WinstonWolf359
Sr Member
There is a lot of TOS phaser terminology relating to the various appearances and construction methods that are probably taken for granted by the “old time” phaser fans but are probably at least somewhat confusing to the new people. I thought this might help. Enjoy.
The phasers seen in the Original Series came in two types, the small hand-held phaser and the larger pistol shaped phaser II. This terminology was used for the first (and only) time in "The Devil in the Dark."
The phaser I snapped into the pistol grip helping create the larger phaser II, but this was only seen in one episode, “The Enemy Within.”
The handle was the removable power pack for the pistol, seen removed in “The Omega Glory.”
The phaser props that actually had the working mechanisms seen on screen are called the hero props. They were also more detailed and were used mostly for close-up photography. Here’s a hero phaser II seen in “The Cloud Minders” Note the single screw on the underside just in front of the trigger.
At least one hero phaser II had Velcro added to facilitate wearing a hero prop on the utility belt, as seen here in a shot from “The Conscience of the King.” The “Velcro hero” also appeared in the episode “Shore Leave” and is most likely the original hero prop in the collection of Greg J.
The hero pistols were built in two halves with screws holding them together. In their original black and white color scheme the screws were found in different places on different props.
This phaser, from “Charlie X” has an obvious screw near the front of the pistol.
However, this black and white pistol (from The Man Trap) doesnÂ’t have a screw thereÂ…
This hero from “The Conscience of the King” has a rather large screw visible.
Even more odd is that this pistol seen in “The Conscience of the King” has two screws on the bottom. One near the front of the pistol, and another near the back. Also note that these screws are on the opposite side of the bottom seam from the other hero pistols.
So it would seem that there were three slightly different hero phaser pistols seen in this one episodeÂ… The Velcro hero, the hero with the large screw, and the hero with two screws.
It would seem the “tombstone” details on the phaser handle are separate pieces attached to the grip, as seen in this unfortunate shot…
The hero phaser I units have a small jewel or bulb on them. It seems that hero phaser I’s most commonly appeared with some kind of detail there, but the “Velcro” phaser I doesn’t have one.
These are from “Assignment: Earth,” “A Private Little War,” and the book “The Making of Star Trek.” Note how the jewel/bulb on the MoST phaser looks a bit different from the others.
It’s tough to guess but they all seem to be red jewels/bulbs. Also note the first two pictures are from the same episode (A Private Little War) but show two different hero phasers. The third photo is from “Assignment: Earth” and could very well be the same hero phaser seen in Nona’s hand in pic #2.
Take a look at thisÂ… probably a rubber stunt phaser I, but the side rail has been painted on to appear that it goes all the way around the phaser. Could one of the hero phasers have actually had a mid-plate that extended all the way around the back of the phaser, and was the guide for painting this prop?
The next step down in the quality scale are the “midgrade” or “dummy” phasers. These phasers have no working features like rising sight covers or lights or removable handles and have slightly simplified detailing and less metal details, most notably the omission of aluminum “cooling fins” on the rear of the pistol and sides of the phaser I.
It also seems that all midgrade phaser pistols had Velcro for attaching the phaser to the utility belt. Here are a couple “midgrade/dummy” phasers, as seen in “The Omega Glory” and “Plato’s Stepchildren.”
It is unclear if any black and white midgrade phasers were used on the show.
Finally, or perhaps “last and least” are the least detailed phasers seen on the Original Series the stunt, or “crapazoid” phasers. These phasers had little, if any, metal parts on them and were crudely made of vacuformed plastic. They are most easily recognized by their awful looking silver glob of a front nozzle and mostly painted on details.
There were vacuformed phasers seen early in the series in the black and white color scheme, but when repainted they seem to have been painted black and gray, and not the gray and bronze the rest of the phasers were painted.
Some of the early vacuformed phasers apparently had much more detail than the later ones, or it is possible that this is a midgrade phaser with a stunt nozzle. Either way this prop has simulated hero-like details while clearly not being a hero phaser. This shot is from “Shore Leave.”
HereÂ’s a rare sightÂ… A security guard wearing a stunt phaser on his belt but holding a hero phaser. Actually, heÂ’s about to blast Jamie and Ben Finney into nothingness, but I wonÂ’t tell if you wonÂ’t.
