Welcome! As part of its ongoing mission to document the Art and Production History of Star Trek, this site will present technical articles on Star Trek prop and costume authentication - focusing on The Original Series - with detailed photos and episode screenshots to complement the information presented; as well as feature pictorials to showcase Star Trek memorabilia in private & public collections, present rare Behind The Scenes TOS imagery & discuss other topics.
Gerald Gurian is a 40+ year collector of screen used Star Trek memorabilia and a passionate fan of TOS
     
- Star Trek TOS At Auction Part I - Gurian Collection Highlights - Greg Jein TOS Hero Type II Phaser
-Authenticating a TOS Communicator -6 Myths About Star Trek Prop Design -Star Trek 3rd Season Command Tunic
- Design Features of TOS Tricorders -Star Trek Props At National Air & Space - TOS Leatherette Tricorder
- TOS Federation Sciences Dress -Desilu Studio TOS Prop Fabrication - Unreleased Allen/Gurian Prop Photos
- The Beautiful Women of TOS Part I -TOS U.S.S. Enterprise 11' Filming Model - Captain Kirk's Chair from TOS
- Spock Ears -TOS Control Panels & Displays - Mr. Spock's Science Station
- TOS Soundstage at Desilu -TOS Shatner Romulan Pants - The Beautiful Women of TOS Pt. II
- TOS Galileo Shuttlecraft -Greg Jein TOS Cage Laser Pistol - TOS 3rd Season Midgrade Type II Phaser
- Dr. McCoy's Sickbay on TOS -TOS Balok Puppet Head - Captain Kirk "Mirror, Mirror" Tunic
- Greg Jein TOS Hero Tricorder -1992 Smithsonian TOS Cast Video - TOS 1st Season Command Tunic
- TOS "Where No Man" Silver Contact Lenses -TOS Special Effects: The Transporter - The Art of Matt Jefferies
- TOS "Space Seed" Gold Mesh Jumpsuit -Gorn Costume from "Arena" - Rare TOS Behind-the-Scenes Videos
- TOS Stunt Type II Phaser -1993 Bill Theiss Estate Auction - TOS Shatner Command Dress Tunic
- TOS Elasian Royal Guard Tunic -TOS Finnegan Silver "Shore Leave" Tunic - TOS Science Officer Tunic "The Cage"
- TOS Shatner Early 1st Season Command Tunic -William Shatner TOS Tunics At Auction - TOS Shatner Late 1st Season Command Tunic

Monday, April 20, 2009

Star Trek: The Exhibition In Detroit - Starship Filming Models

This tenth in a series of posts on Star Trek: The Exhibition; now open at the Detroit Science Center (http://www.detroitsciencecenter.org/) until Sept. 7, 2009; focuses on the Starship filming models on display. With the exception of the first 3 photos, all of the images shown below were taken from a Media CD that was provided to the press covering the event's Opening Day in Detroit. As such, the filming models are shown as they were displayed at the San Diego Air and Space Museum in California - the initial venue for The Exhibition. In most cases, the models are presented in a similar fashion in Detroit, with minor rearrangement.

I should note that pictures truly do not do justice to the sensation one feels when standing in the presentation room that is filled with these elaborately detailed and, often, spacious starship "miniatures". To provide a sense of scale on some of the very largest filming models that were created; I resurrected a couple of photos of the DS9 spacestation and the U.S.S. Enterprise-A models as seen during the 2006 Christie's 40 Years of Star Trek pre-auction showing at Rockefeller Plaza, New York with observers standing nearby. Several of the models in the Exhibition are of comparable size ... I would estimate a breathtaking 4 to 5 feet in length. The third photo from the top is one that I took in Detroit which perhaps gives some feel for the overall scale of some items in the room.

Startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com was allowed to photograph the exhibition on Feb. 14th, 2009 and Feb. 21st, 2009 and is presenting posts on some of the exciting TOS-related components of this comprehensive collection - which features screen used costumes, props, starship filming models and set recreations that span all 5 Star Trek television series and 10 feature films. Many thanks to the staff of the Detroit Science Center for their kind assistance; with special recognition to Kelly Fulford, Kerri Budde, Amanda Jackson, and Todd Slisher for their outstanding support.

The introductory post on Star Trek: The Exhibition which provides a general overview of the event can be seen at: http://startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com/2009/02/star-trek-exhibition-beams-into-detroit.html

And now, the models.

Similar "miniatures" at Christie's in New York, 2006 ...



Star Trek: The Exhibition ...










A closeup view of the elaborate detail incorporated into a filming model of the Borg Cube used in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) ...