RED ALERT Lost 3 ft TOS Enterprise found????

[JMChladek]

I remember the discussions from the old IDIC page. Word got out in the late 1990s to early 2000s that the Roddenberry family (Majel and Rod) considered it "stolen". But I don't believe a police report was ever filed for it. The story of it getting loaned out for Phase 2 reference is a more recent story I had heard. Gene did have it when Rod was born as there are home movies of the baby Rod with it next to him and Gene had it in its office for several years. There is one picture of the Phase 2 Enterprise under construction with a classic E behind it, but it is obviously an AMT model kit, not this.

This has been one heck of a month that's for sure. Greg Jein's collection went up for auction, earned over 13 million (including $3.1 for the X-Wing) and it ends with the Holy Grail of missing studio models turns up. Given Oct 31 is also Greg Jein's birthday, I would say the spirits of modelers are shinning down on all of us.

 

[publiusr]

View attachment 1757397

It wasn't just the saucer bottom that was flat...the top as well.

The bottom was rounded a tad as seen on Flint's desk. The B/C deck rests on a flat upper area.

The big tell is the impulse spine.

I wish Shaw would come back...I'd love to see him draw the 1/537.

I would like to see this repaired and 3D scanned.

There is an article at phys.org I want you all to look up called "Creating fast, reliable 3D scans of flora and fauna."

Kano labs at Kyushu University made a great scan of a puffer fish by dangling it from a wire.

Here, part of the restoration may actually be to remove the stand and hang this by a wire to not only photograph the 3 footer, but to impart a counter droop to bring the nacelles back in line.

 

[Moviefreak]

I think someone “snagged it”…

Or an auction house contacted them and told them to take it down and bring it to their next auction.

If an auction house told this seller they could potentially make millions through a well advertised auction sale, they might have agreed to consign it. And we know any auction house would like their cut if a million dollars+ sale.

 

[publiusr]

Now, there may be one like it...I think the TrekBBS had an old Howard Anderson ad for services where a photo of small wood model painted very bright was shown. The NCC number was pushed forward towards the front saucer rim...so there may yet be another find.

 

[pengbuzz]

That belongs in a museum.

 

[greatwazoo42]

Exciting stuff, this. I'm looking forward to the whole story eventually being pieced together. So far my favorite WTF moment in it all is the reference to Burton Holmes being the owner of the lock up despite having been dead since eight years before Star Trek hit screens.

 

[MARK M3]

 

[joberg]

Looking at the various pics from the auction + screen caps + pics, I'm incline to say that this is the original
Too many things matching the auction pics with the screen used ones. I think it's the find of the century!!

 

[Gregatron]

Bill George posted this, which puts down the notion that Roddenberry had either gifted or sold the model. It was loaned out as reference to Robert Abel’s company during the making of TMP, then either lost or deliberately not returned.

 

[phez]

I have a feeling we will be seeing that in an auction shortly (hopefully someone sent the person a link to the auction that just concluded so they know what the screen-used Trek stuff is worth). I doubt there was ever a police report if it was indeed stolen and without that, it will pretty much belong to the current owner (same rules as everything that just got auctioned off) as the storage unit contracts usually have very clear wording on what happens to property left in there. If you are the person flipping storage units you just hit a nice payday.

Bidder 71001 will probably have this sitting next to the Phaser and Communicator in no time.

Edit: That letter may help it be recovered, I will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

[JohnDark]

I have a feeling we will be seeing that in an auction shortly (hopefully someone sent the person a link to the auction that just concluded so they know what the screen-used Trek stuff is worth). I doubt there was ever a police report if it was indeed stolen and without that, it will pretty much belong to the current owner (same rules as everything that just got auctioned off) as the storage unit contracts usually have very clear wording on what happens to property left in there. If you are the person flipping storage units you just hit a nice payday.

Bidder 71001 will probably have this sitting next to the Phaser and Communicator in no time.

Edit: That letter may help it be recovered, I will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Stolen goods/property doesn't work like that. The victim is the rightful owner of stolen property. If the current possessor tries to sell it now, knowing its value and history, they and anyone attempting to purchase it could be charged with possession of stolen goods. Given a potential value in the $millions, the penalties in California alone would be severe. Selling it to someone out of state could incur Federal charges and penalties for interstate trafficking in stolen goods.

They'd do well to just give it back to the rightful owners. Ideally, they'd be reimbursed/rewarded for their troubles and expenses.

 

[Spidey7]

That seller better go looking for that hanger bay door, if he still can do so.

What’s really interesting is that if you look at the 3’ filming model in screen-caps from the TOS episode "Requiem for Methuselah", it’s missing the hangar bay doors in the episode as well. That means that the doors have been missing off the original since at least 1969. To me that’s even further proof that this is the real deal!

Edit: I just saw that Gregatron already posted this cool piece of information but I’m leaving my post up just to show the screen-cap.

