I Could Have Sold This LEGO Set For Over $500

This is actually a set review for #910027-1: Mountain View Observatory which is part of the Bricklink Designer Program. It was originally released in 2023 and I hadn’t built it since then, but also didn’t put it in the store. It contains 3,876 pieces and originally retailed for $249.99. This worked out to $0.064 per piece, but now good luck getting it for under $500 in new in sealed box condition. I had it new and my kiddo said “hey, let’s build this one.” So I caved and we built it.

The front of the box shows the full built set while the back shows the different levels of the observatory.

The set contains 25 numbered parts bags with some having more than one bag per number. There are three bags without numbers containing larger pieces. There is a sticker sheet, but no printed instructions. To be honest, that’s why it takes me a while to get to the Bricklink Designer Program sets. I have a few that I’ve been holding for a bit, but I don’t enjoy building with a screen. I like the opportunity to be off of a screen when I’m building.

Here is the sticker sheet. There are quite a few. They look okay and help with the design, but it would have been better to assemble without stickers (as always).

The first bag assembles the base using plates instead of a baseplate and then the start to the walls of the first floor. The structure of the build is not that exciting. Lots of stacking bricks and building walls at 90 degree angles. It’s the details on the inside that make the build exciting. Bag one has two minifigues. One is a female worker and one is a male worker.

Bag two adds some of the interior details. The office items are fun and the giant screen system for controlling the telescope looks cool.

Bag three adds to some of the outer structure to make it seem like the observatory is built into a mountain. Bag four finishes up the walls for the ground level. I like the mechanical room with some of the different controls and storage.

To complain more about the build, there is a lot of stacking of bricks. In bag three, you create the item on the right three separate times. Then I grabbed a gray one from my collection (on the left) and realized you are just recreating a BURP! What!?!?!? Really???? It seems as though this was built using a digital design program and the builder just did a copy and paste to add the detail. Maybe I’m wrong, but if you were free building this, I don’t see you repeating that design three times. That’s my opinion anyways…

Bags five and six add to the exterior details with lots of cheese slopes and then a water feature. There’s also a walkway into the building built as stairs over the water.

Bag seven finishes up the ground level section while bag eight constructs a separate section to connect to the base.

Bag nine adds a tree to the outside with some frogs in it. You also get two more minifigures.

Bag ten starts the second level. The floor is made of plates and then the walls start with bricks being stacked.

Bag 11 continues to build the wall while bag 12 adds details on the inside. There are some great items in here to include a display shelf with various space items, a soda machine, a space suit, a model rocket, and a worker’s desk.

Bag 13 adds more details with a small rover and spaceship model. There’s also another space suit on display.

Bag 14 finishes up the floor with walls and three minifigures (to include a baby). You can see one of the large stickers on the outside of the wall.

Bag 15 adds a colorful tree out the exterior which adds some nice color to the set. There are more frogs in this tree.

Bag 16 begins the next level.

Bags 17 and 18 build up the section where the telescope will be located. Again, lots of stacking of bricks and repeat patterns. Not super interesting here, but thankfully, not a lengthy part of the build.

Bag 19 finishes up this level. It’s pretty much just a walkway to the stairs to the telescope. You also get two more minifigures and a display stand with a sticker for the workers to explain the solar system.

Bag 20 begins to build the section where the telescope is located. The base is made of plates and then bricks are used to make the rounded dome. There is also a light brick here to light up the telescope area.

Bags 21 and 22 continue with the dome build and add some details inside. The telescope is built on a Technic system to angle it up and down which is a fun play feature.

Bags 23 and 24 continue with the use of bricks, plates, and cheese slopes to get the rounded shape of the dome.

Bag 25 finishes up the dome. The outer pieces can be moved to close the dome up if it’s raining in your LEGO city. Also, the dome rotates freely 360 degrees so you have two fun play features to add to the telescope movement in the building.

