Missing 32" Enterprise finally found...

[Christopher]

If it had been damaged while being filmed you’d think that would have been noted.

That's true. Naturally, every unsupported assertion should be met with skepticism. But some provoke more ready skepticism than others. When I hear "the creator destroyed it in frustration because he was denied credit," it strikes me as the kind of sensationalist narrative people like to invent to make real life seem more dramatic.

It is, of course, entirely possible that neither explanation is correct.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Yeah, that has the ring of "urban legend" to it.

 

[Warped9]

It’s not impossible it could have been stolen, but while TOS was in production no one could possibly have had the idea the show would become hugely popular and any artifacts from it would become valuable and prized.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

One needn't have believed in the ensuing cult status of the franchise and the subsequent high value of the model in question. Maybe the "thief" was personally a fan of TOS.

 

[Christopher]

It’s not impossible it could have been stolen, but while TOS was in production no one could possibly have had the idea the show would become hugely popular and any artifacts from it would become valuable and prized.

The Romulan ship, you mean? I don't think anyone suggested theft, just that there are other ways it could've been discarded, lost, or destroyed beyond the two hypotheses mentioned so far. The very nature of things being lost is that sometimes nobody knows how it happened, because if they'd been paying attention, the thing wouldn't have been lost.

 

[feek61]

Different story—never heard that one. I understand many thought Wah Chang himself destroyed it in frustration because Star Trek wasn’t supposed to employ him because he was not part of a union and as such he never received official onscreen credit for his work.

Well, he continued to do work for TOS through the third season so that does not make much sense to me that he would randomly destroy it for the heck of it.

 

[Warped9]

Well, he continued to do work for TOS through the third season so that does not make much sense to me that he would randomly destroy it for the heck of it.

Perhaps not, but people can sometimes do impulsive things they later regret.

 

[aridas sofia]

It would be interesting if anything related to the construction of the BoP turned up - drawings, construction materials, a small prototype. Anything. That’s what has surprised me over the years- that absolutely nothing that led to the construction of that model has surfaced. We don’t even know whether it was a Wah design, a Wah interpretation of some Jefferies sketches, or a Jefferies design Wah executed. Everything about it seems to be inference and speculation.

 

[Christopher]

Perhaps not, but people can sometimes do impulsive things they later regret.

Except it makes no sense in this case. Look at Wah Chang's IMDb page. Most of his work was uncredited going back to the '40s. So there's no reason to think he'd be upset about it in TOS's case. It would've been business as usual.

 

[feek61]

This is a cool picture of the BOP

 

[JoseNoodles]

These are the same people who lost the Enterprise D (6 or 4? I don't remember) less than 10 years after TNG went of the air?

I think it was the 4ft model and it ended up in a Planet Hollywood. Someone recognized it and contacted Penny Juday who retrieved it.

 

[Warped9]

This is a cool picture of the BOP

It looks like the aft fin is coming off.

 

[TrickyDickie]

I just saw this in my news feed this morning and it got me very excited. I haven't been on the BBS here for a number of months because of being busy with a ton of things. But I knew there would be a lot of discussion here about this story.

Following are photos I took of my Langley & Associates poster that came out circa 1976-1977. The final image is one that someone saved from the ebay auction. I think the find is genuine!

 

[publiusr]

I see a **second** Enterprise at the 1:44 minute mark here:

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AMT or too early?

 

[TrickyDickie]

What confirmed it for me was the very small detail that the first R in ENTERPRISE is slightly tilted to the right versus the second R which is more upright.

 

[Warped9]

I always thought this should have been seen on display in Scotty’s quarters.

It’s heartbreaking to see it in its current state.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I always thought this should have been seen on display in Scotty’s quarters.

It’s heartbreaking to see it in its current state.

Someone will sort it out. It’s got to be easier than the restoration of the Galileo. That thing was trashed at one point.

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[Tallguy]

Someone will sort it out. It’s got to be easier than the restoration of the Galileo. That thing was trashed at one point.

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Well it's easier to store, for one thing.

 

[Dar70]

seller (allegedly) says model is out of their hands and with a "proper team" whatever that means.

Haha. He may have just made that up and is talking to lawyers. If he did not already know what it was worth he certainly does now. I think this thing is gonna eventually end up in a private collection.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I see a **second** Enterprise at the 1:44 minute mark here:

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AMT or too early?

Looks like a paper model to me but not sure