Midi-Scale USS Enterprise (TOS)

[SteampunkDoc]

Lego USS Enterprise (TOS) by SteampunkDoc, on Flickr

Designed and rendered in Bricklink's Studio 2.0

10.5" Long, 4.5" wide, 3.1" tall

176 pieces

Built to (very roughly) 1:1000 scale

The USS Enterprise was commissioned around 2245, being one of around a dozen Constitution-Class starships. She was one of the most famous vessels of her time, much of that earned under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. She was destroyed in 2285 to avoid capture by the Klingons.

 

 

Here's the fleet so far, with this ship along the NX-01 MOC I designed earlier this year. 

TOS and NX Enterprise Comparison Shot by SteampunkDoc, on Flickr

Edited December 7, 2018 by SteampunkDoc
Formatting error

[Pdaitabird]

Beautiful! I especially like the SNOT technique you've used for the saucer section.

[deraven]

That's a solid rendition at that scale.  I would still call it Mini, though, given relative sizes we're talking about here, but there's not nearly enough Star Trek represented in Lego so I'm just happy to see it!

The deflector dish is nice with the gold/bronze inset, though I wonder if a minifig screwdriver element would look better there for scale instead of that bar?  Simple but effective part use on the top of the saucer dome for the bridge + deck 2 area, too.

Nice build.  

[naugem]

Nice looking ship! The design looks very smooth and clean.

[SteampunkDoc]

20 hours ago, deraven said:

I would still call it Mini, though, given relative sizes we're talking about here, but there's not nearly enough Star Trek represented in Lego so I'm just happy to see it!

The deflector dish is nice with the gold/bronze inset, though I wonder if a minifig screwdriver element would look better there for scale instead of that bar?  

I never thought of using a minifigure screwdriver, that's a great idea. But is that even available in pearl gold? 

Honestly, you may be right about the proper scale. What's the technical division between the two? I picked it because it seems closer in physical size to the midi-scale sets Lego released a while back, as opposed to the mini builds like those found in the Advent calendars. 

Do mini and midi refer to the scale to the real thing, or the size of the model regardless of scale? 

 

Thanks! The outer SNOT was inspired by Paulygons, though I heavily modified the upper and lower sections of the saucer. 

I'm so happy with how smooth and stud-less it looks. While the studs add a nice texture to the NX, one of the defining traits of the 1701 is the refined, polished angles. It took a while to find the just the right parts for that. Thankfully, they were available in light gray.

 

 

[bondp99]

Impressive!

[AmperZand]

On 12/7/2018 at 6:05 PM, deraven said:

...there's not nearly enough Star Trek represented in Lego...

My sig fig agrees. The lack of Star Trek in LEGO is illogical.

@SteampunkDoc, Nice design. Looking forwards to seeing it built out of LEGO.

Edited December 8, 2018 by AmperZand

[Hold0511]

Second the other comments - looks great and I'd love to see it in real bricks.  Can't have enough Trek lego...

[sed6]

Nice work! You should put it on the Bricklink Store. 

[Blip]

Love it! And as others have said, it's always nice to see more Trek :)

[SteampunkDoc]

Thanks!

I've actually got them both (1701 and NX-01) built now in real life.

The NX is one solid, rugged hunk of a ship that looks and feels great. 

The 1701 looks very elegant and streamlined, but has a couple serious weak spots. It's also not nearly as sooshable.

 Sorry it took so long to post these pics! (I didn't take many since I don't have a good set-up, and the renders display the details just fine.)

Physical Enterprise Fleet by SteampunkDoc, on Flickr

1701 Enterprise (Physical) by SteampunkDoc, on Flickr

 

Also, does anybody have any idea why there are so very few Trek MOCs? I've heard two reasons why, but neither convinces me.

First, unlike Star Wars, there simply isn't an overlap of interest between it and Lego. Supposedly, few Trekkies build MOCs, and few MOCers like Trek. Honestly, until somebody can provide proof, that seems bogus. I'd say there is a huge overlap of interest. The second is simply that Lego has never released Trek sets, so it hasn't taken off like Star Wars has. However, builders draw from all sorts of themes that Lego hasn't done. The whole point of Lego is being able to build whatever you want, not just stuff that Lego has officially released. 

Unlike Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, each with a myriad of recognizable and distinct locations and characters and scenes, there aren't a lot of iconic things that can be built outside of the ships and the bridges. Yet, I'd imagine the huge variety of beautiful star ship designs alone would be a treasure-trove of inspiration for Lego lovers. 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2018 by SteampunkDoc

[Pdaitabird]

Both these ships look amazing in physical form! The shaping and details are spot on! As for why Trek MOCs seem to be less common, I'd say the main reason is the design of the ships themselves. Star Wars ships tend to be angular and have lots of greebles, which translates well into Lego. Star Trek vessels (especially TNG-era ships) often have sweeping curves and smooth hulls, which are more difficult to pull off in bricks. Or it could be that, as you experienced with your physical Enterprise, ships with long, spindly nacelle struts aren't very swooshable. Regardless, at least you've given us a couple more great Trek MOCs to ogle!