Wednesday, July 30, 2014

THE ROAD TO HELL: A PERSONAL, MORTIFYING JOURNEY

A friend of mine contacted me about my recent Blog story on one Alec Peters. "I understand your anger and disgust with him," they said. "but I think you're getting carried away with your emotions and it shows in your writing so that you are coming across as a ranting juvenile. I'm not the only one who sees it this way."

Now, it may come as a bit of a surprise, but I greatly appreciated that insight into my behavior. Self-awareness is a fickle thing. You think you've got it and then, "wham!", you find out you were absolutely mistaken. While I have no problem being perceived as passionate, I was hoping to avoid the whole "foaming at the mouth" imagery. Alas, apparently I've crossed that line without even being aware of it. That sucks for me, because, while I really don't care what stupid people think of me, there are definitely those out there who are intelligent, decent people, and whose opinions I greatly respect. So when one of them has the temerity to say "Hey, Don, you're being a dick", well, I assume I am, in fact, being a dick.

And so, here I am at a crossroads, uncertain as to how to go forward, or whether I should go forward at all. If I'm just an idiot screaming into the wind, why bother? Go on to what end? How did I get to this point? It's that same old story: guy gets burned, guy rages against the darkness, guy turns into an asshole. Or, as I call it, Wednesday.

Which can all be distilled down to maybe, just maybe, I've put too much "Wrath" in "Wrath of Dhan". What started as a joke has come to be far too literal. The joke's on me.

So, what to do? No one is particularly worried about my ranting in a review of a phaser, naturally. But eventually, The Buffoon King will make yet another entrance, bringing new stupidity and lies (I think I hear some now, BTW!). Should I stand aside and let the inmates run the asylum? Perhaps so.

But my friend also added this: "I'm not telling you to stop writing about Alec when he pulls crap like this,  but I would advise trying to maintain a little more distance and objectivity in your writing."

So can it be just that simple? Maybe so. Maybe my new mantra needs to be: "Whoa, there, buttercup. Calm down." But calming down doesn't mean don't fight the fight. It just means turn down the volume. Make your point with more flair and less phlegm.

I think I can do that. Please don't misunderstand me. I stand behind every view I've ever written about in this Blog. But going forward, I will stay on message and do so in a less...wrathful way.

Let me give it a shot:

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

While I don't support anyone ripping off collectors – and only complete idiots would think or say that I do – I will admit that I don't give one flying crap about whether or not Alec Peters was ripped off. Frankly, if he was, well... karma's a bitch, man.

That's right: I have no problem with anyone taking advantage of Alec Peters. I'm a huuuuge fan of the idea. I am NOT saying he WAS ripped off. But IF he was, I say "what goes around, comes around".

If you hear about a bully getting his ass kicked, do you care? I sure don't.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

So how was that? Concise and to the point and no "mouth foaming" or histrionics in sight.

So, to my readers I promise this: I will do my best to keep the tone in a more reasonable range. I will in no way give anyone a pass, of course – I can't take ALL the "wrath" out of Wrath of Dhan, after all. But frothing will be an option that I will try my absolute best to avoid.

LLAP

Don





Monday, July 28, 2014

DEEP SPACE NINE RESIN PHASER RIFLE WITH LIGHTED SCOPE AND HINGED SITE.

Here's a VERY cool piece: a screen-used Phaser Rifle from Deep Space Nine. This is the style seen in later episodes like "The Ship" and "Change of Heart".

Not a single specimen of this type of rifle was sold at the Christie's or It's A Wrap Paramount auctions aking this a really rare piece.

Special features:

Solid resin construction

Removable light-up scope

Spring-loaded site

This is NOT one of those rubber versions that deteriorate quickly over time. this is a rugged, solid resin version that creates some real heft in your hands.











You won't see many of these ANYWHERE!

LLAP

Don

Saturday, July 26, 2014

AXANAR "STAR" ALEC PETERS THREATENS TO FALSELY ACCUSE A DETRACTOR OF A CRIME TO SHUT THEM UP. AND HIS BLIND FOLLOWERS PROBABLY WON'T CARE.

I like to talk and write about Star Trek props and costumes. It's a significant part of my life and I enjoy sharing it here on Wrath Of Dhan. But sometimes something comes along that requires me in good conscience to address issues beyond my own happy existence. This is one of those.

