Review: 40768 Star Trek: Type-15 Shuttlepod

TNG Romulan Warbirds and TNG Klingon Birds of Prey would be my jam. Much better than the Federation ships.

Love the set, but it's boxy shape reminds me that LEGO Star Wars hasn't done more to tap into the theme park stuff and give us the bus-like Starspeeder 3000 (or 1000) for that franchise's own civilian shuttle. You'd think everyone is flying in fighter jets and smugglers freighter in that world...

@nushae said:
"These specific-to-a-model GWPs feel like the content left out of games just so it could make more money as DLC :/"

They remind me more of pre-order bonuses (are those still a thing?), both in terms of their content and their presumable intention.

Alien ships would be more interesting than just more shuttles and Enterprises, but I imagine they'd have to go with either smaller ships or a smaller scale to get them down to a viable price point.

I do quite like this set, even though I know nothing about Star Trek. The shaping looks nice, and I think it’s a nice compact little build.

@Crux said:
" @Ephseb said:
"this would have been the perfect opportunity tp bring back piece number 6039 from the '90s space themes…"

You're not wrong about that part being useful here, but - space-themes? It appeared in one space-set, the other fifteen sets it popped up in were all just Earth-based. Mostly, I'll grant you, the wet parts of Earth, but still."

So even more not-space than above ground Earth.

@HOBBES said:
"There are still quite a few large sets (some retiring soon) on my list before this - decisions, decisions..."
Ditto.... and still banking on them saving the best for next year's 60th anniversary!

I have a feeling we'll get a larger Star Trek Shuttlepod model at some point

@Crux said:
" @Ephseb said:
"this would have been the perfect opportunity tp bring back piece number 6039 from the '90s space themes…"

You're not wrong about that part being useful here, but - space-themes? It appeared in one space-set, the other fifteen sets it popped up in were all just Earth-based. Mostly, I'll grant you, the wet parts of Earth, but still."

I thought Aquazone was on another planet? So really a Space subtheme, if so.

@560heliport said:
" @Crux said:
" @Ephseb said:
"this would have been the perfect opportunity tp bring back piece number 6039 from the '90s space themes…"

You're not wrong about that part being useful here, but - space-themes? It appeared in one space-set, the other fifteen sets it popped up in were all just Earth-based. Mostly, I'll grant you, the wet parts of Earth, but still."

I thought Aquazone was on another planet? So really a Space subtheme, if so."

I have seen no word of proof of this.

@Crux said:
" @560heliport said:
" @Crux said:
" @Ephseb said:
"this would have been the perfect opportunity tp bring back piece number 6039 from the '90s space themes…"

You're not wrong about that part being useful here, but - space-themes? It appeared in one space-set, the other fifteen sets it popped up in were all just Earth-based. Mostly, I'll grant you, the wet parts of Earth, but still."

I thought Aquazone was on another planet? So really a Space subtheme, if so."

I have seen no word of proof of this. "

I can't prove it; just a vague memory of the little bit of story printed on the inside of the lids of the larger sets.
Regardless, that octagonal cone piece would have been good here.

Clearly the sales strategy going forward with similar sets will be an almost essential GWP that encourage a RRP purchase rather than waiting for discounts once sets become available more widely.

@kolaxanthe said:
" @bomeara said:
"While thinking about ideas for future sets:

Star Trek Advent Calendar

Small ships, a starbase, Data with a violin, Picard in vacation attire, a 3x3 Borg cube…"

I've never bought a Lego advent calendar for myself, but I would definitely get a Lego Star Trek advent calendar"
I have the Star Trek advent calendar from two years ago, and it was indeed awesome. Such cool minibuilds and so many unique and exclusive printed pieces. The TOS bridge on the 24th was particularly cool.

https://www.steine-kanal.de/bluebrixx-star-trek-adventskalender-inhalt-der-24-tuerchen-und-review/

If this *were* available at retail, I'd definitely get it, but it doesn't bother me all that much that it isn't. May look for it on the secondary market come December, though...

@Rimefang said:
"I do sincerely hope this set and the 1701-D leads to an actual Star Trek retail theme with sets featuring smaller ships like this, playsets, and a wide array of characters. It'd be a shame to lock it all away in expensive and limited Icons sets and GWP."

I'm hoping for a TOS shuttlecraft. I'd also be up for the TNG version or the Delta Flyer.

@shaase said:"I'm hoping for other ships like the Enterprise. Perhaps like Lego SW we'll get Lego Star Trek MIDI scale ships"

I'd love that, too.

@matrox2001 said:"Needs this part….

