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2011-10-15T13:37:00.001-07:00

Archiving my Star Trek collection

2011-09-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

Well, as many of you know, I have a pretty substantial Star Trek collection. I have both props and costumes, and I love my collection dearly, as you all love your own. Now that we are about to be done with auctions at Propworx till the Spring (the Iron Man 2 auction next month will be the last for at least 5 months, we are looking to next do Captain America at C2E2 in Chicago in March), I have tasked my photographer with photographing my entire Star Trek collection. Then I will be having Damaris due a book on my collection that I plan to have printed.

My greater goal is to do a Star Trek book on props, costumes and the collectors who have substantial collections. So I may be calling you guys in the near future.

But look for more articles on my collection here shortly.

Alec

My collection displayed in my old house. Sadly I have much less room in Newport Beach!

The first Vegas display in 2008

Kor costume from Deep Space Nine

2011-09-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

John Colicos played Kor, the first Klingon, in the TOS episode Errand of Mercy. He later went on to reprise that role in 3 great Deep Space Nine episodes, "Blood Oath", "The Sword of Kahless" and "Once more unto the Breach".

I got to know John Colicos when I had him for an event I put on in Pennsylvania in 1999 that was a Battlestar Galactica reunion (John of course played the baddie Baltar in the original BSG). Little did I know it would be his last convention appearance ever, as he soon after passed away. John was a tremendous person, open and friendly and was a huge hit with my crew at the event. At dinner the first night with Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict in attendance, it was John who amused us with his stories of acting with Richard Burton!

I think it was soon after when I was watching Deep Space Nine for a second time that I really started to enjoy John's character. And then, once the It's a Wrap auctions started we all started looking for those costumes that we really wanted. By the time I realized that I wanted this costume, both the hero and stunt versions had been sold in their "Enterprise" re-purposed forms. But the hero shirt, belt and gauntlets came up for sale and I won them. Of course the overseas collector who has the hero jacket doesn't have any of the hero elements so I win there! ;-)

I then tracked down the two costumes, and contacted both parties who won them. One wouldn't sell, but Dave Jackson, of Backlot props, won the stunt costume and so I stayed on him. When he sold everything to Abacus, my opportunity came, and when they put the costume in the Heritage auction last year I won it.

Now both the hero and stunt jackets had been re-purposed for "Enterprise" and had additional fur etc. attached. I removed those elements and was able to put the costume together. The only element I need is the boots, but those have never appeared.

My Propworx photographer, Nick Savoy, took these photos and he is taking photos of a lot of my costumes so I can do more posts like this. I will try and post more often!

Alec

Who Mourns for Galileo?

2011-09-02T00:07:00.000-07:00

A 5 minute video on the restoration and legacy of the Galileo Mock-Up.

This is what happens....

2011-08-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

When your team turns on the brand new alarm system and don't tell you the alarm code! You get a visit from the Police. Who just happened to both be geeks!

I spent about 30 minute giving them a tour of the Propworx offices, showing them the BSG auction items, and my Star Trek collection. Officer Jensen (on the left) asked about my Kor costume and even knew about the Treaty of Organia!

I loaded them both up with Propworx catalogs and they looked like they had a blast.

Alec

The Harriman Maroon

2011-08-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well, finally the Harriman Maroon has surfaced, but not quite in the condition I hoped. This had long been my Maroon of choice (If I couldn't land a Kirk). But when it came to market, it was just Harriman's jacket. The pants were not his, and the shirt wasn't even the right color. I passed.

Now, I don't think the costume was overpriced at $ 6,500. Heck, if it was all his, I think it is a $ 8,500 costume (at least I would have gone that high on a complete Harriman), besting the previous non-principle high of $ 7,600 for the Admiral Catrwright Maroon that IAW sold.

But the problem with a "Frankenstein" costume (as my good friend Adam Schneider would call it) is that you can never say it IS Harriman's Maroon. And that really bothers me. If I have it on display, I would have to say "Well, the jacket is Harriman's, but the pants and shirt aren't." every time I showed it off! Oh that sucks.

Now, that is me. I hope the new owner gets it and loves it and enjoys it. He should, it is still a great piece. It just didn't do it for me, and it was really disappointing to see such a mismatched costume (not the fault of PSOL - I am sure this is the way it came).

