Star Trek's Enterprise Studio Model Stolen!
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
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My Star Trek Journey.
I discovered Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek The Original Series in 1972 and fell in love with it even though I was only 8 years old. In 1973, Star Trek The Animated Series premiered on NBC Saturday Morning Cartoons, and kept me entertained until it finished its run in 1974.
Like many other Star Trek fans, I waited and waited as the powers that be kept saying we would get Star Trek Planet of The Titans, then Star Trek Phase 2, until finally premiering Star Trek The Motion Picture in 1979.
As the Harve Bennett movies of the 1980’s began, I was at the theatre on opening night for Nicholas Meyer’s Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan, Leonard Nimoy’s Star Trek III : The Search for Spock & Star Trek IV : The Voyage Home, William Shatner’s Star Trek V : The Final Frontier, and Star Trek VI : The Undiscovered Country.
Before the decade ended, we got Star Trek : The Next Generation. Which, among other things, introduced us to the three letter Star Trek designations with the introduction of TOS for The Original Series, TAS for The Animated Series, and TNG for The Next Generation. We also were introduced to Rick Berman, who went on to give us Star Trek : Deep Space Nine ( DS9 ), Star Trek : Voyager ( VOY ), and Star Trek : Enterprise ( ENT ).
Berman also finished out the second run of Star Trek movies beginning with Star Trek Generation, Jonathan Frake’s Star Trek First Contact, Star Trek Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis.
Shortly afterward, the star of the new millennium, JJ Abrams rebooted the movies with Star Trek using a new cast for the actors playing the TOS characters. Taken on its own, this movie; along with Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond were responsible for a completely new Alex Kurtzman Star Trek resurgence. Although many older fans didn’t like Star Trek Discovery ( DIS ), Star Trek Picard ( PIC ), or Star Trek Strange New World’s ( SNW )
Oddly enough, brand new Star Trek animated shows have enjoyed a far greater success amongst the fan base with Star Trek Lower Decks ( SLD), and Star Trek Prodigy ( PRO ).
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Actually, the three models you mention are actually only a handful of the "Enterprise" models used in the show. Interestingly enough, there were twin metal 4-inch miniatures made for "Catspaw", one which was done for the shots of the cast holding the model, specially when it's suspended above a candle's flame and the other encased in Lucite to portray it in a force field. The uncased one was painted lt. grey and used in The Doomsday Machine for the scenes of the Enterprise being drawn down into the maw of the planet killer. The Lucite-encased model was donated to the Smithsonian along with the studio-used AMT-built Klingon D7 model, the 11 foot model, and few other items. The other one's whereabouts are unknown.
But before that, even before the 33 inch model was built, Jefferies and Datin put together a 4-5 inch model, which was used in the opening titles for certain shots. This model also has disappeared.
When all's said and done, we should really consider ourselves very lucky that we have what we have.
Wow never knew about the 4inch model very informative 🖖
We are indeed lucky. The twin ships used in Catspaw are at the Smithsonian in private storage. There's a lot of stuff that the Smithsonian has that no one has ever even seen.
It does appear that the one not encased in lucite was used for a single shot in the Doomsday Machine. I have a video where you can see every time any of the models were used in the original effects: 11ft, 3ft, AMT, & metal.
The 4 inch model you are referencing was the design proof that Matt made immediately after Gene approved the design. He wanted to be able to have Gene visualize it. There's a funny story about how it was first shown to Gene upside down; since they simply assumed it could be suspended by the secondary hull. Matt hurriedly rushed to the model and told them how to display it right-side-up.
The model disappeared and was not found in his possession when he finally auctioned all of his Star Trek stuff off through Profiles in History. Although they did find that he had one of the screen used AMT models that everyone had assumed had been destroyed at the time of filming.
@@TREK-WORLD toda la generación original de fans estamos orgullosos de enterarnos que hay todavía quienes están deseando no olvidar nada, saludos.
@@TREK-WORLD Only one of them is. The other is MIA as Mike says.