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=6039 "

That was my initial thought, too, but the engines were hexagonal, not octagonal, so I'm not sure how much of an improvement it would really be. That said, I really wish Lego had kept those octagonal pieces in production.

@bomeara said:"While thinking about ideas for future sets:

Star Trek Advent Calendar

Small ships, a starbase, Data with a violin, Picard in vacation attire, a 3x3 Borg cube…"

Make it so! I'm not sure you could do a 3x3. One brick with two plates on top is exactly as tall as a two-stud plate or brick is long, so you could do a 2x2. Just stack a 2x2 inverted tile, 2x2 brick, 2x2 tile. There! Mini Borg cube.

@AustinPowers said:"I have the Star Trek advent calendar from two years ago, and it was indeed awesome. Such cool minibuilds and so many unique and exclusive printed pieces. The TOS bridge on the 24th was particularly cool.

https://www.steine-kanal.de/bluebrixx-star-trek-adventskalender-inhalt-der-24-tuerchen-und-review/"

Dang, that's cool. If I'd known about that two years ago, I'd have tried to get it. I'm even a little tempted to try to track one down now! Side note: I had Mozilla translate the page so I could read it, and I don't know if some of the translations were imperfect, or if some things were just called by different names in Germany. Was Star Trek V called "On the Edge of the Universe” over there?

@TheOtherMike said:
"If this *were* available at retail, I'd definitely get it, but it doesn't bother me all that much that it isn't. May look for it on the secondary market come December, though...

@Rimefang said:
"I do sincerely hope this set and the 1701-D leads to an actual Star Trek retail theme with sets featuring smaller ships like this, playsets, and a wide array of characters. It'd be a shame to lock it all away in expensive and limited Icons sets and GWP."

I'm hoping for a TOS shuttlecraft. I'd also be up for the TNG version or the Delta Flyer.

@shaase said:"I'm hoping for other ships like the Enterprise. Perhaps like Lego SW we'll get Lego Star Trek MIDI scale ships"

I'd love that, too.

@matrox2001 said:"Needs this part….

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=6039 "

That was my initial thought, too, but the engines were hexagonal, not octagonal, so I'm not sure how much of an improvement it would really be. That said, I really wish Lego had kept those octagonal pieces in production.

@bomeara said:"While thinking about ideas for future sets:

Star Trek Advent Calendar

Small ships, a starbase, Data with a violin, Picard in vacation attire, a 3x3 Borg cube…"

Make it so! I'm not sure you could do a 3x3. One brick with two plates on top is exactly as tall as a two-stud plate or brick is long, so you could do a 2x2. Just stack a 2x2 inverted tile, 2x2 brick, 2x2 tile. There! Mini Borg cube.

@AustinPowers said:"I have the Star Trek advent calendar from two years ago, and it was indeed awesome. Such cool minibuilds and so many unique and exclusive printed pieces. The TOS bridge on the 24th was particularly cool.

https://www.steine-kanal.de/bluebrixx-star-trek-adventskalender-inhalt-der-24-tuerchen-und-review/ "

Dang, that's cool. If I'd known about that two years ago, I'd have tried to get it. I'm even a little tempted to try to track one down now! Side note: I had Mozilla translate the page so I could read it, and I don't know if some of the translations were imperfect, or if some things were just called by different names in Germany. Was Star Trek V called "On the Edge of the Universe” over there?"

says
title Star Trek V:Am Rande des Universums
doesnt say translation (On the Edge of the Universe)
original title Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

@missedoutagain: As I said, I was going by Firefox's translation. I don't know anywhere near enough German to know how accurate said translation was.

I’ve always thought this original design looked a bit ridiculous. Is this really the best ride humanity could show up in?

@TheOtherMike said:
" @missedoutagain : As I said, I was going by Firefox's translation. I don't know anywhere near enough German to know how accurate said translation was."
"Am Rande des Universums"
was indeed the tagline for Star Trek V over here, which translates as "At the edge of the universe".

American movies often have strange titles in Germany, and very often feature added taglines that don't even exist in the original at all. I have never understood why.

For example, Police Academy I has the added tagline "dümmer als die Polizei erlaubt" which translates as "more stupid than allowed by the police".
Cool Runnings has "Dabei sein ist alles" (taking part is everything) added for no reason.
Ghostbusters adds "Die Geisterjäger" which is literally just the German translation of Ghostbusters.
While other titles are changed completely.
For example Planes, Trains and Automobiles is called "Ein Ticket für Zwei" (A ticket for two).

