Julien’s Upcoming Hero Phaser & Communicator Auction

[scififan2001]

Here are some photos from the preview

 

[QuasiOdo]

Yeah, I think it was a manufacturing error, or a miscommunication with the factory. Something like that. But supposedly the colors are a good match to the Jein.

I read somewhere that they didn't scan the handle.

 

[QuasiOdo]

What's the consensus on the hero body color? I like Shadow Gray and it seems to be just right to my eye, but the Wand features a warm gray, very unlike the MR. Strange since they scanned the body. There's a composite of the four heroes going around, but the color temps vary wildly, so it's impossible to tell. Has anyone seen both the Jein and the TMOST in person? If so, what do you think?

 

[KUROK]

What's the consensus on the hero body color? I like Shadow Gray and it seems to be just right to my eye, but the Wand features a warm gray, very unlike the MR. Strange since they scanned the body. There's a composite of the four heroes going around, but the color temps vary wildly, so it's impossible to tell. Has anyone seen both the Jein and the TMOST in person? If so, what do you think?

As a matter of personal taste, I feel the "Shadow Gray" is awesome and is my first choice.
I have also used a dark gray from Rustoleum Painter's Touch line of paint. It is a bit lighter (and a little less blue) than Shadow Gray but still looks nice.
Bottom line, for me, Shadow Gray is the best.

p.s. I asked JLong about the colors since he has handled both Jein and TMOST. He is sticking by all the same color choices he made 20 years ago including Shadow Gray and DBM for handle. Ultimately, I suggest just make yourself happy on color choice!

 

[Gregatron]

As a matter of personal taste, I feel the "Shadow Gray" is awesome and is my first choice.
I have also used a dark gray from Rustoleum Painter's Touch line of paint. It is a bit lighter (and a little less blue) than Shadow Gray but still looks nice.
Bottom line is, for me, Shadow Gray is the best.

Agreed. A grayer gray just doesn’t look right, compared to the screencaps and the photos of the Jein and TMOST. It needs that hint of blue.

 

[AdmiralBaxter]

Agreed. A grayer gray just doesn’t look right, compared to the screencaps and the photos of the Jein and TMOST. It needs that hint of blue.

Yeah I think the closest I deliberately came to screen used colors was on this Halloween Phaser I repainted for use at well Halloween much better colors than what the Wand offered...

 

[Chrisisall]

As a matter of personal taste, I feel the "Shadow Gray" is awesome and is my first choice.
I have also used a dark gray from Rustoleum Painter's Touch line of paint. It is a bit lighter (and a little less blue) than Shadow Gray but still looks nice.
Bottom line, for me, Shadow Gray is the best.

p.s. I asked JLong about the colors since he has handled both Jein and TMOST. He is sticking by all the same color choices he made 20 years ago including Shadow Gray and DBM for handle. Ultimately, I suggest just make yourself happy on color choice!

Shadow Gray is the go-to IMHO, but I couldn't find it when I was making my phasers so I went with Krylon Matte Deep Gray, which is pretty much the same but with less of a gloss.
This handle colour is great, but the gray on mine is picking up a little blue here from somewhere...

 

[QuasiOdo]

As a matter of personal taste, I feel the "Shadow Gray" is awesome and is my first choice.
I have also used a dark gray from Rustoleum Painter's Touch line of paint. It is a bit lighter (and a little less blue) than Shadow Gray but still looks nice.
Bottom line, for me, Shadow Gray is the best.

p.s. I asked JLong about the colors since he has handled both Jein and TMOST. He is sticking by all the same color choices he made 20 years ago including Shadow Gray and DBM for handle. Ultimately, I suggest just make yourself happy on color choice!

I'd still love to know why, with all the scanning and research, Wand screwed up on the color. Very strange.

 

[Chrisisall]

I'd still love to know why, with all the scanning and research, Wand screwed up on the color. Very strange.

Well, one problem is that the Jein phaser was re-painted, possibly after the series ended. In any case, if I understand correctly, it was the second phaser Wah re-did and everyone liked it better than the first (the Lenore), and that's why it was the only hero with a Velcro patch... then Shatner dropped it off his belt. Then they didn't want heroes on belts anymore. So, scanning the Jein probably confused the program, and it picked the colours based on a mix of what it picked up. Then they trusted the bad read, or maybe they just messed up the colours the same way they messed up the dimensions of the handle at the Chinese company. Who really knows? All this to say, let artists who are fans do the decision making, not computers. There, I've had my rant...