Star Trek collector and "Star Trek: Axanar" actor/producer/egotist extraordinaire Alec Peters once again wants to control the narrative and apparently he's willing to do it at any cost. in an attempt to quash opposing viewpoints, he has unsuccessfully sued someone who had the gall to disagree with him. He has ranted and raved against those he thought wronged him. On a personal level, he has sent me a DEATH THREAT, threats of LEGAL ACTION, and threats to do assorted and sundry things against me. In general, my reaction to these childish declarations is to consider the pathetic source. Oh, and  he has also offered to sign a non-disclosure agreement with me, as if I had something to hide, as he apparently does. Honest men don't hide behind such bullshit.

But now he's sunk to what can only be described as a new low, even by the already-subterranean standards he's thus far established. In short, Mr. Peters has threatened, not to sue or do bodily harm. That would be too normal, apparently. No, Mr. Peters has actually threatened to falsely accuse someone of a crime in order to shut them up. And not just any crime.

He's threatened to falsely accuse them of pedophilia. Yes, you read that correctly: Alec Peters has threatened to falsely accuse someone of PEDOPHILIA to shut them up.

To say this is pathetic doesn't do "pathetic" justice. This is obscene. Bizarre. Grotesque. What kind of human being would do such a thing? A twisted prick like Alec Peters, that's who. And many of you out there are responsible. On his Star Trek prop board, Peters has groomed a set of moronic sycophants that turn a blind eye to his every dishonest action.

When he secretly set up a SHIPPING COMPANY for his now-bankrupt business of selling movie props in order to make money from collectors through super-high shipping rates while claiming it was NOT his company, he was caught in the lie. Did his forum members call him on it? Some did, but most turned a blind eye to the lie.

When a former employee of Peters named Dan Benton – a guy who knew NOTHING about props and costumes – started thepropblog.com, Peters immediately insisted that he had nothing to do with it, despite the fact that Benton used his blog to hype Peters and denigrate everyone else. It was considered to be so toxic that THIS STORY was written by a respected member of the prop community when the blog rightfully died. It was evident to the entire hobby that Benton was Peters' mouthpiece. Did his forum members speak out? Of course not. They sucked up harder.

When he lied about me being "kicked off of the Galileo Restoration Team" (I was never on it nor sought to be) his forum members yawned, just as they did when Peters' falsely stated of me that "some of you have told me of deals that were less than satisfactory". Same thing when they found out he threatened me by stating "you are lucky you aren't dead." Apparently his forum found that charming. The police did not. Suffice to say that there is a report in the files of my local police department with a copy of Mr. Peters' fetching missive.

And now, because someone spoke out against Peters' involvement in the fan film production Star Trek Phase II, Peters has again lashed out. For those not in the know, Peters' ran the recent Phase II Kickstarter and became responsible for paying certain Phase II bills with that money. Not surprisingly, the checks bounced, a fact that Peters himself confirmed on a now-deleted Facebook post. And when someone commented about that issue, Peters sent them the following:

"I am a winner who makes my life and those around me better. You sit at home masturbating to pics of little boys.

Be very careful."

His voice mail (yes, he ACTUALLY left this message on a VM!) is even better:

"It's Alec Peters.  I see you're trying to cause trouble... so, you better be careful where you step - you don't want people finding out about your pedophilia."

How winsome. "Be very careful". "you don't want people finding out about your pedophilia."Direct quotes from the man himself. And, yes, he's single, ladies! BTW, the very nature of that call makes it a crime itself in some states as defined by this edict:

"No person shall, while communicating with any other person over a telephone, threaten to do bodily harm or use or address to such other person any words or language of a lewd, lascivious, or indecent character, nature, or connotation for the sole purpose of annoying such other person;"

Now, before Peters makes the inevitable claim that he was just joking, ask yourself if that's funny. On any level, IS THAT FUNNY? While the receiver ponders legal action, let me ask again: in your opinion, what type of human being behaves in such a manner? In Peters' words, a "winner"? (Anyone else getting a Charlie Sheen vibe off that, BTW?). In my opinion only a sad, loathsome creature commits such acts. They are a thing to be shunned and disavowed.