I actually would rather have a complete background Maroon that just the Harriman jacket Maroon. Is that weird? Well, maybe. Collecting Star Trek props and costumes is weird in general! I mean we all have our quirks, and that is actually what makes this hobby kinda cool. I mean, Anthony likes different things than Adam, than Dana than Donna and so we all support each other and love it when one another lands a great piece.

Well, just an insight inside the bizarre inner workings of my collecting mind.

Alec

The Prop Store of London Star Trek sales.

2011-08-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

The Prop Store of London has been releasing items all week from the big collection of Star Trek props and costumes it bought recently. I should have been keeping track of prices as the items were listed, as PSOL hides the prices once the sale is made. I hate that practice, as having a record of prices is so useful as so many of us know from using the Star Trek Auction Archive. So I have compiled a list. If you know the prices of any of the items not listed below, please let me know!

Also, PSOL has been posting items at 10am GMT and 10am PST. That means those of us on the West Coast have to wake up at 2am in order to get a shot at the items, which basically sucks! But the things we do for props and costumes.

I will review a couple of the key pieces in coming blogs. A bunch of people have commented on the fact that PSOL will post items that have already been sold. Collectors would like to know they always have a shot at buying something. But PSOL is well known for first offering key items to its best customers before posting them for the public. And there is nothing wrong with this, but collectors feel cheated sometimes. Collectors need to understand that a lot of times it is just better to set a price and sell it to a well off collector and not have to worry about if an item will sell online or at auction.

There are more items coming Monday I am told, but I also hear that we have seen the best of the collection already. So it will be interesting to see what comes our way!

ST II: TWOK Tunic $ 35,000

Captain Kirk Class A $ 24,995

Captain Harriman Maroon $ 6,495

Romulan Warbird Khazara Translight $ 745

Voyager Vidian Model $ 12,459

DS9 Pistol $ 699

TOS Cadet Costume $

AzetBur Klingon Costume $ 7,995

DS9 Blue Jumpsuit $ 1,245

TOS Radiation Suit $ 8,995

TNG Data Tunic top $ 3,750

Generations Mark VI Torpedo $ 1,995

First Contact EVA Rifle $ 5,659 Hero

Yesterday's Enterprise Phaser $ 2,745

Star Trek VI Klingon Mask $ 1,495

TMP Male Engineer Uniform $ 1,245

ST III Vulcan Robe $ 995

Star Trek First Contact Phaser Rifle $ 2,499

Star Trek IV Spock headband $

Star Trek VI Klingon Mask $ 995

Enterprise Soval's ears $ 745

TNG Dustbuster Phaser $ 3,995

Star Trek VI Rura Penthe Mask $ 1,295

Khan Tunic at San Diego Comic Con and Prop Store items.

2011-07-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

The second Khan costume in 4 months has hit the market and it is the iconic (A term very over-used by a certain person) version from which Ricardo Montalban showed off his very real pecs! Certainly this is the most desirable villain costume from the Star Trek movies and since Star trek II is one of the best science fiction movies of all time, the costume is the a legitimate Holy Grail for any Star Trek collector.

This is NOT the costume that was previously sold by Profiles in History at the Bob Justman Auction in 2002. That costume sold for $ 25,000 or so (don't have the exact # unfortunately), but also had boots, his necklace and the bandolier type piece that you see across his chest. This costume, being sold 9 years later, has a price tag of $ 35,000.

Now, the Khan "reveal" wrap and visor display that was sold at Profiles in April originally sold at the Bob Justman auction in 2002. It sold then for $ 25,000 . It sold for $ 32,500 at profiles in April, which was the opening bid and the bottom range of the estimate. If someone has specifics on either of these, please let me know.

So is this Star Trek costume priced right? I think so. This is certainly more desirable than the visor/wrap. And while this is not as complete as the one sold at the Bob Justman auction, it is still probably the most desirable non-TOS costume out there, with the exception of maybe Kirk's ST II:TWOK Maroon. And we know that went for $ 37,500 at Heritage last Fall. (But probably an aberration since I was the under-bidder and absolutely deluded to bid that much. I blame my friend Jack for egging me on!). If the more complete Khan from the Bob Justman auction were to hit the market, it would probably be a $ 40-50,000 costume. So $ 35,000 for a less complete one would make sense.

