Matt Jefferies' "Lost Set" 3D model

[neoworx]

I was looking through Herb Sollow's "Star Trek Sketchbook" the other day and I across the story about the 3D set model that Matt Jefferies had created for incoming directors. I've always been impressed by the piece and was moved to do a write-up about it. What a great piece of history!

http://wrathofdhanprops.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-lost-set-matt-jefferies-old-school.html

 

[bbailey861]

First time I've seen that. Nice - thanks.

 

[mach7]

It used to be at the Science Fiction museum in Seattle.

Gone now since they did a remodel

 

[SpHeRe31459]

Wow I had no idea he made something like that. Very cool!
Do we know the whereabouts of it now?

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

I recognize Sickbay in the upper left, transporter room lower left, briefing room next to that. Is that the engine room in the upper right? Can't really identify the other rooms. Is the lower right supposed to be the bridge?

 

[bbailey861]

It used to be at the Science Fiction museum in Seattle.

Gone now since they did a remodel

That's crazy. You would think it would have had a prominent exhibit location. Did it just 'disappear'?

 

[Harvey]

The museum's not very big, and a lot of the exhibit space is devoted to rotating exhibits, so it's understandable that they've taken it out. The original Captain's chair, however, is still there.

 

[mach7]

The museum was gutted in a remodel a few years ago.
I was a charter member, and when they opened they had some great exhibits
unfortunately after avitar came out they trashed most of it for a temporary, crappy avitar based exhibit. Then came a major remodel and we now have a tiny museum with about 1/10th of what they had before.

Most of the stuff was from the Paul Allen collection. I'm guessing he wanted some of it back.

 

[Lance]

I've always thought this was awesome, although I was a little young when The Star Trek Sketchbook originally came out I always appreciated these. It's amazing that Jeffries went to the effort to make it. It's fascinating to see just how it was that all the standing sets were in relation to each other on the actual stage.

I recognize Sickbay in the upper left, transporter room lower left, briefing room next to that. Is that the engine room in the upper right? Can't really identify the other rooms. Is the lower right supposed to be the bridge?

Yup. Of course, it's supposed to be a 'representation' of the stage, rather than of the fictional Starship. So, while we can see the Captain's chair and the navi/helm console proiminantly, the various non-descript black blocks that surround them represent the way the bridge was built in removable sections, allowing for the camera to get into the set. A couple of the black blocks have been pulled away at the spot of Spock's console in order to illustrate this.

 

[GSchnitzer]

Well, they are more than just blocks. There's simply a black "lid" around the upper level of the bridge. If you click on the link, you'll see other views of the model that shows additional (and better) details.

I've always thought this was awesome, although I was a little young when The Star Trek Sketchbook originally came out I always appreciated these. It's amazing that Jeffries went to the effort to make it. It's fascinating to see just how it was that all the standing sets were in relation to each other on the actual stage.

I recognize Sickbay in the upper left, transporter room lower left, briefing room next to that. Is that the engine room in the upper right? Can't really identify the other rooms. Is the lower right supposed to be the bridge?

Yup. Of course, it's supposed to be a 'representation' of the stage, rather than of the fictional Starship. So, while we can see the Captain's chair and the navi/helm console proiminantly, the various non-descript black blocks that surround them represent the way the bridge was built in removable sections, allowing for the camera to get into the set. A couple of the black blocks have been pulled away at the spot of Spock's console in order to illustrate this.

 

[Shawnster]

The crew quarters are the two middle "boxes" to the right of the briefing room. The yellow T shaped room at the bottom is auxiliary control. At the very top is the round opening for the Jefferies Tube.

 

[Lance]

I hadn't really thought about it before, but where's the brig? On the few times that we saw it (eg. "Assignment Earth", "Mirror, Mirror", "Turnabout Intruder"), it always seemed to be a small room off of a main corridor. But I can't spot it. Was it a simple re-dress of another set?

 

[bbailey861]

A redress of a set makes the most sense to me. Probably the most economical as well. I hope this model hasn't been tossed out and reappears again some time in the future.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Weird that sickbay is much bigger than even engineering. In my imagination, engineering is the biggest set.

Maybe I'm being dense, but where's the turbolift?

 

[Maurice]

I was looking through Herb Sollow's "Star Trek Sketchbook" the other day and I across the story about the 3D set model that Matt Jefferies had created for incoming directors. I've always been impressed by the piece and was moved to do a write-up about it. What a great piece of history!

http://wrathofdhanprops.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-lost-set-matt-jefferies-old-school.html

For comparison, here's the stage layout for "Journey to Babel" (link). Some of the sets were what they call "swing" sets and only assembled when needed, which includes Aux Control and the Brig. You can see one of the Brig's customary placements on this plan.

The corridor was altered as needed, with wall panels pulled out or moved around to make extra radial passages, etc.

 

[Lance]

Weird that sickbay is much bigger than even engineering. In my imagination, engineering is the biggest set.

Sickbay's quite deceptive. It takes up a lot of space, but it's 'really' three seperate sets joined together.

Interesting to note where the sets have been built without a 'fourth wall'. Engineering and Sickbay are both three walled sets. By way of contrast, the transporter room, briefing room and Crew Quarters have been built as enclosed ('four wall') sets. The bridge itself is a bit of both, with its removable sections.

Looking at the floor-plan vs the boundry walls, they really did make full use of that stage, didn't they? Nearly every inch of floor in that Desilu stage is being used.