164 replies to this topic

[Alteran195]

Here's a crappy picture of my current cabinet and the stuff on top of it showing 40cm.



I'm going to buy an identical carabiner to put next to it, and want either the saucer or nacelles to be higher than the Excelsiors.

[Alteran195]

5 and a half hours in, here she is so far. I also have some saucer work done.

[Whirlygig]

Looking good!  I need to build mine yet.  I bought 3 mammoth construction sets last year, the Technodrome, the LEGO firehouse, and this.  I built the technodrome a couple of weeks ago over the course of 2 days.  I built the firehouse a couple days ago in a single sitting.  All that's left is the Enterprise.

 

Any tips?

 

The LEGO build, even with 4600 pieces (1600 more than the 2 Mega Bloks sets), went fairly quick because of LEGO's numbered bags system.  There was a lot less hunting around for pieces.  Whereas the Mega Bloks technodrome was very slow going with a lot of hunting around the room, with no numbering/lettering on bags and no indication in the manual where pieces should come from.  As this is how all Mega Bloks I've done have been I assume the Enterprise is the same.  I took the approach of dumping all the bags into their own styrofoam bowls or paper plates, and spreading those around the table/chairs, and I did sort of notice as I went that my brain formed a cognitive map of where to go for certain types of pieces, and there almost seemed to be a bit of some kind of logic to the bagging, so it sped up as I went (and as the bowls emptied out).  But it was still quite a chore compared to LEGO.

 

With the Enterprise...I'm hoping maybe it will be faster going because it looks, on the surface, like it's mostly a lot of the same exact pieces.  Am I wrong about that?

[1701D]

Building the Enterprise will take you ages... the problem is not all the pieces are the same, you'll find out when you start building but man the pieces that make up the edge of the saucer section are all different. Some have printing on them, others don't, some have little yellow dots on them to simulate sensor lights I guess... it's a bitch but enjoyable. I kind of assorted mine into colours but really I just went for it, probably took a bit longer but I couldn't be bothered to sort through all of the pieces.

A few people have had problems with the set missing pieces and even bags of parts, hope yours is complete!

[Alteran195]

I sorted mine into colors, and separated out any printed hull pieces, or pieces I assumed were hull pieces.

Took me about an hour to sort and bag the pieces.

Then 5.5 hours to build what I've built.

I'd say it's helped, and next time I may actually separate by piece, but don't know how long that would take.

I miss numbered bags.

[1701D]

Blame Lego for MB not being able to Number their bags. They won the right to be the only company able to Number their bags.

Mega Bloks seem to have colour coded a lot of the interior making it a little easier but actually I rather like the freedom non numbered bags allow you. This is a massive jigsaw puzzle and the end result is absolutely worth the time spend on constructing it.

I hope we see more Star Trek sets

[Whirlygig]

I figured that was the case regarding the numbered bags, but I would like to see the wording on whatever that ruling was.  Could they not identify their bags in some other way...letters, lightly tinted bag colors...unique identifying pieces included in each bag...they're just not thinking hard enough if they can't find a way to achieve the same effect without being sued.  

[pickard]

My kids and I are nearly done with the saucer. So far, the build has been fun.

[Alteran195]

Another 4.5 hours today, all that's left is the nacelles.

I will say some of the pieces on the saucer wouldn't stay on correctly, and I actually ended up glueing them down.

[Whirlygig]

Coming along nicely!  If your problems were caused by any warped pieces you can request replacements using an easy form system on their website.  I had to get a ball joint piece replaced from the Technodrome set because it was very badly warped.  Have had other missing pieces easily replaced too from other sets.

 

I had to put this project on the backburner as I converted a room of my home to a more usable office space.  As part of that I got some new display cases which means I have the perfect place to put it now, where it will be protected behind glass and where I should also be able to fit the other playsets and ship.  Maybe I will be able to put it together next weekend, or if not, then still soon!

[trekhunter1701]

Another 4.5 hours today, all that's left is the nacelles.

I will say some of the pieces on the saucer wouldn't stay on correctly, and I actually ended up glueing them down.

Looks good!! Are those IKEA display cases?

[Alteran195]

They are indeed, I like them quite a bit.

It's the detolf.

[trekhunter1701]

I have 2 myself. I display all of my Hallmark ornaments in them.

[Alteran195]

The first one I bought solely for my Eaglemoss ships, the second was for the megablocks Enterprise to sit on.

