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This LEGO^® Star Trek MOC is a replica of the Original USS Enterprise NCC-1701, reimagined in Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Strange New Worlds. Check out the video here!

Quick Facts

• Building time: Three months
• Parts count: Approx 1400
• Versions made: Two
• Dimensions: 68cm / 27″ long, 29cm/11.5″ wide
• Weight: 1.2kg / 2.6lb

Gallery

Scroll down for the full gallery!

The Design Process

The Enterprise was a unique and challenging build. I have been planning to build the classic Enterprise for years, and when I saw the new design from Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Strange New Worlds I knew it was time to build it!

Normally I would start with the saucer section, however I realised that the most challenging section would be the star drive, so I decided to build it first so I could scale the saucer to that. I tried a lot of different strategies and ended up going with a completely “SNOT” (Studs not on top) design, inspired by the Saturn V rocket official set. This posed it’s own set of challenges but it allowed me to build a completely rounded shape with no studs showing!

I built a central cylinder with studs facing each direction and then put plates with curved slope pieces on the outside. To support the weight of the warp nacelles, I built a support from the saucer to the nacelles (so no weight is on the SNOT section).

The next challenge was the warp nacelles. Like Discovery, this is a fairly large MOC making the nacelles heavy and requiring a lot of support. This was difficult to accomplish while maintaining the gap in the center of the pylons (one of the most standout changes in the reimagined Enterprise). There are lots and lots of hinge elements!

After that was the saucer, which was refreshingly straightforward! I used a brick on brick design, with lots of tiles (and inverted tiles). I used a “SNOT” technique to invert the dome underneath the saucer. Though the impulse engines needed a lot of attention to get the detail just right.

The final challenge was the stand, because the SNOT design of the stardrive didn’t create a section to put a lot of support onto. This meant that the ship fell forward with the weight of the saucer. It was time to bring in some Technic pieces to lock everything in! If you look closely, you’ll see that the elements connecting the stand are upside down, and flipped within the stand base.

Combining real and digital

This LEGO^® MOC was a new experience for me because it is the first build I have designed and built in real life (my preferred way) and then copied in digital form. Bricklink Studio is a wonderful program but it is still a tedious process. I learnt a few hacks and tricks, and put it together in digital form while keeping my display MOC of the Enterprise for events!

The benefit of the digital build is being able to do lots of fun edits, renders and images! It also allows me to experiment with changes to the design. But most importantly, it means I can create building instructions so you can have your own Enterprise!

Two versions

I first finished the Enterprise in 2021, before Strange New Worlds had even aired! I was happy with the build, but it was not fully stable and needed more detail. So I made a lot of changes. The biggest change was almost entirely rebuilding the saucer with new elements. You can see below the addition of lots of tiles (and inverted tiles under the saucer) to reduce the amount of studs. I didn’t want to make the build fully “studless” because I wanted it to still be recognisable as LEGO^®.

The other change was less aesthetic – stability. The original build had stands on the nacelles which took away from the ship, and it was very unstable. You can see the below the upgrade to the nacelle pylons which is purely to allow the pylon to fully support the nacelles. I also made a lot of changes to the interior of the Stardrive, adding in “SNOT” elements to reinforce it.

Gallery

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