TOS Phaser Prop Report: B&W Hero P1s filmed in different B&W Hero P2s

[TOS Phaser]

I have been studying the Black and White (B&W) practical or working or hero Phasers for the past several years that were filmed in the early episodes of the first season of "Star Trek"(TM) TOS, - believe or not - I was able to back trace the 4 B&W Practical Phasers (P2s and P1s) made by the Desilu Effects Department (DED) before principle filming of Star Trek began. This was only possible thanks to high rez / blue-ray versions of the original films and the very distinct "tells" of the 4 DED made B&W P2s and P1s.

In the process of arguing with feek61 on the second fake phaser thread (the Finney P2 and TMOST P1 recently sold on Julien's Auction) I discovered something I had not noticed before...

In episode 6, "The Man Trap" - in the two 'combat' scenes on the planet surface - when Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are filmed standing side by side in the same frame - in the first scene Kirk's P2 has the B&W Greg Jein P1 and in the second scene Kirk's P2 (still hanging on his tan pistol belt - however at a different angle) has a different B&W Hero P1!

Copyright CBS Studios. All Rights Reserved. This clip is used under the "Fair Use" Clause of US Copyright Law for educational purposes.
Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock standing side by side, in the same scene, on the planets surface (Eps.6 "The Man Trap"). Captain Kirk is talking to Lt. Sulu about the "Intruder".

Take a look at a zoom-in on Kirk's P2 in the above scene:

Notice the B&W Hero P1 on the B&W Hero P2 attached to Captain Kirk's belt. Now compare the shape of this Hero P1 to the Hero P1 on the same B&W Hero P2 on Kirk's belt in the next combat scene on the planets surface:

Copyright CBS Studios. All Rights Reserved. This clip is used under the "Fair Use" Clause of US Copyright Law for educational purposes.

Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock filmed standing side by side, in the same frame, during the second combat scene on the planets surface (Eps.6 "The Man Trap"). Captain Kirk is talking to Dr. Crater. NOTE: The two Hero P2s hanging on two pistol belts in the same scene.

Kirk is wearing the same B&W Hero P2 on his tan pistol belt. However the B&W Hero P2 on his belt in this scene has a different B&W Hero P1! In fact the B&W Hero P1 that was on Kirk's belt in the first scene is now attached to the B&W Hero P2 that is hanging on Spock's tan pistol belt!

Take a look at a zoom-in on Kirk's P2 in the above second combat scene:

This is the same B&W Hero P2 however this is the B&W Hero P1 that was attached to Spock's B&W Hero P2 in the first combat scene.
Note the different P1 shape.

The following image has the two zoom images side by side:

The image on the left is from the first combat scene and image on the right is from the second combat scene of episode 6, "The Man Trap". The Hero P2 on Kirk's belt in both scenes is the same Hero P2. The Hero P1s (with Velcro) are not the same!

This zoom comparison of the B&W Hero P2 on Kirk's tan pistol belt, from the two 'combat' scenes, on the planets surface in Episode 6, "The Man Trap" clearly reflects two different B&W Hero P1s! IMO based on the Photographic Evidence - these two Hero B&W P1s were made by the DED with Velcro on the left side for "hanging" / carrying any of the 4 B&W Hero P2s. - - More on this later in my final B&W FIPE report - -

The B&W Hero P1 on the B&W Hero P2 that is on Kirk's belt in the second 'combat' scene on the planets surface in episode 6, "The Man Trap" (which was on Spock's Hero P2 in first combat scene) is the same B&W Hero P1 that is on Scotty's B&W Hero P2 in episode 7, "The Naked Time" is also on Spock's P2 in episode 5, "The Enemy With".

The following image reflects a zoom on Scotty's P2 in episode 7, "The Naked Time" compared to a zoom of Spock's P2 in episode 5, "The Enemy Within":

The Hero P2 on Scotty's belt (L) is the same Hero P2 that was on Kirk's belt in both combat scenes of episode 6. The Hero P2 on Spock's belt (R) is the same Hero P2 that Spock holds in episode 6, "The Man Trap".

NOTE: These B&W Hero P2s - ARE NOT THE SAME. The one on the left is the same one that was on Kirk's belt in episode 6. The one on the right is a different P2 that was on Spock's belt in episode 5. Spock carried this P2 and P1 on his belt in the first 'combat' scene in episode 6. And this same Hero P2 that Spock holds to raise the P1 sight when Captain Kirk orders him to set his phaser to stun when they were ready to take Dr. Crater alive. We do not see the left side of any B&W Hero P2 or P1 until episode 7, "The Naked Time" when Scotty's holds the same Hero P2 that Spock wore and held in episodes: 5 and 6 however the P2 contains a different Hero P1. In fact the B&W Hero P1 that Spock thumbs the thumb wheel to raise the sight - is the same B&W Hero P1 that Scotty holds to cut the Engineering Room bulkhead in episode 7...

