Design Inspirations for TOS Props, etc.

[plynch]

At "The Old Bridge" thread, Scotpens supplies a cool pic of a 1960s furniture inspiration for Kirk's chair.

I'm not good at adding pics, but go here and scroll down:
http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=116704

What other real-life design influences do you know of? Or any good hunches, where something TOS clearly looks like a real life thing?

I'm thinking of a small, black pebbled-exterior Sony color t.v. from that era with thin silver trim. Looked like tricorder, communicator style. Can't find a pic, though.

 

[Maurice]

At "The Old Bridge" thread, Scotpens supplies a cool pic of a 1960s furniture inspiration for Kirk's chair.

I'm not good at adding pics, but go here and scroll down:
http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=116704

What other real-life design influences do you know of? Or any good hunches, where something TOS clearly looks like a real life thing?

I'm thinking of a small, black pebbled-exterior Sony color t.v. from that era with thin silver trim. Looked like tricorder, communicator style. Can't find a pic, though.

Oh, some time ago I posted images of a flip-top portable TV that looks so much like a tricorder it's scary!

While searching for something else, I ran across some images of what was (apparently) the first transistorized and "portable" (battery powered) TV set, the Philco Safari Model H2010L. What struck me about it, especially when you see it with its "hood" closed and then open, was how much it reminded me of a TOS tricorder.

Hood closed
Hood open
This angle is pretty tricorder-esque
And in black, even more-so!

I could see how this design aesthetic could have snuck into the prop design of TOS.

Sure, the thing was a whopping 18 inches tall, but the similarity is interesting.

Curious if anyone else has seen anything they think might've been an influence on the TOS prop design.

That thread here (click).

P.S. That link you put up (file:///Network/Servers/ehs.escanabaschool.com/Volumes/Staff/EHS%20Staff%20Files/plynch/Desktop/two-chairs.jpeg) doesn't point to a domain.

 

[scotpens]

Here's a link to a site showing many real tools and objects that were modified and used as props in Trek TOS:

http://startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com/2009/10/star-trek-original-series-commercially.html

This scientific instrument, slightly altered and repainted, was seen in a couple of early episodes.

And pilots will recognize the hand-held analog flight computer Spock is using here.

Of course, it's an article of Trek lore that Dr. McCoy's laser scalpels were actually modernistic Danish salt and pepper shakers.

I'm not good at adding pics, but go here and scroll down:
http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=116704

If you don't have one, open a Photobucket account. It's free. Uploading pictures to Photobucket is so easy, a trained chimp could do it. So if you need help, ask a trained chimp.

Then all you have to do is copy and paste the "image" URL for each picture you want to post.

 

[GSchnitzer]

Just so we don't recreate the wheel, we had quite a thread going a while back--up to about 31 pages--all about props. You can find the thread here:


http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=81174

 

[plynch]

P.S. That link you put up (file:///Network/Servers/ehs.escanabaschool.com/Volumes/Staff/EHS%20Staff%20Files/plynch/Desktop/two-chairs.jpeg) doesn't point to a domain.

Thanks -- actually meant to delete it. Will attempt to edit it out.

I went to http://startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com/2009/10/star-trek-original-series-commercially.html

Great stuff there.

I actually had the tri-d tic tac toe set but it used big glass marbles instead of disks. It was very cool looking. Sigh . . .

Aside from specific props, any big design trends circa mid-60s that clearly get reflected in TOS?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

A lot of firewall software blocks Photobucket for some reason. Flickr, not so much.

 

[GSchnitzer]

I actually had the tri-d tic tac toe set but it used big glass marbles instead of disks. It was very cool looking. Sigh . . .

As long as you mentioned the Checkline 3D Tic-Tac-Toe game....

We see it way in back:

"The Conscience of the King:"

"The Alternative Factor:"

And we've seen that these old sets crop up from time to time on ebay:

Well, some folks recollect (and this is only tangentially related to Star Trek since this item was never seen in the show) that there was a "Delux Executive Version" of the Checkline game made by the same manufacturer.

It has the same four tiered plastic gameboard concept, except that the base is wood instead of just another plastic gameboard. The playing tokens are not small checker-like disks; they are glass marbles. And each square has a little raised "crater" into which the marbles set.

You can make out the Checkline logo on the underside of the gameboards:

So, not much to talk about here. I just thought that since the subject came up, folks might be interested in seeing the Checkline game's younger and more sophisticated and elegant little brother.

 

[plynch]

That's awfully close to the version I had. But I don't remember it that complex (fewer marbles). Maybe I'm wrong. And the styling was a bit more '70s.

What about the Enterprise bucket chairs? That was in style then, right? I'm picturing molded plastic or maybe fiberglass, but not on a pedestal as on the Ent.

 

[scotpens]

The plastic swivel chairs on the TOS Enterprise were Burke chairs modified with a custom-made back extension and three triangular doodads stuck on for decoration.