Thursday, August 27, 2015

PROPSTORE OFFERS AN INCREDIBLE STAR TREK MODEL – THE ENTERPRISE-C FROM "YESTERDAY'S ENTERPRISE"!

Next up in my coverage of Propstore's great Star Trek offerings is an amazing opportunity to actually own a model of one of the Starship Enterprise incarnations created for production. It's the seldom seen Ambassador Class model made by model-maker extraordinaire Greg Jein for what is surely on everyone's Top Five list of the best TNG episodes – "Yesterday's Enterprise".

Don't be fooled by the name on the hull. The Enterprise-C model was later reused as the USS Yamaguchi for the Deep Space Nine opening episode "Emissary" as one of the ships that engaged the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 and was destroyed. But only on screen, of course. Between its original use and "Emissary", the model was also modified to be the Zhokov in the TNG Ep "Data's Day", and as the Excalibur in "Redemption Part II". It was modified a bit along the way and was even considered for use in "Star Trek: Generations" but ultimately did not appear (which is too bad because that movie needed all the help it could get – even from a model).

Here's some shots that don't appear in the Propstore catalog featuring some great close-ups showing the construction details (click for larger images). All photos courtesy of Propstore.





Here's the details from the Propstore description:

"The starship model is made of resin with internal fibreglass reinforcement and an array of styrene rib detailing running across the hull and nacelles. The shuttle bay at the rear of the ship is exposed revealing internal cabling. The model has a blue and grey paint finish with additional blue and faux gold detailing on the nacelles and deflector dish. White appliqué panels are applied on the saucer as part of the Yamaguchi transformation.

Red and black Starfleet decals are applied to the exterior of the vessel. The Excalibur’s registration number “NCC-26517” is applied on the underside of the saucer dish and a decal displaying the name “Excalibur” is applied beneath the shuttle bay. Decals with the number “NCC-26510” and the name “USS Yamaguchi” have been applied across the top of the saucer with “NCC-26510” decals on the port side of the nacelles.

Internal lights are fitted across the saucer, hull and nacelles with lights fitted behind transparent red plastic diffusers on the nacelles and the rear of the saucer. Additional lights run through the body of the starship to replicate the look of lit windows, all of which are powered using a cable running from the saucer section of the ship.

Well-used in the Star Trek saga, certain decals have come away or show wear from use and age, with the model exhibiting minor cracks and wear to the paint finish. The model is presented on a custom made, poseable display and remains overall in very good condition. The piece was originally sold in CBS-Paramount’s 2006 40 Years of Star Trek auction. Dimensions: 65 cm x 110 cm x 41 cm (25 ½” x 43 ½” x 16 ¼”)

As this item contains electronic components, every effort has been made to describe them accurately; however no guarantee or warranty is made as to functionality, lifespan or safety of those components. It is entirely incumbent on the new owner to satisfy themselves as to their safe use and maintenance.

£40,000-60,000"

A beautiful piece of Star Trek artistry and history all in one item. The model originally sold at the 2006 Christie's auction for $48,000. The ask here is approximately $60,000 (plus the buyer's premium) so it won't go cheap, that's for sure. But something this important in Star Trek lore shouldn't go cheaply, right?

Check out the entire Propstore catalog for yourself HERE.

More to come!

LLAP

Don

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

PROPSTORE SETS PHASERS TO "KILL" WITH ORIGINAL UHURA DRESS

Continuing our coverage of the upcoming Propstore auction, here's the next incredible piece: an Original Series Uhura dress! I'll let it speak for itself:






Amazing stuff, right? Here's the official scoop from Propstore:

"Uhura's (Nichelle Nichols) Starfleet dress from sci-fi television series Star Trek. This dress was
worn exclusively by Uhura in The Original Series’ second season and is believed to screen match to episodes “Return to Tomorrow,” “The Gamesters of Triskelion,” “The Ultimate Computer” and “The Omega Glory,” based on the placement and stitching of the Engineering Division patch and rank braids.

