ONE-OF-A-KIND SCREENUSED STAR TREK VI "PUMP"-STYLE KLINGON DISRUPTOR UP FOR AUCTION! QA'PLA!

The latest Profiles In History Hollywood auction is coming up on June 26. It's a three day affair and features a ton of very cool Star Trek items. One of those items has been consigned by none other than me, Your Humble Blogger, so I thought I'd give a little extra insight into the piece since I'm intimately familiar with it.

The item in question is a Klingon "Pump-action" Disruptor Pistol from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Here's the listing as shown in the PIH catalog:

Here's the deal: while they made a zillion (OK, a few dozen) each of Klingon Beak-nosed Disruptors and Death Sting pistols, the Pump-action Disruptor falls onto the other end of the spectrum. As far as I know, they only made two, and only one ended up on camera. As luck would have it, that version is the one in the auction and has been screen-matched to the only scene in which it was used, which makes it the only screen-used Pump-action Disruptor in existence. How's that for rarity?

By now you are no doubt wondering what the heck is the significance of this piece. Why was it even made if it was only used once? And why was it never used again?

I can answer the first question readily enough. The piece was made at the behest of Star Trek VI director Nick Meyer. Meyer wanted to see a Klingon weapon that actually did something rather than the very static (ie: no moving parts) standard sidearms used up to that time. He turned the problem over to the prop department with one instruction: make it do something. Thus, the pump-action element was added. The intent was that the user would pump it like a standard shotgun before firing. What this movement was supposed to actually do is anyone's guess. After all, loading a shell is not needed in an energy weapon so...  ??

I got nothin'. And apparently the prop guys had nothin' as well as the piece was limited to the use of General Kerla as he held it on Kirk and McCoy in the Klingon transporter room. The distinct painted weathering can clearly be matched to General Kerla's piece (thank you, Blu-Ray!). Alas, we never get to see a pitched battle with a squad of Klingons pumping their way through battle with these babies! More's the pity.

General Kerla keeps an eye on Kirk and McCoy.

So it was definitely used in Undiscovered Country.  But tons of movie props and costumes were re-used in the various TV shows that followed the films. Death Stings and Beak-nosed Disruptors showed up literally everywhere in Star Trek over the next two decades. But no Pump-action pistol is ever seen. Why is that?

I think I have the answer and it comes from the source of the prop – Don Hulett, the prop-master on Star Trek VI. For some reason, Mr. Hulett ended up with a number of Trek props in his possession long after production had wrapped. I've owned several pieces over the years that came from him – including this piece. So if Hulett took the only two Pump-action pieces ever made and sat on them for a number of years, that would explain why they are never seen again.

Until this auction, of course. With this auction, one lucky buyer will own a very cool, very rare piece of Star Trek history. And unlike most Star Trek props and costumes, it will be one of a kind – the only one to ever be seen on film!

You can find everything you need about the auction here:
Profiles In History Hollywood Auction.

Plan on bidding? Qa'pla!

LLAP

Don