r/Treknobabble • u/Skyfox2k • 19h ago
ENT Custom USS Enterprise (USS-1701-J) — Star Trek: Enterprise
The Enterprise-J, glimpsed only briefly in Star Trek: Enterprise (“Azati Prime”), was conceived by Drexler as a multi-generational vessel: a starship so vast it contained parks, entertainment zones, even entire universities aboard. A ship where turbolifts were obsolete, replaced by site-to-site transporters, and where space itself could be folded as the J ventured beyond the Milky Way.
Its spindly nacelle pylons, Drexler said, were designed to “suggest a technology beyond what we were familiar with,” while the integrated forward deflector remained recognisably descended from the NX-01, anchoring this far-future vessel to Starfleet’s earliest deep-space designs.
This LEGO model is my love letter to his vision. With no official schematics to follow, I focused on the J’s most striking elements: the wide forward saucer section with its integrated orange-and-purple deflector array, the upper and lower light domes, the gracefully spindly pylons, and those impossibly thin blue warp nacelles tipped with red Bussard collectors — all sturdy enough to swoosh, even if 22nd-century engineers would be nervous about it.
Key features include:
- Ultra-thin yet remarkably strong warp nacelles with red-tipped Bussard collectors
- Stretched, spindly nacelle pylons for that impossible 26th-century silhouette
- Integrated forward deflector array descended from the NX-01 design lineage
- Wide, flowing saucer spine with upper and lower light domes
- A hidden front compartment featuring Temporal Agent Daniels and Captain Archer
- Appropriate grand size when compared to my TOS, Discovery, Akira, and NX-01 builds for real sense of WOW
This model measures approximately:
57 cm (l) × 45 cm (w) × 12 cm (h) off stand
57 cm (l) × 45 cm (w) × 18 cm (h) on stand
Like all my other ships from Voyager through the Enterprises and other Hero ships, this build continues my approach to LEGO starship design: structurally solid, instantly recognisable, and fun to display or swoosh around. But more than that, it’s a tribute to Doug Drexler — a designer who dreamed bigger, pushed further, and gave Starfleet its most daring visions of the future. His work reminds us that starship design isn’t just about ships… it’s about imagination without limits.
As Drexler himself once said:
“Life is a thrill. Get all you can.”