The set comes with six adult minifigures, two kid minifigures, and a baby. Additionally, there is a blue spaceman and a white astronaut on the second level, but they do not come with faces, just solid colored head pieces. Nothing rare or original, but a decent amount to set up around the building and on the outside areas.

Here’s the final build. The exterior walls weren’t fun and I didn’t enjoy the landscaping builds on the outside. The interior details were fun to assemble with a lot of great details. Overall, it wasn’t my most favorite build, but I’m not complaining. Should I have sold it? Too late now. It doesn’t fit with the modular buildings, but with enough BURPs and other pieces, you could really get this looking like it was on a mountain.

Which Bricklink Designer Program set should I build next? And how long should I wait to build it?

Happy building!

Set Review - #40820-1: Up-Scaled Santa Minifigure

The up-scaled minifigures continue! This one is #40820-1: Up-Scaled Santa Minifigure. It contains 761 pieces and retails for $59.99. This works out to $0.079 per piece which is okay, but could be better considering this is not a licensed theme. This set was released on 2 October 2025. This set is similar to the other up-scaled minifigures, but of course is of Santa.

The box is similar sized as the other up-scaled minifigure sets and shows the full minifigure on the front. On the back is the minifigure sitting and then a picture showing the dimensions and that the arms move like a regular minifigure.

The set contains seven numbered parts bags and an instruction booklet. The bags were the new paper kind that you can recycle. The instructions don’t have the QR code you can scan for insider points which stinks.

Not to disappoint you, but the build is very similar to the other up-scaled minifigures. If you are looking for an exciting or different build, this isn’t the set for you. Bag one starts the torso with the Technic internals so the arms move. Bag two adds a printed panel on the front with Santa’s belt and belly.

Bag three adds the legs which move in the same way that a regular minifigure moves. Bag four adds the arms and hands.

Bag five starts the head. There is a small build in the head like the other up-scaled minifigure sets. I won’t spoil it, but emphasis on small. The face part is printed and not a sticker so that’s good.

Bag six adds the beard which is a difference between this set and some of the others.

And bag seven wraps it up with Santa’s hat.

There you have it. Another up-scaled minifigure. If you’re a fan of these sets, then definitely pick it up. If not, then this one is an avoid. We’ll see if this one goes on sale before retirement or not. Could be a good set to get a GWP if you are looking to get an order above a certain limit.

Happy building!

Set Review - #40878-1: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Figures - Brickheadz

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in LEGO form. This time however they are in Brickheadz form. Set #40878-1: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Figures includes all four of the pizza eating characters. This set was released on 1 April 2026 and contains 567 pieces. At $39.99 it works out to $0.071 per piece. This isn’t bad, but considering there are lots of small pieces and only a few small printed pieces, it could be better.

The box shows the four characters on the front and the back. Both show the Brickheadz logo and the TMNT logo. The front identifies these figures as numbers 301 to 304.

The set contains four parts bags numbered one through four and then an unnumbered bag with the plates for the base of each character. The instructions are included in a paper bag.

There are four instruction booklets with one for each character.

The first bag includes a brick separator and builds Leonardo. I only included the final build of each character, but each one has a 2x2 round tile in the stomach area because it is a pizza print. This was a fun Easter Egg for the set. All four figures are mostly the same, but with some slight variation on the mask around the head, weapons holders, the shade of the color green used, and a 1x1 round printed tile with their first initial on the belt. Leonardo is built in the first bag. He has the two katana swords and his belt holds a sword holder (that doesn’t actually hold swords).

The second bag builds Raphael. He is a lighter shade of green and is holding his sai weapons. You’ll notice a few slight differences in his belt and mask, but otherwise, the build is similar.

The third bag builds Michelangelo in a teal green color. I don’t recall there being that much variation in color of the four, but I guess it helps to mix things up for the set. He has his two nunchucks and they have a small chain so they swing like one would expect.

Last is Donatello with his bo staff and a pizza tile in his other hand. Donatello is built with a much lighter green color, but is still mostly the same as the others.

Here are the four. I think the proportions of their faces are off. I would have put a stud of space between the eyes and the mouth area. It looks like they have very large foreheads.

