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 could 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 stay 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 Era, is an interesting tribute to the legendary sequence whereas additionally being an especially compelling construct expertise for diehard Lego followers, full of enjoyable strategies to keep up Star Trek‘s famously smooth-lined starship design on this planet of Lego. io9 lately 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 fairly sizeable mannequin, leading to a reproduction 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 luggage within the set are devoted to the principle saucer.

Given the character of the Enterprise-D’s design, when you get going, there are lots of related strategies repeated over and over, so should you’re a well-known builder, you’ll be able to go fairly shortly and even duplicate some steps to hurry up the method. General, although, should you’re taking issues leisurely, you might be completed in 9-10 hours… or round 12 episodes of Deep Area 9, should you’re like me and prefer to put one thing on whilst you’re constructing (sorry TNG followers, however I’d lately simply restarted a rewatch and determined to proceed that somewhat than placed on a extra thematically acceptable little bit of background noise!).

What number of minifigures are in Lego’s Star Trek Enterprise-D set?

Though the main focus of the set is the ship duplicate somewhat than a playset atmosphere, it could 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 recognize 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 alternative in Guinan, hostess of the Enterprise lounge Ten Ahead, however she, like Wesley, breaks up the ocean of comparable Starfleet uniforms with some beautiful distinctive components to recreate her modern wardrobe.

Every minifigure comes with an adjunct, some extra distinctive than others, even when they’re all acceptable. Wesley will get a really distinctive accent within the type of a mini duplicate 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 as if a nod to the Aldebaran whiskey Information presents Scotty in “Relics”), Information will get Spot the cat, and Geordi comes with an engineering package. Maybe the least attention-grabbing 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 effective and doubtless one of the best Lego may do at minifigure scale, however simply type of boring.

What is sweet is that, in a uncommon transfer, the Enterprise-D comes with somewhat separate stand to place the minifigures on in a row, full with a cute little Subsequent Era title card (albeit as a sticker, somewhat 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, effectively, it’s principally gray. However Lego places lots of attention-grabbing 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 sequence of comparable patterns getting used to construct similar-looking, similar-colored items.

There are undoubtedly a number 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 generally is a bit, effectively, repetitive, there are sufficient attention-grabbing strategies used for skilled 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, regardless that the Enterprise-D is a show set somewhat than a playset, the design staff nonetheless snuck in a number of enjoyable little options and Easter eggs. The aforementioned essential saucer part, for instance, is secured into place by somewhat 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 function. And regardless that you don’t get to construct its iconic bridge, the middle of the saucer does maintain somewhat duplicate of the Enterprise‘s dedication plaque! Whilst somebody who’s on the file on the D being removed from my favourite Enterprise design, I couldn’t assist however be charmed at simply how effectively Lego managed to deliver it faithfully to life.

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

Alas, that is going to be the sticking level for lots of Star Trek followers. At $400, the Enterprise-D is probably not fairly so eye-watering as a few of Lego’s different latest set costs, however it’s nonetheless an enormous ask, and particularly troublesome contemplating it’s the primary time (and doubtlessly final) the corporate has tackled Star Trek. You’re undoubtedly getting one thing that feels definitely worth the value when it comes to dimension and scope, however it’s not exhausting 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 turn 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 long run 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 completely 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 reproduction 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 obtained an important assortment of minifigures that feels full in the best way that, if that is it, at the very least you bought all the things you’d need.

But it surely’s equally plain that lots of Star Trek followers and lots of Lego followers are going to be delay by Lego’s determination to go massive because it did right here to justify asking such a excessive value, 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 type of indication from Lego that this wouldn’t be it and that there could be extra, smaller-scoped units, it is likely to be a better tablet 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 among the most diehard Star Trek followers with out some Ferengi-level justification to your pockets.

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