It will be interesting to see if the Khan piece sells. The two other big pieces from the collection that Prop Store was consigned, The Finnegan costume and the Uhura uniform mini-dress, have both sold already in private sales.

Good Hunting!

Alec

The Shuttlecraft Galileo - Part II

2011-07-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Shuttlecraft Galileo - Part II

By Steve Thomas

The final design of the Shuttlecraft shows a sleek craft that does not allow occupants the headroom to stand up fully (unless you’re under 5-1/2 feet tall). This was intentional as the shuttle was intended to be a compact vehicle, kind of like a mini-van. However, for “The Galileo Seven” episode, it was elected to build (also by AMT) a stand-up interior for best dramatic effect. The rear compartment is larger and even included a magical second hatch not seen on the exterior!

Compare these screencaps with Leonard Nimoy (6’-1”) inside the interior shuttle set, and Mark Leonard (6’) outside the door of the mock-up.

These are the drawings of the finished shuttle by Franz Joseph (Schnaubelt), of the infamous “Star Fleet Technical Manual” and “Constitution Class Blueprints.

The Galileo model kit actually came out in 1974, 5 years after Star Trek was cancelled! The entire line of “Star Trek” models would prove to be very profitable for AMT!

In the series, the Galileo was “destroyed” in “The Galileo Seven” episode, but returned in “The Doomsday Machine” (#35-presumably), “Metamorphosis” (#38), “Journey to Babel (#39) and “Immunity Syndrome” (#47- where it was destroyed again). It appeared as the “Galileo II” in the third season episode “Way to Eden” (#75). It was easier and inexpensive to paint “II” on the mock up than re-letter a new name and designation; but because of the continuity overlook of its second destruction, it should have been “Galileo II” in “Metamorphosis” and “Galileo III” in “Way to Eden”.

POST CANCELLATION

After 3 seasons, Star Trek was canceled in 1969. Paramount donated the shuttle mock up to “The Braille Institute” in Los Angeles, where it was used as a plaything for the young students. However, because of safety concerns, they sold it to Roger Hiseman of Palos Verdes, who wanted it for his older son. For whatever the reason, Mr. Hiseman kept the shuttle in his front yard, where it was considered an eyesore by his neighbors.

They petitioned that it be removed, and luckily for the owner, a man named Stephen Haskins bought the shuttle from him. Mr. Haskins paid about $8500 to restore the Galileo and in 1986, it was unveiled and displayed at the California “Creation” Convention celebrating the 20th anniversary of “Star Trek”.

When not on display, the Galileo was stored in the open (!), uncovered and exposed to the elements. She was restored twice more, but ultimately left to ruin, physical damage and at some point, it was even filled with sand! Here she rots amongst old RVs and busses in California.

HER SECOND RESTORATION

In 1989 for $3000, the Galileo was purchased by Lynne Miller of Akron, Ohio. Her plan was to restore the shuttle once again; ultimately to display it at the National Air & Space Museum alongside the shooting model of the Enterprise. To help raise money for the project, she displayed the shuttle at the “LaGrangeCon” convention in Cleveland, sponsored by the Akron chapter of the “Starfleet International” Star Trek club “USS LaGrange” and Vulkon conventions.

Commemorative t-shirts were sold to raise funds, and con attendees could see the Galileo and the beginnings of her restoration under a tent outside of the con hotel.

Members of her restoration team included Tim Gillespie and William “Buck” Krause. They along with Lynne are members of the USS Lagrange. Here’s a video put together by the “Galileo Restoration” team, documenting her condition before her transport to Ohio, and showing the start of her restoration.

http://galileo.danawheels.net/91-93%20galileo%20photos/galileo91.wmv

Here are pictures of the Galileo kept and worked on in a hangar at the Akron-Canton Airport in 1992. The 2nd pic shows prop-maker Ed Miarecki (l) visiting with restoration team members Buck Krause (c) and Tim Homa (r).

HER 3rd DEMISE

In 1993, the owner and her restoration team had a falling out and parted ways. Not much was known as to the condition of the Galileo after the parting. She was moved from the Akron airport as the hangar property was sold and the hangar demolished. After that, the Galileo’s location was a mystery.

In 2009 on the “Hobbytalk” forum, Phil Broad, who is a Galileo aficionado with an excellent site dedicated to the shuttle, “Cloudster.com”, related these details about the Galileo:

“The woman who owned it had it moved to a sand blasting company in Akron, Ohio. She wanted to have some work done on it but eventually it became clear to the owner of the company that she was not coming back, they never heard from her again and could not reach her via the phone number she left with them.