Other than that, if you are a Brickheadz collector, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan, or you like pizza tiles, then grab this set. For those not into any of those things, I’d pass.

Happy building!

Set Review - #10337-1: Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole - Icons

I picked up another overpriced Icons car. This one is #10337-1: Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole. It was released on 1 July 2024 and contains 1,506 pieces. It retails for $179.99 which works out to $0.12 per piece. I got a GWP in the process so I guess that lessened the blow, but was it worth it?

The box shows the car on the front and then the back shows some of the features and a picture of the actual vehicle. The dark red on the box with the white car makes the box look sharp. It’s also a cool touch with the interior of the build being the same brick red color.

The set contains 11 numbered parts bags, one unnumbered bag, some wheels, and then the windscreen and instructions are in a paper package.

Here are the instructions and the windshield. The instructions have a few pages of information on the actual vehicle for those of you that enjoy reading about what you are building.

As expected, the first bag starts with the frame of the car and installs a few axles. The second bag continues to build this up and adds some of the brick red colored interior. It also includes the shifter or at least what represents that part.

Bag three adds in the front axle and the ability for the wheels to turn. It’s not a huge angle, but it’s enough to get the vehicle to turn.

Bag four adds in the seats to the vehicle. They are built in the brick red color as well.

Bag five adds in the doors that rotate up instead of out. I had to look it up, but I guess they also call these scissor doors.

Bag six adds an engine in the back. It uses claw pieces for the 12 cylinders. There are two red whips on the side which are clipped on. I lost a clip for the one side in this picture so it looks a bit off. I had a spare clip and added it on later.

Bag seven starts to build out the white body of the vehicle and starts in the back with part of the roof.

Bag eight adds wheel covers over the front and part of the front bumper and lights. I was super excited that there were no stickers and the Lamborghini logo is printed on a white cheese slope in the front..

Bag nine adds in the front trunk, headlight covers, and the rest of the front of the vehicle. The headlight covers are built in an interesting way using SNOT techniques.

Bag ten adds the brake lights in the back and creates the interesting angles in the back. I think the designers did a great job here creating the angles without a lot of gaps between pieces.. It looks really good! It also adds in the tail pipes.

Bag 11 wraps up the build with the final parts of the body, the rear spoiler, side mirrors, and the wheels. There are actually two wheels on each side in the back (one smaller and one larger) while there is one wheel on each side in the front. Also the wheels are installed in different directions so the hubcaps look slightly different between the front and back.

Overall, I enjoyed this build. There were some great building techniques, no stickers, and the vehicle looks pretty slick! This vehicle is way overpriced though. I know it’s a Lamborghini and so there are licensing fees, but come on!

I guess it’s your call. Do you like building these vehicles and you can find a deal or get a GWP? Or is it too expensive and you wait to see if it goes on sale before retirement?

Happy building!

Set Review - #71052: Series 29 Collectible Minifigures

Another round of non-licensed Collectible Minifigures. YAY! Series 29 was released on 1 May 2026. The price remains at $4.99 each and the packs of six are still available. This one should be around until September unless they sell out first. Overall, I’m a fan of this bunch. There are some creative and different minifigures along with a few to add to the various costumed themed minifigures.

Robot T.Rex: There are a bunch of dinosaur costumed minifigures and this one is along that theme only a robotic version. This one comes with a battery.

Marine Biologist: We’ve had swimmers and scuba divers in the past, but this one comes with a clown fish and a trans-pink leaf/coral piece. There is a 2x2 tile with a drawing of a fish and the number 106 on it.

---

BIONICLE Cosplayer: I’m not a BIONICLE fan, but for those that are, they will enjoy this one. Otherwise, this is just another attempt to please BIONICLE fans I guess.

Monster Hunter: This one is pretty creative and could go with multiple themes. I think it would work great in a Steampunk theme which would be fun for some builders.

---

Boba Cup Fan: I have never had boba tea, but this is a fun minifigure. I like the use of the unicorn horn for the straw tip.