Years ago, an article (probably in Starlog) mentioned that the damaged starship seen in Doomsday Machine was one of the AMT kits. Is that the one you are talking about?
I know a lot of people are hoping for the model to be found at an estate sale or in a warehouse or storage unit, but we have to kind of prepare ourselves for the possibility that someone on the Brick Price, Robert Abel & Associates, or Magicam staff destroyed it or threw it out, perhaps in a pique of rage over getting fired.
So, as much as it pains me, there's a strong chance it wound up in a landfill, possibly in pieces.
The scary part is that I agree that the accidental destruction may likely be what really did happen with it.
Be it malice or accident, if it was broken and then thrown out, it's still one of the greatest losses for TV and science fiction history.
@@TREK-WORLD I wouldn't discount malice given what happened to the D7 model. The only reason it got back at all was contractual obligation to the Smithsonian, and as we all know, it came back in pieces with a ruined paint job. And I'm sure if it was anyone else other than the Smithsonian, it'd never have made it back.
@@TREK-WORLD Can't rule out malice, but I could see them having dropped the model or dismantled it like what happened to the D7 model. Only they weren't held to any kind of legal paperwork to hand it back to Gene.
@@TREK-WORLD There is an ebay auction that has come up that looks to very possibly be this model, all the details look right...shapes, chipping and the base mount etc. "by Richard Datin"....very interesting for sure!
Good morning...Another great job !
I guess sometime today I will go back and watch your videos about the filming models.
Mystery solved! I have an update for you. A good friend let me know that the small filming model was on eBay tonight and that the listing was shut down. This model was missing for many decades (45 years according to your video) and the person who acquired it from a storage unit auction didn’t know what he had. I’m certain that Rod Roddenberry will compensate this person even though the model was the property of the Roddenberry estate.
Thank you for the note! I've put up a small video this morning just letting people know it has been found. Did your friend get a screenshot of the auction?
@@TREK-WORLD I have the photos saved as the listing doesn’t show anymore. Let me know how to get them to you. I have told Bill Shatner on X but so far he hasn’t seen my tweet. I have also let many other Star Trek celebs know.
You can email me at Jim@trek-world.com. Thanks!
That is most definitely an 18"er in the background. Look at the size of the drawer handles in comparison to the size of the model.
That elephant painting behind Gene is the same one used in the Trotter flat in british sitcom Only Fools and Horses.
The Tomy model I bought is pretty much the same size at the 33" model that's missing. BTW, this original model from "The Cage" was found on ebay for sale and was originally found in a storage locker that was purchased (like Storage Wars). As far as I know it was rightfully returned to Gene's son Rod.
some months ago I thought I had debunked the model in the photo on the desk as the scale of the desk drawer shows that it is closer to a 18 inch model and that 3 feet would appear to be about twice the size of the model that is on that desk.
I have a similar metal desk and the drawer length is 14 inches in width and the model on top of the desk is just slightly longer than that.
i read that they asked the Smithsonian to borrow back the 11' model. Fortunately they declined, as it would never have made its way back and been restored to it former glory.
That was for possible use in "Trials and Tribble-ations" on Deep Space Nine. And no, they didn't decline so much as it was realized the model wasn't going to work because it was too damn big as well as not up to the then modern standards, so the plan was dropped. The late great Greg Jein built a beautiful 5-foot scale model along with a D7 battlecruiser, and a K-7 space station for the episode. But given the love that people had who were working on the various Trek shows in the 1990s for TOS, they'd have turned over Heaven, Earth, and Hell itself to make sure the 11 footer got back safely to the Smithsonian, especially Greg Jein and Mike Okuda!
But the same wasn't quite true at the time of Phase II and TMP. The way the Klingon battlecruiser model (borrowed from the Smithsonian) got treated is proof enough that people still considered what they were doing as "just another job" and didn't care as much about props and models the way people do now. They returned the D7 model back to the Smithsonian all right, but in pieces. The Smithsonian was understandably NOT happy about that, but at least they got it back and were able to have it put back together and repainted.
