Star Trek Prop Authority

gbg1701 · Jul 26, 2012

Sporak said:
Yes...That's the one we refer to as the Zolar Midgrade.
Bravo on the score

Originally Posted by feek61
PS - I second the comment; nice score on the Zolar phaser!!!!

Thank you, both Sporak and Will!!!!! I must admit that I am now very, very surprised. ... I was somewhat anticipating that when I visited this thread this morning, I would see a long series of remarks here attempting to cast doubt on the authenticity of my midgrade phaser -- as opposed to those much kinder sentiments of congrats. (There could be much hope for my new membership in this forum.)

And, of course, I must totally agree with Sporak when he points out that people CAN and DO own real TOS props.

And, of course, TOS costumes as well. Though it is my sincere impression that there is significantly less controversy surrounding TOS costumes. I've heard it said and also seen some evidence that some Starfleet tunics/dresses have been altered after the fact by collectors - perhaps "mined" for material, etc. - which is unfortunate.

gbg1701 · Jul 26, 2012

feek61 said:
I will ignore the "flare" comment jab as it does nothing to further this finally serious discussioin.

Take Care,
Will

PS - I second the comment; nice score on the Zolar phaser!!!!

My apologies ... it absolutely was not intended as a jab ... really a compliment. I know that particular instance of a very fast split-second change in appearance of the comm midplate size in Omega Glory occurred due to lighting/reflection, etc. in that quick curved, hand motion of the comm and the word "flare" - thinking flare/flash of light effect - is how I thought to naturally refer to the phenomenon.

feek61 · Jul 26, 2012

gbg1701 said:
Thank you, both Sporak and Will!!!!! I must admit that I am now very, very surprised. ... I was somewhat anticipating that when I visited this thread this morning, I would see a long series of remarks here attempting to cast doubt on the authenticity of my midgrade phaser -- as opposed to those much kinder sentiments of congrats. (There could be much hope for my new membership in this forum.)

And, of course, I must totally agree with Sporak when he points out that people CAN and DO own real TOS props.

And, of course, TOS costumes as well. Though it is my sincere impression that there is significantly less controversy surrounding TOS costumes. I've heard it said and also seen some evidence that some Starfleet tunics/dresses have been altered after the fact by collectors - perhaps "mined" for material, etc. - which is unfortunate.

No question about the authenticity of the phaser. It matches exactly all of the quirks of the known originals. You should be super proud to have it in your collection as it is a truly remarkable piece. Sorry I mistook your comment regarding the "flare" reference. Honestly I took it as a J.J. Abrams reference, which is a cut IMO, lol.

I answered my own question regarding the morie' bezel ring on your comm. If as I suspect your comm is the one pictured on page 029 in the "Star Trek 365" book than it is obviously not oversized. Is that indeed your comm? I wont go into the differences in the comm pictured in that book with the Wah comms because it is obvious that they are not from the same source. This leaves the lingering question of why the morie' bezel in the "Return to Tomorrow" screen cap appears too big like the midplate. I still hold firm to the belief that it is a trick of the camera. I certainly would like to see some proof of non-Wah comms from screen grabs. Due to the distortion in the bezel ring size I cannot give credence to the oversized midplate in the "Return to Tomorrow" episode without explination for why the bezel ring is also distorted. Do you know of any other suspected non-Wah comms from the show?

Also, thanks for posting the great phaser photos although I wish you would post the comm photos too (well and some more phaser photos as well).

Take Care,

P.S. Although I don't own any origianl TOS props I do have a nice collection from the fanchise.

gbg1701 · Jul 26, 2012

In Bob Justman and Herb Solow's book "Inside Star Trek: The Real Story" (Pocket Books: 1996), there is some discussion on TOS prop fabrication and there is mention that the Star Trek office spent $7,000 of its budget on poorly constructed hand props made by the internal Desilu Prop shop that were deemed too unsightly for photography. Specifically, (referring to Desilu prop shop props), Justman quotes himself: "But they're no ******* good!" I yelled. “We already spent $7,000 on those abortions, and they can’t even be photographed”. (On page 119 of the book.)

