Julien’s Upcoming Hero Phaser & Communicator Auction

[TOS Phaser]

Remember, the tricorders and communicators were built before the phasers were refurbished, and the refurbishment specifically tried to tie all three prop designs together.

Gregatron, and feek61, I am starting to understand why you both think the 4th ("Lost") Hero P1, that originally had Velcro on the left side (for hanging on gold belts) and was the same shape and thickness as the TMOST P1, was converted by Wah Ming Chang (WMC) to a "closeup" Hero P1 with the jewel and crown. I can find no evidence after "the authentic looking dummy phasers" were first filmed in "Devil in the Dark" that a Hero P2 was ever hung on the black Velcro drop down pad with the exception of the Finney P2 in "Shore Leave"...

However there are two things that bother me:

1. I sincerely believe the Hero P1 on the Finney P2 in "Shore Leave" is the "Lost" P1 not the "Jein" P1. Its rear face is taller than the "Jein" P1 and feek61 pointed out it does not have jewel or crown. (See my previous post with annotated caps.)

2. For the money Wah charged Solow for the "reworking" job - I find it hard to believe that he would rip/strip off the Velcro, and then sand down the glue residue (understand I do not claim to be a prop builder), resurface the left side and then paint it...

Also - I just realized this afternoon when I looked at feek61's post - the Riley/Lenore/Conscience P2 has the Nona P1 on it! (In the thousand things I was concentrated on - I never noticed this when Robn1 first showed me those caps...)

In fact I will post a comparison of the high rez photo (tomorrow) of Lenore holding the RL P2 with the High rez cap of the RL P2 in "Court-Martial" - they both have the same strange P1 top-rear slop - or in-other words - the rear face of the P1 is not as tall as the rear face on the TMOST P1.

Also I would lke to "third" the statement about how much fun it is to discuss these iconic props that every baby boomer recognizes!

When I first saw the Phaser unit # 2s, when I was a kid, I was astonished, amazed and intralled. To say that I love those (4) "practical" props is an understatement!

 

[TOS Phaser]

Dahn, is there a front view photo of the auction "Finney" P2 with the P1 sight raised? Thanks in advance!

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Wow—I have checked out of this thread for a few days…have returned…and now a discussion regarding the newly rediscovered Hero Phaser II and Hero Communicator has gone from an easy to follow thread and discussion…

To this…

Too much to go back and catch-up on, now.

I’ll just say that I agree with every point made, prior to this post.

 

[AdmiralBaxter]

I had some fun mixing a dark grey w/gold hues metallic color, (looks like a faded dark bronze in person) and when I photographed it with natural light & a flash it reminded me of the pictures of the hero phaser going up for auction seemingly having an odd color.... Lighting is key...

 

[newworld]

Dahn, is there a front view photo of the auction "Finney" P2 with the P1 sight raised? Thanks in advance!

Sorry, no.

 

[newworld]

I’m really enjoying all the discussion. Takes me back. I want to throw something out there for general consideration. I came to understand a long time ago that while many things regarding these props are knowable (thanks Blu-Ray) there will always be gaps in our knowledge. It’s natural to want to fill in those gaps but I would urge caution when making absolute statements that cannot actually be proven. I’ll use the Jein P1 as an example. We have zero clear shots of the thing but we know that it did not have a crystal when it got to Jein. But I think it’s wrong to jump to the conclusion that it never had something. I would submit that is not a knowable thing. As we definitely know, these things were knocked around - especially the Jein! - and repainted over the years. It could have lost its jewel at any time. I know that the Kappa comm’s missing crystal has been labeled “never installed” (without so much as a hands-on inspection) as if such a thing could be known. There’s a zillion ways for those crystals to get knocked off. So I just want to urge caution. Hypotheses are great. It’s how we move forward. But not all can be proven.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

I’m really enjoying all the discussion. Takes me back. I want to throw something out there for general consideration. I came to understand a long time ago that while many things regarding these props are knowable (thanks Blu-Ray) there will always be gaps in our knowledge. It’s natural to want to fill in those gaps but I would urge caution when making absolute statements that cannot actually be proven. I’ll use the Jein P1 as an example. We have zero clear shots of the thing but we know that it did not have a crystal when it got to Jein. But I think it’s wrong to jump to the conclusion that it never had something. I would submit that is not a knowable thing. As we definitely know, these things were knocked around - especially the Jein! - and repainted over the years. It could have lost its jewel at any time. I know that the Kappa comm’s missing crystal has been labeled “never installed” (without so much as a hands-on inspection) as if such a thing could be known. There’s a zillion ways for those crystals to get knocked off. So I just want to urge caution. Hypotheses are great. It’s how we move forward. But not all can be proven.