You are correct. They did ask the Smithsonian to borrow the model. Fortunately, they said no as it was on display. Paramount did borrow the D7 model. And they completely destroyed it and gave it back to the museum in pieces. I have a video about it where you can see the pieces that the Smithsonian found when they opened up the shipping box.
Enterprise archaeology. Love your work!
Awesome! Thank you!
Did anyone check to see if the model manufacturing company's might still have it? Like AMT may have borrowed it for reference?
Ironically, yes they did.
It turns out that Stephen Poe stayed friends with Roddenberry for decades. He had even been given one of the two Klingon battlecruiser studio models as a gift by Gene.
So Stephen would have been the AMT contact for Gene. And if they still had the model, then he would have been able simply to get it returned.
Not too mention that the mid 70s photos of the model with Gene where done over 10 years after AMT has designed the molds for their Enterprise models.
@@TREK-WORLDInteresting!
They found it! Some one on ebay was selling it as a repilca!
Gene notoriously sold off tons of stock effects reels after he left TOS, leaving the show high and dry by the third season.
So I'm gonna guess the person that has the 33" model is the same person Gene sold it to, using the Abel & Assoc. transfer as cover.
That's very likely why Roddenberry never acted too upset or curious over the loss. He was my chief suspect even before I saw the final confirmed photo of it on his desk.
You can admire a man's creative effort and not have to admire the man.
So true. Gene is almost like two people for us. The creator of Star Trek, and a somewhat self-centered materialist.
@@TREK-WORLD That is being kind. His pursuit of a quick buck would make Quark blush. It effected Season 3 scripts, and nearly kept Nimoy away from Star Trek for good after the series ended. But, aside from that, he had some other major personality defects, like a rather pronounced cheating and sexual harassment streak, and a worrying tendency to look the other away when others acting in his name destroyed relationships with valued colleagues and friends. His enabling of Mazlisch on TNG nearly broke the show.
Very true. I'm very glad he had the idea that gave us Star Trek; but to be honest... Star Trek truly prospered in spite of him rather than as a result of him.
He shared many of the same character flaws as PT Barnum.
I've also always suspected he actually sold the model off.
@TREK-WORLD @crownprincesebastianjohano7069 going a bit far there. Roddenberry got cheated by the studios every which way, not saying it justifies everything, but he wasn't driven mainly by money, mainly just trying to survive in a medium that involves a lot of flow ...
"Star Trek truly prospered in spite of him rather than as a result of him." is just dead wrong. the miracle of trek (so far outside the norm!) happened only because of precisely the weird mix that was Roddenberry. If he had been one ounce less cheesy he would never have been able to navigate Hollywood and gotten it produced at all. If he had been one ounce more cheesy, he wouldn't have been able to create the Trek and crew of legend.
This was even more true of the weekly dance, pushing the envelope as far as it could be pushed without blowback one week, then doing something more palatable before pushing it again ... Star Trek didn't just happen by mistake. It was finely calibrated to do what it had to do.
Amazing what appears to be the 3 foot model has surfaced on eBay only to be quicly taken down.
I do wonder if Paramount or the Roddenberry estate can make a legal claim to the model. But it certainty appears someone from or passing through Robert Able & Associates took the Enterprise home and kept it a well guarded secret. Looking forward to seeing how this all unwinds.
Interestingly it showed up a scant two months after this video. I'm not convinced this person didn't know what he had. I bet he saw this video...
Boy.... wouldn't that be amazing? 😀
People will steal anything somebody stole one of the original Aston Martin db6 a couple decades ago and has not been recovered.
The original USS Enterprise from Star Trek is as famous as the Aston Martin is from James Bond movies.
...and I'll NEVER give it back!
I recall reading about the Robert Abel "fiasco" in a 79 edition of Starlog. An interview with Magicam who were making some of the new models (Space Dock, Klingon ships, the Enterprise and work Bee. Cory Melcher and Don Dow I believe. They really slagged him off. Later, Abel gave a reply also published in Starlog.