The dress is made of red velour with a black ribbed fabric collar and features original faux-gold rank braids on both sleeves, indicating the rank of Lieutenant, with a Starfleet engineering patch made of reflective faux-gold material with black embroidery affixed to the left breast along the collar line.

Made using the distinctive diagonal stitching first seen on red dresses in the second season and uniquely tailored for Nichols in the role of Uhura, the dress has a concealed zipper running along the left hand side and a set of small snaps on the collar, with the Starfleet patch partially secured with Velcro to allow easy access during wear.

Acquired directly from Paramount in the early 1990s, the dress displays some light signs of wear and aging from use and years spent in storage. However, the piece remains in excellent condition.

£20,000-30,000"

Like the Spock tunic, this came straight from Paramount. According to Propstore COO Brandon Alinger, "we obtained this from a source who had a high-level business relationship with Paramount and obtained the costume as part of a deal with the studio." Man, that's a source I'd love to meet.

The dress appears to be in astoundingly good condition. Some pilling seems to be happening but given the type of fabric these were made from (the polyester didn't come until Season 3) and the piece's age, it's very little.

So Propstore is offering not just one amazing TOS piece, but two: Spock and Uhura, together again. Don't miss your chance. And stay tuned for more!

LLAP

Don

Monday, August 24, 2015

PROPSTORE OFFERING SOME AMAZING TREK PIECES!

Propstore of London is once again having an auction with all sorts of cool genre pieces, including some Star Trek items. But this time out, their Trek offerings are truly staggering in their rarity and coolness quotient. There's props and costumes of course. But for the first time a loooong time, key Original Series hero pieces will be offered with solid provenance. Brandon Alinger from Propstore was kind enough to give me a sneak peak at some amazing photos and descriptions on some key pieces and gave me permission to share them here. Exciting stuff!

Simply put, the single most amazing piece has to be a Spock tunic worn by Leonard Nimoy. See for yourself:



Oh, MAN, what a beauty. Here's Propstore's description:

"Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) science officer costume from sci-fi television series Star Trek.
This costume was worn exclusively by Spock in The Original Series’ second season, and
screen matches the tunic worn in episodes “The Ultimate Computer” and “The Omega
Glory,” based on the placement and stitching of the Science Division patch.
The costume is composed of a blue velour tunic and a pair of black fabric trousers. The
tunic features a pair of faux-gold rank braids on both sleeves, indicating the rank of First
Officer, with a Starfleet science patch made of reflective faux-gold material with black
embroidery affixed to the left breast.

The collar is made of a loose-weave black fabric and would have featured hook closures,
which were removed some time during or after use the production. The collar has lost
most of its elasticity due to age, which is common in such costumes. The zipper fitted
along the left side – used by actors to get into the tunics and commonly known to fail
through use – was also removed and the seam for the zipper stitched closed.

The trousers feature Velcro strips on the side, rear and on the right-hand pocket for
attaching communicators and phasers during wear, a trait seen only in the costumes
of principle characters. Both garments were uniquely tailored for Nimoy in the role of
Spock with side-stitching used to reduce the size of the tunic’s chest, some of which
has come away over time. The bottom cuffs of the trousers were modified for use in Star
Trek: Phase 2. The tunic displays some light fading. The name “Nimoy” is hand-written
internally on the trousers’ left pocket.

Acquired directly from Paramount Studios in the early 1990s and offered with original
Paramount Archives wardrobe tags, the costume remains in overall very good condition.
£50,000-70,000"

The phrase "acquired directly from Paramount Studios" is the holy grail for such a piece, of course. And screen-matching it helps to seal the deal. Here's a few more shots to whet your appetite:


Incredible stuff, right? Thanks to Brandon for sharing this amazing piece. Best of luck to Propstore on the upcoming auction. Their catalog will be released soon. And I'll be sharing more amazing Trek pieces this week as my Sneak preview continues!

