Roddenberry -- NEW TOS Communicator Prop??

[DrMcoy]

got an email announcement from roddenberry.com teasing the release of new stuff, with a silhouetted TOS communicator as part of the visual.

could this be the new kit they were rumored to be making based on the "pencil box" that Wah Chang used to make the original comm props?

that would certainly be an "exciting new interpretation of an iconic classic."

fingers crossed.

 

[GeneralFROSTY]

I'd love to get a proper communicator replica! Let's hope this is what we want...

 

[Jedifather]

You can never have too many communicators.

The TOS comm was a childhood obsession for me. Drove my mother crazy; anything with a flip top lid, I was flippin' it: "Kirk to Enterprise!"

 

[NakedMoleRat]

I don't know. Wasn't Star Trek 2009 supposed to be an exciting interpretation?

 

[Apollo]

Could be!!

could this be the new kit they were rumored to be making based on the "pencil box" that Wah Chang used to make the original comm props?

 

[nwjedidave]

Why the viewmaster?

 

[DrMcoy]

cripes, why the need to dump on the 2009 movie...can't you haters just give it a rest already. i get it -- you didn't like it...but please direct your hatred to another post...or, simply say really nice things about the original series and, if you don't have anything nice to say about the 2009 movie, say nothing at all, just like your momma told you.

also, i loved the 2009 movie.

 

[NakedMoleRat]

I'm not a 2009 hater by any means! I LOVE the redesign of the Enterprise. Quinto was a good Spock, but Kirk was a jerk a'class butt wipe!

What I was comparing it to, and could have been more clear, was, "Why the need for an interpritation?" Why not just make the props we know. It's like when someone makes their own version of a communicator or a phaser then announces "I'm making a run!" and thinks that 100 people will buy it, because THEY call it a Trek item! This feels to be the came to me.

cripes, why the need to dump on the 2009 movie...can't you haters just give it a rest already. i get it -- you didn't like it...but please direct your hatred to another post...or, simply say really nice things about the original series and, if you don't have anything nice to say about the 2009 movie, say nothing at all, just like your momma told you.

also, i loved the 2009 movie.

 

[BAK55]

I once had the pencil box that had been mentioned here. Even as a youngster, I saw the similaities to the TOS communicator. I had saved it for a long time for that purpose, but it was eventually lost to me.

 

[GeneralFROSTY]

So are we expecting kits or only finished items?

 

[Lost in Trek]

Rumor is finished items moving forward.

 

[LeAngeSolitaire]

An accurate TOS communicator does exist: The John Long one. It's a shame he no longer appears to answer emails or communications of any kind.

 

[Apollo]

Same here.

One look and you KNEW what you had in your hands

I once had the pencil box that had been mentioned here. Even as a youngster, I saw the similaities to the TOS communicator. I had saved it for a long time for that purpose, but it was eventually lost to me.

 

[Nicksdad]

Same here.

One look and you KNEW what you had in your hands

Me too. I remember as a kid saying if I just cut this down it would be a great communicator.

 

[BrundelFly]

I noticed the Pencil Boxes are hitting ebay...and everytime it re-sells for less.

It's great we know what it was, but seriously, You get a pencil box...then what? You're going into the communicator business?

I have too many versions of the com too! You DO reach a point where you reflect and ask yourself, WHY do I need another? How much closer to "real" can you get?

Funny how such a little prop can become such an enigma in our lives.

 

[DrMcoy]

I'm not a 2009 hater by any means! I LOVE the redesign of the Enterprise. Quinto was a good Spock, but Kirk was a jerk a'class butt wipe!

What I was comparing it to, and could have been more clear, was, "Why the need for an interpritation?" Why not just make the props we know. It's like when someone makes their own version of a communicator or a phaser then announces "I'm making a run!" and thinks that 100 people will buy it, because THEY call it a Trek item! This feels to be the came to me.

sorry -- oversensitive to 2009 movie bashing, unless the thread specifically speaks to the movie...on a model forum (HobbyTalk) and they are discussing the new model of the 2009 ship that is to be released by Revell Germany, and so many people just wanna rehash how much they hate the movie, the ship, the story, the props -- everything. I realize everyone entitled to opinion, but it grows tiresome having to see it rehashed on a thread that is devoted to celebrating the model, not hating on the movie...and i didn't wanna see this thread go that way as it is about rodd.coms new stuff that has nothing to do with the 2009 (as far as i know)

glad to hear you enjoyed many aspects of the movie and thanks for posting.

 

[DrMcoy]

as for what rodd.com MAY be offering, i believe they simply wanted to offer THEIR definitive version of the prop now that so much more has been learned since the screen-used hero was discovered -- their earlier TOS comms were not 100% accurate to the screen--used comms in original series.

i, too, have been obsessed with this prop since I was a child, and I also came across the pencil box as a kid and thought "WOW, that looks just like the commif they stretched it out" I bought the case and cut it to proper length but didn't know how to make the two pieces line up as they were slightly off (as the width tapers a bit) Funny if I had known how close I truly was to what was actually used -- i simply thought it was a coincidence that case looked so much like the comm prop. I was convinced it might be a vintage leatherette case for an electric razor or some such.

I have collected many version of this prop over the years, selling them off when I cam across something I thought was more accurate.

I do indeed have the John Long comm, and proud to have it in my collection. I built it to match the one in MAKING OF STAR TREK as that was the picture I studied so much as a kid.

I also have the DSTINES comm built from the kit he released based on alpha hero screen-used comm -- i always thought the shells were a bit thin on profile, but when you study the pics of the hero prop, they appear to have a thinner profile as well.

i had heard that rodd.com might redo theirs based on all the info obtained from finding the hero prop, and if it doesn't cost too much, I will likely buy it as kit or built-up.

i see nothing wrong with this interpretation as it would be based on the hero prop.

as for 2009 movie phaser/comm props, well, i thought they were very cool, but i was hoping they might somehow be more of a nod to the original TOS props than they were.

i have not cared much for any of the phaser/comm props seen in any of the other Trek movies...but I know many others love them.

as anyone learns more about what these Rodd.com offerings will be, please post here...thanks.

 

[MustangGTR1]

The DStines comm was copyed right off my friends Alpha. I have some where shots of them making the molds or bucks right off his hero...

 

[nwjedidave]

So what is the viewmaster in the ad for?

 

[DrMcoy]

So what is the viewmaster in the ad for?

your guess is as good as anyone else's.

here's a crazy guess -- either re-release of original series viewmaster (Omega Glory) or, what if it was a release of the Enterprise 3-foot model, which they used for all shots of the starships from Omega Glory on the viewmaster reel.

Not sure why they didn't just use the actual SF shots of the starships from the episode -- maybe some issue with making them stereo 3D????

I realize that is a crazy guess...probably just a release of other episodes or maybe the movies in viewmaster format.