If you you can find the magazine, it is a good read. I still read my tattered copy.
What do you mean when you say "they really slagged him off?" I can imagine you either mean that they trashed him in print, saying he was not getting the job done, or that you mean they slacked off on the job while in his employ.
@@TheLarryBrown Hello. Yes, they totally criticised him in print. Even reading it now, I think they wen a little overboard. I think Starlog is available read as pdf's might be worth taking a trip back in time.
I actually have all the Starlogs in PDF and loaded onto my iPad for research. They are an amazing read. Instantly takes you back in time. I'll go check out Issue 79 right now!
@@TREK-WORLD Great. The edition is from 79, and has a bit about Battlestar Galactica, which is on the cover (mine being in tatters). It is a good read, and I still feel that the interviewees went a bit far. There are some good photos which include Robert Wise and the modelmakers standing by the space Dock "discussing modelmaking techniques" apparently.....
I bet they weren't lol.
@@MarkHarvey-uh8oc That the one with the Ship of Lights featured prominently on the cover as part of the coverage of Apogee FX? That's issue #27 October 1979.
Or were you thinking of the one with the Galactica herself on the cover with three Cylon Raiders, the middle one exploding? That's issue #17 from October 78.
The Klingons used time travel to come back and took it. It is now on Kronos in the Klingon Aero Space Museum.
As a garbage trawler?
Yes, and that is how it is labeled, LOL.
Kapla.@@TheLarryBrown
Kirk is just lucky Mr.Flint didn't bring the Enterprise back into his house after he, Spock and McCoy had returned back to the ship.😅
Excellent job. I think this is in a gay bar in SF ❤
It would be awesome if it surfaced in an estate sale or something. Just so it could be recovered
I don't think that's the lost 3 footer in the Phase II pics. From the profile, the underside of the saucer should be flattish. Look at the Enterprise leaving the galactic barrier in this video for reference, not the same. That's not to say the model wasn't "lost" during this period. That's just not it
The are definitely some weird issues with the shape of that mysterious ship in the photo. Until someone is actually able to determine the actual size of the saucer, we'll never really know what that ship was.
@@TREK-WORLD I've looked carefully at that photo and measured the model on the desktop against the drawers and other features that I know it can be reasonably compared to. It's too small to be the 3 footer, and because the camera is focused on the 6 foot Phase II Enterprise model, the background is not only slightly blurred out, but the compression effect is in play making the desktop model look out of wack with the desktop just a bit. Also, the shape of the saucer dorsal superstructure the bridge is on looks all wrong for the studio models with their sleek, tapered to a near point teardrop shape, whereas here it looks all fat and bulged out (could be an optical distortion illusion). But that fat, very rounded shape of this mystery model's saucer superstructure indicates it was an AMT model or a prototype that used the AMT kit as a basis.
But, we can't quite dismiss that. As has already been pointed out by someone else in the comments, there is a bit of a funky illusion where the bottom of the 3 footer's saucer looks more pointed than it really is. To see this, the two photos to the upper left and right of the model over Gene's shoulders at 6:00 give the impression that the model has a pointed bottom, and it's clearly the 3 footer. Then before that, the cast publicity color shots At 4:00 shows a similar effect, partially because of that aforementioned optical effect I was talking about! The one of Shatner and Grace Lee Whitney with the model suspended in the background to their left and the one of Shatner with the model suspended right above and behind him show this effect as well.
So far; I am really happy with the discourse we're having on this subject. That photos been around for years - yet we've poured so much brain power into it that I can honestly say the evidence is 99%+ not the 3ft model.
I love this community on the channel. The people and the stories gives us so much more expertise and research on focused discussions than others have done before.
I love it.
