AOTC wasn’t the best Star Wars movie for sure but it surely deserves more. Rogue One not getting any sets since it released is also kind of jarring but the release wave did terribly so I see why in that case."
about Dooku: You gotta give Dooku a hand as best Sith Lord. He's head and shoulders above Maul, and even Vader is just burning with envy. Just imagine how things would have been different if Kenobi had taken up Dooku's offer from AotC and stopped Sidious!
Also, Christopher Lee was beyond awesome!
A smoky black transparent piece would have been great.
@darkstonegrey said:
"Wait, doesn't this new part have a printed white blade edge? That's what I'm seeing."
It's just the light reflecting off the edge. Plus, it's just a render, not a photo. If you go to the product page at lego.com, there's a "video" of a 360-degree rotation of the set, but the bottoms of the wedge plates on the legs don't have the little dimples on the bottom of the studs- indicating a render. The Darksaber blade doesn't show any white printing in this video.
@Ridgeheart said:
"I dunno. I guess? It's definitely one of the swords of all times.
You're asking the wrong guy. I think swords and guns are just so incredibly boring, and it's not like we don't have enough of either."
Honestly curious- why did you write that?
You don’t care about swords at all- why read an article on a sword and then comment to say you don’t care?
Not gonna lie, I'm kinda sad they didn't stick to the classic 4L bar piece just like every other lightsaber. I felt it was part of what made it a Lego Star Wars set, and asking for a special mold was like complaining that minifigs didn't have molded ears or noses for example. Hot take, I know, but thought it would be worth sharing anyways.
@Morgan19 said:
"It's fine either way, but one new part doesn't make the spider set any more or less appealing (to me)."
What about two! This set also comes with a brand new hairpiece for Bo Katan! :)
@Zakalwe72 said:
"My problem is it feels cheap, as others have mentioned Ninjago have had numerous unique swords/blades over the years. Everything Star wars receives a premium price point but increasingly Lego are reducing the quality and unique content whilst milking valued customers.
Despite that my gripe is that 3rd party sellers can produce a genuinely good darksabre, Lego finally produce one and it's half hearted at best."
This is my take on the subject as well. It's better than it was. Yet, if they can do specialized hilts for Dooku and Ventress as well as tons of fun blade parts for Ninjago, surely they can get closer than this.
"Surely, you can do better!"
While I appreciate the effort, I must say, I find this Dark Saber mold a bit lazy and the lack of a new mold for the hilt, is highly disappointing. Heck, why didn't they just make a single mold like they've done for the countless Ninjago swords that are quite well done? Since we couldn't get what I've just said above, then it's silly for me to go-on, however, a bit of printing on the Dark Saber, like a white outline or shimmer or sparks/lighting like lines would have really made this one of a kind, legendary weapon in Star Wars, pop.
Speaking of... Brickarms makes excellent accessories for Minifigures, the type that LEGO should make. In particular, I've turned to them for more film-accurate accessories for Jango Fett, Boba Fett and The Mandalorian. The only think I dislike, about their products are that they are too detailed, as they can look odd with LEGO's fun characterization, more whimiscal depictions of our beloved heroes and villains in the Star Wars universe. Wish LEGO or a third party, could strike a better balance.
Back to my original thought, I'm delighted that LEGO made an attempt, but I feel it's lazy, just like giving us Mando, without a face and hair (it was ok, when omitted with the first set, but not subsequent ones)... it has taken about 5x, before we received what we should have had, in the second set. I agree that the blade and hilt should be separate, as LEGO shared with you / us, however, like Count Dooku & Asajj Ventress, we should get a new hilt and the blade should be printed (this has happened for other themes). Perhaps a black or gunmetal grey, telescope piece, might work better, in the interim.
This is the way!
I'm not saying the darksaber hilt is a problem to me, but a new mould and the ability to remove the blade aren't mutually exclusive. They could have done both.
@Ridgeheart said:
" @Terreneflame said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"I dunno. I guess? It's definitely one of the swords of all times.
You're asking the wrong guy. I think swords and guns are just so incredibly boring, and it's not like we don't have enough of either."
Honestly curious- why did you write that?
You don’t care about swords at all- why read an article on a sword and then comment to say you don’t care?"
@CapnRex101 asked me, personally, at the end of this article:
"Do you like the new Darksaber blade? Let us know in the comments."
Because the Captain asked me to. If this in any way, shape or form injured your posterior, I apologize profusely.
It will absolutely happen again, though."
It didnt injure me at all- I just thought its an extremely weird and pointless thing to do.
I only just noticed the fact that we can see Din's head again, rather than the blank black piece. I never got 75325 or 75331 so this is great news for me!
This is the way!
@Ridgeheart said:
@Terreneflame said:
@Ridgeheart said:
@CapnRex101 asked me, personally, at the end of this article:
Do you like the new Darksaber blade? Let us know in the comments.
