Enterprising fan builds perfect miniature model of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s starship bridge

Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Enterprise-D bridge in miniature. Image Geoff Collard

Star Trek fans have always found new and exciting ways to express their love for the franchise. From cosplaying and creating art to producing entire fan films, there is no shortage of creativity coming from die-hard enthusiasts, and the COVID-19 lockdown period in the U.K. gave Star Trek fan Geoff Collard the time he needed to finish a special project of his own.

Collard, a woodworker and model maker by profession, has recreated the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D, from Star Trek: The Next Generation, in miniature. In Collard’s walkthrough video of the model, you can see the 1:15 scale replica of the bridge, with working lights, bridge sounds and even a functioning viewscreen, with all of it being run by Collard’s laptop computer.

To stay busy during the lockdown, Collard resolved to finish the bridge of the Enterprise-D, a model he started building seven years ago. The meticulously crafted bridge model is about the size of an average desktop and took months to complete, involving more than 500 hours of labor. The detail is so impeccable that some have speculated photos and videos of the model are actually computer-generated images. This illusion has Collard proud of his accomplishment. “I am so glad that all the time I’ve spent on it...people are seeing it. And I have fooled them,” Collard said in the BBC video coverage of the model. “A lot of them think it’s a CG [model],” he continued, “Obviously, I’m looking at it now and it looks like a model. But I love it when I take photos of it and it looks real.”

Collard’s video already has more than 13,000 views. You can see the full walkthrough of this stunning recreation on YouTube, and be sure to check out the Model Makers Facebook page, where you’ll find dozens of photos detailing the construction of this amazing piece of Star Trek art.