In that final closeup (08:30) the lower saucer looks too "pointy" to be the 33" model, which had a more flattened saucer bottom
There's a few photos of the 3 footer that if photographed a certain way, the saucer bottom looks more pointy than flat. It's a weird optical illusion that throws people off. But when seen cleanly edge on, it clearly is flattened on the bottom. It was probably made that way because it was easier to turn the sugar pine wood and carve it out on a lathe by Dick Datin while the 11 footer's saucer, which was cast in Royalite plastic from a mold could be made pointed without too much trouble.
Not so fast! It was on eBay 2 days ago. 11/3/2023.
Was it stolen, or is it in a forgotten crate in an unused attic somewhere.
Looks like it may have been found.
Great vid and thanks for posting this! Does anyone know what happened to the U.S.S. Constellation model used in "The Dooms Machine? My understanding was that model was just a highly detailed off the shelf AMT model kit you could find in any hobby store. The amount of detail on that model was awesome! That being said, I would think that model would exceptionally fragile and would be surprised if it still exists. Still, I've been surprised before and have some hope that it does still exist.
No one know for sure. It was thought for a long time that none of the Amt models had survived. But then Matt Jefferies put one of them up for auction in 2001. It was the one he used in The Trouble with Tribbles.
@@TREK-WORLD Thanks for the quick reply. Are there any photos of the AMT kits that Matt Jefferies put up for auction in 2001?
Check out this video : ua-cam.com/video/5XH3f1Gq7Oc/v-deo.html. I need to update the video, but the whole story and photos is towards the end of the video.
@@TREK-WORLD Thanks!
It looks like the View-Master 3D slide package for the original Star Trek features the same early Enterprise model on the cover and in the 3D images. The 3D photographer was present to shoot scenes from the selected episode, "The Omega Glory" if I recall correctly, but of course the only Enterprise available was that model. One of the early Star Trek books speaks about a model produced in the studio woodshop. Another comment here identifies the craftsman who produced it by turning wood on a lathe. Even if it were still somewhere hidden away, you would expect fifty years of aging to inflict serious damage; that is, if nobody has been maintaining and repairing it.
You’re correct on the Viewmaster cover. They used the 3ft model *and* an AMT model to do that shot. However, the 3FT’s model was produced by Richard Datin in his own workshop. It was completely solid wood, and weighed about 20 pounds or so.
However, Matt did create a 4inch model in the studio workshop so that Gene could see a physical model rather than a drawing before ordering the studio models. No one has any idea what ever happened to it; and it did not turn up in Matt’s belongings after he passed.
The AMT model they used was one of several that were quickly built, used, and then disposed of. Everyone thought that none of the screen used AMT models existed…. Until Matt put his up for auction. It had been heavily modified for lights and used In The Trouble With Tribbles (the model outside the station manager’s window).
Actually the 18 inch model you mentioned was an AMT model kit used was labeled USS CONSTELATION for the episode Doomsday Machine. And I think other kits were used as well.
There were two AMT models used in TOS. One was used to represent the USS Constellation and the other was used in "The Trouble with Tribbles" as the Enterprise for the effects shots of the starship orbiting around K-7 or for it to be seen outside Mr. Lurry's office window. The Enterprise one was specially customized by Matt Jefferies, with windows cut out of the hull and lights for them as well as the nacelle bussard domes.
Sadly, it's hard to make out the details on it and the model was only ever used for that one episode. On the other hand, that model did survive in Matt's care and later in his brothers before being auctioned off in the early 2000s to billionaire Paul Allen and put on display in the Seattle Museum of Science Fiction.
I wish Gene would have kept it in his office I'm sure his son would still have it
Agreed
Fascinating
Last I heard 15+ years ago Bob's widow was shopping a model around. Don't know it it's THE model or who, if anyone, bought it.
It was stolen and destroyed over the planet Genesis. As it was being stolen,one of the thieves must have asked, “Are you going to just walk through them?’ ‘Calm yourself, doctor.”
It was found
not stolen , its sitting on a table in flint's house on a planet far far away!
By George, you’ve got it!!!!
