Review: LEGO Star Trek Enterprise-D boldly goes where no Icons set has gone before

LEGO Icons 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D attempts to engage with fans, but is being the first-ever Star Trek set enough to make it a must-have model?

The LEGO Icons theme finally starts to explore strange new worlds in 2025, with the highly-anticipated and long-awaited 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D arriving on Black Friday. The first ever LEGO Star Trek set warps into view with decades of anticipation and potential built-in, but is that really all it’ll take to make it an essential purchase?

10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D

Release: Nov 28, 2025

Retiring: Dec 31, 2028

Price: £349.99 / $399.99 / €379.99

Pieces: 3,600

Minifigures: 9

So, the good news upfront is that 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D manages to tick almost every box for Star Trek fans who have long awaited a LEGO set spinning out of the sci-fi franchise. That includes taking one of the most iconic ships from the near 60-year-old universe and recreating its distinctive shape in brick form and at a substantial size, offering up multiple display options, building in an obscure play feature and charting a course to an impressive minifigure line-up.

The thought of assembling yet another grey, 18+ LEGO ship from 30 bags of pieces might well put some off, but fortunately there are plenty of interesting building techniques used throughout 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D. That includes the overall process of constructing what may seem at first to be random unconnected sections, but they’re parts that eventually coalesce into the distinctive and unique shape of the legendary Galaxy-class vessel.

For starters, let’s talk Federation starship design. During development of what would ultimately become the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series, Senior Consulting Illustrator and talented designer Andrew Probert crafted a more evolved take on the classic Enterprise, one that has a sleeker look, a larger saucer section, an almost eye-like deflector dish, and warp nacelles repositioned closer to the vessel’s centre of mass for better balance. Series creator Gene Roddenberry then tweaked that look further by slightly extending the nacelles and placing the bridge on top of the saucer for more scale.

Recreating that specific iteration of the ship as a LEGO Icons set will certainly have been a real technical challenge for the theme’s design team, yet it’s one that has been tackled with surprising accuracy and attention to detail, which shouldn’t be surprising when considering the DNA behind the model.

The LEGO Star Trek ship’s designer, Hans Burkhard Schlömer, spent many years working on another licensed theme in the shape of LEGO Star Wars. While 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D could have ended up as just yet another similar build, the craft instead manages to perfectly nail its almost symmetrical and clean appearance, one that effectively distances the model from the many LEGO Millennium Falcons we’ve received to date.

That look is perfectly demonstrated in the starship’s removable secondary hull, which employs SNOT techniques to build the vessel sideways, a method that makes this section of the LEGO Icons model surprisingly strong and sturdy. For instance, thin, curved pylons rise up from the rear of the ship to support the warp engines, but there’s no hint of any fragility when handling the completed build.

10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D’s stardrive section also features two key highlights of the LEGO Icons set, with the first being its striking blue deflector dish. Located at the front of the ship are two repurposed trans-blue LEGO Speed Champions canopies, with printing on one side only to simulate the array’s blue glow, achieving the desired widescreen element’s geometry.

It’s an effect that works surprisingly well, one that really draws your eye to 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D and perfectly complements the look of the ship’s second highlight, its twin engines further back. Assembled as a framework of interior pieces capped off with grey sloped elements and a few stickers (more on those later), the warp nacelles feature striking 1x4 elements repurposed from LEGO Super Mario’s Donkey Kong, making their debut here as trans-red pieces.

Those parts represent the Enterprise D’s Bussard Ramscoops, collector arrays that gather interstellar hydrogen for use in the vessel’s power generation and propulsion systems, and they’re just perfect for the job. Topping off 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D’s engines are dark azure plates and trans-light blue tiles on the sides of each engine, which recreate the appearance of the ship’s warp field grilles.

The secondary hull is then attached to the LEGO Enterprise’s command section via some truly genius design, with the saucer section connecting to the top of the stardrive, satisfyingly held in place thanks to a tiny Type-15 Federation shuttle and a Technic pin. Slotting the combined model on to its included black display stand reveals just how sturdy the vessel is and handling the build should definitely be encouraged, although holding it in the correct places is key to avoiding its untimely destruction.

Speaking of the command section, easily the most polarising part of the 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D build is its detachable elliptical saucer, a feature that only appeared in four episodes of the TV show and one movie. Here’s where most of your time will be taken up, with a series of brick-built slices being combined together to form the shape of the starship’s primary hull, one that was designed with angled panels to add density to the disc and really push the limits of what’s possible in terms of structure and overhang for a brick-built ship.

