Collecting Star Trek…

[Warped9]

I didn’t want to derail someone else’s thread.

I couldn’t help but start thinking about collecting Star Trek stuff over the years and those things that resonated the most then and perhaps even still.

Back in the day I really looked forward to picking up the successive releases of James Blish’s episode adaptations. It was such a high to get each new book even though I already knew the episodes and knew the stories could vary from the aired episodes. It was a way to revisit the Star Trek universe between episodes on television. I went nuts over seeing Blish’s novel Spock Must Die! given this was an adventure outside of the official episodes. No successive Trek novel ever clicked that way again, and it remains my favourite.

The Making Of Star Trek was and remains one of the most, if not the most, significant publications in relation to Trek. It opened a window into the inner workings of Star Trek’s production and Star Trek’s broader fictional universe. It was THE Trek bible from which all successive publications followed. Of all the Trek related books I have ever bought, enjoyed and appreciate The Making Of Star Trek is the one that shines brightest.

Alan Dean Foster’s Star Trek Log series adapting the animated episodes was another huge thing at the time particularly in that he fleshed out the stories more such that they felt more like live-action episodes.

Then came Franz Joseph’s Star Trek Booklet Of General Plans and the Star Fleet Technical Manual. Those blew my mind even though I quickly started to spot the inconsistencies with what I saw onscreen. Nonetheless I poured over those things and they really impressed me. It’s easy to see how they inspired generations of fans.

Alongside The Making Of Star Trek the most important collectible I had back in the day was my first AMT model of the Enterprise. Yeah, it was flawed, but I loved it. Every time I laid my eyes upon it I heard the music from the series.

It would be decades before I would pickup something that would hold such meaning again. In 2001 I picked up the TMP-DE which I appreciated as the film closer to what we should have gotten in 1979. And then there would be the DVD clamshell season sets of the entire series—finally an affordable (and space effective) way to own my favourite series. I had waited decades for this and couldn’t wait to buy them when I heard they were coming. And in some respects I still prefer the DVDs given the BluRays can show things we were never meant to see.

The other thing I had waited forty years for was the the Polar Lights 1/350 scale Enterprise kit. Finally(!) an accurate replica of the greatest ship in science fiction that I could own.

I’ve collected a fair bit of books and stuff over the years, but the above mentioned were the ones that held the most meaning.


Anyone else?

 

[Ssosmcin]

Ooooh yes, my journey through literary Trek mirrored this. I will always cherish the "Ballentine Years" but in addition to the Blish books and the ADF adaptations (which I loved collecting until they changed the cover designs in the last two) were the Fotonovels. Now THOSE were the closest we got to owning episodes until the VHS tapes started coming out. Back when you could walk into a drug store (Nescott Drugs near me) or a bookstore and find random Star Trek paperbacks. I got the Star Trek Quiz Book and Star Trek Puzzle Manual from Nescott.

I found Blish's Star Trek 1 (as it was retagged for later editions) at A&S of all places.

The Fotonovels were at a books store in my town's village square.

I got Star Trek Maps and Star Trek Blueprints at B. Dalton books.

I picked up TMOST at the Smithsonian in the late 70's.

I also was a sucker for the Gold Key comic collections, which I had the four main volumes and two Dynabrite comics.

Two coloring books from Whittaker's drug store.

The brightly colors puzzles, that looked more like they were patterned after the animated series were found at McCrory's in the mall.

Naturally, I grabbed the AMT Enterprise and Klingon ship, along with the Mego figures at Sears. I still have the walkie talkies and the command communications console. Woolworth's provided the Remco utility belt and I got my two Donmoor shirts at Macy's.

My home video collection would take up a thread of its own...

 

[Warped9]

I will always cherish the "Ballentine Years" but in addition to the Blish books and the ADF adaptations (which I loved collecting until they changed the cover designs in the last two)

Yeah, I was bummed when they changed those covers.

I had the Klingon Battle Cruiser as well, probably AMT’s most accurate kit. I actually had more than one AMT Enterprise over those years. I even find myself thinking about building one again just for the hell of it.

 

[BillJ]

The Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology is one of my favorite books.

 

[Warped9]

The Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology is one of my favorite books.

Oooo, I remember that! But damned if I know what happened to it.

I always wanted a copy of Star Trek Maps, but never had one.

 

[Daddy Todd]

Well, where to begin?

