Review: LEGO Star Wars 75389 The Dark Falcon
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The upcoming Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy Disney+ special has thrown the galaxy as we know it into mayhem, and thanks to the chaos, we get to enjoy a brand new all-black Millennium Falcon for 2024!
75389 The Dark Falcon takes one of the most iconic Star Wars ships and revamps it with a striking new recolour, along with a host of unusual minifigures. The US$179.99 price tag might be a tough sell to fans for a one-off set based on a limited series, but the presence of a certain long-awaited Sith character in minifigure form may help to change some minds…
This is a guest review from our LEGO Star Wars correspondent VaderFan. We’ll be taking a look at the new August 2024 LEGO Star Wars releases, so keep an eye out for more reviews! Check out his recent reviews:
Special thanks to the LEGO Group for sending this set over for review.
75389 The Dark Falcon
75389
The Dark Falcon
6 (Beach Luke, Bounty Hunter C-3PO, Darth Dev, Darth Rey, Jedi Vader, Darth Jar Jar)
1579
US$179.99 / AU$299.99 / €179.99 / £159.99 / CAD$239.99
1 August 2024
Unboxing
The box is the standard large Star Wars box size, showing the Dark Falcon flying into battle. A colourful box border art is used here, as is standard for the Rebuild the Galaxy line.
The back of the box shows off alternate angles of the Dark Falcon, along with its play features and interior details.
This year, LEGO has rolled out a new style of box for some larger sets, which have a lift-off lid as opposed to the older standard cardboard flap style. This allows you to keep the box in good condition even after opening the set, and the cardboard can also be folded flat for easier storage. It uses a bit more cardboard than usual, but I like the flexibility and reusability.
Sadly, no paper bags in this set yet – instead, we get a host of plastic bags numbered from 1 to 17.
There’s also a cardboard sleeve for the instruction manual and sticker sheet, along with an extra unnumbered bag for the large and unusually-shaped pieces.
Something unusual appeared in this set that I’ve never seen before in a LEGO set – this 3×8 wedge plate was sitting loose in the box, even though it was supposed to be in bag 3! However, bag 3 itself was not damaged in any form, so I assume this was simply a rare mistake by the LEGO factory that hopefully only affected the earlier review releases. Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever found a loose piece in your new LEGO boxes!
As is common with larger sets, the cardboard sleeve is included to store the instruction manual and sticker sheet, which protects them from damage.
The sticker sheet is not small, but is still reasonably sized for a ≈1600 piece set. I wish the round tiles with the exhaust vents (stickers 1 and 7) were printed though – considering how many were included, it would have been justified to have them printed instead.
The manual is fairly thick, but nothing particularly unusual – simple enough to follow which is the most important part.
Build Process
Bag 1 and 2 assemble the Technic frame of the model, and bag 3 adds some plates over the top to form the base of the interior.
Bag 4 adds the foundation and connection for the cockpit, while bags 5 and 6 build the circular walls around the rear half of the model.
Bag 7 builds up the central stack with bag 8 extending it outwards horizontally. Bag 9 includes two minifigures, and adds the roof for the cockpit tunnel.
Bag 10 adds the docking rings on the sides of the Falcon, and completes the side wall of the model. Bag 11 adds more interior detail while bag 12 adds the quad cannons.
Bags 13 and 14 add the front mandibles, while bag 15 covers the rear section in the foldable panels.
Bags 16 and 17 finish off the paneling at the front and add the superlaser radar dish.
LEGO Dark Falcon Minifigures
The first minifigure was my most anticipated minifigure of the lineup – Darth Jar Jar in all his ABS plastic glory! Finally! I never thought LEGO would make a minifigure based on a crazy fan theory, but it looks good – sporting a new face print on the Gungan head mould, new torso print, and a dual-bladed lightsaber. His other accessory is a 1×1 trans-light blue round brick, which I assume has some relevance to the Rebuild the Galaxy shorts.
Next up is an unusual minifigure, Jedi Vader has undergone a colour inversion, now sporting an all-white getup wielding a blue lightsaber. The 2015 Vader helmet & neck armor mould has been recoloured in white which is really cool, although the small gaps are slightly more visible in this lighter shade.
Underneath the helmet is the kind face of redeemed Anakin – modeled after the original Anakin Skywalker actor from Return of the Jedi, Sebastian Shaw. A side-by-side with the modern Vader minifigure (not included) shows how detailed the colour-swap has been, down to the leg and arm printing.
Another weird inclusion is Beach Luke, presumably meant to be a summery version of Ahch-To Luke Skywalker, with heavy The Big Lebowski influences.