Trash Monster: For some reason this one was the hardest for me to find. It’s got some interesting features with a 2x2 tile decorated as a rotten pizza box, a fish skeleton with a 1x1 round tile with a fly on it, and then the head is a rotting jack-o-lantern head.

---

Chocolatier: This one goes great with one of the recent Bricklink Designer sets (#910039-1: The Art of Chocolate). The chocolate dragon is a fun piece and the minifigure’s face expression goes great with the simple design for the chocolate tool.

Tuba Player: The timing of this one goes with the recent #11371-1: Shopping Street modular building that has a music shop in it.

---

Football Goalkeeper: Great timing with the World Cup starting soon. We had a referee recently and now the goalkeeper.

Cute Witch: Is the gray animal a cat? I think so. I like how they printed cats on each one of the legs.

---

Unicorn Elf: The minifigure isn’t all that exciting or different, but the unicorn is a fun addition which actually uses the unicorn horn piece as a unicorn horn.

Mysterious Ronin: Why can’t we just call this a Ninjago minifigure?

Set Review - #10357-1: Shelby Cobra 427 S/C - Icons

If you’re a fan of LEGO, you know that they have a lot of car sets in a lot of themes. The Icons theme has a lot of cars to include this one, #10357-1: Shelby Cobra 427 S/C. It was released on 1 July 2025 for $159.99. It contains 1,241 pieces which works out to a pretty terrible $0.129 per piece. Sadly, the higher prices seem to be a trend across LEGO themes.

The box has the standard Icons look with the front showing the built set along with the Shelby Cobra logo. The bottom has the Icons greebling as usual. The back shows a rear view of the car, some close up details, and it has a schematic with the dimensions.

The set contains eight parts bags that are numbered and two bags without numbers. One unnumbered bag, which I forgot to include in the picture, has the windscreen. There’s an instruction book and a small sticker sheet.

Bag one assembles the base of the vehicle. It includes the front axles, the start of the steering column, and the start to the seats. It also adds in the pedals made with small spoons.

Bag two adds in the engine, steering wheel, and the start to the dashboard. There’s a note in the instructions about a bet that a passenger couldn’t catch a $100 bill off of the dashboard when you accelerate the Shelby Cobra.

Bags three and four add the doors to each side. This was a challenging part of the build that is built using some different techniques instead of just stacking bricks. When I first started it, I couldn’t tell what I was building until the end. This part was great!

Bag five adds the hood and windscreen.

Bag six finishes off the front bumper and headlights.

Bag seven adds in some of the back of the car and trunk. It also adds in the seats.

Bag eight wraps up the build with the trunk, a trophy, and a tool box. The wheels are added as well.

Here are the pictures of the final build. The doors open, front hood opens, and back trunk opens. The wheels can turn left and right as well. Overall, I really enjoyed this build. It was a challenging build with some great techniques. It almost made up for the set being overpriced, but not really. I think the car looks great, but the price detracts from the great build and look of the set. I grabbed it with a GWP so that helped somewhat. If you want to buy it, look for double insider points, GWPs, or other opportunities to add value. Or just avoid it…

Happy building!

Set Review - #21358-1: Minifigure Vending Machine

There are a lot of themes that seem to repeat items in LEGO… vehicles, buildings, castles… and then there’s the Ideas theme where we get some pretty interesting, one off sets we never thought possible. This one is one of them. #21358-1: Minifigure Vending Machine was released on 1 June 2025 and it contains 1,343 pieces. At $179.99 this works out to a ridiculously high $0.134 per piece. Some people will claim there are bigger pieces and 16 minifigures so that justifies the higher price. I think it’s just LEGO pushing for higher prices, but that’s just me. Onto the review…

The front of the box shows the full set with a fun logo and highlights that this is LEGO Ideas set #66. One of the balls is open with a teal spaceman assembled holding a coffee mug and a donut printed 1x1 round tile. The back shows some additional minifigures assembled along with explaining how the vending mechanism works. There’s also a schematic highlighting the height and width.