I have never seen any detailed list of what props might have been built by Desilu for that $7000. I realize there are some errors in the books account of things ... as it also claims Wah built some TOS phasers (when it is now the consensus opinion / knowledge that he merely redressed / repainted some phasers after the fact) and it isn't very clear on the relative timing of all events. Since Wah Chang charged Desilu $275 a piece for the two Tricorders and just over $100 each for his comms, it seems that $7000 could have built a huge number of props back then. And the book also says that Wah "designed and built the tricorder and communicator props. But definitely not independently." (Page 120.) - which implies Desilu involvement in the creation of communicator props, IMHO. So I have thought that perhaps the concept of non-Wah Chang midgrade communicators I've introduced into this thread might be explainable as part of that $7000 lot of items made by Desilu - which were then less frequently used onscreen or relegated to more background use onscreen because the 10 from Wah Chang visually appeared nicer.

Any thoughts?

gbg1701 · Jul 26, 2012

feek61 said:
I answered my own question regarding the morie' bezel ring on your comm. If as I suspect your comm is the one pictured on page 029 in the "Star Trek 365" book than it is obviously not oversized. Is that indeed your comm?

Also, thanks for posting the great phaser photos although I wish you would post the comm photos too (well and some more phaser photos as well).

Yes, that is my communicator featured in the book "Star Trek 365".

My Rigelian spearhead prop used by Captain Pike in "The Cage", also shown in the book, has RKO Pictures manufacturers marks / inventory marks stamped into the metal. Of course Lucy worked for RKO at one time and Desilu bought out RKO Pictures, acquiring their entire prop inventory. I have only seen evidence of just two spearheads of this shape ever being offered at auction - one by Profiles and one by Butterfield & Butterfield in the early / late '90s ... this is the B & B piece.

More phaser pics ...

feek61 · Jul 26, 2012

Gerald,

First, Amazing photos! Thank you for posting them. I must say that I am surprised by you being surprised at this piece being accepted by the fourm; it's obviously the real deal!! I hope that gives some sort of indication that I (and others) really are only looking for the truth. I hope you feel more comfortable with the authenticity quest we are on regarding the comm (and any other purported TOS props).

I particularly love the last photo showing the original B&W style P1 meter outline that was obviously part of the mold. Very cool! A few more questions if I may. Is there a similar outline from the mold at the front window or is it only painted on? Also, is the diamond pattern the thin mylar? And one last question; does it look like the clear emitter tip has been broken off at some point?

Thanks again for posting the great photos. Strangely enough I already have all of these photos and many more from the same photo shoot in my database.

WNMHGB · Jul 26, 2012

yes in deed very nice Phaser! i love the outlines as well and the gold, blue and red threads caught in the velcro!

Sporak · Jul 26, 2012

I dont...and that last shot showing the b/w window placement is gold!

Thanks!!!

feek61 · Jul 26, 2012

Bill, how did I get these and you don't? I'm surprised, lol. I have 33 Hi-Res photos from this shoot that show great detail. Now the question is where did they originate from?????? :confused

Here are a few more:

robn1 · Jul 26, 2012

I've seen those phaser pics on your site Gerald, but I didn't realize you were the new owner. Congrats on the acquisition, it's a beautiful piece.

gbg1701 · Jul 26, 2012

Many thanks, everyone!

These photos are selections from a much larger set of 33 different views that I first posted on my site in March of 2010. The whole set can be seen at: Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Authority: Special PhotoStudy: Star Trek The Original Series 3rd Season Midgrade Type II Phaser That's likely where Will's reference images, at some point, originated.