The mock up sat in their storage yard for over 5 years with no one coming forward to claim it. Finally, I was contacted by a local fan who stumbled across it by accident when he went to that company and who suggested that it needed to be "rescued". Well, he was right but there were so many issues and costs involved that I could not see any practical way to do it.

Last year the company went out of business and their property was cleared out, the Shuttlecraft disappeared at this time. It is not known if the original owner came and got it or if some other fans rescued it or if it was bulldozed. More than likely it was demolished.”

With this discovery, I contacted Tim Gillespie of the restoration team and who lived near the yard, to try to find out more. Tim went out to the yard, and verified that it was no longer there. I’m hoping it may have been taken by someone who recognized what it was, or possibly that it was reclaimed by the owner. Attempts to date to find the owner have failed. At this point I believe once the owner is found, she will be able to reveal if she still has it, sold it, or if it was abandoned and left for trash. I and many others hope it wasn’t trashed.

Recently, on Doug Drexler’s blog “Drexfiles”, Tim Gillespie posted the following in response to a poster who suggested her restoration was “mishandled” by the “USS LaGrange” club. He also supplies details about how the restoration team and owner Lynne Miller parted ways.

This may be a bit late but I want to clarify something concerning the USS Lagrange and the restoration of the Galileo Shuttlecraft.

The Galileo was the sole property of Lynne Miller. Although some chapter members assisted Lynne from time to time and two of our members were handling the actual restoration, all the decisions regarding the shuttle were in the hands of Lynne. As club president at the time (and knowing Lynne as I did), I insisted that anything regarding the shuttle was done purely at Lynne’s discretion and not as an “official” Lagrange project. Lynne was a very difficult person to deal with and when the inevitable problems arose (and they did) I didn’t want any fingers pointed at the chapter. To suggest that the Lagrange “mishandled” the Galileo is completely wrong. We neither owned it nor did we make any decisions regarding it. Whatever happened to the Galileo was completely the responsibility of Lynne Miller.

Personally, I haven’t seen Lynne Miller since 1998 when I left Trek fandom for good. If I had to guess, the Galileo no longer exists or it is in such disrepair that it is no longer salvageable. It was not something you could move around easily and required constant upkeep. Bill and Tom, when they gave up the project due to problems with Lynne, had completed most of the restoration of the main hull. Bill Krause is probably one of the most talented and meticulous people you could ever hope to meet and I assure you what they did with the restoration was first class. However, if this thing has been hauled around from location to location and left outside for any length of time without proper storage, it’s just not going to hold up. You have to remember that it was a prop – meant to be used on a soundstage and then discarded. It wasn’t built to withstand California sandstorms and Ohio winters. The guys did the best they could with it under difficult conditions but God only knows what has happened to it in the last 13 years. I know how much such an iconic piece of Trek history means to many out there, but actually owning this white elephant, if it exists, would be a huge, major undertaking – a veritable money pit, if you will.

Sorry about rambling on so much, but I get a bit touchy when someone disses the’ol Lagrange (not to be confused with the ‘current’ Lagrange).

A NEW DEVELOPMENT

Before completing this article, I thought to see if there might be more recent aerial photos of the Galileo in that yard…then I found this aerial view on Bing:

This appears to be a more recent view of the yard. It shows the shuttle covered in a tarp in another location behind a truck! The yard where she was has been cleared. If this view is more recent then the “Google Earth” or “MS Virtual Earth” views, then it’s very possible the Galileo survives! Either the owner has her or someone else. There may still be “possibilities”!

WHITHER GALILEO?