He has the standard dark tan old Luke hairpiece, but with a new face print showing off some cool orange sunglasses. He wears tan khakis with printed brown slippers, along with an open light blue shirt revealing a really neat Easter Egg, a Japor snippet, a nod to a pendant that his father, Anakin Skywalker carved for Padme Amidala in The Phantom Menace.
Unfortunately, the colour matching of the printed skin on his torso with the colour of his arms still needs some improvement.
Luke’s alternate face has a bashful expression, and he comes with an unprinted 1×1 brick with a cheese slope to represent a blue milk carton. Would have liked a print or sticker for some detail on the carton, though, like the one from the Blue Milk Skywalker polybag.
Next up is Darth Rey, based on Rey’s vision when searching for the Sith wayfinder. The figure has been done fairly accurately, with a simple black outfit that looks clean. The newer hood mould is used in conjunction with the narrower Mandalorian-style cape that makes for a sleeker look overall, along with the binoculars piece used for the hilt of her unique double-bladed lightsaber. (Unfortunately, you can’t unfold it to have the blades end-to-end like in the movie).
Darth Rey features menacing yellow Sith eyes, and two facial expressions (neutral and grimacing). While the figure is relatively simple in terms of prints, it does a good job recreating the character from the film.
Next up is Darth Dev, who appears to be potentially the evil Sith sibling of Sig Greebling? For an original character, this minifigure is fairly detailed, with a new double-sided head and nice black/gunmetal grey armor.
He even has a printed silver left arm, reminiscent of Marvel’s Winter Soldier. His alternate expression is a lot friendlier, for a red lightsaber-wielding Sith!
The final minifigure is officially named Bounty Hunter C-3PO, but appears to be inspired by the Sith-possessed C-3PO from The Rise of Skywalker. While the torso and leg prints appear similar to the regular Threepio minifigure, his head now features menacing printed red eyes and his left arm has been replaced with a printed black alternative.
Despite lacking accessories, this minifigure looks excellent – although the lack of dual-moulding for his silver right leg still looks odd.
This minifigure selection is hard to evaluate: on one hand, these minifigures are detailed, unique, and likely to remain exclusive for a long time, plus the Darth Rey and Darth Jar Jar minifigures will likely be desirable to fans. On the other hand, many of these are strange variants (such as Jedi Vader and Beach Luke), and may not see much use in a traditional LEGO Star Wars play setting.
I think these are great additions to an already extensive Star Wars minifigure collection, but newer fans may wish to focus on getting the “normal” variants of these core characters first.
Main Model
The Dark Falcon is a black and red “evil” recolour of the iconic Millennium Falcon – this playscale version is based on the same design that was used in 2019’s 75257 Millennium Falcon, which is my favourite playset version of the Falcon so far.
The model looks pretty good from most higher angles, thanks to the use of 3×12 wedge plates for the circular paneling. The introduction of 4×6 wedge plates also improved the shaping of the front mandibles in 2019.
In keeping with the Dark Side-styled colour swap, the Millennium Falcon’s blue thrusters have been replaced with a sinister red glow. Some minimal greebling has been used on the top and side plating of the Dark Falcon, to give it a worn look. The relatively new 3×3 circular tiles are used for the six stickered exhausts vents above the engine thrusters.
Keeping with the Dark Side theme, the Millennium Falcon’s usual radar dish has been replaced with a mini version of the Death Star superlaser! It does a decent job replicating the key details at this small scale, but the inclusion of only one green “laser” does not scream “Death Star” immediately upon first glance.
The cockpit now sports a trans-red colour scheme with some dark red highlights, and I think it looks great.
As with previous versions of the playset Millennium Falcon, the cockpit cone can be detached to allow access to the cockpit interior.
Inside the cockpit you’ll find space for two minifigures, a joystick, and a printed console. Detail overall is slightly more lacking as the designers had to leave more space to accommodate caped minifigures like Darth Dev.
The LEGO Millennium Falcon’s front mandibles went through a design update in 2019 with the newer wedge plates, and have looked great since then. The four maintenance ports on top also hide a simple but effective play feature.
Poking your finger into the front pair of maintenance ports fires off the hidden spring-loaded shooters – this feature is not new but still works well, and does not detract from the exterior aesthetics of the model.
While the newer paneling design of the Falcon looks good from most higher angles, it still has some pretty noticeable gaps up close.
These are most notable at the front of the model where the angled panels meets the flatter mandibles – although the darker colour scheme of the Dark Falcon helps to mask these gaps slightly.
