RED ALERT Lost 3 ft TOS Enterprise found????

Gregatron said:
An interesting theory, but it doesn't quite ring true, for me. Looking forward to seeing what y'all think.
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I am in a state of uninformed ignorance with no extensive speculation to offer…I am Captain Dunsel, after all, and serve no useful purpose.

The only thing I know is that the chain of “official” custody was from Gene Roddenberry to Robert Abel and Associates and / or Paramount circa 1978 / 1979. From there, the chain of custody was broken and the model disappeared…and then reappeared in the Storage Unit, in Van Nuys, where it was purchased by the storage unit guys.

Whomever took the model, and kicked-off the broken chain of custody, had to have had access to the production facilities where Star Trek: TMP was being made and that’s a very long list of people.
 
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Captain Dunsel said:
I am in a state of uninformed ignorance with no extensive speculation to offer…I am Captain Dunsel, after all, and serve no useful purpose.

The only thing I know is that the chain of “official” custody was from Gene Roddenberry to Robert Abel and Associates and / or Paramount circa 1978 / 1979. From there, the chain of custody was broken and the model disappeared…and then reappeared in the Storage Unit, in Van Nuys, where it was purchased by the storage unit guys.

Whomever took the model, and kicked-off the broken chain of custody, had to have had access to the production facilities where Star Trek: TMP was being made and that’s a very long list of people.
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Precisely. We just don’t know the actual circumstances, either. It’s entirely within the realm of possibility that someone on the crew threw it somewhere and forgot about it, didn’t think it was important, didn’t know it had been loaned out and was supposed to be returned, etc. There is (as yet) no real basis to assume that someone with greedy intentions knowingly pilfered it and hid it away.
 
Gregatron said:
Precisely. We just don’t know the actual circumstances, either. It’s entirely within the realm of possibility that someone on the crew threw it somewhere and forgot about it, didn’t think it was important, didn’t know it had been loaned out and was supposed to be returned, etc. There is (as yet) no real basis to assume that someone with greedy intentions knowingly pilfered it and hid it away.
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I’m of the opinion that whomever took the model may have known what it was; otherwise, it would have been returned when people started asking if anyone in the production knew what became of Gene’s model (following his memo asking them to find and return it).

Of course…the more I think about it…Robert Abel and Assoc. were fired from the production and it’s possible that anything they left behind, in the visual effects production facilities, was “tossed”…it’s possible the model was assumed to have been left behind by them and was tossed into the trash and “rescued” by someone.
 
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Yeah anything is possible. The truth may have been a series of individually innocent actions, no matter what it added up to or how much the model is worth now.

The storage guy doesn't have a case. If they are offering him $500k then he should go away happy. Technically they owe him nothing and he was trying to sell stolen property.
 
This is the heart of it right here:

The pair claimed that once the model was authenticated and given a value of $800,000, they agreed to consign it to an auction sale with Heritage planned for July 2024, according to the lawsuit. However, following their agreement, they allege the auction house falsely questioned their title to the model and then convinced them, instead of taking it to auction, to sell it for a low-ball $500,000 to Roddenberry Entertainment Inc. According to the suit, Eugene Roddenberry, the company's CEO, had shown great interest in the model and could potentially provide a pipeline of memorabilia to the auction house in the future.

“They think we have a disagreement with Roddenberry,” said Dale Washington, Riach and Rivas’ attorney. “We don’t. We think they violated property law in the discharge of their fiduciary duties.”

The two men allege they have yet to receive the $500,000 payment.
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The above is from the AOL story (who knew AOL was still a thing?). I tried to find the actual pleading, but I couldn't get it without subscribing to a site, so... no.
 
I keep wondering just what would have happened had the Storage Wars guys listed the model with a BIN of $1,000 on eBay and someone grabbed it before the rest of the world had seen it

I suppose it would still be “lost” like the Ark of the Covenant…
 
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publiusr said:
That’s right—I should have said “outline.”

The underside may have had two domes?
It was flat, then they tried to bulk it up to match the 11 footer’s saucer underside. So it isn’t just wood—some putty.

A X-Ray or scan would reveal the original outline on the saucer underside.

Speaking of which…, in the old photos, its lines look crisp.

It may have soaked up a lot of water.

How to you straighten it out? Sacrifice the paint—steam it to be more pliable and risk warping? A dry kiln might induce cracking.

Here is where people who restore wooden sculptures might be brought in…a different skill set:

fineart-restoration.co.uk

How to care for wooden objects - Fine Art Restoration Company

How to care for wooden objects. Among the artworks, frames, furniture, and ceramics we work with, we also restore and repair wooden objects.
fineart-restoration.co.uk fineart-restoration.co.uk
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I think what we are seeing is classic “nacelle droop”, occurring over time. The nacelles may be solid wood vs. hollow. The model likely needs a better base that includes support for the rear end of the nacelles to help straighten them.
 
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Captain Dunsel said:
I keep wondering just what would have happened had the Storage Wars guys listed the model with a BIN of $1,000 on eBay and someone grabbed it before the rest of the world had seen it

I suppose it would still be “lost” like the Ark of the Covenant…
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It's a convoluted story at best...who collected those reels of old movies...and had, in his possession, the original GR Enterprise? Someone in the know and most probably connected to the studio crowd. If I was a P.I., I would ask the storage facility who was the last client who defaulted on his rental. Should be simple enough...?:unsure::rolleyes:
 

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