RED ALERT Lost 3 ft TOS Enterprise found????
- Thread starter CessnaDriver
- Start date
The $1000 start price is probably because he knew what he had. Lol....or at least an inkling that it was worth a boatload of cash after seeing some videos.... wanted to get decent money for it but not draw too much attention..he knew he had something rare as well..
...again I just find it a bit too coincidental that this thing was put up just a couple months after a great video on its history and the fact it was stolen, was put up on YouTube. I mean it was lost for 44 years...
and it magically it appears on eBay in two months after the vid?? I wonder when the storage unit was purchased? How long did the guy have it in his possession etc....
I could be grasping at straws but I think there is way more to this story....
Hmmmmm…so the seller has yet to make contact with Rod?
So…someone else reaching out to the seller may be why the auction was ended early? Perhaps an auction house? A private buyer throwing a high dollar offer to end the auction early?
Let the wild speculation begin.
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Haha. Yeah. See. More to the story. Everyone thought Rod was contacted.... apparently he was not...
It's awesome she finally turned up! I've always hated thinking it might have been permanently lost or destroyed. Was comparing images before the auction came down and it just matched up to well for it not to be the real deal but I am still curious of a couple of details that looking at the old publicity shots as well as it's last appearance in "Requiem for Methuselah" that appear to have been added or changed after it's final appearance? Any indications as to why? Wasn't counting the missing portholes but there appears to be an extra row below the pennant and the neck windows spaced just a bit differently. The other from what can be made out also appears that the little numbered hull markings, at the least the middle and forward are moved back falling under different windows.
Rough comparison of what I mean...just a curiosity really if it was no longer used.
Rough comparison of what I mean...just a curiosity really if it was no longer used.
Attachments
I wish we had more pics of it with Roddenberry. Maybe it was given a little restoration before it became a desk model.
Article links to us.....
www.tor.com
Long Lost Model of the Star Trek: The Original Series Enterprise Has Potentially Been Found
Those of you who’ve watched Star Trek: The Original Series have likely feasted your eyes on an original three-foot model of the ship that has been missing for decades. Thanks to some Trekkie sleuth…
www.tor.com
A couple of notes:
At the Memory Alpha site (now updated) photos show that the 33' inch model was modified early on.
Look at photo of Nimoy as Spock holds it up---the deflector dish is wide there. Kirk holds it after some modifications.
At least *one* mod was done to the dish, nacelle caps and to build up the flat saucer underside...so there was time for a window fix.
The biggest reason why I think this is the genuine article is the more substantial droop of the port nacelle.
Look at what is thought to be the three-footer in the background---on a shelf behind the large Phase II Enterprise (Memory Alpha web-photo).
There you also see the port nacelle drooping... maybe not quite as much.
And that may explain why it was not returned.
My guess?
It was dropped.
I always guessed it would be in a storage unit if not a dumpster. One little known fact about attorneys is that they handle the estates of decedents. So I am thinking it was put in non-temp controlled storage (1988?) and forgotten...with the contents of storage units bought on spec without the slightest idea of what lies within them--if STORAGE WARS was anything to go by.
Had this been a sports collector--the buyer could easily have thrown it in a dumpster after all.
There may yet be more to the story--some of the earliest photos....does the upper "bulge" of the saucer top look layered... maybe ziggurat style?
We know now there are TWO Ambassador class studio models.
Remember, I said there was possibly *another* wooden model....there is this ad of Howard Anderson that shows something a lot like the 3-footer but a tad different. I just cannot remember the link.
In my mind's eye, I could easily see the following scenario occuring before the AMT became widespread:
"Hello, Mr. Datin? I saw that spaceship sculpture, and---seeing my kid just got out of the hospital on his birthday..."
The Enterprise isn't just an object as other models are...it is a stance...a V-for-victory...a smiling swan. I'm sure calls to replicate it came even before styrene was set aflowing.'
At the Memory Alpha site (now updated) photos show that the 33' inch model was modified early on.
Look at photo of Nimoy as Spock holds it up---the deflector dish is wide there. Kirk holds it after some modifications.
At least *one* mod was done to the dish, nacelle caps and to build up the flat saucer underside...so there was time for a window fix.
The biggest reason why I think this is the genuine article is the more substantial droop of the port nacelle.
Look at what is thought to be the three-footer in the background---on a shelf behind the large Phase II Enterprise (Memory Alpha web-photo).
There you also see the port nacelle drooping... maybe not quite as much.
And that may explain why it was not returned.
My guess?
It was dropped.
I always guessed it would be in a storage unit if not a dumpster. One little known fact about attorneys is that they handle the estates of decedents. So I am thinking it was put in non-temp controlled storage (1988?) and forgotten...with the contents of storage units bought on spec without the slightest idea of what lies within them--if STORAGE WARS was anything to go by.
Had this been a sports collector--the buyer could easily have thrown it in a dumpster after all.
