This isn’t LEGO’s first Star Trek set- that honor goes to the amazing U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D set released last year. However, with this year marking the 60th anniversary of Star Trek, it’s very fitting that LEGO is releasing the bridge of the Enterprise from the original series. LEGO sent me a set in advance, so I’ve got it all built and ready to go for our readers.
What Is The Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Bridge?
Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Bridge, set #11385, is a 1,701-piece LEGO set that includes 8 Minifigures (which is quite a few for a set that size!). When completed, the bridge is 3.5″ high, 22.5″ wide, and 13.5″ deep.
The NCC-1701 Bridge retails for $199.99, and is available to order from the LEGO webstore or to buy at your local LEGO store.
This was my first set that came in the more environmentally-friendly packaging LEGO has been transitioning to. No more plastic bags! There’s a perforated tab at the top of each bag, making them easy to open.
Unsurprisingly with the brick count for the set, there’s only one instruction manual. The first few pages of the manual have information on both the original Star Trek series, and a bit about the creation of the set.
There are also two sticker sheets included. One of the sheets is iridescent, and is almost entirely used while constructing the Transporter Room.
Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Bridge – The Minifigures
Pretty much all of the faces that you expect to see from the Enterprise crew appear here in Minifigure form. As always, the assembly of the Minifigures is spread out through multiple bags. Fittingly though, you’ll put together Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott in the very first bag. As you undoubtedly know, Scotty is the one responsible for keeping the Enterprise running.
There are some iconic accessories, such as communicators, phasers, and even a few Tribbles.
I kind of wish that LEGO had made the Tribbles fuzzy with some flocking, but you can’t have everything. I did appreciate that Uhura’s head includes her iconic communications earpiece.
Assembling the Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Bridge
The first stage of assembling the Enterprise Bridge set is putting together the Transporter Room.
There’s a surprise in the Transporter Room: a breakaway panel that reveals some Tribbles.
The Transporter also has a built-in effect where you can materialize/de-materialize crew members. Here’s a look at that, and the Tribbles:
The bulk of the assembly of the Enterprise Bridge is of the bridge itself.
While there are a lot of stickers in the set, you’ll be happy to know that the control panels for the various crew stations use screen-printed bricks.
You’ll find a lot of nods to the original Star Trek series at the backs of the crew consoles. Here’s Sulu’s rapier from The Naked Time episode:
Bag 11 is devoted to assembling the Turbolift.
It has a mechanism allowing you to open and close the bridge doors. I challenge you to not make the “pssssh” sound as you do so.
Bag 12 is devoted to making the Viewscreen. You’ll see a classic Klingon commander on the screen:
On the back of the Viewscreen you’ll find a wide variety of iconic Star Trek props, including Spock’s harp, 2 Vulcan Lirpas and a Trident Scanner.
After creating the Viewscreen, the last steps are to create the conn, where you’ll have the captain’s chair, navigation, and flight control.
Hidden in the central console is another surprise: yes, it’s another Tribble!
You can also move the Captain’s Chair freely, to simulate the turbulence that the characters would often experience during combat.
Once the conn is assembled, you can easily connect that, the Turbolift, the Transporter Room, and the Viewscreen to the bridge.
Depending on how you want to display your set, you can attach the Transporter Room further up, and/or have the Viewscreen completely detached from the bridge.
Here’s some closer shots of the bridge, with crew in place:
Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Bridge – Final Thoughts
Wow, what a wave of nostalgia building the U.S.S. Enterprise Bridge. This set is definitely a love letter to the original series. The orange on the consoles, railing, and Turbolift doors perfectly matches that of the original series, and with just a small handful of bricks, LEGO has managed to capture the shape of the bridge chairs.
The Enterprise Bridge set is a lot of fun to build, as well. The assembly isn’t overly challenging, but LEGO still manages to pull off some great tricks to create the familiar shape of the consoles and bridge itself. There are some fun play elements in place as well. The Transporter pulled me back to my childhood, playing with the Star Trek Mego Enterprise Action Playset. Much like with that set, you could “beam” a character off the Enterprise. And while I’m generally not a huge fan of stickers, the reflective ones used in the construction of the Transporter really helps to sell the effect.
If you’re a Star Trek fan, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Bridge is a must-have. The set is filled with Easter eggs (all those Tribbles!) and will look great on your bookshelf. I don’t always display every LEGO set that I review, but this one found a place of honor right near my Rivendell set. The LEGO designers have pulled off something pretty special here, and I can only hope that further Star Trek sets are made with such love. If you want to celebrate 60 years of Star Trek, then you’ll definitely want to pick up the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Bridge.
For more information or to place an order, visit the LEGO webstore.
LEGO provided a set for evaluation but had no input into this review.