An attempt is now underway to locate the owner to learn the fate of the Galileo. If she was not destroyed then there is the chance that a prominent “Star Trek” prop collector/dealer and businessman will buy her and (hopefully) see to her final and complete restoration! And if the worst is confirmed, I personally hope that this businessman will consider approaching AMT (now “AMT/ERTL”) to build a new Galileo…the “Galileo II”

SOURCES

Star Trek screencaps – http://www.Trekcore.com

Matt Jefferies drawings - "Forgotten Trek" Frank Ottens http://www.ottens.co.uk/forgottentrek/

Matt Jefferies pic - Mattjefferies.com

Gene Winfield pic and quote - http://www.c-we.com/piranha/GeneWinfield.htm

Thomas Kellog pic - Drexfiles.com

Thomas Kellogg shuttle drawing - "Forgotten Trek"

Jefferies shuttle 3-d model - http://redspar.smugmug.com/3d-Models/Matt-Jefferies-Shuttle-3d/7003916_MNWiB#507218130_QYpdD

AMT shuttle construction pics - Phil Broad

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/STShuttlecraft/GalileoTop.htm

AMT Galileo, Klingon & Enterprise model box covers - Internet

Shuttle blueprint drawings - "Star Fleet Technical Manual" by Franz Joseph (Internet)

Galileo in Roger Hiseman's yard - from Roger Romage

Galileo at Creation Con - Gerald Gurian http://startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com/2008/10/galileo-shuttlecraft.html

Galileo in junk lot - Phil Broad

Galileo at "LaGrangecon" - Greg Tyler - http://www.trekplace.com/article11.html

The Shuttlecraft Galileo - Part I

2011-07-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

The Shuttlecraft Galileo

By Steve Thomas

September 8, 1966…or “Stardate: 6609.8” if you will. A date that marks the television premiere of what would become an American icon in science fiction: “Star Trek”. So much of what came from that show is such a part of our society and of our planet, that’s it’s hard to imagine what things would be like if “Star Trek” had never been.

The iconic starship “USS Enterprise” was the ship that took our imaginations on a great ride. And aboard each version of the Enterprise there have been shuttlecrafts; and of them, the equally iconic “Galileo NCC-1701/7”.

HER REALIZATION

In episode #13 “The Conscience of the King”, Kirk takes Lenore Karidian to the observation corridor that overlooks the hangar deck and refers to the shuttles there.

Though mentioned, the production couldn’t afford to build a shuttlecraft, which is why the transporter was so prominent. Transporter effects were inexpensive versus shuttle effects. In “The Enemy Within” (#5), Sulu and his landing party could’ve been easily saved by shuttle when the transporter (and apparently all transporters) was damaged.

Episode #14 “The Galileo Seven”, finally revealed this previously unseen aspect of the Enterprise. Production designer Walter “Matt” Jefferies, who designed the Enterprise, was asked to design a shuttlecraft. What he came up with was craft that was sleek, smooth and curved.

Its curvilinear lines were evocative of her mothership, but such lines also made it too costly to construct. Jefferies also sketched ideas for other vehicles like this “Space Dock Utility Craft” (look familiar?):

WHO DESIGNED HER?

Gene Winfield

At this point, things get interesting. The model company “AMT” offered to build the full-scale mock-up of the shuttle in trade for the model kit rights (AMT had the license for the Enterprise and Klingon ship models). They turned to custom car designer Gene Winfield, who was head of their “Speed & Custom Shop”.

“We built the [Star Trek] shuttlecraft, full-size shuttlecraft that was two separate units,” Winfield said. “One would be a complete exterior, full size. Then we built the complete interior. This interior had what we called ‘wild’ walls. What you do is you make the walls in four-foot sections on wheels so you can put up one wall and they could film the actors sitting on the seats and whatnot.

Matt Jeffries

Note that he says “built” the shuttle, not “designed” and built. There apparently was some connection with AMT and/or Gene Winfield with industrial designer Thomas Kellogg. He is known for designing the Studebaker “Avanti” – its front end styling similar to the Galileo’s front end). Here is his shuttle design:

It should be noted that in an interview, Matt Jefferies says that Winfield designed the shuttle, but Thomas Kellogg’s obituary also states the he designed the shuttle. I believe it was a collaborative effort, with Jefferies “utility vehicle” selected as a base design by Kellogg, who was working under Winfield; and Jefferies putting the finishing touches on that design. Winfield’s department constructed the finished design.

Were Jefferies original design built, the Galileo would’ve looked mostly like this 3-D model by Vance Bergstrom:

HER CONSTRUCTION

AMT’s offer to build the shuttle allowed the production to go ahead with “The Galileo Seven” episode. Here are pics of the Galileo under construction at AMT Phoenix.

Part II Tomorrow!

Propworx Star Trek Auction II Results - Part 2 The Props

2011-06-28T17:56:00.000-07:00

So here is the second part of the Propworx Star Trek Auction II review. This time we analyze the prop sales.

