I'm not specifically trying to denigrate Ms. Nichols' character by saying this:
It should be noted that that the celebrities we find ourselves worshipping far too easily could very well be complicit with some scams like this one.
Alleged Screen Used Hero TOS Phaser up for auction (now the aftermath)
- Thread starter Anakin Starkiller
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I'm not specifically trying to denigrate Ms. Nichols' character by saying this:
It should be noted that that the celebrities we find ourselves worshipping far too easily could very well be complicit with some scams like this one.
You have a point; I just think in her case they deliberately targeted her.
Seems likely.
JMSupp
Well-Known Member
How many "authentic" midgrade phasers, specifically P2s, are out there? Two, maybe four? Six?
For some reason, I have the number of possible P2 midgrades at 6 in my head.
#1 West Coast Collector - Acquired from friend via Irving Feinberg.
#2 Zolar-X, currently at the MoPop in Seattle
#3 "Plato's Stepchildren" - Nichelle Nichols, gift from Fred Freiberger. (Profiles in History)
#4 "The Could Minders" - Nichelle Nichols, gift from Irving Feinberg.
#5?
#6?
Fakes have gotten so common, and so good, that they can be almost indistinguishable from authentic props. (Look at the last 94 pages!) Therefore, documenting the origin and the chain of ownership is absolutely vital to authentication.
On that note, it's awfully convenient that so many recent props have old letters with them, not only stating their origin, but also which episode they were used in... It gets my Spidey sense tingling, that's for sure.
For some reason, I have the number of possible P2 midgrades at 6 in my head.
#1 West Coast Collector - Acquired from friend via Irving Feinberg.
#2 Zolar-X, currently at the MoPop in Seattle
#3 "Plato's Stepchildren" - Nichelle Nichols, gift from Fred Freiberger. (Profiles in History)
#4 "The Could Minders" - Nichelle Nichols, gift from Irving Feinberg.
#5?
#6?
Fakes have gotten so common, and so good, that they can be almost indistinguishable from authentic props. (Look at the last 94 pages!) Therefore, documenting the origin and the chain of ownership is absolutely vital to authentication.
On that note, it's awfully convenient that so many recent props have old letters with them, not only stating their origin, but also which episode they were used in... It gets my Spidey sense tingling, that's for sure.
This.
In most recent cases of auctioned phasers, the provenance has either been virtually nonexistent, or suspiciously specific in the details, like someone trying too hard to be convincing.
I can't get into specifics, but the so-called chain of custody for the "hero" auction was quite suspicious. While on location filming for a particular TOS episode, a hero phaser was damaged. The P1 was given to a guest-star, and the P2 sent to Wah Chang for repairs, but was never returned before the show was cancelled. Each component was eventually sold to different people, who magically found each other and reunited the phaser, many years later.
Yeah, right. There are red flags throughout, as well as that one obscure detail which I've previously alluded to, where it seemed like the guilty party was "signing" their work in a way they believed casual fans and/or auctioneers wouldn't notice.
And now it looks like poor Nichelle Nichols, either taken advantage of in her declining health, or perhaps even complicit in the scam, popped up with not one but TWO midgrades. Whose story is also fishy.
asalaw
Master Member
This has been brought up before, but why would they send it to Wah? Is there a compelling reason not to do it in-house? Hell, Feinberg's assistant could probably do it overnight. He wouldn't be the first guy to pull an all-nighter and then show up at 7 am call with a fixed prop. Of course, that might send him into "golden time" (triple time). Or not. They did have three other backups...
Come to think of it, why wouldn't you give it to Jimmy Rugg?
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Remember, too, that, unlike the communicators and tricorders, Wah did not actually build the phasers. He just repainted and dressed them up with more detail after the first few episodes.
asalaw
Master Member
Exactly--and the in-house prop makers did the midgrades, showing they could create the same look. The Wah story just doesn't hold water. I think a broken hero P2 would have been given to Jimmy Rugg for repair, since he did the internals in the first place IIRC.
I don't believe he did.
Although it should be noted that the auction phaser allegedly came from a second season episode.
Onigiri
Sr Member
Well, heres where it gets interesting. The new 'super accurate' FG shells are longer than the SW shells. There is an accurately reproduced tell on the new shells that appears to be missing on the NN mids. The new RJS shells I believe are accurate to the midgrades but NOT the heroes. Every measurement of the Jein hero matches the overall dimensions of the Wand. The RJS shells are longer but the SW (earlier shells are pretty darn close to GJ hero. If the NN phasers, already seemingly absent a tell that the SW was also missing are also shorter than the RJS well...
Im of the belief that the original Hero phasers were made from different molds and have been an advocate of the different molds theory for a very long time. I personally think the midgrades offered up at auction were made from SW shells. When I showed Ron pics of the HA auction phaser and he straight out said 'those look like my parts!'. I dont think Ron made the HA phaser but he seemed to think the components were his. I suspect something similar with the NN mids. Just my 2 cents.
Im of the belief that the original Hero phasers were made from different molds and have been an advocate of the different molds theory for a very long time. I personally think the midgrades offered up at auction were made from SW shells. When I showed Ron pics of the HA auction phaser and he straight out said 'those look like my parts!'. I dont think Ron made the HA phaser but he seemed to think the components were his. I suspect something similar with the NN mids. Just my 2 cents.
Onigiri
Sr Member
Thought I read that because he wasnt union Roddenberry used him under the table.By the 3rd season he had very little control and consequently Wah didnt get used, everything being done in house. Somebody please correct me if Im wrong.
asalaw
Master Member
The only thing in S3 I can even think of that would fit Wah's mold is the rock monster suit in Savage Curtain, but I've never heard that he made that.
No inside info on this, but I'm reasonably sure that the Heritage "hero" was made from Shanko shells and Lussier metal.
asalaw
Master Member
So let me get this straight, did Shanko have access to a known original midgrade and base his shells on that?
That's a good question. I'm not intimately versed with Shanko or the history of his kits.
I don't think it was his midgrade shells. But, it could be his V3 as a starting point.
Asalaw, Shanko did examine a real mid at some point. But, his midgrade shells (The S&W) were not made by him. They were sculpted by Steve Wright (I think I got that name correct) and then cast by Ron (with permission)
There ya go.
I decided not to enter the “there may have been many molds and many different masters of molds” debate as the basis to explain why some purported original phasers do not match each other…
I’m going to head over to a Star Wars thread and try reignite the “rivets vs. screws” debate, instead.
Wish me luck…
The current Fiberglass Phaser shells I see being offered appear to be too long, in my opinion, due to the length of the Phaser I.
Here is a build of the new shells measured against a John Long “Hand Phaser” build (which is, itself, supposed to be a bit longer than an original) and Robn1 shells…
Original Jein Phaser One.
The original appears to be roughly 88 - 90 mm long (exclusive of the front lock plate)
My shells from Robn1 appear to have pretty much nailed the size:
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