Brick Fanatics' staffers are picking out their personal favourite LEGO sets of the past 12 months as part of our look back over 2025. Kicking things off is Matt with a LEGO set that heads into the final frontier...
Choosing my absolute favourite LEGO set at the end of each year is like asking me which of my kids I prefer over the other (hint: it’s my eldest). However, while there have certainly been a number of must-have models that have made their way into my LEGO collection in 2026, there’s really only one that stands head and shoulders above the rest.
The first-ever long-awaited and highly-anticipated LEGO Star Trek sets arrived last month and to say they were well-received would be something of an understatement. This year’s big Black Friday release was 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, a 3,600-piece model based on the Federation’s flagship vessel, as seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series and films.
Launched under the LEGO Icons banner, 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D is a true beast of build, one that consists of a two-part hull, with a large, removable command saucer, stardrive section with twin engine nacelles, two display stands complete with pitch-perfect minifigures of nearly every main character, and a printed information plaque.
In addition, 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D was accompanied by the first-ever minifigure-scale LEGO Star Trek model in the shape of its own dedicated GWP, 40768 Type-15 Shuttlepod. The 261-piece promotional build also gained an exclusive Ensign Ro Laren minifigure to further sweeten the deal, making both builds essential pick-ups for fans.
Come Black Friday, 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D popped in and out of stock over the shopping weekend at warp speed, eventually ending up on back order until February 2026 at the time. 40768 Type-15 Shuttlepod vanished even faster than the larger LEGO Icons set, with the latter model now completely sold out and fetching a pretty penny on the secondary market.
The pace at which both LEGO Star Trek builds were snapped up may well have surprised some, but many fans of the near 60-year-old sci-fi franchise (myself included) were in no doubt as to just how popular those builds would eventually prove to be.
While there have been a whole galaxy’s worth of LEGO Star Wars sets released over the last few decades, Paramount’s Star Trek still remains an undiscovered country, with multiple iterations of the TV show, movies and animated series all ripe for potential brick-built spin-offs (as detailed here).
Now, there are no hints at this stage that more LEGO Star Trek will be on the way any time soon, but the success of both 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D and 40768 Type-15 Shuttlepod should send a clear message to Billund that the demand for a full theme based on the IP is definitely out there.
That voyage to the brick-built final frontier has certainly started off much stronger than many may have expected, with the first iteration of the iconic Enterprise setting a high standard for what we might potentially expect next.
However, 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D isn’t without its shortcomings. For starters, it will be an expensive point of entry for many fans hoping to start their own LEGO Star Trek collections (when the set eventually becomes available again) and some may not even have the room to display such a massive ship.
Then there’s the odd mix of some fantastic, printed pieces, such as the striking blue deflector dish, which uses two repurposed trans-blue LEGO Speed Champions canopies, and 15 stickers that should really have been printed elements in a model of this price.
Speaking of stickers and the cost of the set, criticism has also been rightly levelled at an unfortunate misspelling contained within 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D’s elliptical saucer section, but at least the LEGO Group has confirmed that it will be correcting that mistake going forward.
Yet, for its handful of minor faults, the LEGO Icons set just has way too many satisfying details to detract from its few shortcomings. From capturing the unique curves of the distinctive shape of the ship and utilising SNOT techniques to assemble the vessel, to its ability to split into two separate sections and its fantastic collection of nine spot-on minifigures, 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D is a model that should continue to steadily sell well until it eventually retires.
As a long-time Star Trek fan, I’m very impressed with the LEGO Group's tentative first steps into the 24th century and am eagerly waiting to see if more licensed models based on Gene Roddenberry’s universe continue to go where no builds have gone before.
10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D can be purchased from LEGO.com for £349.99 / $399.99 / €379.99, but is currently on back order in the UK and Europe until the end of January 2026, and temporarily out of stock in the US.
You can discover everything you need to know about 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D by taking a look at our full review of the LEGO Icons model here, its impressive minifigure selection here and its sold out GWP right here.
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