Now, overall, Star Trek props have settled into a nice rhythm. We tend to know the ranges of most items, and none of them are too pricey, except when you deal with ship models and most of those aren't coming back up for sale.

While not technically a prop, Lot 45, the Excelsior Study model, was a beautiful piece and from the Okudas personal collection. At $ 1,400 it was a pretty good buy in my book.

WEAPONS

There were a bunch of weapons in this auction and they all went at reasonable prices.

The TNG Cobrahead Phaser at $ 1,800 was about right. I am not sure if there is any perceived difference between a light weight roto-cast resin Phaser and a heavier one, but I think all of these type of Phaser in the $ 1,500 - 2,000 range is pretty standard now.

The Nemesis Dolphin Phaser at $ 2,000 proves this too. We don't see many of this type of Phaser and I won this for my personal collection (the only item I really wanted!). If you are a Starfleet weapon completest like I am, I think you will find this one of the harder ones to obtain.

The First Contact Phaser Rifle was production made but never screen used. Still, it hit a strong $ 4,000, which is because this was the type of rifle that Picard used in his scene in his ready room with Lillie. This one is fully lighted and so a great display piece.

The rubber Klingon DIsruptor at $ 1,600 was about right. This is the iconic Klingon disruptor weapon. If you collect weapons, one of these needs to be in your collection. SO I think, even with Buyer's Premium, this is a good deal at under $ 2,000.

The Enterprise version continues not to do well, as this one only hit $ 1,000 with a holster. This is surprising and I see some good potential in these long term. I have one and think if you collect Klingon Weapons, you need one of these. So buy now while prices are low.

The Bajoran Pistol was a rubber stunt I picked up at last year's Profiles in History auction for $ 500 and got $ 750 here. So I was happy as I had recently won a resin one from Profiles. I am not big on having to have a hero prop for my weapon collection, but I do want resin over rubber, and so was happy to upgrade here and make a couple bucks.

The Cardassian Phaser was a beauty and at $ 1,200 pretty fairly priced. These display very well and so I think the winner got a nice piece.

Other weapon prices:

Ferengi Phaser $ 700

Tellarte Pistol $ 300

Son'a Shotgun $ 400

Buster Kincaid Ray Gun $ 1,400

Shinzon Blood Draw Knife $ 1,400

Klingon Pain Stick $ 800

OTHER PROPS

There were 3 Tricorders for sale in this auction, and the screen used ones went very reasonably, while the replica went high! Go figure!

Lot # 68, the hero medical Tricorder went for only $ 2,750. This goes along with the recent trending down of Tricorder prices. The recent sale at Profiles of a Mark VII Tricorder for only $ 2,250 marks an interesting downturn for Tricorders that this sale continues.

Lot # 69 was the solid resin Tricorder with holster that went for $ 1,700, which was reasonable for a nice, very displayable piece.

And Lot # 70, the EFX replica, went for a very strong $ 800. That was a shocker.

The screen used comm badges went for $ 650, 500 and 550, which pretty much sets the market for these items.

The Nemesis Red PAD and Silver PADD went for $ 1,200 and $ 1,000 respctively.

And the best prop in the rest of the auction was the Defiant helm console, which came up for auction again after selling in the first Propworx Star Trek auction.

Now there are a few more props of note and I will cover them in my next post on the auction!

Alec

Star Trek items for sale by Art Director

2011-06-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

Cherie Baker was one of two art directors working with Herman Zimmerman on Star Trek: Nemesis. She contacted me as she had a couple of items for sale. Please contact her directly if you are interested. She can be reached at artqueenla@gmail.com.

This is the crew gift plaque given out by the director to everyone listed on the plaque. This was not screen-used, but a crew gift. It measures 10" x 14" $ 500

This is a Deep Space Nine Technical Manual signed by both Herman Zimmerman and Doug Drexler $ 50

B'Elanna Torres Borg Costume from Christie's

2011-06-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

Well, another significant costume from the Christie's Star Trek auction is up for sale on eBay. And it appears the seller just took it to the local eBay store (those places that will sell your item on eBay for a %) which is a VERY bad idea. However, seller was smart enough to have saved the original invoice as well as providing good pics and a copy of the item in the Christie's catalog. None the less, here is some free advertising for that seller!

