Alleged Screen Used Hero TOS Phaser up for auction (now the aftermath)
- Thread starter Anakin Starkiller
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Hey, gee, wasn’t there some talk around here about a fake TOP GUN flightsuit going for auction, a year or two back, too?
And now there’s another one in this TODAY video, along with the phaser?
Huh.
And now there’s another one in this TODAY video, along with the phaser?
Huh.
Well, it’s the first time that I’ve heard someone say that the only pieces that must be genuine are ones that don’t match other confirmed screen-used pieces.
I guess that could be a valid point if the replica exactly matches a know original in every detail (duplicating paint loss, etc.)
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Notice how everything is made to sound authoritative, with just enough BS detail to convince casual viewers that the "experts" know what they're talking about.
So this guy in the video is the “ co founder” Anyone ever heard of him ?
ghostryder
Legendary Member
Yeah... lot of the finer details and patch stitching doesn't line up with stills from the film. The original American flag has a background in red with the white stripes embroidered. The black and white "arrester hook" of the Centurion 100 patch is supposed to be *under* the number 1, not over it. The black USN patch is on a felt base on the original - this one it's fully embroidered:
Attachments
There ya go. Convincing enough at first glance, but revealing in the fine details. Which fits the pattern. And if one sells, then why not another, down the line? And then another? No one will notice. No one will care. Easy as pie.
Ladies and gents...we have a business.
AnubisGuard
Master Member
Kind of makes one wonder how much of accepted history is the result of deliberate fraud and forgery.
Star Trek: Original Series "Plato's Stepchildren" Type 2 Phaser Pistol at Profiles September 2019 Hollywood Auction 112 from Nichelle Nichols Collection
On September 25, 2019, Profiles in History will be offering a rare Original Series Type 2 Phaser Pistol, originally from the collection of S...
Studio Auctions: Hollywood Treasures Part I — FILM REVIEW
Studio Auctions is a new Los Angeles-based boutique auction house specialising in entertainment memorabilia. Co-founded by collector Brad Teplitsky and Heroprop’s Tiana Armstrong, Studio Auctions aims to improve the auction experience for consignors and buyers. The Studio Difference includes engagin
www.filmreviewdaily.com
In the video, watch Mr. Teplitsky 
whip the alleged phaser around by the handle with his hand gestures. Are we to believe that this is how one should treat such a rare and delicate piece of history? Even our favorite 'expert' feigned some respect while holding it during this charade.
whip the alleged phaser around by the handle with his hand gestures. Are we to believe that this is how one should treat such a rare and delicate piece of history? Even our favorite 'expert' feigned some respect while holding it during this charade.
So the Trek items are fake ?In the video, watch Mr. Teplitsky
Okay, gang.
I’ve been sitting on this for two years. One of my sources told me the story behind the so-called “hero” phaser which was auctioned off by Profiles in History, and sent me scans of relevant documents from the auction. At the time, my source suggested I wait until after the auction to present these scans for public discussion, if at all.
I think it’s been long enough. I’ve grown deeply tired of this whole thing, and maybe letting this one particular cat out of the bag will get people thinking and talking about the level of fraud we’re dealing with, here.
Set faces to “stunned”.
Here’s the story.
Allegedly, during the production of “Friday’s Child”, a hero phaser was damaged while on location, and so a member of the crew gifted it to one of the guest actors working on that episode. But ONLY the P1. And that P1 was later re-gifted by the actor to a friend whose daughter was a TREK fan, who eventually sold it to a third party.
Meanwhile, the damaged P2 body had supposedly been sent to Wah Chang for repairs, but he “never got around to it”, and ended up selling it after the show was cancelled.
Years later, the owners of the individual phaser components came into contact with each other, and got together to determine if the P1 fit into the P2, which it did. They then eventually decided to to consign the phaser to Profiles in History for auction.
The consigners each wrote their Letters of Authenticity, but were initially unable to get one from the (still living) “Friday’s Child” actor who had originally acquired the P1, since the actor had asked for a cut of the final sale price before agreeing to provide a LoA. Yet, oddly, a copy of a vintage, handwritten letter from the actor to their friend (the one who was re-gifted the P1) appeared and was submitted to PiH very shortly thereafter.