The set includes 11 numbered parts bags and two paper bags containing the clear window pieces. There’s also an instruction book.

Bag one builds the base of the machine. The first ball is a male minifigure holding a 5 cent printed tile and a mini vending machine. It also contains a brick separator. The instructions show how you can use a brick separator to separate the minifigure balls.

Bag two builds up the bottom rim of the machine with some rounded pieces. It also finalizes the ramp where the balls will roll out to. This bag contains a teal spaceman and a female pirate minifigure with a map and pistol.

Bag three adds more of the structure for the lower part of the machine. There is a curved ramp that will be where the selected ball drops down on. This bag adds a Kraken Warrior which is considered a new castle theme.

Bag four builds up more of the bottom section of the machine. This one includes a gold spaceman and a Paradisa minifigure with a parrot.

Bag five adds the mechanism which connects the crank, coin slot, and the mechanism to distribute the balls. This part is made with Technic pieces and it is pretty complicated to assemble. If you’re not an experienced builder, get ready for a challenging assembly. This bag contains a Griffin Knight which is another new castle them.

Bag six adds some parts to cover the Technic mechanisms. This one contains a Fabuland minifigure and another Kraken Warrior.

Bag seven adds the outer covering of the crank section and the handle for the crank. It also adds the first 10 cent coin to use to get a minifigure. It also adds a section that is made with mostly plates that rotates around when the crank is turned. There is a gap in the plate to allow for a minifigure ball to drop down. Very clever! This bag adds another Paradisa minifigure.

Bag eight adds the outside of the bottom of the machine with mostly tiles and some slope pieces. There is another Griffin knight in this bag.

Bag nine finishes off the bottom portion of the machine and includes a male pirate minifigure.

Bag ten uses the large amount of clear panels to create the bin for the minifigure balls. That bag includes another Fabuland minifigure and another gold spaceman.

Bag 11 completes the build with a top to the vending machine. It includes a LEGO Ideas designer as the minifigure,

Overall, it’s a great looking set. The red curves really make the machine stand out and there are just enough studs showing to remind you that it is LEGO and not an actual machine. The minifigure selection is great and opens it up for you to add your own minifigures to sweeten the deal (Star Wars or Marvel maybe). It’s a good build that uses some interesting techniques to make the machine functional and there are some decent pieces if you are a MOC builder.

The price is… ugh… not good. I got a GWP with it when I made the purchase so that helped some I guess, but this one is expensive. I realize there are 16 minifigures and the new ball pieces along with all of the clear panels, but there aren’t any licenses or anything to worry about so what’s up with the high prices?

If you can somehow find a deal on this set, pick it up. Or wait for a good GWP or double insider points. Otherwise, maybe you should hold off one this one unless you are okay with the price.

Happy building!

Set Review - #40791-1: The Goblet of Fire™ Figures - Brickheadz

I grabbed another Harry Potter Brickheadz set recently. This one is #40791-1: The Goblet of Fire™ Figures which depicts the characters from the book and movie of the same name. This set was released on 1 September 2025 and retails for $49.99. It contains 671 pieces which works out to $0.075 per piece. $10 per character seems a bit steep to me, but all the sets have been going up in price so our only other option is to stop buying them. This one has yet another Harry Potter Brickheadz and another Cedric Diggory as well. New to the bunch is Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum. You also get a representation of the Hungarian Horntail.

The box is similar to most Brickheadz boxes with the characters shown on the front and the back.

Okay… it’s a terrible picture. I admit it. My build time has decreased so I used some time waiting in my (parked) car to start this one. The set contains six numbered parts bags and the instructions are in a paper envelope.

There are five instruction booklets with one bag per character except for the Hungarian Horntail which uses bags two and three. Bag one contains a brick separator.

Bag one builds Harry in his Triwizard Tournament attire. He has a wand and his broom. Nothing overly special for this build.