 

[feek61]

I think the GJ was actually the forth phaser Wah converted for reasons I won't go into here. This entire story about Shatner dropping the phaser; really? Where did this story come from and where is any evidence or proof? The truth is the production knew that they would probably need one hero with velcro to show close-up on the belt but this story of Shatner dropping it seems to be just a story to support a narrative that has no proof in any way. Just like almost all scenes after the mid-grades were introduced there was no reason to have the expensive phasers on the utility belt or even used much which probably explains why they were not seen on the belts, not because of some story of it falling off. If I am wrong, please enlighten me, please!

 

[Gregatron]

I think the GJ was actually the forth phaser Wah converted for reasons I won't go into here. This entire story about Shatner dropping the phaser; really? Where did this story come from and where is any evidence or proof? The truth is the production knew that they would probably need one hero with velcro to show close-up on the belt but this story of Shatner dropping it seems to be just a story to support a narrative that has no proof in any way. Just like almost all scenes after the mid-grades were introduced there was no reason to have the expensive phasers on the utility belt or even used much which probably explains why they were not seen on the belts, not because of some story of it falling off. If I am wrong, please enlighten me, please!

Sounds about right.

As far as can be determined, only the Jein had the Velcro, but I don’t know where this whole story about it being dropped came from.

And, of course, the midgrades basically became the default heroes (particularly in the third season), where the heroes only appeared in a small handful of closeup inserts, and the midgrades themselves even had some closeups.

 

[AdmiralBaxter]

I'd still love to know why, with all the scanning and research, Wand screwed up on the color. Very strange.

Well if we are completely honest it all boils down to the fact that the Wand Co is a very high end TOY/ Collectable company...

IF we get into the roomers supposedly there were issues when they scanned the phaser which kind of, but not really explains why everything aft of the rear end of the P1 seems off, the contours don't flow correctly.

I would love to get a mass produced replica that has 90 or 95% of the wonks of the originals.

The P2 body color not matching is simply them being lazy and deciding to go with a grey that looks nice and meets the expectations of the average fan.

Yet there are several nice 3D printed models that recreate the hero phaser very closely to the screen used prop.

 

[Gregatron]

Well if we are completely honest it all boils down to the fact that the Wand Co is a very high end TOY/ Collectable company...

IF we get into the roomers supposedly there were issues when they scanned the phaser which kind of, but not really explains why everything aft of the rear end of the P1 seems off, the contours don't flow correctly.

I would love to get a mass produced replica that has 90 or 95% of the wonks of the originals.

The P2 body color not matching is simply them being lazy and deciding to go with a grey that looks nice and meets the expectations of the average fan.

Yet there are several nice 3D printed models that recreate the hero phaser very closely to the screen used prop.

(…so is TOMY, by the way, hence their toylike starship models.)


The reality is that a mass-produced, licensed replica is not something which would accurately reproduce the geometry and wanks of the original props. That’s an abstraction which only we obsessive rivet-counters want and see as desirable.

99% of the target audience wants a pristine representation of the in-universe object. After all, the props themselves serve to represent pristine, in-universe objects for the purpose of filming. Asymmetry and other wonky details could seem like errors or sloppy manufacturing to most of the people buying these things.

A mass-produced replica will never have the level of detail or care put into it that a one-off built by a devotee (or a scammer defrauding the public for hundreds of thousands of dollars) does. There are exceptions of course, such as, say, Master Replicas’ weathered Obi-Wan lightsaber, but these are outliers.

 

[WinstonWolf359]

I'm not sure who may have broken the phaser, but there's evidence that there was a broken hero phaser back when they were still black and white, in Charlie X. My guess is one pistol didn't have perfect glass cloth coverage in the tower area and it broke early on. Whatever subsequent repair must have only glued the crack without any additional reinforcement, and it broke again later down the road. When is hard to pin down, but the Velcro hero only shows up a couple times after they all got converted and never again after Shore Leave, right? Perhaps it kept needing repairs and it was deemed "problematic" and just kept in a box for the rest of production.