This entire story and all of the documents submitted are full of red flags. Scans of those very documents are included below, but I’ve redacted the names. Well, except for one. The most important one.
“Phillip Boyce”.
Now, your average person—maybe even your average STAR TREK fan—wouldn’t react to that name. But we hardcore fans all know that Doctor Phillip Boyce (John Hoyt) was the Enterprise’s chief medical officer in the original pilot episode, “The Cage”.
So, is the person who consigned the P2 just a HUGE fan of the pilot episode, to the point of changing his name to that of the ship’s doctor? Is it just a staggering coincidence that someone consigning what was allegedly an authentic STAR TREK prop just so happened to share the name of an obscure STAR TREK character?
Or maybe, just maybe, could it be that the perpetrators of this fraud arrogantly wanted to sign their work with a little inside joke which they thought no one would ever notice?
Another red flag includes the handwritten letter from the actor suddenly appearing right when it was convenient to help prove the phaser’s “authenticity” (…and just why would the actor have a handwritten, duplicate copy of a handwritten letter which they gave—along with the phaser—to their friend?).
Also, the actor’s signature on their LoA clearly exhibits vector-processing artifacts. As if it was copied and pasted into the LoA from a digital source (perhaps an image of their signature found online), rather than hand-signed.
If I were to speculate, I’d say that the actor in question may not actually have been involved in any of this (and, as noted above, their signature on the LoA thus likely falsified), or, if they were involved, then their advanced age may have allowed them to be misled or coerced. Worst case scenario would be that they were in on the scam, but I sincerely doubt that.
I would not recommend that anyone here try to seek out or contact this actor to verify any of this. As it happens, there were many actors and extras in that particular TOS episode, which is helpful in terms of concealing the actor’s identity for the purposes of this discussion. I’d also like to point out that they may or may not still be alive, at this point. I’ve left this all very deliberately vague.
Anyway, this is the story behind the “hero” phaser auction prop. Red flags across the board. Logic holes big enough to fly a starship through. No actual proof. Highly-questionable documents (which all read to me like they were written by the same person).
And they got away with it.
I’ve been sitting on this for two years. One of my sources told me the story behind the so-called “hero” phaser which was auctioned off by Profiles in History, and sent me scans of relevant documents from the auction. At the time, my source suggested I wait until after the auction to present these scans for public discussion, if at all.
I think it’s been long enough. I’ve grown deeply tired of this whole thing, and maybe letting this one particular cat out of the bag will get people thinking and talking about the level of fraud we’re dealing with, here.
Set faces to “stunned”.
Here’s the story.
Allegedly, during the production of “Friday’s Child”, a hero phaser was damaged while on location, and so a member of the crew gifted it to one of the guest actors working on that episode. But ONLY the P1. And that P1 was later re-gifted by the actor to a friend whose daughter was a TREK fan, who eventually sold it to a third party.
Meanwhile, the damaged P2 body had supposedly been sent to Wah Chang for repairs, but he “never got around to it”, and ended up selling it after the show was cancelled.
Years later, the owners of the individual phaser components came into contact with each other, and got together to determine if the P1 fit into the P2, which it did. They then eventually decided to to consign the phaser to Profiles in History for auction.
The consigners each wrote their Letters of Authenticity, but were initially unable to get one from the (still living) “Friday’s Child” actor who had originally acquired the P1, since the actor had asked for a cut of the final sale price before agreeing to provide a LoA. Yet, oddly, a copy of a vintage, handwritten letter from the actor to their friend (the one who was re-gifted the P1) appeared and was submitted to PiH very shortly thereafter.
This entire story and all of the documents submitted are full of red flags. Scans of those very documents are included below, but I’ve redacted the names. Well, except for one. The most important one.
“Phillip Boyce”.
Now, your average person—maybe even your average STAR TREK fan—wouldn’t react to that name. But we hardcore fans all know that Doctor Phillip Boyce (John Hoyt) was the Enterprise’s chief medical officer in the original pilot episode, “The Cage”.