Bags two and three build the Hungarian Horntail dragon figure. It’s odd in that the dragon is much larger than the humans, but is depicted as the same size here. I’m not sure how I feel about the decrease in size. I do like the design however. It’s a cool looking character and the use of yellow eye tiles is a nice change from the standard black with white. The tail and wings are moveable if you want to change the pose for display purposes.

Bag four builds Fleur. One difference here is her left hand isn’t a clip to hold something, but instead uses a piece that you can clip something onto. She is holding a small dragon which is a unique piece to this set (I think) so that’s a cool addition.

Bag five builds Viktor Krum. With his no frills hair style, the build is even less exciting as you don’t need to add different curves and slopes for the hair. He is holding a snitch which we’ve had before.

Bag six builds Cedric. Again, nothing exciting here. The same technique as Fleur is used for the left hand so he can hold a clip piece that holds the golden egg.

Here are some pictures of all the Brickheadz at the end. As always, if you are a collector of Brickheadz or a Harry Potter fan, this set might be for you. Wait for Double Insider points, a great GWP, or maybe a discount when it is close to retirement. Otherwise, I’d pass on this set. Not a lot of great pieces for MOC builders and while still under the 10 cents per piece mark, the price seems a bit steep considering what you get.

Happy building!

Set Review - #40861-1: Sulley, Mike, and Boo - Monster's Inc. - Brickheadz

Mike Wazowski!!!! Sulley and Boo too! Another Disney Brickheadz set. This one is #40861-1: Sully, Mike and Boo. It was released on 2 March 2026 and retails for $24.99. It contains 303 pieces which works out to $0.082 per piece. We’re at Brickheadz numbers 294, 295, and 296. Can you believe we’ve had that many already?

The box shows the three on the front and then shows them again on the back.

The set contains five parts bags and three instruction booklets. Bags one and two are for Sulley, bag three is for Mike, and bags four and five build Boo. Of note, the instruction booklet for Boo only lists bag four on the front, but inside includes the usage of bag five. Whoops! A quality control miss there LEGO.

Bags one and two build Sulley. The blue color is about right and there are 1x1 round tiles to capture the spots. Obviously there is no fur so it doesn’t look super real as compared to the movie version, but I think it’s close enough.

Bag three builds Mike. I realize it’s a Brickheadz character, but I feel like he doesn’t have the roundness that you’d expect like the movie character. The top of his head especially with the use of cheese slopes and quarter round tiles doesn’t quite capture it. I do like the eye how they have the larger round white and then the standard Brickheadz eye tile on top of it.

Bags five and six build Boo. Nothing overly complicated or different here. I do like how they used the… I’m not sure what the piece is called… It’s like a stud attached to an angled rod… anyways, it has the right angle to give her pigtails which is a nice touch and with the round plates in there, she has hair ties on each one.

Here are the final builds. As always, if you are a Brickheadz collector or Monster’s Inc. fan, These are for you. Otherwise, feel free to avoid them. $25 and $0.08 per piece isn’t bad, but could be better (even with the IP). Piece type is okay, but nothing super special for MOC builders. These typically don’t go on sale, but you could get them at a discount before they retire. I got a GWP in the process of getting these so that helped.

Happy building!

Set Review - #10356-1: USS Enterprise - NCC-1701D - Star Trek: The Next Generation

SPACESHIP!!!!!!!!!!!! No, not that kind of spaceship. This one is different. And just to start… LEGO, I hate you! How did you know that I was a Trekkie as a kid and that this set would appeal to me. I don’t normally do this, but yes, I did buy this set on release day which was 28 November 2025. Yes, I paid the $399.99 for 3,600 pieces which works out to $0.111 per piece (yikes)! I did get the Shuttle Pod GWP and I may sell it so that could help lessen the price (maybe).

The box is pretty sizeable with the full build on the front along with the set name and Star Trek logo. The back shows the set, minifigures, stand, sign, dimensions, and the ability to split the ship into sections. The top of the box shows the nine minifigures and Data’s cat.