The phasers seen in the Original Series came in two types, the small hand-held phaser and the larger pistol shaped phaser II. This terminology was used for the first (and only) time in "The Devil in the Dark."
The phaser I snapped into the pistol grip helping create the larger phaser II, but this was only seen in one episode, “The Enemy Within.”
The handle was the removable power pack for the pistol, seen removed in “The Omega Glory.”
The phaser props that actually had the working mechanisms seen on screen are called the hero props. They were also more detailed and were used mostly for close-up photography. Here’s a hero phaser II seen in “The Cloud Minders” Note the single screw on the underside just in front of the trigger.
At least one hero phaser II had Velcro added to facilitate wearing a hero prop on the utility belt, as seen here in a shot from “The Conscience of the King.” The “Velcro hero” also appeared in the episode “Shore Leave” and is most likely the original hero prop in the collection of Greg J.
The hero pistols were built in two halves with screws holding them together. In their original black and white color scheme the screws were found in different places on different props.
This phaser, from “Charlie X” has an obvious screw near the front of the pistol.
However, this black and white pistol (from The Man Trap) doesnÂ’t have a screw thereÂ…
This hero from “The Conscience of the King” has a rather large screw visible.
Even more odd is that this pistol seen in “The Conscience of the King” has two screws on the bottom. One near the front of the pistol, and another near the back. Also note that these screws are on the opposite side of the bottom seam from the other hero pistols.
So it would seem that there were three slightly different hero phaser pistols seen in this one episodeÂ… The Velcro hero, the hero with the large screw, and the hero with two screws.
It would seem the “tombstone” details on the phaser handle are separate pieces attached to the grip, as seen in this unfortunate shot…
The hero phaser I units have a small jewel or bulb on them. It seems that hero phaser I’s most commonly appeared with some kind of detail there, but the “Velcro” phaser I doesn’t have one.
These are from “Assignment: Earth,” “A Private Little War,” and the book “The Making of Star Trek.” Note how the jewel/bulb on the MoST phaser looks a bit different from the others.
It’s tough to guess but they all seem to be red jewels/bulbs. Also note the first two pictures are from the same episode (A Private Little War) but show two different hero phasers. The third photo is from “Assignment: Earth” and could very well be the same hero phaser seen in Nona’s hand in pic #2.
Take a look at thisÂ… probably a rubber stunt phaser I, but the side rail has been painted on to appear that it goes all the way around the phaser. Could one of the hero phasers have actually had a mid-plate that extended all the way around the back of the phaser, and was the guide for painting this prop?
The next step down in the quality scale are the “midgrade” or “dummy” phasers. These phasers have no working features like rising sight covers or lights or removable handles and have slightly simplified detailing and less metal details, most notably the omission of aluminum “cooling fins” on the rear of the pistol and sides of the phaser I.
It also seems that all midgrade phaser pistols had Velcro for attaching the phaser to the utility belt. Here are a couple “midgrade/dummy” phasers, as seen in “The Omega Glory” and “Plato’s Stepchildren.”
It is unclear if any black and white midgrade phasers were used on the show.
Finally, or perhaps “last and least” are the least detailed phasers seen on the Original Series the stunt, or “crapazoid” phasers. These phasers had little, if any, metal parts on them and were crudely made of vacuformed plastic. They are most easily recognized by their awful looking silver glob of a front nozzle and mostly painted on details.
There were vacuformed phasers seen early in the series in the black and white color scheme, but when repainted they seem to have been painted black and gray, and not the gray and bronze the rest of the phasers were painted.
Some of the early vacuformed phasers apparently had much more detail than the later ones, or it is possible that this is a midgrade phaser with a stunt nozzle. Either way this prop has simulated hero-like details while clearly not being a hero phaser. This shot is from “Shore Leave.”
HereÂ’s a rare sightÂ… A security guard wearing a stunt phaser on his belt but holding a hero phaser. Actually, heÂ’s about to blast Jamie and Ben Finney into nothingness, but I wonÂ’t tell if you wonÂ’t.