 

[AdmiralBaxter]

(…so is TOMY, by the way, hence their toylike starship models.)


The reality is that a mass-produced, licensed replica is not something which would accurately reproduce the geometry and wanks of the original props. That’s an abstraction which only we obsessive rivet-counters want and see as desirable.

99% of the target audience wants a pristine representation of the in-universe object. After all, the props themselves serve to represent pristine, in-universe objects for the purpose of filming. Asymmetry and other wonky details could seem like errors or sloppy manufacturing to most of the people buying these things.

A mass-produced replica will never have the level of detail or care put into it that a one-off built by a devotee (or a scammer defrauding the public for hundreds of thousands of dollars) does. There are exceptions of course, such as, say, Master Replicas’ weathered Obi-Wan lightsaber, but these are outliers.

Yeah I know,

I quite frankly would love a mass produced replica that's actually a replica (that's a discussion in and of itself)

I just get tired of the mass produced replicas & Factory Entertainment is basically a step up from AA/DST but a step bellow the Wand Co & MR..

IF I need a nice replica that doesn't need to be perfect I usually go the 3D printed route these days... Just got the communicator from Generations that was based off the TREK III/V communicator. As is it's good enough to display....

 

[Simonized]

Anyone else depressed that their Beta Communicator build(s) now reek of inaccuracy?


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Not really. Builds were based on how it appeared from photos and information from herocomm etc, I know I won't be altering mine based on how it looks now

 

[feek61]

I'm not sure who may have broken the phaser, but there's evidence that there was a broken hero phaser back when they were still black and white, in Charlie X. My guess is one pistol didn't have perfect glass cloth coverage in the tower area and it broke early on. Whatever subsequent repair must have only glued the crack without any additional reinforcement, and it broke again later down the road. When is hard to pin down, but the Velcro hero only shows up a couple times after they all got converted and never again after Shore Leave, right? Perhaps it kept needing repairs and it was deemed "problematic" and just kept in a box for the rest of production.

Right, it was broken very early as a black and white which is probably why it was chosen to be the hero with the velcro because the (previously) broken side would be hidden because it would be facing the belt. I have also heard stories about an excited fan picking it up when Greg Jein had it on display and dropping and breaking it. These bogus stories that people make up and then get repeated over and over until they are believed are annoying as hell. No one knows what happened to it so no need to make up some story to explain it.

 

[Chrisisall]

Right, it was broken very early as a black and white which is probably why it was chosen to be the hero with the velcro because the (previously) broken side would be hidden because it would be facing the belt. I have also heard stories about an excited fan picking it up when Greg Jein had it on display and dropping and breaking it. These bogus stories that people make up and then get repeated over and over until they are believed are annoying as hell. No one knows what happened to it so no need to make up some story to explain it.

Dr. Raymond Stantz : Everything was fine with our system until the power grid was shut off by dickless here.
Walter Peck : They caused an explosion!
Mayor : Is this true?
Dr. Peter Venkman : Yes it's true.
[pause]
Dr. Peter Venkman : This man has no dick.
Walter Peck : Jeez!
[Charges at Venkman]
Mayor : Break it up! Hey, break this up! Break it up!
Walter Peck : All right, all right, all right!
Dr. Peter Venkman : Well, that's what I heard!

Yeah, stuff you hear or casually read should contain disclaimers. I apologize for my part in the propagation of the urban myth part of this.

 

[asalaw]

Dr. Raymond Stantz : Everything was fine with our system until the power grid was shut off by dickless here.
Walter Peck : They caused an explosion!
Mayor : Is this true?
Dr. Peter Venkman : Yes it's true.
[pause]
Dr. Peter Venkman : This man has no dick.
Walter Peck : Jeez!
[Charges at Venkman]
Mayor : Break it up! Hey, break this up! Break it up!
Walter Peck : All right, all right, all right!
Dr. Peter Venkman : Well, that's what I heard!

Yeah, stuff you hear or casually read should contain disclaimers. I apologize for my part in the propagation of the urban myth part of this.

Better yet:

"People say believe half of what you see
Son, and none of what you hear."
--Marvin Gaye

That's especially true of prop lore.

 

[Gregatron]

I would also like to point out that even the people who built these things can have unreliable memories, and/or sell forgeries for profit. (See: Roger Christian)