Im happy with the assortment of stuff in it, with each shelf having a different theme.

[Tiberius]

They are indeed, I like them quite a bit.

It's the detolf.

Would you say, that these are the most consistently ideal shelving? I think that there are add-on shelving available, as in half shelves, with special connectors. I have alternately thought of store shelves, especially when the place goes out of business but they're never cool.
Are they good on carpets, if you link them together?

[trekhunter1701]

Just went to the Mega Bloks updated website and NOT a mention of Star Trek anymore. So once again we're screwed with a line that started good and died quickly.

[1701D]

Well that's a shame. But not really unexpected. Star Trek isn't popular. It's not a kids brand like Power Rangers, it's certainly not Star Wars when it comes to mass appeal... Star Trek is.... well.... errrrm....

Who wants to collect Star Trek toys? It's not popular enough a franchise to have a large line of toy-based product being bought by kids and adults on a global basis. 1992 was the only time Star Trek seemed to appeal to kids and adults alike, spawning the Playmates line. Could that happen again? Well never rule Star Trek out but it would take more than just success with Discovery for an extensive toy line to be developed and for it to have legs.

Animated TV series is something I could certainly see bringing in younger viewers. And I think an animated series would work really well with the Kelvin Timeline movies and comics.

Discovery I guess may just be too grown up for toy companies to show interest in. We'll see though, it could be that Mega Bloks launches a Star Trek: Discovery line later on this year.

[Whirlygig]

We'll discover more at Toy Fair I hope...  Could also be that the line was deliberately put on hold because of Discovery.  I still never saw any of these in any brick and mortar stores other than a single book seller (Books A Million, a B&N clone).  Wouldn't be surprised if this is all we got, but hey, what we got was pretty darn cool!  I mean I'm sick to death of TOS merch but I still am having a lot of fun with mine!

 

Mega Bloks has changed the collector line and older kids branding to Mega Construx..make sure you're hitting their new site www.megaconstrux.com).  The main website is now focused on the larger size blocks for toddlers and below.

 

Trek was always part of this collector's line.  Would never have expected anyone but us adults to be buying them.  Back in 1992 there were a lot less entertainment options for people.  Less movies, less TV channels, no streaming.  Less video games.  A show in the evenings with space ships, and lasers, and aliens?  Easy to see how kids would be interested, even if they had to sit through a bunch of adult dialogue and themes they didn't understand.  Now they have so many other avenues for instant ADD gratification...making a Trek toon or show that would win them over everything else would be tough.

[Alteran195]

I seriously doubt a Trek animated show will work, it just doesn't have the kid appeal.

Using something like Rebels or The Clone Wars to justify a Trek show also doesn't work, because Trek isn't Star Wars. It doesn't have even remotely the same level of appeal as Star Wars, and Discovery isn't going to help that. Especially when it's only on All Access.

I'd very very surprised if Trek ever gets mainstream toy company support again like it did before, everyone that does makes a line that fails to gain any traction.

It's why I'm grateful DST has stuck with it even though I have no doubt Trek sales have declined quite a bit.

[1701D]

I seriously doubt a Trek animated show will work, it just doesn't have the kid appeal.

Using something like Rebels or The Clone Wars to justify a Trek show also doesn't work, because Trek isn't Star Wars. It doesn't have even remotely the same level of appeal as Star Wars, and Discovery isn't going to help that. Especially when it's only on All Access.

I'd very very surprised if Trek ever gets mainstream toy company support again like it did before, everyone that does makes a line that fails to gain any traction.

It's why I'm grateful DST has stuck with it even though I have no doubt Trek sales have declined quite a bit.

I think a Star Trek animated series would work really well. Really well and it's not because I think of Rebels (although the style in which Rebels is animated in would be great for Trek).

The potential is there for a new Star Trek Animated series and for it to tap into a new audience unfamiliar with Star Trek. Sure it would be more action orientated but that's not to say it couldn't have meaningful Star Trek type storytelling at its heart. It's the perfect genre for new stories set in the Kelvin Timeline.

Don't be so sure of it never happening either. An animated series has been bubbling under for a while now and I wouldn't be surprised if something came out of it in collaboration with IDW and Nickelodeon.

Let's be honest, Paramount/CBS need to do something to keep Star Trek relevant and even though Star Trek: Discovery will hopefully do a lot to improve Star Trek's relevance, its not going to be enough.