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.]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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

 

[Captain Picard.]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

Thanks, I will take a look

 

[Robert Comsol]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

(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!")

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

http://web.archive.org/web/20061219142441/members.aol.com/IDICPage/Enterprise1991.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]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

(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!")

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

http://web.archive.org/web/20061219142441/members.aol.com/IDICPage/Enterprise1991.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. :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.]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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.]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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

 

[Dream]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

Who owns the original model right now?

 

[Christopher]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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?

 

[Christopher]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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?

Umm, it is the National Air and Space Museum. It, and the rest of the Smithsonian, is a body of the federal government. The government wouldn't be taking the model away from anyone; it's already theirs. Or rather, as plynch said above, it belongs to the American people, and the government, through the Smithsonian, takes care of it on our behalf.

And no, they didn't pay for the miniature. It was donated to them by Paramount in 1974.

 

[plynch]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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?

Um... you are kidding, right? Along the lines of "Keep your government hands off my Medicare"?

And this all follows from the 11-footer thread I tried to steer people to: comments that the E has always been an unwanted-stepchild to a museum established for artifacts that, you know, actually flew, in real life. And that the Museum of History is where we store our cultural icons, like Archie Bunker's chair and Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet.

NOT trying to convince you about the proper museum -- think what you think. Just 'splainin. And hoping you really were pulling our legs on the "government" line, above.

EDIT: Maurice, on the other thread, wrote "Write your Congresspeeps." Turns out he might have been righter than I, since looking up the Smithsonian online has taught me it is overseen by Congress; I assumed the executive branch. Go figure. And I sent a separate email to Pres. Obama letting him know about the petition since he's a Trek fan. Oh well, maybe he'll work this into the Grand Bargain with Boehner.

 

[Dream]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

Umm, it is the National Air and Space Museum. It, and the rest of the Smithsonian, is a body of the federal government. The government wouldn't be taking the model away from anyone; it's already theirs.

Ah, I see. My eyes skipped over the national part.

I guess it is up to who calls the shots in times like this. Is it really that important that fans want the model stuck behind a glass box for display?

What's the status on the Enterprise-D models? I know one was considered lost, but later given back to Paramount by an employee of Planet Hollywood. It had been hanging from the ceiling at a restaurant and damaged a bit.

 

[Robert Comsol]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

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.

There's plenty of artistic license that has been taken during the 1991 restoration, here are the facts (the author did good research but there's no evidence for a previous "paint job" that affected larger areas, mind the entire engineering hull):

* A tiny bit of signage located in the forward window cluster on the lower saucer–”Inspection Door Vent Systems Connection” was changed to “Do Not Read This Sign!”.
* A similar bit of signage, just below the starboard nacelle pylon on the secondary hull–”Tail Pipe Socket Adjustment Access” was removed and not replaced.
* By far, the most controversial aspect of the restoration is the paint scheme. The entire model (with the exception of the upper saucer) was again (very debatable! small areas, yes!) repainted, with emphasis on gridlines and heavy weathering. Many feel this look is too extreme. The gridlines on the lower saucer are accurate (albeit extreme), but additional vertical gridlines lines were added to the secondary hull (which never had any gridlines, originally) and nacelles (which highlight the individual wooden sections which the nacelles were constructed from).

(http://enterproject.wordpress.com/20...ther-versions/)

As a strictly personal note the only thing I was desperate but unable to read or photograph back in 1976 and 1980 were the two small text fields on the bottom saucer's bow and starboard ("Inspection Door Vent Systems Connections"). It's one thing if these couldn't be saved, but artistic license / abuse if you go through the hazzle of replacing these with a different text and try to be funny, IMHO.

Bob

P.S. Found a modeler's forum that also illustrated and discussed the changes: http://www.therpf.com/f10/original-enterprise-smithsonian-93767/

On page 3 there is a shot that appears to show the saucer after it had arrived at the Smithsonian in 1974. Looks like it's the saucer of the Constellation (...) and required reconstruction and a paint job.

 

[Maurice]

Re: White House Petition to Restore/Preserve and Move the Enterprise M

It doesn't belong in the Air & Space Museum. It belongs in a museum that specializes in artifacts of its type. Honestly at Air & Space it feels diminished by what's around it. Hard to take a fictional spaceship seriously as an artifact when it's neighbored by craft that actually went into space.