LLAP

Don

Friday, August 14, 2015

A NEW ADDITION TO WRATH OF DHAN COLLECTION

Some folks have been asking me to post my newest acquisition but, alas, my mannequins are in storage (and no, that's not a euphemism) and I really need one to do this justice. So for the time being all I'm able to show is a little clue regarding the nature of the piece:


I've blurred out the number for the sake of keeping certain data secret. You never know who's out there! Anyway, stay tuned as I hope to get some real shots up soon.

LLAP

Don

Monday, August 10, 2015

THE WRATH OF DHAN SALE: ROUND TWO – KLINGONS!

Here's a couple more choice pieces up for sale from the Wrath of Dhan Vault:

Screen-used Movie Klingon Uniform: Gorkon's General



From Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, this is the Klingon uniform worn by Gorkon's General – the one with the bad table manners. Most Klingon costumes were reused over and over throughout the run of the many Star Treks and as such, show signs of wear and crude changes like spray-painted boots. But not this one. It was apparently re,moved from inventory early on and is amazingly clean, complete and screen-matched. Includes the very-hard-to-find split-toe Klingon boots in their original black finish. This uniform looks like it was just taken off the set last week. Makes for a fantastic display. Purchased through Propstore.

$4950 plus shipping

Screen-used Movie Klingon Mask




Also from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, this Klingon mask was used in the big courtroom scene where dozens of Klingons are raucously shown. It's in fantastic condition with hair and life-like coloring. I'll include the hand-painted mannequin head (shown) that helps make for an eerily accurate display!

$1099 plus shipping


Screen-used Klingon Disruptor Rifle



First seen in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, these rifles made appearances throughout the various incarnations of Star Trek. This is a resin and metal prop that shows some signs of use and repair, but since these are built with a "weathered" look, these areas don't detract. Features tell-tale "death's head" emblems on pistol. A similar specimen just sold at auction for $3500!

$2399 plus shipping

That's it for Round Two. More to come!

LLAP

Don

Friday, August 7, 2015

THE WRATH OF DHAN SALE: MAKING SOME ROOM

I recently made a purchase for my collection that will require me to do two things:

1.  Make some room for it

and

B. Replace the room that used to be taken up by my money before this purchase

To that end, I'll be offering up some significant (and some not so significant) pieces from my collection over the next couple of weeks. I'm trying to keep costs down (for both buyer and seller) by keeping off of Ebay as much as possible. You can contact me at neoworx2001@gmail.com if you have any questions about anything (or want to tell me how bad Into Darkness was – I'm all ears!). I'm open to reasonable offers but keep in mind that it's first come/first served.

We'll start with a Shatner-worn piece from Star Trek IV:

SOLD Kirk "Whale rescue" Shirt


At the climax of the story, all could be lost if the whales are trapped in the Klingon Bird of Prey. Cue Captain Kirk to the rescue. He dives into the flooded hold and releases the emergency latch for the cargo hold, freeing the whales. Shirt shows definite water exposure and use. And, most importantly, the shirt includes a sewn-in Western Costume tag with the name of Shatner himself:

They aren't making any more Shatner Kirk costumes these days so this is your opportunity to own a genuine rarity – a Captain Kirk piece worn by Shatner himself. From IAW: #3333.

$2460 plus shipping

Up next, a genuine prop rarity:

SOLD Klingon Death Sting Pistol (Original construction – not the later cast version)




A real workhorse of a weapon, the Klingon Death Sting made it's first appearance in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and then continued to make appearances in the various movies and shows for the next twenty years. This is an original style piece made up of toy gun components. Later versions were made from castings of these originals and were solid resin. This is sporting the paint scheme adopted in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and used thereafter. This might be a repaint of the Motion Picture version, given the nature of its construction and the evidence of silver=gray paint beneth the existing paint. For more about this piece, go HERE.

This was purchased directly from Star Trek Prop guy Ed Miarecki and includes a COA from him.

$1850 plus shipping

There will be more to come so check back regularly. Thanks for stopping by.

LLAP.

Don