I got the AMT model Enterprise for Christmas in, probably, 1968, and the Klingon ship the next year. I know it was the early version of the Enterprise in the big box with the lighting kit and the nacelle struts that were a PAIN to try and attach. It never looked right -- but then, I was 8 trying to put it together, so, ya know, it was as good as I could do at the time. It hung from the glittery popcorn ceiling of my childhood bedroom for the next decade, along with the 2001 Orion Flyer and Moon Bus. I had a lot of models as a kid -- I can remember having the Invaders flying saucer, the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Flying Sub, and, years later, the Space: 1999 Eagle. And additional Star Trek kits in the 70s, like the Exploration Set, the Shuttlecraft Galileo, the Bridge Set, and several more Enterprise models, once they updated the decal sheet to allow me to "build the entire fleet!" My bedroom ceiling got kind of crowded before I graduated from High School...

In 1972, I saw Star Trek 6 on the paperback rack at Safeway, and convinced my dad to loan me 75¢ to buy it. That started me down the path of collecting a massive number of Star Trek books. I picked up a copy of TMoST shortly after, and snapped up copies of earlier Blish titles from one of the used paperback bookstores (remember those?) that I visited with my mom, who was a HUGE reader. I started driving in 1975, and then bought a car in 1976, and started making the rounds between bookstores, buying (and reading) new Trek books as they were published.

Star Trek was exploding, and the number of books and toys was exploding with it. The Mego figures didn't interest me, so I passed on those (much to my later regret!). Bantam and Ballantine were increasing the number of books they were publishing, sucking up a lot of my paper route earnings. Starting with 1 title in 1967, 2 in 68, 1 each in 69, 70 & 71, 4 in 72, 3 in 73, 4 in 74, 8 in 75 (including calendars, blueprints, the technical manual, etc.) 8 in 76, 12 in 77, 17 in 78, "only" 4 in 79 (but then Pocket Books/Wallaby/Wanderer started it's massive TMP book campaign in late 79, running through 80 & 81, when they started publishing original Trek novels. And other publishers, like Ace and Signet, were also getting into the game, with unauthorized and Trek-adjacent books.)

I've been collecting Star Trek books for 50 years now. Much to my own surprise!

 

[Neopeius]

Thank you for a lovely trip down memory lane!

Since I'm starting back at the beginning, I get to collect everything anew. I'm actually stocking up on things to enjoy "as they come out". So I've got every Trek-related book and novel through the early '80s (and don't really care beyond that). Refereeces: The Concordance, the Technical Manual, the Spaceflight Chronology, of course, and a bunch of others I care less about, but have anyway.

Most of the blueprint sets. Star Fleet Battles, the original and first expansion. Federation and Empire, but I don't have Star Fleet Battle Manual...yet, anyway. All the model kits I know of except for the bridge set and the figures of the characters (the latter I don't care about). All extant fanzines through 1970, digitally, and about a dozen fanzines from the mid-70s physically.

This all takes up a 3' x 4' closet-bookcase that I call the "shrine to Star Trek".

My wife gave me the Gold Key comics on CD for father's day a while back. I've got a 1000 piece puzzle (a modern thing, picture of the crew on the bridge from the third season).

As for what affected me most as a kid, it was the giant (to me) glow in the dark blue model of the Enterprise, and the Spaceflight Chronology. I read that thing endlessly from when I was 6. I used tracing paper to trace all the ships and decorate my room with the pictures. I used a typewriter to manually make my own page from the Chronology (The "Capricorn", the first ship to have fusion drive.)

 

[Warped9]

Somewhere I still have a portrait I drew of Kirk. I really gotta find it.

I recall being disappointed with the Romulan Warbird, the Galileo shuttlecraft, Space Station K-7 and the Exploration Set kits.

The Enterprise model got better over the years in terms of construction, but concurrently evermore inaccurate in detail. And somewhere along the way the font of the hull markings were changed to something completely wrong. At one point I got around to making schematics of the model and considered trying to make it more accurate, but I ditched the idea because no amount of work could really make it right.

 

[Phaser Two]

Good stuff! Thanks for your posts and this thread. I have augmented my collection in recent years particularly, but from the "olden days" I still treasure TMOST, the Concordance, and Star Trek Maps. I really enjoy the FASA stuff too, not so much as canon or a reference material as just something cool to read about and look at. I still remember seeing Kirk rated for "small unit tactics" and thinking how cool that was. (It's even cooler now that I know what that is!)

About 30 years ago I got the whole crew in Playmates version and they've been on my shelf ever since. Love them. Not just the main seven but Chapel and Rand too. Great likenesses. A little velcro here and there and they're a fully outfitted landing party. I guess they left DeSalle in command.

Recently, I've collected Playmates and successors' (Diamond Select) versions of the Enterprise, I got the clamshells when they came out in 2004 (and promptly did a rewatch that was so much fun), and a few years ago I got the 2000/2001 (?)-era Hallmark light-up ornament of the Enterprise for our Christmas tree. It has all these crazy running lights that make me happy every time I see them blink; I always put the ship in "standard orbit" position next to a big velvet ball ornament. Looks great.

