Lego’s First ‘Star Trek’ Set Ought to Be a Signal of Nice Issues to Come

After what’s felt like years of ready, hoping, and speculating, earlier this yr, Lego finally confirmed it might be boldly going ahead with a Star Trek set that has turn into the centerpiece of the brick-maker’s annual Thanksgiving celebrations. Can it dwell 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 collection whereas additionally being a particularly compelling construct expertise for diehard Lego followers, full of enjoyable strategies to take care of Star Trek‘s famously smooth-lined starship design on the earth of Lego. io9 lately obtained a evaluate 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 fairly 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 principle saucer.

Given the character of the Enterprise-D’s design, when you get going, there are numerous related strategies repeated over and over, so when you’re a well-recognized builder, you’ll be able to go fairly shortly and even duplicate some steps to hurry up the method. General, although, when you’re taking issues leisurely, you might be completed in 9-10 hours… or round 12 episodes of Deep House 9, when you’re like me and prefer to put one thing on when you’re constructing (sorry TNG followers, however I’d lately simply restarted a rewatch and determined to proceed that moderately 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?

Although the main target of the set is the ship reproduction moderately than a playset setting, it might 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 already know and love: Picard, Riker, Troi, Worf, La Forge, Information, 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 parts to recreate her trendy 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 along 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 Information provides Scotty in “Relics”), Information 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, not less than, whereas Deanna and Beverly get a PADD and medical tricorder… each of that are simply printed 1×2 tiles. That are superb and doubtless the very best Lego might 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, moderately than a printed piece). It’s a pleasant acquiescence to the truth that the construct is extra in regards to 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 prime of the truth that, properly, it’s principally gray. However Lego places numerous 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 an extended collection 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 break up into two halves, for instance, earlier than you construct the 2 nacelles which are similar in construction. When you’ve constructed the skeleton of the principle saucer, you’re then basically repeating little plate sections of the hull to sandwich over it. Whereas the repeating is usually a bit, properly, repetitive, there are sufficient fascinating strategies used for knowledgeable builders and sufficient easy patterning for Trek followers who is likely to be embarking on their first-ever Lego construct of this scale.

On prime of that, although the Enterprise-D is a show set moderately than a playset, the design crew nonetheless snuck in a couple of enjoyable little options and Easter eggs. The aforementioned essential saucer part, for instance, is secured into place by a bit of floating shuttlecraft coming in to dock at its aft shuttle bay—which might be eliminated so you’ll be able to separate the saucer from the secondary hull to duplicate the Galaxy-class’ distinctive characteristic. And although 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 report on the D being removed from my favourite Enterprise design, I couldn’t assist however be charmed at simply how properly Lego managed to deliver it faithfully to life.

How a lot is Lego’s Star Trek Enterprise-D set? Is it definitely worth the worth?

Alas, that is going to be the sticking level for lots of Star Trek followers. At $400, the Enterprise-D might not be fairly so eye-watering as a few of Lego’s different latest set costs, however it’s nonetheless a giant ask, and particularly troublesome contemplating it’s the primary time (and doubtlessly final) the corporate has tackled Star Trek. You’re positively getting one thing that feels definitely 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 completely different concepts past ship replicas to check the waters and see if Star Trek might turn into simply as enduring a Lego collection as Star Wars has, if the choice was a really expensive one-off.

We don’t know what the long run for Lego Star Trek holds past the Enterprise-D—this may very well 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 collection’ most well-known starships, the Enterprise-D is a Star Trek and Lego fan’s dream: it seems nice, it’s a enjoyable, large construct, and it’s obtained an awesome assortment of minifigures that feels full in the way in which that, if that is it, not less than you bought every little thing you’d need.

But it surely’s equally plain that numerous Star Trek followers and numerous Lego followers are going to be postpone by Lego’s choice to go large 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, certain, however $400 remains to be $400.

If there was some sort of indication from Lego that this wouldn’t be it and that there can be extra, smaller-scoped units, it is likely to be a better capsule to swallow, understanding Trek followers can wait and see what else the corporate does in the event that they don’t need to throw down this a lot money in a single go. Whilst nice a set as it’s, it’s a tricky promote to anybody however a number of the most diehard Star Trek followers with out some Ferengi-level justification to your pockets.

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