Excellent points!

 

[newworld]

Comm shots are up.

Comms

 

[Gregatron]

Comm shots are up.

Comms

Awesome!

…the solder marks and the specific trimming/bending of the metal grid on the antenna are a perfect match, by the way. This would be very difficult to fake.

Also note the slightly cockeyed angle of the front edge of the antenna, and how the antenna sits slightly off-center in the well of the Kydex shell, skewing slightly to the left.

 

[Simonized]

I’m really enjoying all the discussion. Takes me back. I want to throw something out there for general consideration. I came to understand a long time ago that while many things regarding these props are knowable (thanks Blu-Ray) there will always be gaps in our knowledge. It’s natural to want to fill in those gaps but I would urge caution when making absolute statements that cannot actually be proven. I’ll use the Jein P1 as an example. We have zero clear shots of the thing but we know that it did not have a crystal when it got to Jein. But I think it’s wrong to jump to the conclusion that it never had something. I would submit that is not a knowable thing. As we definitely know, these things were knocked around - especially the Jein! - and repainted over the years. It could have lost its jewel at any time. I know that the Kappa comm’s missing crystal has been labeled “never installed” (without so much as a hands-on inspection) as if such a thing could be known. There’s a zillion ways for those crystals to get knocked off. So I just want to urge caution. Hypotheses are great. It’s how we move forward. But not all can be proven.

I think the Kappa comm's jewel was labeled as never installed because there isn't one on there in the close up in "The Omega Glory". Not to say there was never one initially installed but there's nothing to say either way.

 

[feek61]

I’m really enjoying all the discussion. Takes me back. I want to throw something out there for general consideration. I came to understand a long time ago that while many things regarding these props are knowable (thanks Blu-Ray) there will always be gaps in our knowledge. It’s natural to want to fill in those gaps but I would urge caution when making absolute statements that cannot actually be proven. I’ll use the Jein P1 as an example. We have zero clear shots of the thing but we know that it did not have a crystal when it got to Jein. But I think it’s wrong to jump to the conclusion that it never had something. I would submit that is not a knowable thing. As we definitely know, these things were knocked around - especially the Jein! - and repainted over the years. It could have lost its jewel at any time. I know that the Kappa comm’s missing crystal has been labeled “never installed” (without so much as a hands-on inspection) as if such a thing could be known. There’s a zillion ways for those crystals to get knocked off. So I just want to urge caution. Hypotheses are great. It’s how we move forward. But not all can be proven.

Of course there are things we will never know but transversely, there are things we would never know without detailed analysis of what we can see. How hard would it be to authenticate a prop without the research that has been done over the years; I would say very hard to be certain.

Regarding the GJ question, it is my opinion that it never had a watch crown or jewel because we clearly see in "Conscience of the King," the third episode after the conversions that it is not there. Between the thumbwheel and meter it would be hard to knock it off without knocking off the meter. The TMOST itself was missing the meter but the watch crown was still in place. We can see in "Shore Leave" that there is no blemish where the jewel may have been. That being said, yes, of course there is a small chance that it may have had something but that seems unlikely based on everything we know. This of course is just my own opinion and as Dhan points out there are no certainties, however, we can make judgements and have theories based on our observations.

 

[Tosfan1]

Of course there are things we will never know but transversely, there are things we would never know without detailed analysis of what we can see. How hard would it be to authenticate a prop without the research that has been done over the years; I would say very hard to be certain.

Regarding the GJ question, it is my opinion that it never had a watch crown or jewel because we clearly see in "Conscience of the King," the third episode after the conversions that it is not there. Between the thumbwheel and meter it would be hard to knock it off without knocking off the meter. The TMOST itself was missing the meter but the watch crown was still in place. We can see in "Shore Leave" that there is no blemish where the jewel may have been. That being said, yes, of course there is a small chance that it may have had something but that seems unlikely based on everything we know. This of course is just my own opinion and as Dhan points out there are no certainties, however, we can make judgements and have theories based on our observations.

