After what’s felt like years of ready, hoping, and speculating, earlier this 12 months, Lego finally confirmed it will be boldly going ahead with a Star Trek set that has develop into the centerpiece of the brick-maker’s annual Thanksgiving celebrations. Can it reside as much as the hype?
Fortunately, the reply is a convincing sure. Lego’s first foray into Star Trek, the Enterprise-D from The Subsequent Technology, is an interesting tribute to the legendary sequence whereas additionally being an especially compelling construct expertise for diehard Lego followers, filled with enjoyable strategies to take care of Star Trek‘s famously smooth-lined starship design on the earth of Lego. io9 not too long ago obtained a evaluation copy of the Enterprise from Lego, so we’re right here to take you inside and see what makes it so good—and why we hope it means it’s the first of many.
How lengthy does it take to construct Lego’s Star Trek Enterprise-D set?
Clocking in at 3,600 items, the Lego Enterprise-D is a reasonably sizeable mannequin, leading to a duplicate of the Galaxy-class starship and a sturdy show stand to pose it mid-flight on that measures round 23.5″ from fore to aft and 10.5″ tall (aided by the very fact the ship is held at an upwards angle on its stand). Whereas it’s a main enterprise, the construct is damaged into three distinct sections: the secondary hull and the Enterprise‘s nacelles, the stand itself, after which half of the 30 baggage within the set are devoted to the primary saucer.
Given the character of the Enterprise-D’s design, when you get going, there are loads of comparable strategies repeated again and again, so in case you’re a well-known builder, you possibly can go fairly shortly and even duplicate some steps to hurry up the method. General, although, in case you’re taking issues leisurely, you may be finished in 9-10 hours… or round 12 episodes of Deep Area 9, in case you’re like me and wish to put one thing on whilst you’re constructing (sorry TNG followers, however I’d not too long ago simply restarted a rewatch and determined to proceed that slightly than placed on a extra thematically applicable little bit of background noise!).
What number of minifigures are in Lego’s Star Trek Enterprise-D set?
Despite the fact that the main focus of the set is the ship reproduction slightly than a playset atmosphere, it will be a criminal offense if Lego’s first Trek set didn’t go all in on minifigures. Fortunately, the Enterprise-D comes with 9 minifigures to faithfully recreate the bridge crew you understand and love: Picard, Riker, Troi, Worf, La Forge, Knowledge, Dr. Crusher, and Wesley Crusher in his well-known jumper. Becoming a member of them to spherical out the set is a welcome however barely oddball selection in Guinan, hostess of the Enterprise lounge Ten Ahead, however she, like Wesley, breaks up the ocean of comparable Starfleet uniforms with some pretty distinctive components to recreate her modern wardrobe.
Every minifigure comes with an adjunct, some extra distinctive than others, even when they’re all applicable. Wesley will get a really distinctive accent within the type of a mini reproduction of the transportable tractor beam generator from “The Bare Now,” as does Riker together with his beloved trombone. Picard naturally comes with a teacup, Guinan has a inexperienced bottle of one thing from Ten Ahead (it’s by no means explicitly famous what it’s, however it looks like a nod to the Aldebaran whiskey Knowledge affords Scotty in “Relics”), Knowledge will get Spot the cat, and Geordi comes with an engineering package. Maybe the least fascinating ones are satirically essentially the most sometimes Star Trek: Worf will get a handheld phaser, which is cleverly constructed with a wedge piece and a deal with, at the very least, whereas Deanna and Beverly get a PADD and medical tricorder… each of that are simply printed 1×2 tiles. That are advantageous and doubtless one of the best Lego may do at minifigure scale, however simply sort of boring.
What is sweet is that, in a uncommon transfer, the Enterprise-D comes with a bit of separate stand to place the minifigures on in a row, full with a cute little Subsequent Technology title card (albeit as a sticker, slightly than a printed piece). It’s a pleasant acquiescence to the truth that the construct is extra concerning the show mannequin than the minifigures themselves, however it was nonetheless good that Lego constructed one thing extra structured to show them on, as an alternative of simply leaving them as-is.
