Star Trek's TOS Captain's Chair - Restoration Project

[Captain Dunsel]

This is extremely helpful, thank you!

Has the carpet always been part of the chair on the show or was it introduced later on at some point?

Looking at screenshots i don't see it on the chair but it does appear on the replica at the tour experience (but in a lighter gray color).

I believe the upper deck of the bridge was the color of the darker remnant sold by Matt Jeffries (the auction says it was specifically a remnant of the carpet used on the upper deck perimeter of the bridge). The carpet on the lower part of the bridge, including the command chair, appears to be a lighter shade. You can see the contrast here.

I also believe the carpet on the base of the chair may not have been there in Season one.

 

[agliarept]

What a difference a fresh coat of paint does!

Still sourcing the right carpet, thinking of a light gray/silver ozite.

 

[Lightning]

This is extremely helpful, thank you!

Has the carpet always been part of the chair on the show or was it introduced later on at some point?

Looking at screenshots i don't see it on the chair but it does appear on the replica at the tour experience (but in a lighter gray color).

Added sometime in season 3, I just spotted it in "The Way to Eden".

edit: here it is in "And the Children Shall Lead", but it isn't in "Paradise Syndrome"

 

[agliarept]

thank you!

Looks like they added it so the base of the chair blended into the floor carpeting?

The more I think about it, the more I like the chair without a carpet. Might just add more coats of the paint (It's supposed to hold up to wear and tear well)

Ordered some sound boards to make the switches go pew pew. That will be for this weekend i hope.

 

[Ronldheld]

Has anyone documented the changes in the Chair from the Cage to season 3?

 

[Gregatron]

I believe the upper deck of the bridge was the color of the darker remnant sold by Matt Jeffries (the auction says it was specifically a remnant of the carpet used on the upper deck perimeter of the bridge). The carpet on the lower part of the bridge, including the command chair, appears to be a lighter shade. You can see the contrast here.

View attachment 1697405

I also believe the carpet on the base of the chair may not have been there in Season one.

Nope. The chair pedestal's carpet was one of the many subtle, running changes made to the set over its lifetime.

I'm sure that's why the people behind the new OTOY CG renders of the set chose the specific looks from three specific episodes to represent each season, because the set was always in flux.

 

[Lightning]

The more I think about it, the more I like the chair without a carpet. Might just add more coats of the paint (It's supposed to hold up to wear and tear well)

I like it without as well. I suspect it got the carpet because they got tired of painting it to cover scuffs.

 

[Borg69]

I like it without as well. I suspect it got the carpet because they got tired of painting it to cover scuffs.

My guess would be noise suppression. ‍

 

[Lightning]

My guess would be noise suppression. ‍

Possibly, but that seems like something they would have fixed partway through season 1, not the beginning of season 3.

 

[Feltman Langer]

I like it without as well. I suspect it got the carpet because they got tired of painting it to cover scuffs.

I do wonder if the actors keep slipping/ tripping on the smooth surface with the leather soled boots they wore and injuring themselves, so a H&S addition perhaps?

 

[feek61]

Has anyone documented the changes in the Chair from the Cage to season 3?

Yes, in great detail and every iteration here:

TOS Graphics and Bridge Displays-The Captain's Chair

The Captain’s Chair It is perhaps the most iconic symbol of the original STAR TREK series: the Captain’s Command Chair. It was originally built

www.tapatalk.com

 

[Apollo]

I do wonder if the actors keep slipping/ tripping on the smooth surface with the leather soled boots they wore and injuring themselves, so a H&S addition perhaps?

I doubt it, I slipped on carpet as well when I was breaking mine in

 

[Ronldheld]

Yes, in great detail and every iteration here:

TOS Graphics and Bridge Displays-The Captain's Chair

The Captain’s Chair It is perhaps the most iconic symbol of the original STAR TREK series: the Captain’s Command Chair. It was originally built

www.tapatalk.com

I cannot see that site, not public.

 

[feek61]

I cannot see that site, not public.

Sign up, its easy and there is great info there.

Here is a dropbox link to it. This is not the full version but you can get what you need, link here: 0303 Captains Chair.pdf

 

[agliarept]

While the paint cures i decided to look at the seat to learn more about how it was made.

I assumed it was a custom fab but looking at it in depth it looks like an actual Madison chair was used. Apart from the side arm sections, the seat itself matches up with a Madison (although the spot where the tag would be seems to have been removed?).

Wish I knew who originally built this chair in California. They really did a great job on it.

 

[agliarept]

Chair's done for now and looks brand new again.

Thanks for everyone's help here, it helped bring this chair back to life.

Added a small 5w mp3 playback circuit into 5 of the free rocker switches available. The other three trigger the lights on the left arm. Down the road i'd like to update the electronics to work parallel to the push button switches on the right arm too.

Still debating on the carpet. I think once I track down the right one i'll have it as a removable option for kids to sit/step on.

 

[Trebor]

Looks great.
If this was in a storage locker originally I bet the original builder passed on and the family stuck it there with his other stuff. Whoever it was, if he's still around or not, I bet he'd be happy to see it restored like this. Nice job

 

[Lt Washburn]

I was going to ask about the seat because I was going to say it looked possibly real and if it was a replica, it was a nice one. I don't know if you realize how rare the Madisons are and are hard to come by without paying a heck of a lot for, so you might have gotten an amazing deal depending on what you paid.

Aside from that, great job on restoring it, it looks awesome!

 

[agliarept]

Thank you for the compliments on the chair. It's been a labor of love and a lot of fun to learn basic restoration/electronics as I went along.

We originally got this at Blast from the Past in Burbank, CA for about 1k. Had to have it shipped to Florida which was pricey but worth it for this project.

 

[KitSmasher]

My grandmother had one of those Madison chairs. She passed away in 1997 and it was sold/donated. It was years before Trek collectors at large knew of the connection. If I had, believe me I'd have kept it. Great job on the restoration! I drive by Blast from the Past all the time, it's about 4-5 blocks from my house.