There may yet be more to the story--some of the earliest photos....does the upper "bulge" of the saucer top look layered... maybe ziggurat style?
We know now there are TWO Ambassador class studio models.
Remember, I said there was possibly *another* wooden model....there is this ad of Howard Anderson that shows something a lot like the 3-footer but a tad different. I just cannot remember the link.
In my mind's eye, I could easily see the following scenario occuring before the AMT became widespread:
"Hello, Mr. Datin? I saw that spaceship sculpture, and---seeing my kid just got out of the hospital on his birthday..."
The Enterprise isn't just an object as other models are...it is a stance...a V-for-victory...a smiling swan. I'm sure calls to replicate it came even before styrene was set aflowing.'
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I know there is a photo out there (I can’t find it) that affords a better view of this smaller Enterprise model next to the Phase II Enterprise…I thought that this had been determined to be an AMT model, but is it the 3-footer? Based upon Roddenberry’s memo of loaning it out to Paramount, it would make sense that it could be the 3-footer…
I am going to hope that the bottle of Pine Sol was not used to try to clean the wooden model…causing some of the damage to the decals and paint / clear coat that we are seeing…
alensatemybuick
Well-Known Member
Well, one of the wood nacelle caps from the 11 footer, a sister to the donated one in the NASM display case. was auctioned on Ebay in 2016. I tried to snipe it, bidding up to $7500 on it (I think it was) and ended up being the second highest bidder. I think if I had not bid, it would have gone for a little over 2 grand. My wife had authorized me to go as high as $20,000, but at the time I felt that would have put our retirement at risk. I later felt remorse over "not trying harder" to win it.
Later still I realized that any sense of "entitlement" over such things is silly. Besides, I would have drilled a hole right through the center of it (a pilot hole for the lost spires was still there with the remainder of the peg anyway) and used it as a stand for my 1/350 scale polar light model). So maybe it was for the best that I didn't get it.
I should add that I mentioned the 32" model to someone I know who is "in the know" about such things this past Wednesday, and he told me that he and another person "in the know" (and quite notable in Trek circles) had been aware of the model for at least the past 2 weeks. So make what you will out of that and why the Ebay auctioner would have put it up when he did for a mere $1000 opening bid.
I think there is a much more complicated story about how this model turned up that may or may not ever be known by the public.
Later still I realized that any sense of "entitlement" over such things is silly. Besides, I would have drilled a hole right through the center of it (a pilot hole for the lost spires was still there with the remainder of the peg anyway) and used it as a stand for my 1/350 scale polar light model). So maybe it was for the best that I didn't get it.
I should add that I mentioned the 32" model to someone I know who is "in the know" about such things this past Wednesday, and he told me that he and another person "in the know" (and quite notable in Trek circles) had been aware of the model for at least the past 2 weeks. So make what you will out of that and why the Ebay auctioner would have put it up when he did for a mere $1000 opening bid.
I think there is a much more complicated story about how this model turned up that may or may not ever be known by the public.
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OK…I am pretty confident that’s an AMT Enterprise. Looking at the desk drawers, the scale would match the 18” AMT model.
KUROK
Well-Known Member
Someone mentioned earlier that it looks like black electrical tape was used to "improve" the windows. The original model had them painted dark gray and you can still see that.
Hey Shaw!! Been a minute or two since we've seen you here! How are you doing man?
Yeah; given your dedication and expertise on the 33 inch version, your input on this is greatly valued! And I agree: that gooseneck is going to end up causing a tragedy for the model if they keep it on there. That wasn't made for the weight and mass of that ship!
I'm guessing that is exactly what he did.....lmao......look at all the failed attempts at getting the dirt off. Lots of swipe/skid marks...plus the bottle is right there on the floor with the model. Looks like the model fell into the "right" hands....lol
On the bright side if the model is ever required by responsible people and is never restored it will always have a nice pine smelly scent....lol
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Definitely the AMT kit. The shape of the rear nacelle endcaps and the lower saucer (which is not flat, like the 33-incher’s is) clinches it.
Pine Sol is the last thing anyone should ever use on a model, let alone a studio filming model. It's known for softening styrene plastic , and has been used to strip paint from miniatures.
The moron who did this needs to be banned from handling any replicas again. Period.
Haha. Well unfortunately I don't think storage unit buyers are model builders. It's all about the cash for them. It's not like on storage wars were they go immediately get it appraised and handle things with kid gloves. This guy is too cheap for that probably. I was wondering why whoever had wiped the dirt off didn't finish....now we know....it's because of the gooey pine sol. He ended up making it bad and stopped before he made it look even worse...I bet it looked way better before he got his chubby hands on it....
Oh well at least we know the dang thing still exists. After this pine sol revelation. I'm totally for a full on restoration now. It was probably nicely aged before this guy dumped pine sol all over it.
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