No idea why this is so often the case. Then again, even the names of LEGO sets, particularly in catalogues in the Eighties and Nineties, are completely different from the names in the US and UK versions. Which might make sense for normal sets like City, where you would simply want the German translation, but with invented names like in Classic Space, why reinvent the wheel with a completely different fictional name.
For example the famous Monorail Transport System 6990 was called "Galax-Star-Express" over here, making it sound more like a passenger train than a cargo one which it clearly is.

@TheOtherMike said:
"Make it so! I'm not sure you could do a 3x3. One brick with two plates on top is exactly as tall as a two-stud plate or brick is long, so you could do a 2x2. Just stack a 2x2 inverted tile, 2x2 brick, 2x2 tile. There! Mini Borg cube."

Consider looking up "Lowell Sphere", they have been done before in 3x3 format. One person turned a 3x3 Lowell Sphere into a Corgi Ball.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/safepit/50818877918

Now all you need to do is add some cyborg greebling to that Corgi, and you'll have your very own Borgi Cube.

@Crux said:
" @Ephseb said:
"this would have been the perfect opportunity tp bring back piece number 6039 from the '90s space themes…"

You're not wrong about that part being useful here, but - space-themes? It appeared in one space-set, the other fifteen sets it popped up in were all just Earth-based. Mostly, I'll grant you, the wet parts of Earth, but still."

sorry for the mistake! I was born too late to own those sets anyway.

@Crux said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"Make it so! I'm not sure you could do a 3x3. One brick with two plates on top is exactly as tall as a two-stud plate or brick is long, so you could do a 2x2. Just stack a 2x2 inverted tile, 2x2 brick, 2x2 tile. There! Mini Borg cube."

Consider looking up "Lowell Sphere", they have been done before in 3x3 format. One person turned a 3x3 Lowell Sphere into a Corgi Ball.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/safepit/50818877918

Now all you need to do is add some cyborg greebling to that Corgi, and you'll have your very own Borgi Cube."

At which point, it wouldn't be 3x3, though. It'd be closer to 4x4, if not bigger.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @Crux said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"Make it so! I'm not sure you could do a 3x3. One brick with two plates on top is exactly as tall as a two-stud plate or brick is long, so you could do a 2x2. Just stack a 2x2 inverted tile, 2x2 brick, 2x2 tile. There! Mini Borg cube."

Consider looking up "Lowell Sphere", they have been done before in 3x3 format. One person turned a 3x3 Lowell Sphere into a Corgi Ball.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/safepit/50818877918

Now all you need to do is add some cyborg greebling to that Corgi, and you'll have your very own Borgi Cube."

At which point, it wouldn't be 3x3, though. It'd be closer to 4x4, if not bigger."

Yeah, it's clearly just a 3x3 cube core with 3x3 plates loaded with greebling strapped on all six sides. If you factor in the stud height, it's even 5x5. It's also not a particularly nice Lowell sphere, because you've got no overlap between the panels, unlike what I got with my main Beholder design, which uses a 4x4x4 core to make a sphere that (not counting the studs) is 16 plates in diameter. A proper Lowell sphere should have ovoid panels where the two ends overlap the sides of two adjacent panels, just as their own sides are overlapped by the other two adjacent panels.

For anyone who wants to play around with the idea, look up Bram's Sphere Generator. Bruce Lowell came up with the original design (which quickly got coopted by the fan community), but Bram Lambrecht realized it was a cumbersome thing to translate into different diameters, so he wrote software to do all the heavy lifting, and turned it into a website that's still active today. I used it to generate a sphere equivalent to 8' diameter in minifig scale, to make Beholders that were the proper size for minifigs. A younger member of my club, who was in high school at the time, used it to create a 10" diameter sphere as a starting point to making Jigglypuff. But when it came to a challenge posed to me by another member of my LUG, I had to go a completely different direction. I was asked how small I could make a Beholder, and the answer ended up being smaller than the size of the body of my regular Beholders. At the core, I used a pair of 67329 bricks, which I had to figure out how to strap together in such a way that also allowed me to attach ten tiny eyestalks and one larger eye, while also incorporating a couple horns and a mouth. It's smaller, but still looks slightly more spherical than those Corgi "balls".

@Oeuf0platieN said:
"I've never watched Star Trek, I don't plan to ever do, and I've never even heard or seen that shuttle before, but even I could have been interested in buying it if it was sold as a small set of its own... it's a shame it's locked behind the GWP threshold."

Même pas pour regarder les aventures de Jean-Luc, le plus british des Français, dans le plus californien des vignobles de La Barre, en Franche-Comté?

That said, I agree on the whole GWP approach being grating to many AFOLs, and not just in this case. I'm a long time Trek fan (although it feels like I'm on the way out) though, so I might yield on that one.

