Review: LEGO 75343 Dark Trooper Helmet

February 12, 2022 | 0

Following on from my review of the Luke Skywalker’s Red Five Helmet, we take a look at the next helmet from the 2022 LEGO Star Wars Helmet collection – 75343 Dark Trooper Helmet.

A bit of a quirk here – it isn’t technically a helmet – more of a droid head as Dark Troopers are droids, and this particular design are the 3rd generation ones employed by Moff Gideon to hunt down Grogu in Season 2 of The Mandalorian.

That said the Dark Trooper Helmet does open up some some interesting potential opportunities down the like, like K2-SO, Battle Droids, IG-88, or heck, even C-3PO if LEGO manage to produce enough gold-lacquered elements.

Anyway, I digress, let’s jump into this review of the LEGO Dark Trooper Helmet!

Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing this set for review

75343 Dark Trooper Helmet Set Details

Name: Dark Trooper Helmet
Set Number: 75343
Pieces: 693
Price: AU$89.99 | US$59.99 | £54.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK]
Exclusive to: N/A
Theme: Star Wars Helmet Collection
LEGO Designer: Hans Burkhard Schlömer
Release Date: 1 March 2022

Like most Star Wars Helmet sets, there is a page with a brief introduction to the Dark Trooper, and a foreword from LEGO Star Wars Creative Director, Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, along with a bad-ass full page photograph on the next page.

Here’s a look at the sticker sheets – nothing too interesting here, just some black stickers with lines and vents to give the Dark Trooper Helmet more screen-accurate details.

The build was actually a lot of fun – I was initially dreading this helmet, as it’s primarily black, and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was actually a particularly good build.

The techniques employed were quite fascinating, with really good use of slopes and plates employed to create a pleasing sense of texture and depth – a challenge when all you have to work with is black.

The design used to tilt the Dark Trooper forward is also quite clever. This is one of the most technical LEGO Star Wars helmets yet.

Here are some progress shots of how the Dark Trooper Helmet comes together.

And here’s the completed model! The Dark Trooper Helmet is entirely black, except for the red eyes peeking out.

The model does a decent job of capturing the Dark Trooper helmet, with most proportions looking quite accurate, save for the lack of the shiny reflective sheen.

The Dark Trooper relies heavily on stickers for details, especially in the ventilation mouth area, but I really like how the shaping is executed here.

On the side, you can see the large cheek strip, angled downwards in a very pleasing manner – the large section also incorporates a sticker with vents on the side.

In this view, you can also see the great use of layering, especially on the curved section towards the back, as well as the sunken cheeks.

Oh, and here’s a demonstration of the tilt – you can actually tilt the Dark Trooper head much more, and make it nod.

Here’s a look at the back, and side – the use of slopes here is a little clunky, but thankfully, this isn’t a view or angle you’d look at often.

But that’s not all – beneath the helmet, there are plenty of awesome mechanical details, including a hint of drum-lacquered silver on the semi-circles. It’s very industrial-looking, and I appreciate the amount of greebling, even if you won’t see this view often.

Here’s a look at the printed plaque at the base of the stand.

And here’s the view from the front – the Dark Trooper’s most recognisable features are its red eyes, and the shaping here is well done, but the eyes can seem quite dull, especially if you look at it from the wrong angle.

For a lot of the photos I took, I intentionally took photos of the best angles, that allow you to see the red eyes in their best light – the red eyes are achieved using trans-red elements, over some white plates, which does brighten it up nicely, but not nearly enough.

It would throw the design templates for these helmets out the window, but LEGO should’ve absolutely jammed a light brick or two in the Dark Trooper helmet, just for the satisfaction of lighting the eyes up.

The best thing you can do to upgrade/improve the Dark Trooper Helmet is to work some aftermarket/third party lighting kits (like Light My Bricks) into the eyes – something I might try doing if I can work out lights!

Like last year’s Darth Vader Helmet, the Dark Trooper suffers from being entirely black – which unfortunately engulfs and dominates most of the details throughout the model.

Under optimal lighting conditions, and photo editing, I can showcase and highlight the features, but in real life, unless you display them in a well-lit area, most of the great details and layering of elements will be lost.

Oh, and it will also inevitably turn into a dust magnet, as all black LEGO builds do.

What I liked:

• Highly complex and interesting build experience
• Use of a myriad of elements shape the Dark Trooper’s face
• Proportions and accuracy are top-notch

What I didn’t like: 

• It’s very black and hard to display
• Will attract a lot of dust
• Eyes should’ve been lit up

Final Thoughts:

The Dark Trooper Helmet was a mixed bag for me. The build was unexpectedly enjoyable, introducing some really ingenious techniques that demonstrated the attention to detail that the designer, Hans Burkhard Schlömer put into the model.

There is a high level of technical sculpting, creating some really key features from the side, as well as the sunken in cheeks, which are really quite challenging to pull off.

The end result is unmistakably a Dark Trooper head, and the proportions and aesthetics are incredibly accurate, however the challenge of an all-black model, with varying reflective surfaces, and patches that seem to suck in all light make this a tricky one to display.

I also felt like the lack of a light brick for the eyes, was a huge missed opportunity, but understand why they held off as it doesn’t quite fit the Helmet Collection design language – but this just opens up an opportunity for you to add your own lights to activate the Dark Trooper.

To me, this is the weakest LEGO Star Wars Helmet of the range – not because of the design, build, or end model, but because it’s got too much black on it, and is not the easiest to display, especially when you compare it with the other vibrant helmets from this 2022 wave, such as Luke’s Red Five Helmet.

That said, if you can find the right spot to display it (preferably one that’s in close proximity to yourself such as a work desk), that allows you to appreciate the subtle details, and shape, and if you really enjoyed seeing the Dark Troopers in The Mandalorian Season 2, you’ll likely be the right person for this set.

Rating and score: 3/5 ★★★✰✰

Build [4] – I had a blast with the build, and appreciated all the sculpting techniques
Real Value [3] – This helmet in particular feels quite pricey for the end result, especially as there’s no printed elements, outside of the plaque
Innovation [3] – Some really strong build techniques here, but LEGO needs to work on making darker helmets more visually distinct
Coolness [3] – It’s not a classic Star Wars helmet, or head, and this would’ve been a 5 if it had lights
Keepability [4] – Not one of my favourite helmets, but it’s a droid head, and part of the collection, so will naturally hold its value and collectability.

Thanks for reading my review of the LEGO Dark Trooper Helmet! Be sure to also check out my review of 75327 Luke Skywalker’s Red Five Helmet, and look out for The Mandalorian Helmet review next!

Stay tuned for reviews of the Dark Trooper and Mandalorian Helmet next!

75343 Dark Trooper Helmet will be released on 1 March 2022 from LEGO.com, or your local LEGO Store.

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Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing this set for review