Original Phaser Rifle Prop Found!

[feek61]

...As of this moment the entire matter is dead. If Klamer wants to work with us on any particular item he will first have to submit it to us and then after deliberation, we will determine whether or not we will proceed with him. Please rest assured that Klamer is not involved in the phaser rifle, phaser pistol, transicator or any other item.

April 22, 1966 memo to Ed Perlstein from Roddenberry​

I'm confused... the comments say that Klamer's company built the rifle, but the 4/22 memo says they didn't.

I'm also confused, according to the quote above, Klamer did not build the phaser rifle. So, who did?

Look at the dates; we are talking about two different things here. The second pilot "Where Man Has Gone Before" was filmed in July 1965 and the memo is dated April 1966. At this point when the memo came out the pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before" had already been filmed. That memo is talking about props for the series after it had been approved for production. The phaser rifle that we know had already been used in the second pilot but apparently there was going to be design changes (like the changes made to the hand phasers and communicators for the series) to the phaser rifle for the series. As some point it was apparently decided that they wouldn't need a phaser rifle for the series.

 

[Christopher]

As some point it was apparently decided that they wouldn't need a phaser rifle for the series.

From what I've gathered, I think it's more that they were unable to get a decent phaser rifle prop made, so they had to settle for doing without.

 

[feek61]

Could very well be; I have not heard either way. I know that the P2 was suppose to be able to be integrated into the new phaser rifle similar to the way the P1 snaps into the P2 but I assume for budget reasons and maybe for design reasons as well they never pursued it.

 

[Christopher]

I wonder if there are any surviving design drawings by Jefferies for what the, err, "phaser 3" might've looked like. Or, failing that, if there are fan designs for what a series-style phaser rifle might've looked like.

 

[GSchnitzer]

I wonder if there are any surviving design drawings by Jefferies for what the, err, "phaser 3" might've looked like. Or, failing that, if there are fan designs for what a series-style phaser rifle might've looked like.

Well, according to Jefferies' early drawing, the rifle was a "Phaser 4." (He identifies that the "Phaser 3" is actually the removable handle/"power pack.")

Star Trek Phase II did have a phaser rifle in "Blood and Fire. (I think that's the only episode in which we used it, but they all start to run together in my mind, so I'm not sure.) It was designed by Mr. John Broughton over at Starship Farragut. For our Phase II production, we modified it a tiny bit: we swapped out a new-style phaser 1 that Farragut had used, and replaced it with a standard phaser 1. We also added a "Sims' beacon" (one of those little flashlight-things that you can wear on a headband that we picked up at Wal*Mart) to the top of the targeting scope. This permits the user to see the target in darkened conditions. (More importantly, it also allowed director David Gerrold to capture a cool light beam to show up on our smoke-filled set, in a Steven Spielbergian fashion.)

 

[Gary Mitchell]

That original phaser rifle was a puny weapon. All it did to me was to clear up my chest congestion.

 

[aridas sofia]

I wonder if there are any surviving design drawings by Jefferies for what the, err, "phaser 3" might've looked like. Or, failing that, if there are fan designs for what a series-style phaser rifle might've looked like.

From about ten years ago. Several people in the tech forum were playing around with ideas on how it might have appeared. I threw my two cents worth in:

http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/phaser-rifle-revised.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/phaser-3.jpg

 

[Warped9]

http://home.comcast.net/~aridas/phaser-rifle-revised.jpg

I like this one.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

The prop sold for $231,000. The headline is addressed to me personally because the CNN writer knows that when it comes to STAR TREK, I'm all up in it:

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/06/showbiz/star-trek-rifle-auction/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

 

[Melakon]

Wow. It sold for 10 times the other mentioned items. Part of the value must be for being Held by Shatner.

 

[bbailey861]

Holy Cow. Holy Cow. Holy Cow. $231K. I can't even imagine....

 

[1001001]

For that much, it should really fire!

 

[Gary7]

Whoa... more than triple the high bid estimate. That's just nuts.

It's not like this was *THE* hero type II phaser. It's a rather obscure prop that had more exposure in publicity material than in the 2nd pilot.

It's also clear that the phaser rifle design was distinctly separate from the other props that all had some design commonality (black body material with silver metal trim). It would've been nice if there was at least one or two widgets on it in common with the other prop equipment.

Will it appreciate? Hard to say... But then, several quite wealthy individuals with a lot of disposable income and a burning desire to own an actual TOS prop may have been the cause of the bid fever on this one, far beyond what it could resell for later on.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Will it appreciate? Hard to say... But then, several quite wealthy individuals with a lot of disposable income and a burning desire to own an actual TOS prop may have been the cause of the bid fever on this one, far beyond what it could resell for later on.

Agreed. I'd guess that this buyer got in at the top, and wealthy TOS fans are now aging out of their acquistional years.

That, on a smaller financial scale, is why I thought the TOS soundtrack collection would never come out. I was a little early on that call and happily bought the box.

 

[Christopher]

It's not like this was *THE* hero type II phaser. It's a rather obscure prop that had more exposure in publicity material than in the 2nd pilot.

It's also clear that the phaser rifle design was distinctly separate from the other props that all had some design commonality (black body material with silver metal trim).

Well, that's just the point, isn't it? It's unique, and that makes it more valuable.

 

[Melakon]

One problem I always had with that "Where No Man" rifle was it looks like it's from a 1950's pulp magazine cover, exactly what Roddenberry was trying to avoid. That in itself might have been a factor along with Klamer's reliability problem.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

Holy Cow. Holy Cow. Holy Cow. $231K. I can't even imagine....

"More Money than Brains" as my late father would have said.

 

[Gary7]

Well, that's just the point, isn't it? It's unique, and that makes it more valuable.

Unique is one thing, but recognition is another. The type II phaser is far more recognizable than the phaser rifle, having appeared in every episode as opposed to just one.

One problem I always had with that "Where No Man" rifle was it looks like it's from a 1950's pulp magazine cover, exactly what Roddenberry was trying to avoid. That in itself might have been a factor along with Klamer's reliability problem.

Along the same lines, to me the phaser rifle looks like something Gerry Anderson's creative team would have dreamed up for the Thunderbirds.

Also, interesting tidbit--Klamer retained the phaser rifle after the pilot and it remained in his possession. So, despite hefty auction commission fees, he must have raked in some serious cash. Kind of made up for his opting to contract a product licensing fee instead of direct payment for the prop, although I'm sure there was a long stretch of time when he felt that he had made a mistake.

 

[Christopher]

Well, that's just the point, isn't it? It's unique, and that makes it more valuable.

Unique is one thing, but recognition is another. The type II phaser is far more recognizable than the phaser rifle, having appeared in every episode as opposed to just one.

Again, yes, that is the point. As a rule, human beings value rare things more than common things. An object that's the only one of its kind, was used just once, and hasn't been taken out of its case in 48 years is just the sort of thing that collectors would consider extra-valuable, and it's naturally going to score higher bids at an auction than a more commonplace object that was used frequently.

 

[Maurice]

For those who ain't seen it, here's Klamer explaining how the prop came to be.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oWGNDoXG9R8[/yt]
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