How did it come to this? The answer is simple, really. The fault lies not just within Peters' own twisted soul, but with every single person who has enabled his bad behavior in the past and continues to do so. The list includes:

The Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum members

Star Trek Axanar production participants

Star Trek New Voyages Phase II production participants

So let's be clear: everyone associated with these entities are de facto supporters of a person that stoops to THREATS OF FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF PEDOPHILIA to silence critics. If these people are silent on this subject – it they do not specifically and vehemently speak out against such deplorable behavior – they will themselves will be guilty through association. Their silence will mean "for me, this is acceptable behavior".

So, to all Peters' supporters: you have a choice. You can maintain your support for this vile action by continuing your support of Peters. Or you can disassociate yourselves from him and be counted as a decent person who does not tolerate such abhorrent and stupid attempts at blackmail. I'll be monitoring and reporting on what happens. Those that stick with this sinking, stinking ship will be called out. I will name names and let the public decide who is right and who is not.

By the way, Mr. Peters will be appearing at SDCC this evening on an Axanar Q&A. I think it would be great if someone asked one question in particular: "how do you live with yourself?" And maybe ask Mr. Hatch about what he thinks of his protege's behavior? That would be priceless.

My lawyers are standing by.

LLAP

Don

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

PHASE II FAN PRODUCTION OPENS ITS SETS TO THE PUBLIC BUT YOU'LL NEED TO ACT QUICKLY – TWO DAYS ONLY!

I have a love/hate thing with Star Trek fan productions. I won't get into the "hate" part, but what I love is clearly shown in the photo, right – the incredible work that goes into these productions by people who willingly give their time, expertise and – most of all – passion. Because the photo is not the original set from 1968 – it's the set from the fan film production Phase II. My hat's off to all those that have made such an amazing thing possible.

And now you can have the opportunity to check out these sets for yourself. From the Phase II Facebook page:

This Saturday July 26, 2014 you can visit the Phase II sets and sit in the Captain's Chair! We are still under construction but are opening up our studio to the public for the first time ever between 10 - 5 ! Please beam aboard The Enterprise at 112 Montcalm Street, Ticonderoga N.Y. 12883 as we make our future plans to host "Trekonderoga" and invite fans to attend from all over the world!

It looks absolutely perfect and I wish I was closer to Ticonderoga, NY, because – replica or not – it's as close as any of us could ever get to actually walking the original bridge of the Enterprise. I'm sure it must be quite an experience.

LLAP

Don

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

RARE BATCH OF STAR TREK PROPS COMES TO MARKET THIS FRIDAY

This Friday, the Original Memorabilia Company (OMC), a British concern specializing in collectibles and limited editions, will be offering one of the coolest bunch of Star Trek props that I've seen for some time. While there's not that many pieces – only nine in all – these are far better than the usual stuff that comes along. Every once in while we might see one or two of these kinds of pieces being offered, but there's seldom so many gems in one place. The term "rare" gets bantered around a lot in out hobby. It's nice when it's actually true.

OMC contacted me last summer regarding this lot of props and asked for some help in identifying  and authenticating them. The process was greatly aided by the fact that every piece had originally come from a Star Trek prop master which is about as good as you can get as far as provenance goes. My job was to confirm that they were what they appeared to be. And since most of the pieces were Original Series film props from Star Trek II-VI, I was a natural choice since that's ALL that I collect.

A number of the pieces had originally been made by Star Trek prop maker Richard Coyle, a name well known to Trek prop collectors. Mr. Coyle had aided in prop making with Star Trek IV, V & VI and several of these pieces were originally made by him. He has confirmed his involvement with those pieces and one of them was screen-matched by me as confirmation.

So what's the big deal? Check it out for yourself:

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Starfleet Phaser Pistol

These things are definitely a rarity for one simple reason: they are incredibly fragile so few have lasted through the decades. This version is a true Wrath of Khan (WOK) vac-formed background piece with WOK-style control panel on the top. It is totally intact with original silver-blue paint and hologram-tape side strips. It shows the kind of wear you'd expect in an original prop but is overall a beautiful piece. The photos are not retouched in any way.