@PurpleDave said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Crux said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"Make it so! I'm not sure you could do a 3x3. One brick with two plates on top is exactly as tall as a two-stud plate or brick is long, so you could do a 2x2. Just stack a 2x2 inverted tile, 2x2 brick, 2x2 tile. There! Mini Borg cube."

Consider looking up "Lowell Sphere", they have been done before in 3x3 format. One person turned a 3x3 Lowell Sphere into a Corgi Ball.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/safepit/50818877918

Now all you need to do is add some cyborg greebling to that Corgi, and you'll have your very own Borgi Cube."

At which point, it wouldn't be 3x3, though. It'd be closer to 4x4, if not bigger."

Yeah, it's clearly just a 3x3 cube core with 3x3 plates loaded with greebling strapped on all six sides. If you factor in the stud height, it's even 5x5. It's also not a particularly nice Lowell sphere, because you've got no overlap between the panels, unlike what I got with my main Beholder design, which uses a 4x4x4 core to make a sphere that (not counting the studs) is 16 plates in diameter. A proper Lowell sphere should have ovoid panels where the two ends overlap the sides of two adjacent panels, just as their own sides are overlapped by the other two adjacent panels.

For anyone who wants to play around with the idea, look up Bram's Sphere Generator. Bruce Lowell came up with the original design (which quickly got coopted by the fan community), but Bram Lambrecht realized it was a cumbersome thing to translate into different diameters, so he wrote software to do all the heavy lifting, and turned it into a website that's still active today. I used it to generate a sphere equivalent to 8' diameter in minifig scale, to make Beholders that were the proper size for minifigs. A younger member of my club, who was in high school at the time, used it to create a 10" diameter sphere as a starting point to making Jigglypuff. But when it came to a challenge posed to me by another member of my LUG, I had to go a completely different direction. I was asked how small I could make a Beholder, and the answer ended up being smaller than the size of the body of my regular Beholders. At the core, I used a pair of 67329 bricks, which I had to figure out how to strap together in such a way that also allowed me to attach ten tiny eyestalks and one larger eye, while also incorporating a couple horns and a mouth. It's smaller, but still looks slightly more spherical than those Corgi "balls"."

While I'm sure all of that is very exciting and invariably true, I'm still over here very much enjoying "Borgi".

@doe said:
"I'd suggest that LEGO makes this available for purchase but with a standard red shirt instead of Einsign Ro and a different shuttle name on the stickers. This way first buyers have an exclusive minifig and also collectors need to have at least two shuttle crafts. I bet it would sell very well!"

I honestly don't even remember this shuttle design. The warp-capable Type 6 shuttle is what people are most likely to remember from that series. This was more like a glorified lifepod, incapable of warp travel, only seating two, and with no way to access the tiny cargo bay in transit. The Type 6 is not only warp-capable, but besides seating two in the cockpit, the rear bay can be used for cargo or passengers, and is accessible directly from the cockpit. I'm pretty sure the only point of using this Type 15 in an episode was to ensure the occupants had no resources at hand. Not being warp-capable, they'd have to be delivered right to their destination, at which point it almost makes more sense to just use the transporter. If they need to be able to travel around on the planet, just give them something warp-capable, so they aren't reliant on the mothership returning to collect them.

@PurpleDave said:
" @doe said:
"I'd suggest that LEGO makes this available for purchase but with a standard red shirt instead of Einsign Ro and a different shuttle name on the stickers. This way first buyers have an exclusive minifig and also collectors need to have at least two shuttle crafts. I bet it would sell very well!"

I honestly don't even remember this shuttle design. The warp-capable Type 6 shuttle is what people are most likely to remember from that series. This was more like a glorified lifepod, incapable of warp travel, only seating two, and with no way to access the tiny cargo bay in transit. The Type 6 is not only warp-capable, but besides seating two in the cockpit, the rear bay can be used for cargo or passengers, and is accessible directly from the cockpit. I'm pretty sure the only point of using this Type 15 in an episode was to ensure the occupants had no resources at hand. Not being warp-capable, they'd have to be delivered right to their destination, at which point it almost makes more sense to just use the transporter. If they need to be able to travel around on the planet, just give them something warp-capable, so they aren't reliant on the mothership returning to collect them."

The Type 7 was in the mix there, too, although that one might be hard to reproduce in Lego. (It was already hard to produce for filming, the full-sized version doesn't look anything like the miniature.)

@Andrusi said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @doe said:
"I'd suggest that LEGO makes this available for purchase but with a standard red shirt instead of Einsign Ro and a different shuttle name on the stickers. This way first buyers have an exclusive minifig and also collectors need to have at least two shuttle crafts. I bet it would sell very well!"