On edit - I forgot that I have four complete sets of the Diamond Select phaser/communicator/tricorders. By which I mean, they weren't sold as sets, but I display them as such.

About a year ago I bought from a really skilled friend a pretty faithful replica of Spock's moire scanner from the bridge - you know, the one we all figure represented the sweep of the sensors. I *LOVE* it. I have it on my version of the bridge and it brings me so much joy.

 

[BillJ]

Let's see if I can come up with a more comprehensive but still incomplete list of what I have...

TOS on Blu-ray.
TOS on DVD (Clamshell cases).
Diamond Select Communicator, Phaser and Tricorder set.
Multiple action figures and Pop! Funkos of the crew.
Many, many books and comic (including the comics DVD).
Diamond Select NCC-1701.
Eaglemoss NCC-1701 x 2.
Eaglemoss USS Defiant, glow in the dark.
Eaglemoss NCC-1701 (Phase II variant that is clearly based on work by @Shaw)

Did I mention I have a lot of Star Trek books and comics.

 

[dupersuper]

200 and some novels, 3 or 4 hundred comics

and counting

 

[PCz911]

In the old days…. When I was a kid…. (Fill in your favorite cliche)….
one was very much at the whim of the local book seller as to what we could acquire. A photo novel or two…. The Alan dean foster books…the blueprints or the tech manual…the making of Star Trek … and (of course) starlog. These are the things that immediately transport me back to being a teen and looking at my amt model collection suspended from the ceiling on fishing line “borrowed” from my dad.

now everything is a click away.

 

[ItsGreen]

Anyone have Franklin Mint stuff? I have more but here are some photos I have handy.

The 1701 isn't Franklin Mint but the other pewter E's are!

 

[ZapBrannigan]

My childhood collection mirrors @Warped9 and @Ssosmcin very closely. My second Enterprise kit got decaled as the Lexington (Franz Joseph deciding the NCC number). My second Klingon kit was molded in black plastic instead of gray for some reason. I don't know how common that was. I build all the AMT kits, and of course they're long gone now.

But books were the main thing for me. I never passed up a magazine that referenced Star Trek on the cover, if I saw it, and I prided myself on owning "every book there is." And boy, did I memorize those Blueprints and study the Concordance.

I remember right where I was (on a city bus, going home from my summer job) when I realized that I would no longer buy every Star Trek book whatsoever. It was in the period between TMP and TWOK, when the sheer number of novels was becoming ridiculous instead of scarce and special, and the one I was reading was a real bummer— The Prometheus Design. I don't know how I'd find it today, but at the time it seemed like depressing junk that treated Kirk even worse than TMP had. It broke me, and a part of my identity changed that day. "Owning it all" would no longer be who I was as a fan. Kind of a big day when you think about it, after a decade of being a child completist.

 

[1001001]

I never got into books or toys or whatnot.

I have been to a lot of conventions and have collected autographs and pictures. Actually autographed memorabilia is kind of my hobby.

Anyway, as far as TOS is concerned, this is the best thing I have:

Signed by 8 of the original 9 cast members, all in person.

 

[Daddy Todd]

I never got into books or toys or whatnot.

I have been to a lot of conventions and have collected autographs and pictures. Actually autographed memorabilia is kind of my hobby.

Anyway, as far as TOS is concerned, this is the best thing I have:



Signed by 8 of the original 9 cast members, all in person.

I love that so much. It is a thing of beauty!

 

[Neopeius]

About a year ago I bought from a really skilled friend a pretty faithful replica of Spock's moire scanner from the bridge - you know, the one we all figure represented the sweep of the sensors. I *LOVE* it. I have it on my version of the bridge and it brings me so much joy.

Pics please! Of the bridge and the replica!

(I still need to commission a Starfleet uniform -- I'm just embarrassed of my little paunch)

 

[Warped9]

(I still need to commission a Starfleet uniform -- I'm just embarrassed of my little paunch)

I have always wanted to have a TOS command gold shirt, and in past years I could have pulled it off, but these past four years I’m not quite what I used to be.

Life.

 

[JMS]

I've been assembling pre-motion picture Trek stuff lately, including some of the fanzines. Star Trek was such a wide open thing back then, with lots of room for fan imagination - fun stuff. It's also fun to explore Trek before so much original material got contradicted or "ret-conned" by later official productions.

 

[JMS]

I have always wanted to have a TOS command gold shirt, and in past years I could have pulled it off, but these past four years I’m not quite what I used to be.

Life.

For us older gents, there's always room for commodores and admirals. The fitness requirements are less strenuous.