Because the Captain asked me to.
Good soldiers follow orders...
Just using a dedicated blade is amazing, I prefer a dedicated hilt and dual molding on the blade but it is x10 times better right now.
@560heliport said:
" @darkstonegrey said:
"Wait, doesn't this new part have a printed white blade edge? That's what I'm seeing."
It's just the light reflecting off the edge. Plus, it's just a render, not a photo. If you go to the product page at lego.com, there's a "video" of a 360-degree rotation of the set, but the bottoms of the wedge plates on the legs don't have the little dimples on the bottom of the studs- indicating a render. The Darksaber blade doesn't show any white printing in this video."
hmm ok. Then what about having the edge painted white like that appears to be, would that be satisfactory to represent the white glow energy? (I'm thinking I might just 'paint' the edge myself with a perma-white marker if it's in fact not already printed like that)
@darkstonegrey said:
" @560heliport said:
" @darkstonegrey said:
"Wait, doesn't this new part have a printed white blade edge? That's what I'm seeing."
It's just the light reflecting off the edge. Plus, it's just a render, not a photo. If you go to the product page at lego.com, there's a "video" of a 360-degree rotation of the set, but the bottoms of the wedge plates on the legs don't have the little dimples on the bottom of the studs- indicating a render. The Darksaber blade doesn't show any white printing in this video."
hmm ok. Then what about having the edge painted white like that appears to be, would that be satisfactory to represent the white glow energy? (I'm thinking I might just 'paint' the edge myself with a perma-white marker if it's in fact not already printed like that)"
That sounds really good! You could test it on a katana- if you have any Ninjago sets, you probably have a few (or a few dozen!) spare katanas.
Such a low bar we set for Lego.
Huh, i wouldve expected the reasoning to be that the piece needs to be generic enough that it can be used elsewhere, like it usually is. Maybe they stopped thinking that was convincing after they literally never used Kylo Ren's lightsaber piece for anything else (which is a shame, I think it could be really useful)
People are forgetting that all lightsabers have a white outline, it's just more visually distinct on the darksaber. If Lego is going to keep the standard bar for other lightsabers, which don't have the outline, why would this be the exception? It would clash with Lego's pre-established aesthetic for lightsabers.
@Kinman said:
"Such a low bar we set for Lego."
No. Not anymore. They’ve replaced that bar with an actual blade.
@TheCodFather:
Other way around. White core, with a colored outline.
Looks good to me.
It's one basic piece, so that's all I feel I need to say.
This is the wrong question, I feel. Why is the choice between an integrated hilt and the old hilt? I'd just like a new hilt piece. They made a new one for Ventress and other characters like that, and I know that was a long time ago, but like others have said, Ninjago and Monkie Kid gets new weapon molds every wave now.
Was always good with a katana myself. The question was always if it should be a plain black piece or a silver one painted black on the big sides so the blade sides can have the light energy effect and correct hilt color. The turned off hilt would just be an additional piece the same way as Vintage Collection figures always come with a hilt and a whole saber.
Lego's decisions regarding new parts for Star Wars are always weird.
We get a dozen of new Alien heads year, mostly for one offs, while really interesting new parts can take years to be created.
Besides that, why does Bo Katan get blaster-pistols without scope, while the Commander from the BP has the ones with it?
I guess I’m confused at the “must be a single dual molded piece” argument people are putting down citing Ninjago…
1. The whole idea of Lego is to have items with multiple functions
2. Ninjago weapons are likely to be in multiple sets within the wave
3. A new hilt piece is uneccesaary
For super realistic, as someone else pointed out, the aftermarket has this
Would everyone be happy if there was a new specific piece for the darksaber, even if it came with a 5 £/€/$ increase in set price and we only see it once or twice a year?
Let’s all just remember the late 90s and early 00s where Lego made a lot of bespoke parts that had little to no re-use, and think about what Lego means to you
I personally really like the new blade piece! I really can't wait to get this set on August 1st!
I thought a transparent black katana would've been simpler since they made transparent pink katana for Ninjago.
@Anorak719:
Dooku got one for a major film release, and specifically the film after Ep1 broke records for how much merchandise was sold (and also how much was left unsold, but that part probably didn’t apply to LEGO sets that will surely be parted out on clearance, the same way it did to that warehouse of leftover Jar-Jar and Darth Mail neckties). Making a new mold for his distinctive hilt was probably an easy call _at_that_time_. Ventress got hers as part of the Clone Wars subtheme launch, which Lucasfilm hyped as much as the prequel launches (TRU even had a massive countdown clock to when Clone Wars toys could be sold), plus it did include a theatrical release of 3-4 episodes that were stitched together into a cohesive story. Again, it probably felt a lot less risky to make an exclusive hilt.
