White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise Model

[plynch]

I have started a White House petition to re-restore, preserve, and move the 11-foot, original Enterprise model to the Museum of American History, a more fitting home for the ol' girl.

Sign at the link below. It is not public until there are 150 sigs. Publicize this and share the link if you agree with the idea. Be well!

http://wh.gov/pewY

[Captain Picard.]

I signed it Tell me more about it. Have you got a picture of it?

[Captain Picard.]

Thanks, I will take a look

[Robert Comsol]

(since I reside outside the US I can't participate but I believe many fans of the international Trek community would also say "Make it so! Warp Speed!")

plynch wrote:

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Now it looks like a kid took a magic marker to it.

http://web.archive.org/web/200612191...prise1991.html

Ouch...that shot makes it look as if the Enterprise does belong to Spider-Man but not Captain Kirk. I guess Spock remotely resembles the Green Goblin.

Bob

[plynch]

Robert Comsol wrote:

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(since I reside outside the US I can't participate but I believe many fans of the international Trek community would also say "Make it so! Warp Speed!")

Ouch...that shot makes it look as if the Enterprise does belong to Spider-Man but not Captain Kirk. I guess Spock remotely resembles the Green Goblin. :roll eyes:

Bob

You're right, that was too snarky. I deleted it. In the petition I thanked the 1991 restorer for his work though I and others are not satisfied with it. That's a true thing, but no need to get rude. My apologies to Mr. Miarlecki and others.

[Captain Picard.]

Malware was detected just when I logged into the forum that petition was the last thing I gave my email to someone has been trying to hack me.

[plynch]

Captain Picard. wrote:

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Malware was detected just when I logged into the forum that petition was the last thing I gave my email to someone has been trying to hack me.

Not sure I follow.

[Captain Picard.]

Someone might of been trying to steal my identity but it does not matter now carry on

[Dream]

Who owns the original model right now?

[Christopher]

I appreciate the idea of moving it to a more prominent location than the back of the gift shop, but I don't support the proposal to move it to the Museum of American History. After all, Star Trek inspired a whole generation of astronauts and engineers. And the prototype Space Shuttle was named after the Enterprise. It's an important part of aerospace history in its own way. More than that, it's not just a symbol of America, but of humanity's aspirations in space, since it featured a multinational crew. So it belongs in the National Air & Space Museum, where it's always been. No other site would be appropriate. It just needs to be restored to a more prominent location, like where it was originally displayed in the '70s and '80s.

And I'm not sure about the "artistic license" claim in the petition. I've heard it suggested that the miniature originally had more detail that didn't show up clearly onscreen due to the FX process causing a loss of image resolution, and which had faded by the time the ship was initially put on display, and that the intent of the Miarecki restoration was to recreate that original detail, to match the way the miniature actually looked rather than the way it appeared in the finished, somewhat degraded FX shots. I don't know for sure if that's the case, but I think there's enough doubt on this issue that I don't want to take a side on it. A petition like this should not be partisan. Asking for a restoration that's as accurate as possible, based on objective historical research and reconstruction, would be fine, but frankly the current wording feels biased. I mean, how do you even define "its onscreen appearance" when half the time the compositing process made it look green or blue or caused parts of the nacelles to blink out? I'm not sure that even constitutes a valid standard.

So I'm afraid I simply cannot agree with the current wording of the petition. It's got the right idea in some respects, but I don't like the specifics.

[plynch]

Dream wrote:

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Who owns the original model right now?

We the people. It's in the Smithsonian's Air and Space museum in the gift shop's lower level. The 1991 paint job has vey dark gridlines, and gravity is causing it to come apart. See the nearby thread on the 11-footer for great info on its history, and many pics.

[plynch]

Christopher wrote:

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I appreciate the idea of moving it to a more prominent location than the back of the gift shop, but I don't support the proposal to move it to the Museum of American History. After all, Star Trek inspired a whole generation of astronauts and engineers. And the prototype Space Shuttle was named after the Enterprise. It's an important part of aerospace history in its own way. More than that, it's not just a symbol of America, but of humanity's aspirations in space, since it featured a multinational crew. So it belongs in the National Air & Space Museum, where it's always been. No other site would be appropriate. It just needs to be restored to a more prominent location, like where it was originally displayed in the '70s and '80s.

And I'm not sure about the "artistic license" claim in the petition. I've heard it suggested that the miniature originally had more detail that didn't show up clearly onscreen due to the FX process causing a loss of image resolution, and which had faded by the time the ship was initially put on display, and that the intent of the Miarecki restoration was to recreate that original detail, to match the way the miniature actually looked rather than the way it appeared in the finished, somewhat degraded FX shots. I don't know for sure if that's the case, but I think there's enough doubt on this issue that I don't want to take a side on it. A petition like this should not be partisan. Asking for a restoration that's as accurate as possible, based on objective historical research and reconstruction, would be fine, but frankly the current wording feels biased. I mean, how do you even define "its onscreen appearance" when half the time the compositing process made it look green or blue or caused parts of the nacelles to blink out? I'm not sure that even constitutes a valid standard.

So I'm afraid I simply cannot agree with the current wording of the petition. It's got the right idea in some respects, but I don't like the specifics.

No prob. The descriptor limits one to a number of characters, like twitter. One does what one can. Be well.

Edit: sorry for the double post, peeps.

[Christopher]

^I don't understand your reply. My issues are with the substance of the petition, not its length.

[Tora Ziyal]

Christopher wrote:

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I appreciate the idea of moving it to a more prominent location than the back of the gift shop, but I don't support the proposal to move it to the Museum of American History. After all, Star Trek inspired a whole generation of astronauts and engineers. And the prototype Space Shuttle was named after the Enterprise. It's an important part of aerospace history in its own way. More than that, it's not just a symbol of America, but of humanity's aspirations in space, since it featured a multinational crew. So it belongs in the National Air & Space Museum, where it's always been. No other site would be appropriate. It just needs to be restored to a more prominent location, like where it was originally displayed in the '70s and '80s.

I agree, it definitely belongs in the Air & Space Museum, but as a real exhibit. I was so disappointed when I discovered it was in the gift shop! Looked more like a marketing display than a piece of history.

[Dream]

The National Air & Space Museum paid for the model right? They should to do as they wish. At least they are displaying it instead of storing it in box. What gives the government the right to take the model away from them?