Recommended StarTrek Books

wizardofthenorth

What would be any recommended Trek books, that cover details on Trek Studio models and such?

Destructor1701

I dunno about books, but Memory Alpha has an excellent write-up on (at least) the various Galaxy Class models used throughout the production of the series'.

Galaxy Class Model

feek61

Not sure which Trek you are talking about (I hear there are several) but if you are looking for anything on TOS there is not much. You can check out this great site for information on the original Enterprise:

StarTrek History - Behind the Scenes

wizardofthenorth

You are correct, I could have narrowed it down a bit.

Primarily TOS...but early movies as well.

I know there is no trek equivalent to SW chronicles...but information about the studio models, etc.

KLINGONSNIPER

STAR TREK MECHANICS..... Official guide 4. It's in Japanese, but loaded with pictures. A modellers must have.

Destructor1701

Is Star Trek popular in Japan? I've always gotten the impression that it never really caught on, but then they come out with awesome models like those Bandai snap kits from a few years ago, the cancelled DeAgostini magazine kit, or the ships Aoshima are working on.

KLINGONSNIPER

They're absolutely nuts over Star Trek....

JMChladek

Sounds to me like primarily you are looking for more behind the scenes studio model references as opposed to the ones that talk about the guts of the ships. As such, the choices are a little limited.

Star Trek Mechanics 4 (the Japanese publication) is probably the best reference overall specifically for studio models. It has a little coverage of TOS as there weren't too many behind the scenes shots taken of the studio models. But, it does have some good pictures of the TOS Enterprise built for the DS9 episode "Trials and Tribbilations" in it. There is also some coverage of the TOS Klingon ship as well. The best benefit you get is the shots of the studio models built for the more recent TV shows and some of the movies. There are some rare studio model shots in here.

Back issues of the out of print "Star Trek: The Magazine" have periodically featured images of studio models, although I don't know of an online source for a description of the contents of all the issues. Rick Sternbach did a very nice featurette on the Voyager studio model in one issue with never before published photos. The magazine does tend to be a little more fluff than hard data for modelers though, although each issue usually included 5 view drawings and some of them were of very rare ships typically only visible in background shots or debris fields (such as Borg battle aftermaths). I wish the magazine was still out, but I can see why it is no longer in print as after awhile it became a bit of a rehash.

"The Art of Star Trek" by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens is a good behind the scenes hardcover book with images of stage props and set design. There are some images of studio models, but not many.

"ST:TNG: The Continuing Mission, A Tenth Anniversary Tribute" is a trade paperback covering the behind the scenes production of all seven seasons of TNG. There are some pictures of rare studio models in that, but not much. Still, it is nice to glance at periodically.

The biggest problem with TOS references is to this point, there has never been one studio model related reference ever done in print form. Nobody ever really set out to document things from day one like Star Wars since they were primarily involved with keeping the show in production. So you have to pull a little from here, some from there and then some. The Mechanics book is about as close as it has gotten and their lack of information on some things shows just how tough it can be to find this stuff. I wish the IDIC page was still around as that website had your best one stop shop reference for all things Trek, especially TOS. Some of that stuff is archived, but I don't quite know where to find it.

My advice though is you can probably find the harder to find images online through sites such as this one as opposed to the books, given that the web has allowed for the publication of a lot of previously unreleased material. The Mechanics 4 book would be the primary one to get if you can find a copy (hard as it has been out of print for a few years) and I wouldn't worry about the other two unless you can find them for an inexpensive price at a used book seller.

robn1

Famous Spaceships Of Fact & Fantasy had some info on the TOS Enterprise. And Trek magazine from the 70s had several in depth articles on the models, the Enterprise as well as the Klingon D7 and other ships. Reprints were available in a series of paperbacks called The Best Of Trek.

wizardofthenorth

This has been great, thanks. I had been coming to that conclusion myself (ie not many, if any books on the 'making of' models, SFX, etc)

I too am thinking the Star Trek Sketchbook and Famous Spaceships.

I have seen most of the online images (I think) ie resinilluminate, modermagic, the large set(s) of the k'tinga.



Cheers

Commander Max

Your best bet is to save your money and use the net.

robn1

Are you just looking for pictures, or information on how they were made?

GeorgeC

For pictures of the Refit Enterprise, Shane Johnson's "Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterpise" is probably stilll the definitive book on the layout of the Ship inside and out. Also, the various blueprints for the TOS ships -- fan-generated and officially authorized -- are good, too. Remember, though, that there's no definitive final word on the TOS Enterprise since details were added to the model continuously through the run of the series. There are things on that Ship and all the others you'll have to make judgment calls or coin tosses on.