I would bet money it still exists. Back in the day the studios really didn't care about such stuff. The show was in the can, who cares about the props.
There are many stories about props that just disappeared. Or props/costumes in someone's closet for decades, rental houses mislabeling famous pieces. People renting famous props, then returning poor copies. The stories are quite entertaining(The Death Star from Star Wars ended up where?). :)
As far as STTOS goes, there were(I don't remember exactly) 3 or 4 Nomad's made, of course most were cannibalized. Did any survive? I don't think any did, the parts were too useful. As was the fate of many props used on the show. But it was surprising what has survived.
But the little E was a different case, regardless of what Gene said publicly. I'm sure he knew.
I don't think anybody would bring charges against whoever has the model. It's been over 50 years, anybody official could care less about it. Of course we would all like to see it. I'm sure it would spark many nonsensical Trekkie arguments.
Lets just hope it's well preserved.
Romulan dogs..Worf is on it….
If it hasn't been destroyed , I still have some reasonable hope it will turn up. Whoever had it has aged over this time , belongings have a history of passing down to other family members or people much less concerned or knowledgeable about them. I have my fingers crossed.
I think it turned up on EBAY for 1000$
Of course Time Travelers from the Future took it.
There is also a good chance it’s destroyed
This has been fully covered in previous videos you have made… what was new to warrant this video… we all know that it went missing but how do you know it was stolen?
You've got some good points there. You are going to see several older videos that I am repackaging again. This one and the TAS one were recently repackaged. Mainly because my audience is much larger now and many folks don't go in and look for your older videos.
In both cases; the original videos were about two years old. The TAS one has already had 4 times as many viewers in just two weeks as it has over the past two years. The 3ft one has about half of the total views that the older one had over two years - and it's only 3 days old.
And the stolen label was actually used by Majel several times in interviews. She felt that it was impossible for whomever it was that borrowed it from Gene to have simply "forgot". So she said it was stolen property.
The Smithsonian really needs to beef up security, this is outrageous.
This model was never donated to the Smithsonian. Paramount gave it to Gene, and then it was lost afterwards.
Did you even watch the video? Or did the images he used of the 11 foot model confuse you as to which one was lost.
The D7 was recovered, albeit in pieces, precisely because the Smithsonian made sure via contract or whatever that it be returned or all hell would've broken loose, including probably criminal charges and or a big civil lawsuit. As it is Robert Abel & Associates got lucky that they only dismantled the D7 model, or they'd have faced probably a lawsuit for damages.
Maybe Paramount gave it away. You may know the story of how the 11 footer was loaned out to a high school teacher for a Star Trek display. When he asked to return it, Paramount kind of asked if he just wanted to keep -- I guess to eliminate the hassle of having it carted back. The teacher decided not to keep it and had it schlepped back to Paramount. Good guy. There are pictures and story (some on your videos) about this. I'm of two minds on somebody having this thing -- on the one hand, it would be better to have it on display (but the 11 footer is) on the other hand, the fact that some of these items have been in private hands for many years is the only reason they exist today. Museums cost money, as does upkeep and hiring conservators and preparators, and people have limited funds to see props under glass (just like on TV). It would likely end up in some millionaire's basement -- and maybe out for infrequent display.
Paramount actually gave it to Gene when he was back working on Phase 2. It was Gene that somehow lost track of it. Majel would go on the record several times that whoever had it, it should be considered stolen property. So if someone does have it, they would most certainly not want to be caught with stolen goods. So my thought is that it's in private hands somewhere.
Ok. Had a rewatch of your video. I didn't know Roddenberry had loaned it out himself. Well, the world has the big model, so that's something.@@TREK-WORLD
Absolutely! We are actually quite blessed as Trek fans in that regard. It's a miracle how many things have still survived.
I took it an if you don't want it exploded it'll take 10,000 bars of gold pressed platinum .
Whoever has it is a selfish fan of a show about a selfless future. Ironic. Just give it to a museum anonymously
If anyone has it.
How sad😢
we all know the ship on a mission !