Star Trek V & VI Starfleet Assault Phaser Pistol

These come up from time to time but most versions offered are static background versions. But not this time. This is a "Hero" version made of fiberglass and resin and features a still-functioning trigger-activated light in its nozzle, a sliding cowling and ID plate in it's handle. Inside the handle the number 4 has been hand written in red ink. The "power pack magazine" is removable. This type was created for close-up use in action scenes in Star Trek V and VI where lights and details were needed making this version especially desirable. Shows some minor damage consistent with production use but is in overall good working condition, which is a rarity in itself – its lights still work! This piece also features a number of machined aluminum parts that give its design a real-world authenticity.


Light still works!

Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country Klingon Disruptor Pistol "Shotgun-Pump-style"

Talk about a rarity – how about a one-of-a-kind? This awesome piece was screen-used in Star Trek VI by Brigadier Kerla and matched to a 1989 photograph on Richard Coyle's RAC Props website of the identical piece. Mr. Coyle has also confirmed in writing that he made this special pistol. This pump action beaked-nose Disruptor is a solid very heavy piece made of cast resin with a sliding black piece and is painted in the familiar Klingon rust,  metallic silver and black color scheme with distressed finish. A truly unique piece with the ultimate provenance. Approx dimensions 16" x 7.5" x 2.5" Shows wear from production use.


Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Klingon Beak-Nosed Disruptor Pistol

These come up for auction occasionally, but many times they are a stunt version made of foam rubber. This version is one of the hardier resin versions and was made specifically for Star Trek VI (modified from an earlier design to better fit in a holster) and then reused throughout the various Star Trek TV incarnations as the standard Klingon sidearm. Made of cast resin components by Richard Coyle and painted in the Klingon rust color scheme with distressed finish, it shows normal wear from production use.




Star Trek V & VI Klingon Tricorder

According to Richard Coyle, Greg Jein purchased a number of identical Tricorders from him for use in ST5/6 and for the Next Generation episode ‘The Chase’, all of which were replicas of the ST3 Tricorder. All were modified in some way – some had markings removed by Jein (including Klingon glyphs) before adding various new details. This example has these same identical production-made details added over the glyphs and Richard Coyle has advised he believes this is an unused ST6 version. Since it came from a Paramount prop master, that would make sense. It's made of cast resin components and painted in the Klingon rust color scheme with distressed finish. The Tricorder also features a pop-up screen with fantastic functioning lights on both sides.




Star Trek VI Klingon PADD/panel

This is something that I had literally never seen before. It's a green piece of plexi with Klingon characters and various graphics silk-screened on. But with a little help from a friend I was able to determine that these pieces were used in Star Trek VI scenes aboard the Klingon ship. These were in front of Chancellor Gorkon during the assassination scene, both on the table and floating in zero-G.  Cut into an angular "Klingon-esque" shape, it's about 11 inches high. Unfortunately, the lower left corner was snapped off, and it has overall wear from use. But, whatever its condition, it's definitely a unique piece.






Star Trek V Scotty Flashlight

Made for everyone's favorite engineer, Scotty. This Starfleet-issue flashlight is complete with applied detail and metal Starfleet ID badge. One of these can be seen in Scotty's hand as he walks through the Enterprise. This must be one powerful flashlight because it sure is big for the 23rd century!


Star Trek V/VI Metal Coffee Mug

1989 production made coffee mug made for Star Trek V/VI. This metal coffee mug features the familiar Starfleet symbol applied to the side opposite the handle rather than at right angles. Possibly a prototype? No way of knowing but it's made with the same materials as screen-used versions.




Star Trek: The Next Generation PADD

The only TNG piece in the sale, this is an unusual PADD in that it's made from clear blue-tinted plexi rather than the usual opaque resin. It features various "functions" and metallic stickers applied to it so as to appear to be advanced technology. A version of this piece was featured on one of those Newfield "Mission Data" sheets that were out in the 90's, though it was misidentified as an "Optical Chip".


So that's it. Nine cool pieces you definitely won't find anywhere else, all with that thing we all struggle with – solid provenance! You'll be able to check this stuff out at the OMC website:

www.originalmemorabilia.co.uk

And in the interest of full disclosure, I was paid for my services as a consultant but I make nothing from actual sales.

LLAP

Don