 

[phez]

Stolen goods/property doesn't work like that. The victim is the rightful owner of stolen property. If the current possessor tries to sell it now, knowing its value and history, they and anyone attempting to purchase it could be charged with possession of stolen goods. Given a potential value in the $millions, the penalties in California alone would be severe. Selling it to someone out of state could incur Federal charges and penalties for interstate trafficking in stolen goods.

They'd do well to just give it back to the rightful owners. Ideally, they'd be reimbursed/rewarded for their troubles and expenses.

How do you prove it is stolen and was not simply gifted, sold, abandoned? Was there a contract? Didn't it actually belong to the studio or did Gene pay for construction out of his own pocket? There are so many unknowns on this. With no police report it is he said she said 40 years ago and both original parties are apparently dead. The "stolen property" thing comes up in a thread for about every high value prop sold. How many times have we actually seen anything come of that. We will see how it plays out but my guess is it will be on auction soon.

They'd do well to just give it back to the rightful owners. Ideally, they'd be reimbursed/rewarded for their troubles and expenses.

This would be the ideal outcome for all of the TOS stuff (and honestly it is too bad Paul Allen is not still around as I think that was sort of his goal) but that person hit the lottery with this storage bin flip. Put yourself in the persons position, if they are not a big Star Trek fan then this is just a cool item they happened to get lucky buying with a bunch of other stuff that could make them a fortune. Your average person really does not care about this stuff like we do in this group. Gratitude is great but paying off your mortgage is better

I is fantastic that it is found and that we now have some great photos of it.

 

[Gregatron]

Best case scenario would be the model getting a full restoration by the team which did the 11-footer, and being donated to the Smithsonian to rest next to her younger, bigger sister.

 

[alensatemybuick]

It is an amazing lost treasure, now found. Wow.

As for the post directly above, I think that would be the worst case scenario. The 11 footer was refinished going back to at least 1974 (with replacements for some missing pieces crudely fabricated back then), so restoring it a few years back (with the exception of the saucer top) made sense as nothing original would be impacted. This model is amazingly intact, and cleaning it would be the most that should be done to it.

 

[JohnDark]

How do you prove it is stolen and was not simply gifted or sold? With no police report it is he said she said 40 years ago and both original parties are apparently dead. The "stolen property" thing comes up in a thread for about every high value prop sold. How many times have we actually seen anything come of that. We will see how it plays out but my guess is it will be on auction soon.

Gene Roddenberry's views on the loss of the model are well known. He was the original owner and only he could have gifted it to someone. That such a valuable piece was essentially lost and abandoned for 40 years and not prominently displayed somewhere suggests that the possessor knew what they had and didn't want it known they had it.

In addition, property doesn't have to be actually stolen for it to be a crime. Being in possession, attempting to sell or purchase, or even abetting these actions for property you have reasonable belief may be stolen is also criminal.

The Roddenberry family is unlikely to just throw up their hands and let this one go for a one-of-a-kind essentially priceless artifact.

 

[Tiberius Kirk]

Gary Kerr has blessed it as authentic, I think this was one of the fastest authentications in history. LOL

“It was found in a storage unit that I bought from an auction. The unit belongs to a filmmaker named Burton Holmes”.

This is the only filmmaker named Burton Holmes that I could find. Died 1958.

 

[pootboy]

The very first physical model of the Enterprise in its final form, after the concept sketches and crude models had been refined. The approval prototype used to give the greenlight on constructing the 11-foot model. The first model of the ship ever filmed. The first to ever appear onscreen (as least in early studio screenings of the pilot, as opposed to the first airing of “The Man Trap”). Used for numerous iconic publicity photos, and on the cover of the first printing of THE MAKING OF STAR TREK. Used in the main title sequence of every single TOS episode. Used as an on-set prop, in “Requiem For Methuselah”. And, finally, loaned out as reference for PHASE II/TMP, then seemingly lost or destroyed.

A priceless artifact.

Sad to see her in such a sorry state, but it’s absolutely stunning that she’s turned up at all.

Maybe we’ll see some kind of restoration, a la the 11-footer? Assuming that the model is seen again after this and/or there are no ongoing legal issues?

so the 11-footer wasn't built until AFTER the pilot was shot and screened? and all the f/x shots in the pilot were THIS ship, as are ALL the shots in the opening credits?

 

[greatwazoo42]

so the 11-footer wasn't built until AFTER the pilot was shot and screened? and all the f/x shots in the pilot were THIS ship, as are ALL the shots in the opening credits?

It makes sense. Allotting the budget for a pilot means a 3 foot model is more in cost range than an 11 foot.

 

[Gregatron]

so the 11-footer wasn't built until AFTER the pilot was shot and screened? and all the f/x shots in the pilot were THIS ship, as are ALL the shots in the opening credits?

As can be seen in the famous photos of Jeffrey Hunter and Roddenberry examining the model on-set, the three-footer was built during production of the pilot episode. It was filmed for all of the pilot’s visual effects shots of the ship, EXCEPT for the zoom-in to the Bridge that kicks the story off, which used the 11-footer.

And, of course, several of those three-footer flybys from the pilot were reused in the opening credits of TOS proper—the shots where the ship whizzes by in-between each credit.