Both hilts have been retired, but only the Ventress hilt has reappeared. Likely this is because it was only produced in light-bley, where the Dooku hilt has been limited to chrome. Putting Dooku in another set would require omitting his hilt, producing an expensive chrome hilt (a process that appears to currently be exclusive to The One Ring), or adjusting the dimensions to make a mold for an unchromed version.
@Anonym:
Being as flexible as it is, paint would just flake off a katana blade.
I think the regular black bar was funny. Shoulda kept that.
I honestly think this is perfect; Hopefully it will be included in more future sets.
It’s certainly better than what we’ve gotten before, but I’ll keep using a katana instead which continues to be the most accurate representation of the darksaber.
The fact that this whole article had to be written shows how much the LEGO Star Wars theme has been co-opted by the overly-zealous fans that make the theme their sole LEGO obsession. Not necessarily Brickset commenters, mind you, but the likes of those who dedicate entire YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, and websites to just this theme and its sets (including their followers and sycophants). And "obsession" is the right word because in their mania, they have pried from LEGO more and more ridiculous concessions, intentional or not.
The Dark Saber blade is just the latest of them. Most LEGO fans would be fine with the black 4L rod, but these LEGO Star Wars masses have been crying out for a "more accurate blade" for years! And what encouraged that? Because they also clamored to see more accurate Clone Trooper variants, armor, and weaponry over the years, too. And they got them! They clamored for specific characters or groups of characters (remember the incessant spam of "we want a 501st battlepack!" from several years ago?) and got them, or at least enough to whet their appetites briefly until their social media masters whipped them up into a frenzy again about not getting enough to be "true" to Star Wars, as seen in the cartoons, movies, or video games.
Now we see that even though they got their precious Dark Saber blade, it is STILL not enough. "Umm, technically, the lightsaber handle should be more rectangular and match the handle seen in The Clone Wars, Season 3, Episodes yadda yadda yadda...". Give me a break. This crowd won't be happy until the freakin' clone trooper minifigures fire actual blaster bolts and look as realistic as actual people. And even then, they will still demand more. They call it "passion for the franchise". Well I call it having too much of a good thing. You can't always get what you want. I admire and applaud LEGO for pushing set design and part variety over the years. Sets in many themes evolved, Star Wars especially so. And it needed to. But this kind of stuff is too far. Be happy with the damn blade. End of story.
All they needed to do was use the Ninjago Elemental Sword Blade with a black core instead of a white. Black Core, Trans Purple blade, perfect Darksaber
@Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:
"The fact that this whole article had to be written shows how much the LEGO Star Wars theme has been co-opted by the overly-zealous fans that make the theme their sole LEGO obsession. Not necessarily Brickset commenters, mind you, but the likes of those who dedicate entire YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, and websites to just this theme and its sets (including their followers and sycophants). And "obsession" is the right word because in their mania, they have pried from LEGO more and more ridiculous concessions, intentional or not.
The Dark Saber blade is just the latest of them. Most LEGO fans would be fine with the black 4L rod, but these LEGO Star Wars masses have been crying out for a "more accurate blade" for years! And what encouraged that? Because they also clamored to see more accurate Clone Trooper variants, armor, and weaponry over the years, too. And they got them! They clamored for specific characters or groups of characters (remember the incessant spam of "we want a 501st battlepack!" from several years ago?) and got them, or at least enough to whet their appetites briefly until their social media masters whipped them up into a frenzy again about not getting enough to be "true" to Star Wars, as seen in the cartoons, movies, or video games.
Now we see that even though they got their precious Dark Saber blade, it is STILL not enough. "Umm, technically, the lightsaber handle should be more rectangular and match the handle seen in The Clone Wars, Season 3, Episodes yadda yadda yadda...". Give me a break. This crowd won't be happy until the freakin' clone trooper minifigures fire actual blaster bolts and look as realistic as actual people. And even then, they will still demand more. They call it "passion for the franchise". Well I call it having too much of a good thing. You can't always get what you want. I admire and applaud LEGO for pushing set design and part variety over the years. Sets in many themes evolved, Star Wars especially so. And it needed to. But this kind of stuff is too far. Be happy with the damn blade. End of story."
What's wrong with wanting a more accurate Darksaber? This piece is still generic enough to be useful elsewhere- perhaps like the Uruk-Hai swords on the front of 70675.
afols are so anal
@SteveHampson said:
"afols are so anal"
What a... crappy... thing to say.
The reason they didn't re-design the hilt, is probably the shape of it. It's thin, and to be compatible with Lego system pieces, it would be designed oversized. I don't think they'd be able to design something that looks accurate to the source material, and be compatible with bar blades.
Yes the hilt should be black or the dark pearl grey, but who doesn't have a spare of that to swap out these days.
Also, when has the decades old lightsaber hilt ever looked like an actual lightsaber? Part of the charm of Lego. Not everything needs to be a custom piece.
'because kids can “turn it off” by removing the blade'
yeah, sure ... kids ...
Looks half baked. Good job, you got half the saber done...