Boldly go where no one has gone before with the LEGO® Icons Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D™

In 1966, the world got its first glimpse of a ship that would go on to become an icon.

The Starship Enterprise has undergone many variations, but perhaps the most beloved is the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D™. That’s the sixth-generation craft that was featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Now, after exploring the deepest realms of the galaxy, the U.S.S. Enterprise is embarking on a new mission… to become a LEGO® set.

It’s one of the most recognizable spacecraft in all of science fiction, and so it deserves an extraordinary (or should that be extraterrestrial) set. To tell you everything you need to know about it, we chatted with Senior Model Designer Hans Burkhard Schlömer from the LEGO Icons team, known to his colleagues as Captain Hans for his love of all things Star Trek.

Engage!

How the LEGO® design team made it so

First, let’s meet the model. The LEGO Icons Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D™ is a large-scale 3,600-piece set of Starfleet’s legendary flagship. It includes a detachable command saucer, secondary hull, warp nacelles with distinctive red and blue detailing, an opening shuttlebay and two mini shuttlepods.

Hans talked us through the design process.

“We wanted a model of substantial size that could balance on a single display stand arm,” he said. “The shape of the primary hull (the saucer section) was designed with angled panels that add density to the disc, and to get this oval shape right, we developed two new LEGO bow elements.”

“The two warp nacelles, connected to thin, curved pylons, and the attachment of the detachable saucer disc were another challenge in terms of model stability. But the saucer separation function, although rarely used in the series, is such a key feature. We applied sideways building with plates, especially in the neck area, to achieve the right sturdiness.”

Trek fans will love the experience of building the ship and of displaying it in their homes, where it can sit on an angled display stand that features a detailed schematic and ship statistics.

Resistance (to these minifigures) is futile

The Star Trek series has given us some iconic and memorable characters that include an almost impossibly diverse array of captains, crew, androids, Klingons and many more.

This set brings some of the most essential characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation to life and lets you celebrate the best of the series.

“The lineup had to include all the main characters, of course, which is mostly the bridge crew,” continues Hans. “We didn’t go for any particular season of the show, but for the most iconic look of the characters.”

The team finally decided on nine minifigures, starting with the impossibly calm and collected Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his reliable first officer Commander William Riker. There are also the crucial supporting crew members, including Klingon Lieutenant Worf, Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge with his distinctive VISOR, and the android Lieutenant Commander Data. Data’s friend (and sometime dance instructor) Dr. Beverly Crusher is there too, as well as Counselor Deanna Troi, the wise and witty Bartender Guinan and the youthful Wesley Crusher.

There’s a whole heap of accessories to go with each of the characters, including a teacup for the captain and a trombone with a stand for Commander Riker. Then there’s a phaser, tricorder, engineering case, PADD, bottle, portable tractor beam generator and a cat to keep Data company.

Live long and build

Star Trek has remained continually popular since its launch decades ago, and it continues to attract new fans with each iteration. We asked Hans what he thought made the series so popular.

“My first Star Trek experience was watching the original series on our black-and-white TV,” says Hans. “I was just a little kid, but even so, I sensed that this show was special in many ways.”

“The premise of the show is timeless: humanity’s voyage to the stars,” he continues. “To travel into the unknown, to discover and explore – but always with a set of underlying moral beliefs. Star Trek shows us a positive version of the future, where every problem can be solved by teamwork, diplomacy, science and reason.”

Including, it would seem, designing an epic new LEGO Star Trek set.