So, is the person who consigned the P2 just a HUGE fan of the pilot episode, to the point of changing his name to that of the ship’s doctor? Is it just a staggering coincidence that someone consigning what was allegedly an authentic STAR TREK prop just so happened to share the name of an obscure STAR TREK character?
Or maybe, just maybe, could it be that the perpetrators of this fraud arrogantly wanted to sign their work with a little inside joke which they thought no one would ever notice?
Another red flag includes the handwritten letter from the actor suddenly appearing right when it was convenient to help prove the phaser’s “authenticity” (…and just why would the actor have a handwritten, duplicate copy of a handwritten letter which they gave—along with the phaser—to their friend?).
Also, the actor’s signature on their LoA clearly exhibits vector-processing artifacts. As if it was copied and pasted into the LoA from a digital source (perhaps an image of their signature found online), rather than hand-signed.
If I were to speculate, I’d say that the actor in question may not actually have been involved in any of this (and, as noted above, their signature on the LoA thus likely falsified), or, if they were involved, then their advanced age may have allowed them to be misled or coerced. Worst case scenario would be that they were in on the scam, but I sincerely doubt that.
I would not recommend that anyone here try to seek out or contact this actor to verify any of this. As it happens, there were many actors and extras in that particular TOS episode, which is helpful in terms of concealing the actor’s identity for the purposes of this discussion. I’d also like to point out that they may or may not still be alive, at this point. I’ve left this all very deliberately vague.
Anyway, this is the story behind the “hero” phaser auction prop. Red flags across the board. Logic holes big enough to fly a starship through. No actual proof. Highly-questionable documents (which all read to me like they were written by the same person).
And they got away with it.
AdmiralBaxter
Sr Member
No, Although it's really easy to find out who he is as Tia is on Facebook and she's rather honest...Star Trek: Original Series "Plato's Stepchildren" Type 2 Phaser Pistol at Profiles September 2019 Hollywood Auction 112 from Nichelle Nichols Collection
On September 25, 2019, Profiles in History will be offering a rare Original Series Type 2 Phaser Pistol, originally from the collection of S...www.startrekpropauthority.com
Studio Auctions: Hollywood Treasures Part I — FILM REVIEW
Studio Auctions is a new Los Angeles-based boutique auction house specialising in entertainment memorabilia. Co-founded by collector Brad Teplitsky and Heroprop’s Tiana Armstrong, Studio Auctions aims to improve the auction experience for consignors and buyers. The Studio Difference includes engagin
Star Trek: Original Series "Plato's Stepchildren" Type 2 Phaser Pistol at Profiles September 2019 Hollywood Auction 112 from Nichelle Nichols Collection
On September 25, 2019, Profiles in History will be offering a rare Original Series Type 2 Phaser Pistol, originally from the collection of S...
Oh, hey, look, another super-convenient letter. This one being from Fred Freiberger to Nichelle Nichols, ostensibly written after the filming of “Plato’s Stepchildren” (which, of course, is Ms. Nichols’ most historically-famous episode, and something even casual fans know about), in which he gifts her the so-called midgrade phaser.
Do you get it, yet? Do you see the pattern, here?
Prop Collector
Sr Member
The video of her that they shared is disturbing. She's clearly not cognizant.
AdmiralBaxter
Sr Member
This is interesting as I've NEVER seen a typewriter from that period in time ever time letters lined up so well.Star Trek: Original Series "Plato's Stepchildren" Type 2 Phaser Pistol at Profiles September 2019 Hollywood Auction 112 from Nichelle Nichols Collection
On September 25, 2019, Profiles in History will be offering a rare Original Series Type 2 Phaser Pistol, originally from the collection of S...
Oh, hey, look, another super-convenient letter. This one being from Fred Freiberger to Nichelle Nichols, ostensibly written after the filming of “Plato’s Stepchildren” (which, of course, is Ms. Nichols’ most historically-famous episode, and something even casual fans know about), in which he gifts her the so-called midgrade phaser.
Do you get it, yet? Do you see the pattern, here?
View attachment 1742882
There used to be a font you could get that looks identical to the one used. I just can't figure why the letter is typed on heavy duty recycled drawing paper?
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