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 12 months, Lego finally confirmed it could be boldly going ahead with a Star Trek set that has grow to be the centerpiece of the brick-maker’s annual Thanksgiving celebrations. Can it stay as much as the hype?

Fortunately, the reply is a powerful sure. Lego’s first foray into Star Trek, the Enterprise-D from The Subsequent Era, is an interesting tribute to the legendary collection whereas additionally being an especially compelling construct expertise for diehard Lego followers, filled with enjoyable methods to keep up Star Trek‘s famously smooth-lined starship design on the planet of Lego. io9 lately obtained a assessment 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 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 actual fact the ship is held at an upwards angle on its stand). Whereas it’s a main endeavor, 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 a number of comparable methods repeated time and again, so in the event you’re a well-known builder, you may go fairly rapidly and even duplicate some steps to hurry up the method. Total, although, in the event you’re taking issues leisurely, you may be achieved in 9-10 hours… or round 12 episodes of Deep Area 9, in the event 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 relatively 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?

Regardless that the main target of the set is the ship duplicate relatively than a playset setting, it could be against the law 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, 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 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 moveable 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 Knowledge gives Scotty in “Relics”), Knowledge will get Spot the cat, and Geordi comes with an engineering package. Maybe the least fascinating ones are paradoxically essentially the most usually Star Trek: Worf will get a handheld phaser, which is cleverly constructed with a wedge piece and a deal with, at the least, whereas Deanna and Beverly get a PADD and medical tricorder… each of that are simply printed 1×2 tiles. That are wonderful and possibly the perfect Lego might do at minifigure scale, however simply sort of boring.

What is good 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, relatively 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 a substitute 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, properly, it’s largely gray. However Lego places a number of fascinating methods 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 might be similar in construction. When you’ve constructed the skeleton of the primary 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 methods used for skilled builders and sufficient easy patterning for Trek followers who is perhaps embarking on their first-ever Lego construct of this scale.

On high of that, though the Enterprise-D is a show set relatively than a playset, the design workforce nonetheless snuck in a couple 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 may be eliminated so you may separate the saucer from the secondary hull to duplicate the Galaxy-class’ distinctive function. And though 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 document on the D being removed from my favourite Enterprise design, I couldn’t assist however be charmed at simply how properly Lego managed to convey 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 current 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 dimension and scope, however it’s not arduous 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 grow to be simply as enduring a Lego collection 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 may very well be the beginning of a yearly launch schedule akin to Lego’s strategy 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 collection’ most well-known starships, the Enterprise-D is a Star Trek and Lego fan’s dream: it seems to be 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 least you bought all the pieces you’d need.

But it surely’s equally plain that a number of Star Trek followers and a number 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, certain, however $400 continues 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 is perhaps a better tablet to swallow, figuring out 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 troublesome promote to anybody however a few of the most diehard Star Trek followers with out some Ferengi-level justification to your pockets.

Need extra io9 information? Try when to count on the newest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and all the pieces you might want to learn about the way forward for Doctor Who.