More on the TOS area Enterprise models can be found here => Constitution class model - Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki

Tons of blueprints of most of the major Starship classes here => Star Trek LCARS Blueprint Database - Star Trek Blueprints Main Page

Be aware again that no single blueprint is the final word on any model... There's always going to be at least minor detail differences between line drawings and three-dimensional objects. Also, in spite of instructions, modelers will generally add details to the miniatures that aren't specifically spelled out.

The Technical Manuals for both ST:TNG (Enterprise-D) and Deep Space Nine are also decent.

Memory Alpha has tons of details on the different models. Look them up by class is my best suggestion or type up a specific Starship name on that website.

wizardofthenorth

I am seeking information on the models themselves. Not how many crew did the D7 hold, or where the phasers fired from (not that those aren't interesting topics at times).

I think I have seen most of the commonly available pictures on the web and information from the usual websites.

I guess I am looking for more detailed information not available in the usual websites.

I am particularly interested in Phase II, and the transition of the ~28" D7 to the ~40" D7/K'tinga.

Also theRomulan BOP from TOS, which I have not been able to find any exact measurements on (they may not exist). Hence my interest in the books, as the info may be covered there.

And info on how they were made.

Thanks

feek61

You are not going to find any additional information on that topic other than what is already out on the internet. I have read most of the books on TOS and they just didn't document those things. In fact, in "The Making of Star Trek" they say the large miniature was 14ft and the saucer was 11 ft. Neither of course are anywhere near correct. It just goes to show that they really didn't care especially since "The Making Of Star Trek" was actually written while the show was in production (between the 2nd and 3rd season) and the author could have just measured it himself since he had full access. You are searching for something that many before have tried in vain to find. It just does not exist to the degree you are looking for.

The best source I know about regarding the construction of the TOS 11ft. miniature is the article in the magazine "Star Trek Communicator" written by William McCullars based on an interview with Richard Datin (who built the miniatures). That is probably the most detailed source of information that I know about. He also talks about making the shuttlecraft hangar deck and space station K-7 miniatures. If you don't have that; get it. It's issues 132 and 133.

I hope that helps at least a little.

robn1

There are a few pics here that may give some idea of scale for the ships.
Models, Sets, Props, Technicians from Star Trek TOS 35mm single frame film clip restorations - a set on Flickr

JMChladek

The Art of Star Trek has shots of the Phase 2 E in it under construction. The book "Star Trek: Phase 2" by the Reeves Stevens pair has more, including a three view line drawing of the ship (which is as close to official as you will find since it was used in the bridge graphics for Phase 2 and never changed for TMP thru Trek III). Many of the details were a bit conjectural though since the model was never finished when P2 became TMP. The book also has a couple black and white shots of an about 75% complete Enterprise in the original concept for the space dock for some fit checks, along with a completed larger section of the secondary hull under the red TOS pennant showing a docking hatch for a travel pod (pod based on a dodecahedron shape). Main thing about the images is they tend to cause more questions about the Phase 2 E than they answer. There are no shots of the P2 Klingon ship models in the book. The only picture of the P2 Klingon D-7 is what was printed on the box of the AMT issue of the Movie Klingon ship.

There are some nice pictures out there of the big K'tin'ga D7 for TMP that I've seen in slide shows at the Wonderfest convention, but never in print form or at least in anything decent. Mechanics 4 has some of the shots, but they are kind of small and don't really convey just how detail heavy that model was. The web is likely your best source for them if anyone has managed to scan them in. I doubt it though as those with the slides tend to very protective of them because in a few cases, some of those images are still Paramount property.

Progrocker

I've been looking for this kind of stuff too! thanks!!

wizardofthenorth

Here is a featurette from ST: TMP. Apparently not on any of the dvd releases.

Star Trek the Motion Picture - Vintage Featurette Reel - YouTube

Interesting info on the models...specifically of interest to me is the pyro klingon battlecruisers. they look to be copy's of the TV version. not even any detail paint at all, just a solid green to my eye.

wizardofthenorth

Also found this home video of the Smithsonian Exhibit (looks to be almost all of the exhibit...not having seen it myself, including the documentaries)

Of particular interest to me is Part 5 which has model shots of the enterprises, botany bay, closeups of the k'tinga, D7

Tour of the Star Trek Smithsonian Exhibit - 1992 - Part 5
Tour of the Star Trek Smithsonian Exhibit - 1992 - Part 5 - YouTube