Sadly, there’s no microscale bridge hidden within the saucer section, nor is the LEGO Enterprise a minifigure-scale build. While the latter makes sense, considering the size of the starship, some previous LEGO Star Wars sets have still managed to include tiny characters made from 1x1 round plates, something the LEGO Star Trek model could have easily emulated.

This section of the ship could have potentially ended up being blockier and more angled, but it mostly manages to achieve its smooth, oval shape via two new bow elements that run around the edges of the saucer and feature printed windows on them. There’s definitely more of an unfinished look to the saucer when viewing the model from below, with numerous gaps between plates, although it’s worth noting that even the original TV ship wasn't great from every angle either.

That slight misfire is also reflected in a missing phaser array found underneath the LEGO Enterprise’s saucer section, yet it's one that has been added to the top via silver rod elements. It’s only a minor niggle aimed at the set, but for £349.99 / $399.99 / €379.99 many Star Trek fans will be looking for exactly those kinds of finishing touches.

Speaking of ‘niggles’, there’s no getting away from the fact that a LEGO Icons set of this size and price should really have come with nearly all printed pieces. Instead, builders will have to carefully attach 15 stickers, with some being fiddlier than others (and one in particular boasting an unforgivable error).

However, what printed pieces there are in 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D are certainly appreciated, with the stand-outs being the aforementioned deflector dish plus the starship’s name and registry, located on the top of the saucer section.

Fortunately, the LEGO Icons model also comes with a printed information plaque to position near the ship, as it can’t be attached to the black display stand. It’s a great finishing touch to the overall building experience and features a silver Okudagram with a schematic of the ship, details of the vessel’s construction, the correct launch date and more.

Where 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D really sticks the landing though is with its impressive and accurate minifigure line-up. Included with the LEGO Star Trek set are Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Commander William Riker, Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, Lieutenant Commander Data, Lieutenant Worf, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Counsellor Deanna Troi, enigmatic bartender Guinan, and everyone’s favourite teenager, Wesley Crusher.

Each of the minifigures boasts a spot-on interpretation of the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew cast member, right down to multiple facial expressions on all but Picard, uniforms inspired by Season 3 of the show onwards (other than Wesley’s rainbow sweater), and character-specific accessories.

All nine of the minifigures can be placed on a long display stand next to each other, with only a stickered Star Trek: The Next Generation logo letting the side down. If there’s truly one aspect of 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D that most fans will be satisfied with, it is the set's minifigures, although the selection of characters that are included with the model are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to potential future LEGO Star Trek minifigures many will want to see.

The future of more potential LEGO Star Trek sets is still very much the undiscovered country at the moment, but how well 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D performs should be a key indicator of whether there are dedicated fans out there who’d be willing to invest in such models, despite a cost-prohibitive point of entry for most.

It is a shame that 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D will be locked behind a £349.99 / $399.99 / €379.99 paywall at launch, although that's become an all-too-familiar sign with regard to large licensed LEGO sets. That said, the cost of the 3,600-piece LEGO Icons model does include the first-ever version of the massive ship itself and a must-have minifigure selection, so that barrier of entry is unlikely to deter Star Trek fans with deep pockets (and its day-one gift-with-purchase 40768 Type-15 Shuttlepod will sweeten the deal for Black Friday shoppers).

For now, the LEGO Icons theme has kickstarted this nostalgic voyage with one of the franchise's more distinctive vessels, an engineering feat of genius that boasts extremely accurate proportions, a distinctive shape, fairly rigid construction and an essential minifigure line-up.

It’s this fan’s hope that the LEGO Group will continue to ‘make it so’ and move forward with even more sets based on Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi universe, with 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D charting a new course in what’s possible with a licensed franchise.

Our honest opinion: 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D delivers a truly impressive LEGO take on one of the most iconic Star Trek ships of all time.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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How long does it take to build 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D?

Construction of 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D will take you around nine hours to complete, mostly due to the size of the ship’s saucer and stardrive sections.

How many pieces are in 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D?

There are 3,600 pieces includes with 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, enough to assemble the Federation's flagship vessel, stand and minifigure line-up.

How big is 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D?

The completed 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D model measures over 27cm high, 60cm long and 48cm wide when placed on its angled black display stand.

How much does 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D cost?

10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D is priced at £349.99 in the UK, $399.99 in the US and €379.99 in Europe and launches on November 28, 2025. Insiders members can also get their hands on a free 40768 Type-15 Shuttlepod GWP from November 28 to December 1 with all purchases of the LEGO Icons model, while stocks last.