Is Lego’s Star Trek Enterprise-D set troublesome to construct?
Constructing a Lego mannequin out of a ship just like the Enterprise-D is a dangerous endeavor, given its peculiar shaping and weight distribution, on high of the truth that, nicely, it’s principally gray. However Lego places loads of fascinating strategies in all through the construct to not solely successfully seize the curvature and shaping of the Galaxy-class but additionally to maintain your fingers busy and never have issues blur into a protracted sequence of comparable patterns getting used to construct similar-looking, similar-colored items.
There are positively a couple of locations the place extra seasoned Lego builders can begin duplicating builds to hurry up the method: the construct of the secondary hull of the Enterprise is cut up into two halves, for instance, earlier than you construct the 2 nacelles which can be equivalent in construction. When you’ve constructed the skeleton of the primary saucer, you’re then primarily repeating little plate sections of the hull to sandwich over it. Whereas the repeating could be a bit, nicely, repetitive, there are sufficient fascinating strategies used for skilled builders and sufficient easy patterning for Trek followers who could be embarking on their first-ever Lego construct of this scale.
On high of that, regardless that the Enterprise-D is a show set slightly than a playset, the design staff nonetheless snuck in a couple of enjoyable little options and Easter eggs. The aforementioned fundamental saucer part, for instance, is secured into place by a bit of floating shuttlecraft coming in to dock at its aft shuttle bay—which may be eliminated so you possibly can separate the saucer from the secondary hull to copy the Galaxy-class’ distinctive characteristic. And regardless that you don’t get to construct its iconic bridge, the middle of the saucer does maintain a bit of reproduction of the Enterprise‘s dedication plaque! Whilst somebody who’s on the document on the D being removed from my favourite Enterprise design, I couldn’t assist however be charmed at simply how nicely Lego managed to convey it faithfully to life.
How a lot is Lego’s Star Trek Enterprise-D set? Is it well worth the worth?
Alas, that is going to be the sticking level for lots of Star Trek followers. At $400, the Enterprise-D will not be fairly so eye-watering as a few of Lego’s different current set costs, however it’s nonetheless a giant ask, and particularly troublesome contemplating it’s the primary time (and probably final) the corporate has tackled Star Trek. You’re positively getting one thing that feels well worth the worth when it comes to measurement and scope, however it’s not laborious to marvel if Lego ought to’ve began out at a smaller scale or with totally different concepts past ship replicas to check the waters and see if Star Trek may develop into simply as enduring a Lego sequence as Star Wars has, if the choice was a really dear one-off.
We don’t know what the longer term for Lego Star Trek holds past the Enterprise-D—this could possibly be the beginning of a yearly launch schedule akin to Lego’s method to Lord of the Rings, a line that solely stays within the higher echelons of adult-focused, high-end (and high-cost) units. It’s plain that as a construct expertise and as a duplicate of one of many sequence’ most well-known starships, the Enterprise-D is a Star Trek and Lego fan’s dream: it appears nice, it’s a enjoyable, massive construct, and it’s received an amazing assortment of minifigures that feels full in the best way that, if that is it, at the very least you bought all the pieces you’d need.
Nevertheless it’s equally plain that loads of Star Trek followers and loads of Lego followers are going to be postpone by Lego’s choice to go massive because it did right here to justify asking such a excessive worth, in an age the place the corporate’s merchandise really feel like they’re solely getting pricier and pricier. There’s much more worth within the Enterprise-D in comparison with a few of 2025’s different big-ticket units, positive, however $400 remains to be $400.
If there was some sort of indication from Lego that this wouldn’t be it and that there could be extra, smaller-scoped units, it could be a better capsule to swallow, figuring out Trek followers can wait and see what else the corporate does in the event that they don’t wish to throw down this a lot money in a single go. Whilst nice a set as it’s, it’s a troublesome promote to anybody however a few of the most diehard Star Trek followers with out some Ferengi-level justification to your pockets.
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