The quad cannons from the original Falcon are present here too, although the stickered viewport now has some dark red details.
The cannons themselves are made from minifigure ski poles, which do a decent job replicating the quad cannon barrels. The cannon assembly has a ball joint for poseability, but sits on top of a turntable which means it rotates freely without much friction.
Another set of quad cannons is mounted at the bottom of the ship, although these are attached with just a ball joint.
The upper quad cannons sit atop a 8×8 round assembly, mounted with a pair of clips.
Just like on previous Millennium Falcon playsets, this cannon hatch can be hinged open to reveal the gunnery position.
This version is relatively simple and does not have any printed controls, but looks good enough. A pair of minifigures can be sat back-to-back to operate both sets of quad cannons.
With minifigures attached, the gunnery assembly still slides easily into position.
LEGO’s design for the playscale Millennium Falcon has involved outward-folding panels since 2004, but each new version has been more refined than the last.
First, you fold the rectangular front section forward…
…so it sits forward nicely like this.
The remaining angled panels fold into five separate sub-assemblies. In addition to the regular clip, each panel is also attached with a 3L bar through a pair of 1×1 lamp holder plates, so they are attached securely.
With all the panels folded open, you have easy and ready access to the interior of the Dark Falcon.
Thanks to the flat design of the Falcon, there is a generous amount of interior space, which is somewhat divided into four main sections.
In the front is the throne of Darth Jar Jar, a fun inclusion that replaces Han Solo’s armchair in the original Falcon.
The Sith Lord gets a large mechanical control panel made up of three stickers, and there’s a clip for the extra spring-loaded missile on the left.
The throne is attached with just a clip, so you can detach it easily if you want Darth Jar Jar’s throne setup somewhere else.
To the left are a pair of beds, with a dark red and tan colour scheme. Minifigures can be attached here to catch some rest, like Bounty Hunter C-3PO after a long day.
The area with the couches and Dejarik holochess table has been moved to the rear quadrant of the ship, and the upholstered seats have been replaced with stickered dark red versions.
The Dejarik holochess table has been replaced with a more modern interpretation – a video game console! A pair of stickers are used for the game graphics, and a printed video game controller is included for minifigures. There’s also a mini assembly to the side that looks suspiciously similar to a PS5…
The rest of the area has a bit more open space, but it still features key details like the hyperdrive – now sporting a menacing red sticker.
This area also has a trans-red jail area, similar to the one on Cad Bane’s Justifier. The 1x4x3 trans-red panel in front can be detached to allow access to the limited space inside.
You can seat a minifigure on the 2×2 plate inside to imprison them, although it looks like a pretty claustrophobic fit! I’m assuming the dark side users piloting this craft don’t worry much about human rights…
There’s also a crate on the side, which features a few more 1×1 trans-light blue round bricks which are just like the one carried by the Darth Jar Jar minifigure. I can only assume these will play a role in the Rebuild the Galaxy shorts.
Unlike the regular Millennium Falcon, this Dark Falcon does not feature the hidden smuggling compartment to store minifigures – but the usual boarding ramp is still included!
The four landing gear struts included are far too short for minifigures to use the boarding ramp, but at least it’s an extra feature. The Falcon certainly does not look as great from this lower angle, though.
Another strong point about LEGO’s playscale Millennium Falcons is how swooshable they are – this set is great fun to hold and fly around, and it is definitely strong/stable enough.
Final Thoughts
This set is an interesting conundrum. On one hand, the model has been done pretty well – it looks good from most angles, and has a pretty decent interior space. The minifigures included are also very fun, with a mixture of cool novelty characters (Darth Jar Jar and Jedi Vader) but also having in-universe designs like Darth Rey and (to an extent) evil C-3PO.
However, the general appeal may be slightly limited. While the Millennium Falcon is an iconic ship, this recoloured version will not fit in with most regular Star Wars displays. The minifigures are fun but also unlikely to be as useful in a traditional Star Wars collection, apart from the novelty and exclusivity. Priced at US$180 USD / AU$300, it’s a tough ask for the average LEGO fan to part with their cash for such a niche design.
Perhaps if you already have an extensive LEGO Star Wars collection, this set will make a unique and fun addition. However, if you’re still building up your collection, you may want to go for more iconic, recognisable ships like 75394 Imperial Star Destroyer – which is part of the same wave, cheaper, and does not sport an unusual recolour.
Final Score
Audience rating
Let me know your thoughts on this set in the comments below! Thanks for reading, 75389 The Dark Falcon will be available on LEGO.com or your local LEGO toy store from 1 August 2024, with pre-orders open now.
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