I honestly don't even remember this shuttle design. The warp-capable Type 6 shuttle is what people are most likely to remember from that series. This was more like a glorified lifepod, incapable of warp travel, only seating two, and with no way to access the tiny cargo bay in transit. The Type 6 is not only warp-capable, but besides seating two in the cockpit, the rear bay can be used for cargo or passengers, and is accessible directly from the cockpit. I'm pretty sure the only point of using this Type 15 in an episode was to ensure the occupants had no resources at hand. Not being warp-capable, they'd have to be delivered right to their destination, at which point it almost makes more sense to just use the transporter. If they need to be able to travel around on the planet, just give them something warp-capable, so they aren't reliant on the mothership returning to collect them."

The Type 7 was in the mix there, too, although that one might be hard to reproduce in Lego. (It was already hard to produce for filming, the full-sized version doesn't look anything like the miniature.)"

Apparently the difficulty with the Type 7 was actually the reason this one was created for the show.

I do agree that the Type 15 being so limited is not all that great a loss (Ro being exclusive seems like a bigger deal to me), but I think it might have helped with that perception if there was any indication that a wide-release Type 6 is likely to happen.

@Andrusi said:
"The Type 7 was in the mix there, too, although that one might be hard to reproduce in Lego. (It was already hard to produce for filming, the full-sized version doesn't look anything like the miniature.)"

The Type 7 was ugly, and got replaced by the Type 6, for the most part. It would not lend itself well to a minifig-scale LEGO set, and I don't think it would be sorely missed.

@PurpleDave said:"I honestly don't even remember this shuttle design."

I'm pretty sure that this was used in the episode where they think they've discovered a stable wormhole, only to later find out that the other end changed its location, which led to a couple of Ferengi getting stranded in the Delta Quadrant, where they'd later turn up to annoy Voyager.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave said:"I honestly don't even remember this shuttle design."

I'm pretty sure that this was used in the episode where they think they've discovered a stable wormhole, only to later find out that the other end changed its location, which led to a couple of Ferengi getting stranded in the Delta Quadrant, where they'd later turn up to annoy Voyager."

It was also the one Geordi was in when Romulans kidnapped him and brainwashed him to spill his drink on O'Brien.

@shaase said:
" @Rimefang said:
"I do sincerely hope this set and the 1701-D leads to an actual Star Trek retail theme with sets featuring smaller ships like this, playsets, and a wide array of characters. It'd be a shame to lock it all away in expensive and limited Icons sets and GWP."

I'm hoping for other ships like the Enterprise. Perhaps like Lego SW we'll get Lego Star Trek MIDI scale ships"

I’m thinking Creator 3-in-1-type ship sets— say, the Enterprise-A, Excelsior, and Reliant. There’s a lot of overlap design-wise, and few ships are instantly recognizable to the general public like the various Enterprises.

Maybe the Klingon Bird-of-Prey, but then you’d have people clamoring for the Vor’Cha and the one from TOS, so cover your bases with one set.

@Lance_McCormick said:
" @shaase said:
" @Rimefang said:
"I do sincerely hope this set and the 1701-D leads to an actual Star Trek retail theme with sets featuring smaller ships like this, playsets, and a wide array of characters. It'd be a shame to lock it all away in expensive and limited Icons sets and GWP."

I'm hoping for other ships like the Enterprise. Perhaps like Lego SW we'll get Lego Star Trek MIDI scale ships"

I’m thinking Creator 3-in-1-type ship sets— say, the Enterprise-A, Excelsior, and Reliant. There’s a lot of overlap design-wise, and few ships are instantly recognizable to the general public like the various Enterprises.

Maybe the Klingon Bird-of-Prey, but then you’d have people clamoring for the Vor’Cha and the one from TOS, so cover your bases with one set.
"

BoP is green, Vor'Cha is something in the azure range, and the TOS one is solid grey. Doesn't really work as a 3-in-1, if you want them to be at all accurate.

I wish this was a small set that could be purchased. For a big TNG fan like me who can't afford (and doesn't have room for) the Enterprise, this would have been a must buy.

Honestly, this should have been an entry level set for everyone who can't or won't spend the cash for the Enterprise. But I also see the problem of, not many kids really know Star Trek and not every adult collector is a fan either....so it should be an auto-bundle for getting the Enterprise instead of the very limited GWP.

Have never been a Trek fan as I always steered towards Star Wars but plan on getting these sets as I think they are well done and I will just mixed them into my Star Wars Universe like I did the Guardians of the Galaxy sets. Sadly, more excited for these than the Star Wars sets that they have been putting out recently.