In October of last year, myself and a friend were fortunate enough to be able to vacation in America. We were scheduled to go to Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and New York City. Unfortunately, a little thing called Hurricane Irene put the kybosh on the NYC part of the trip (
), but I did still get to go to Vegas and Washington D.C.
I was incredibly disappointed that I missed the Star Trek Experience in Vegas by only about a year or so, having always wanted to go to it. But I did get to see the Valley of Fire in the Nevada desert, the place where Captain Kirk met his grisly end in Star Trek: Generations. It truly is an alien looking landscape that needs to be seen to be believed.
In Washington D.C. I did get to live out another ambition, however: visit the Smithsonian, and see the original model of the USS Enterprise, used during the filming of the 1966-69 original series. Here is what I saw:
To boldly go where no man has gone before.
A more detailed look at the surface details of the ship. Windows and the 'Federation Delta'. The decals are still very vibrant even today, with the proper 'NCC 1701' fonts and everything (although it may have undergone restoration).
The deflector dish, which was famously a set piece for an action sequence on a later incarnation of the ship in the movie First Contact.
The shuttle bay. Again, superb attention to detail. It isn't a 'practical section' though... the doors are there, but they can't actually open (a seperate miniature set was built for close-up shots when required).
The opposite side of the ship model. You might notice a lack of windows and other details on this angle. That was because it was such a huge and detailed model, that they needed to save costs somehow. This side of the ship was therefore never painted, and was in fact never seen on camera. Whenever you see the Enterprise from this side, it's always because the model has been filmed from the other 'detailed' side, and then the footage has been flipped.
And naturally enough, I had to have my photo taken with it too:
The model isn't displayed alongside other space based exhibits, or even in the pop culture museum. Instead it is located in the bottom floor of the gift shop in the Air and Space Museum, with no signage in the main concourse telling you it's there at all. Well worth seeking out if you're a science fiction geek, though.
), but I did still get to go to Vegas and Washington D.C.I was incredibly disappointed that I missed the Star Trek Experience in Vegas by only about a year or so, having always wanted to go to it. But I did get to see the Valley of Fire in the Nevada desert, the place where Captain Kirk met his grisly end in Star Trek: Generations. It truly is an alien looking landscape that needs to be seen to be believed.
In Washington D.C. I did get to live out another ambition, however: visit the Smithsonian, and see the original model of the USS Enterprise, used during the filming of the 1966-69 original series. Here is what I saw:
To boldly go where no man has gone before.
A more detailed look at the surface details of the ship. Windows and the 'Federation Delta'. The decals are still very vibrant even today, with the proper 'NCC 1701' fonts and everything (although it may have undergone restoration).
The deflector dish, which was famously a set piece for an action sequence on a later incarnation of the ship in the movie First Contact.
The shuttle bay. Again, superb attention to detail. It isn't a 'practical section' though... the doors are there, but they can't actually open (a seperate miniature set was built for close-up shots when required).
The opposite side of the ship model. You might notice a lack of windows and other details on this angle. That was because it was such a huge and detailed model, that they needed to save costs somehow. This side of the ship was therefore never painted, and was in fact never seen on camera. Whenever you see the Enterprise from this side, it's always because the model has been filmed from the other 'detailed' side, and then the footage has been flipped.
And naturally enough, I had to have my photo taken with it too:
The model isn't displayed alongside other space based exhibits, or even in the pop culture museum. Instead it is located in the bottom floor of the gift shop in the Air and Space Museum, with no signage in the main concourse telling you it's there at all. Well worth seeking out if you're a science fiction geek, though.
