I am hoping you guys can help me solve a mystery behind a DStines TNG Cricket Phaser that I recently picked up on eBay. The seller knew little to nothing about this history of this prop other than he had purchased it on eBay approximately 10-15 years ago. None of the original auction information is available through eBay any longer, and searching through feedback for a familiar seller account didn’t turn up anything. The guy I purchased it from searched for some of the original email correspondences to no avail too.
When I saw the auction on eBay, I immediately recognized it as one of the original DStines TNG Cricket Phasers. I remember when Dennis first offered this prop on the Dewback ASAP forum. This replica was one of his first prop offerings (This was the 3rd. The 1st was the MK X scanner with lights and sound effects, and the 2nd was the MK XV Tricorder) and done at a time when nobody else had successfully tackled the Cricket Phaser. Dennis offered this prop under the name Starfleet Research and Development (SFRD), and developed the electronics in partnership with Jim Shima (Hyperdyne Labs). Pressing the trigger would light up the emitter and spill windows, and the power setting buttons would step up/down the phaser power levels with a chirp. This was also the first phaser prop to incorporate an overload sequence complete with a sound and light show. The phaser was available as a kit, and also as a finished hero build complete with a beautiful display case and name plaque. I recall drooling over this prop when they were first offered, but wasn’t able to afford one at the time. When I saw the auction pop up with the beautiful built hero phaser and that distinctive display case I jumped on it!
Without further adieu, here is my phaser…
So here is where the mystery comes in… This is not a DStines phaser! Here are some beauty shots of the SFRD verson.
I have been able to identify that mine is one of the original SFRD Cricket Phasers and they are the original electronics, but Dennis definitely didn’t do the build or make the display case. While the display case and plaque are very close to the version done by Dennis, they are a little off. Furthermore, I’ve come to learn that Dennis only built these up using the 3rd season paint scheme, not the 1st season detailing that mine has. You can see the differences in the comparison photos below.
Who built this? Where did it come from? Its not really a knock-off in my mind because it is the original DStines kit and electronics. At the same time, if the intention wasn’t to make a knock-off, why emulate the DStines display so closely? It even has the little SFRD logo on the name plaque.
What do you guys think?
When I saw the auction on eBay, I immediately recognized it as one of the original DStines TNG Cricket Phasers. I remember when Dennis first offered this prop on the Dewback ASAP forum. This replica was one of his first prop offerings (This was the 3rd. The 1st was the MK X scanner with lights and sound effects, and the 2nd was the MK XV Tricorder) and done at a time when nobody else had successfully tackled the Cricket Phaser. Dennis offered this prop under the name Starfleet Research and Development (SFRD), and developed the electronics in partnership with Jim Shima (Hyperdyne Labs). Pressing the trigger would light up the emitter and spill windows, and the power setting buttons would step up/down the phaser power levels with a chirp. This was also the first phaser prop to incorporate an overload sequence complete with a sound and light show. The phaser was available as a kit, and also as a finished hero build complete with a beautiful display case and name plaque. I recall drooling over this prop when they were first offered, but wasn’t able to afford one at the time. When I saw the auction pop up with the beautiful built hero phaser and that distinctive display case I jumped on it!
Without further adieu, here is my phaser…
So here is where the mystery comes in… This is not a DStines phaser! Here are some beauty shots of the SFRD verson.
I have been able to identify that mine is one of the original SFRD Cricket Phasers and they are the original electronics, but Dennis definitely didn’t do the build or make the display case. While the display case and plaque are very close to the version done by Dennis, they are a little off. Furthermore, I’ve come to learn that Dennis only built these up using the 3rd season paint scheme, not the 1st season detailing that mine has. You can see the differences in the comparison photos below.
Who built this? Where did it come from? Its not really a knock-off in my mind because it is the original DStines kit and electronics. At the same time, if the intention wasn’t to make a knock-off, why emulate the DStines display so closely? It even has the little SFRD logo on the name plaque.
What do you guys think?