It seems that the watch crowns have the stub underneath, no? Unless someone (that’s not happening) popped off the TMOST crown we don’t know how Wah attached them to a ph1. I would assUme he would have drilled a small shallow pilot hole for the crown to sit flush on the ph1, not cut the bottom off. It would make for a more solid connection leaving it intact and countersunk.

 

[Gregatron]

It seems that the watch crowns have the stub underneath, no? Unless someone (that’s not happening) popped off the TMOST crown we don’t know how Wah attached them to a ph1. I would assUme he would have drilled a small shallow pilot hole for the crown to sit flush on the ph1, not cut the bottom off. It would make for a more solid connection leaving it intact and countersunk.

That’s what I did on my build.

 

[TOS Phaser]

I think it’s wrong to jump to the conclusion that it never had something.

Dahn, your sentence gets to the heart of the matter.

For example no one ever talks about or asks about (any more) the apparent patch on the "battery cover" of the Jein P1 where hook Velcro had been for carrying the Hero P1 on a gold belt concealed under the uniform shirt:

Now if my research into the early B&W episodes is correct there were two Hero 1s for closeup/midrange shots and two Hero P1s for P2 carry on the gold belt. In other words the left side of the two carry Hero P1s would never be allowed to be seen by the audience. We see this clearly in "The Naked Time" where Scotty wears the Riley/Lenore P2 with the "Lost" P1 (the TMOST twin for P2 carry) on his gold belt and then he holds and fires the Finney P2 with the TMOST P1 when he cuts through the engineering room bulkhead.

So why would the Jein P1 battery cover (which was the Nona twin for carrying a P2 on a gold belt) have Hero P1 carry Velcro?
To me this photographic evidence implies the battery cover came from either the TMOST P1 or Nona P1...

I need to start building my B&W Hero P2 and P1 study thread.

I know everyone wants to talk about the Hero Comm.

 

[TOS Phaser]

Awesome!

Gregatron - thanks for that great cap of the Beta in "Cats Paw"!

 

[TOS Phaser]

Your theory regarding the watch crown/jewel replacement could very well have happened. I just keep asking is it likely and that's the $100 question

We know that Herbert F. Solow (HFS) sent the four Hero P2s and the four P1s to Wah Ming Chang (WMC) for "reworking" because the Desilu Effects Department (DED) was too expensive.

I have two problems with current theory:

1. That WMC a professional, Academy Award winner, would have sent 1 Hero P1 back to Desilu, without a watch crown and jewel because "he only two sets left over from his Comm / Tricorder builds"... - - we don't see a short changing of any WMC Hero parts on any of the 4 Hero P2s.

2. That HFS would have directed WMC to change the original DED design concept of having two Hero P1s for closeups and two Hero P1s for carry...

3. Wah did not have to reshape the Hero P1s because they were poorly made - he had to reshape them because 3 of the 4 had been damaged.

Again - I will start work on my B&W Hero P2 and P1 study thread ASAP...

 

[feek61]

Yes, the watch crowns have a stem that would require either grinding it off or drilling a small hole. Drilling the hole makes way more sense since because it is so much easier and it would secure the watch crown way more than just surface gluing it. This would make way more sense for production purposes to limit as much as possible any repairs to the hero props. I did not mention this before only because we don't know for sure.

 

[AdmiralBaxter]

Yes, the watch crowns have a stem that would require either grinding it off or drilling a small hole. Drilling the hole makes way more sense since because it is so much easier and it would secure the watch crown way more than just surface gluing it. This would make way more sense for production purposes to limit as much as possible any repairs to the hero props. I did not mention this before only because we don't know for sure.

We know drilling make more sense as it works for the Tricorders.

We also know the less complicated the process is the better it is for any given application.

 

[newworld]

Awesome!

…the solder marks and the specific trimming/bending of the metal grid on the antenna are a perfect match, by the way. This would be very difficult to fake.

Also note the slightly cockeyed angle of the front edge of the antenna, and how the antenna sits slightly off-center in the well of the Kydex shell, skewing slightly to the left.

This was one of the many “holy crap” moments when I was comparing things.

 

[newworld]

This of course is just my own opinion and as Dhan points out there are no certainties, however, we can make judgements and have theories based on our observations.

Hey you know I looove a good theory and yours is solid - totally agree with everything you say. But as with any unprovable theory, I would use the term “likely” or possibly”. That’s just my thing.