Regarding Will's questions. The front window appears to be just painted on without a built in groove. The entire area is perfectly smooth to the touch; while the P1 meter outline can be clearly felt - and is highly visible. It does almost look like there is the slightest hairline appearance of a window line at front along the right border of the black paint... but its not perfectly straight, has no feel to the fingertip and I think is likely just a scratch or paint stroke line remnant. There are some clear small scratches to the paint in the lower right region. Regarding the mylar, it does seem to be extremely thin and frail. Thicker than a single sheet of inkjet printer paper; but I believe not as thick as two sheets held together. The tip of the emitter feels perfectly smooth and rounded to the touch -- no jagged edges -- but it is not a perfectly symmetrical shape. It's very front surface is slightly convex, bulging out - the entire long shaft of the emitter seems a little bit longer lengthwise along the bottom edge when studying a side view of the shaft. I think perhaps it was created that way.

I also feel those embedded TOS tunic fibers in the velcro are cool! They aren't particularly noticeable at all when you handle the phaser and look at the velcro in person; but they do jump out at you when viewing that closeup hi-res photo. lol

Gerald

gbg1701 · Jul 26, 2012

robn1 said:
I've seen those phaser pics on your site Gerald, but I didn't realize you were the new owner. Congrats on the acquisition, it's a beautiful piece.

Many thanks, robn1. Yes, I took those photos for the post. That's my bedroom carpet as the background. You can also detect some slight contamination in the velcro along with the red, gold and blue fibers ... some white strands which I suspect might be white Pomeranian fur picked up from the carpet. :lol That fur gets everywhere and it seems I'm always vacuuming and its always returning with great haste.

Here's the guilty party ...

Quinn · Jul 27, 2012

gbg1701 said:
I also feel those embedded TOS tunic fibers in the velcro are cool! They aren't particularly noticeable at all when you handle the phaser and look at the velcro in person; but they do jump out at you when viewing that closeup hi-res photo.

That's what those are? Oh, makes it even cooler.

feek61 · Jul 27, 2012

gbg1701 said:
Many thanks, everyone!

That's likely where Will's reference images, at some point, originated.

Gerald

Gerald,

I thought that these were auction photos that I had; I didn't mean to post your photos. Apologies for that. I have changed the notation on my reference photos and I will be happy to remove the photos I posted here if you wish. Let me know.

Thank you for answering the questions. There have been lingering questions regarding the front window with the mids. Since at least one of the mids appear to have a window there is some conjecture that there was a scribe or guideline similar to what we see at the meter location.

Take Care,
Will

P.S. I too think the colored threads are very cool artifacts.

gbg1701 · Jul 27, 2012

Hi Will:

Absolutely no problem at all on your posting of the photos, and no need at all for apologies! I've never put any type of watermark on any of the prop or costume photos that I've taken of my memorabilia and published on the site; and truly have encouraged folks who have emailed me to freely download and distribute the images to fellow Star Trek fans as they wish. I've seen some of those images (TOS patches or fabric, etc) appear in forums where some folks have created a watermark on their own initiative with my name; but that is absolutely unnecessary from my perspective. All non-commercial use of the images should be encouraged! All is good!

Very Best,
Gerald

asparagus64 · Jul 28, 2012

Gerald, I haven't been to your site in a while. But after looking at these absolutely fantastic photo's, I think I'll be visiting again real soon :thumbsup. And thank you for making these pictures public as well. I'm very curious about the grip and hope you can answer a question for me. Under the primary color which seems to be some type of "gun bolt", is that a black primer we can see, or is it the actual fiberglass we're looking at?

Thanks,

Steve (manjunk64)

gbg1701 · Jul 28, 2012

Hi Steve:

Thanks for your kind words. While I'm not entirely certain, I suspect it is a black primer since there are some very tiny areas where I think I see a lighter tan-like color visible (especially on some possible tiny scratches / tiny worn areas on the phaser body above the grip). The hand grip of this phaser is integral to the body ... it's not a separate handle that was attached later. Could be wrong about the primer; but that's my best guess. It's also known that Wah Chang repainted / redressed phasers during filming; so that could also explain the presence of different colors.

Very Kind Regards,
Gerald

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