The following image is from episode 7, "The Naked Time". The Hero P2 shown is the same Hero P2 that Spock wears on his tan belt and holds in episodes 5 and 6.
However the P1 is a B&W Hero P1 without Velcro on the left side. This B&W Hero P1, with no Velcro on the left side for carrying/hanging on the tan pistol belt, is the same B&W Hero P1 that Spock thumbs the thumb wheel in episode 6 to "set his phaser to stun"... - - More on this in my Final FIPE Report. - -

This Hero P1 did not have the same shape as the Hero P1 with Velcro on the left side...

Lastly I will include a comparison photo of the P2 on Kirk's belt in episode 6 with the P2 that was on Scotty's belt in episode 7:

The B&W Hero P2 in this comparison photo is the same. The B&W Hero P1s (with Velcro on the left side) are not the same.

This concludes my Preliminary Report on the apparent fact, based on examination of the photographic evidence, that Hero P1s were swapped between the different Hero P2s.

 

[alensatemybuick]

Wait, the earlier version of this foren(sic) analysis post is gone?

 

[Lightning]

Wait, the earlier version of this foren(sic) analysis post is gone?

he removed this part from the other thread. The rest of it is still there.

 

[Ronldheld]

It was not relevant for the filming crew to have an actor use the same phaser for the entire episode?

 

[TOS Phaser]

Wait, the earlier version of this foren(sic) analysis post is gone?

It was obvious I had made a mistake combining my observation (the large missing chunk on the B&W Hero P1 on Spock's belt which had been on Kirk's Hero P2 in the earlier shot) with my report that B&W Hero P1s were swapped between B&W Hero P2s throughout the 4 first season episodes where the 4 Desilu made Hero P2s were filmed (Eps.: 5, 6, 7 and 8).

So I split off my Preliminary Report to this separate thread.

I left the broken B&W P1 thread here under a new title "B&W Hero P1 on Kirk's P2 in the first 'combat' scene is on Spock's P2 in the second 'combat' scene":

B&W Hero P1 on Kirk's P2 in the first 'combat' scene is on Spock's P2 in the second 'combat' scene

I apologize for the confusion.

 

[TOS Phaser]

he removed this part from the other thread. The rest of it is still there.

Thanks for the help. Most appreciated.

 

[TOS Phaser]

It was not relevant for the filming crew to have an actor use the same phaser for the entire episode?

In episodes 5 and 6 you will see Captain Kirk holding the same B&W Hero P2 in both episdoes and Mr. Spock holds another B&W Hero P2 in both episodes. (What astonished me was I had never noticed how the B&W Hero P1s (both with Velcro on the left side for carrying/hanging the Hero P2s on the tan pistol belt) were swapped between two scenes in episode 6, "The Man Trap".

There are members on this forum who actually worked in television production. They were also members on the TPZ with same user names. I can track down their user names for you on the Juliens Auction / Fake Phaser thread (about the recent find and sale of the Finney P2)*. I believe there are still two of them active on therpf.com. They can far better answer your question about why props were changed during the filming of a particular scene.

What I can tell you with some degree of accuracy - an actor might hold a hero P2, then a "plastic" P2 (the members of the TPZ call these "Craps" - Deforrest Kelly called the "plastic" P2s the "$1.98 special") and then a "rubber" P2 in the same scene for various reasons. For example in the Engineering Room when Lt. Finney Jabs Captain Kirk in the back with the "Finney" P2, you will see him pointing one of the early "rubber" P2s ("reworked" by Wah Ming Chang) when the Captain and Lt. Finney are face to face after they stuggle.

* Julien’s Upcoming Hero Phaser & Communicator Auction
Note: this is a long thread so you may have to hunt around to find the TV production members. The earliest I track down their names is next week if they do not see this thread.

 

[asalaw]

It was not relevant for the filming crew to have an actor use the same phaser for the entire episode?

If all the hero props look basically identical onscreen, no, it doesn't matter much. It matters more when a character has a distinctive prop associated.

Don Johnson used a nickel-finish semi-auto on Vice, which was quite distinctive, so Charlie Guanci, Jr. always gave him the same gun. I know it was a 9mm when I was there. Of course, it was a plastic gun unless he had to fire it in that shot.

Phasers? Not so much. I doubt there was a "Bill phaser" or a "Leonard phaser."