The box contains 30 numbered parts bags, a parts bag that is not numbered, two long tubes, two instruction books, and a smaller sticker sheet.

The set comes with two instruction books. The first book builds the engineering sections with the engine nacelles. The second book is for the saucer section.

There is a small sticker sheet which is mixed in with some printed pieces. I’d prefer no stickers, but these weren’t too bad to install.

Bag one builds the minifigure stand and the first minifigure which is Dr. Crusher. It also starts to assemble the engineering section. Bag two continues this section.

Bag three continues the engine section. Bag four starts to look like a half of the engine section. You can start to tell at this point how the designer achieved the different curves of the ship. This bag adds in a young Wesley Crusher.

Bags five and six start to assemble the other half of the engine section which is a mirror of the other half of the engine section.

Bag seven connects the two sections and it really starts to come together as looking like the USS Enterprise. Bag eight adds in some curves on the bottom of the section and you can see the slots where the stand is connected.

Bag nine adds in the blue dish on the front and the reddish-orange impulse engine on the back. This bag adds in Commander Riker and his trombone.

Bags 10 and 11 assemble the stand. It is a mix of Technic pieces and System pieces and despite its size and the overall size of the ship, it holds up quite well at the end and keeps the ship stable.

Bag 12 begins to build the engine nacelles by starting with the top covers. Additionally, it adds Geordi La Forge, the ship’s engineer.

Bag 13 adds the blue color of the nacelles with trans-blue pieces. The picture shows how the designer used SNOT techniques to enable the connections between the top and what will eventually be the bottom pieces.

Bag 14 adds the bottom connection sections and you can see how it clips onto the rest of the ship. Bag 15 adds the red fronts to the nacelles and connects the final nacelles to the engine section.

Bag 16 switches to the saucer section and the second instruction book. At this early stage, you can’t tell what parts you are building

Bag 17 adds more pieces and in the picture, the right side in the picture will become the back of the saucer.

Bag 18 adds more to include what will be a shuttle bay and one of the shuttles (or at least a miniature version of a shuttle).

Bag 19 adds in some of the internal connections that will connect to the pieces that enable the curved shape. Additionally this bag comes with Data and his cat Spot.

Bags 20 and 21 build out the main supports on the left and right of the saucer section. Bag 22 adds in plates and tiles in the center part of the saucer.

Bag 23 continues to build out the saucer section and adds the Captain Piccard minifigure. Most importantly here is the bridge section is built and you add in a great printed piece with the ship’s name and number..

Bag 24 then begins to fill in the gaps that exist in the saucer section. Each section is pretty similar and it clips into the subsection that was built previously.

Bag 25 continues to fill in the saucer section and adds the Counselor Troy minifigure. Almost done by bag 26.

Bag 27 finishes up filling in the gaps of the saucer section. Bag 28 adds the additional impulse engines on the saucer section. The Worf minifigure comes in this bag, but I failed to include it in this picture.

Bag 29 adds some details on the bottom of the saucer. Finally bag 30 wraps up the build by adding the windows on the edge of the ship. The instructions note that they were black originally until the show’s creator’s changed the model so that it could be lit inside to have lights in the windows. The last bag includes Guinan and makes reference to the 10 Forward gathering area.

The last bag also builds a placard for the ship. It is printed. YAY!!!!

Nine unique minifigures and a stand to put them on with a sticker logo. As a Trekkie, I can’t complain here. I’m sure these will be popular. Were there others that should have been added? Maybe. I think this is a good representation and it captures the main characters well.

Here’s the final build. I think it looks great! I made the comment to someone that it’s a good thing it came out now instead of when I was a kid as I would have been bugging my parents like crazy to get this as a LEGO fan and Star Trek: The Next Generation fan. Lots of great pieces and the build was fun, but the price… ouch! The GWPs helped, but still it’s a lot. Not sure it will ever go on sale, but look for opportunities to get double VIP points, GWPs, or any other bonuses you can to lessen the pain if you have to get it.

Happy building!

Engage!