The eBay Auction Ad:

Own an awesome piece of Star Trek history - the original B'Elanna's Borg Costume. Two-piece costume with jumpsuit and jacket made from cast latex painted as biochemical hardware and a pair of Borg boots with label inscribed "Roxann Dawson". Designed by Robert Blackman and worn by Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres in Borg from in "Unimatrix" in Star Trek: Voyager. It is in good condition, but not perfect. It has some wear, minor missing pieces of rubber and paint loss. We had to carefully pry the costume apart as it has been in storage since it was shipped from Christie's in 2006 and some of the rubber was "stuck" together. However, we were able to separate it without causing any real damage.

Note that the costume closed at $ 1,875

Propworx Star Trek Auction II Results - Part 1 The Costumes

2011-06-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the Star Trek auction was a big success from a lot of perspectives. Certainly the staff at Propworx is happy with the auction. We have over 300 bidders from 18 countries bidding in this auction. The auction totaled over $ 156,000 in sales.

From the outset the auction was strong with the "Menagerie" Matte painting going for $ 12,000. OK, so it isn't a costume, and I titled this blog "The Costumes". Give me a break! :-) But we made this the first item in the auction because it deserved to be first. Plus, we had a few bidders who we knew would also bid on the Red Dress, and we wanted to get this one out of the way, so the losing bidders could know they could bid on the red mini-dress. The Matte painting is the first TOS matte painting to be offered by an auction house since this was sold over 15 years ago.

Now, when writing this section, I realized that most of the highest selling costumes were from my collection. I really cleared out the closet and trimmed down my collection a great deal. And I liked it too because a lot of my friends from the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum won these costumes and they will now bring joy to them in their collections.

The Celeste Yarnell red mini-dress uniform went for $ 8,000. I could have seen this going for a bit more, but none the less both buyer and seller were happy. The dress was offered with TOS women's boots, which one rarely sees.

In fact both items went to Arnaud from France, a top collector in Europe and Propworx very first customer! It was Arnuad that bought the Battlestar Galactica Viper in 2008. when we had just gotten up to Vancouver. So we were happy that he got these very rare and precious Star Trek artifacts!

The beginning of the auction also had two amazing TNG costumes in the Worf Jumpsuit and the Tasha Yar dress uniform. Both went for identical $ 3,750 bids. The Worf went for $ 3,000 at Christie's, and although this wasn't that exact costume, it was identical, though without rank pins.

The Yar was one of the first costumes I got back in 2006. After the Christie's Star Trek auction, the winner of the Lot that had this and Tasha's jumpsuit, wound up winning a Klingon Costume for almost $ 10,000. he needed to sell the Yar's and I was happy to oblige. I paid $ 1,500 each back then, so I did well in this auction off of it. It is a beautiful costume, but I have her jumpsuit, which I find more appealing. When I had my home in Atlanta, her jumpsuit was displayed next to the Carol Marcus, which made a truly awesome "Women of Star Trek" display.

There are actually boots that go with this that were misplaced in the move. When I find them I will contact the winner.

Lot # 13 was Dr. Bashir's Future uniform from "The Visitor". First off, "The Visitor" is one of the best Star Trek episodes EVER of any version. It is the "Field of Dreams" of Star Trek, because if you are a guy, you will cry. This is all about Jake and his Dad, and Tony Todd gives an emmy worthy performance. So go watch it!

Now, why did I sell this? Well, I bought The Doctor version of this costume from "Endgame" and that gave me all 4 major "Endgame" characters, Admiral Janeway, The Doctor, Miral Paris and Harry Kim. So I have all 3 section colors, plus the Admiral is different in its trim. And I wanted that selection so I could do a cool display. So I really didn't need the Bashir. It is a beautiful costume though and went for a reasonable $ 2,100 with a future combadge!

There were 3 "Captain Proton" costumes in the auction. Of course, they all belonged to me. Last summer, when I didn't get the Captain Proton laser gun from the Profiles in History auction, I kind of lost my interest in the Captain. Plus, now that I live in California and have about 1/3 the space I used to, I have to trim my collection down as I simply do not have the space to display everything. And for me a costume not displayed is a major problem! So I decided to sell these items, and I am happy they found good homes.

The Lonzak costume went for a very reasonable $ 600. It is an amazing costume with lots of cool parts. The Delaney Sisters "Demonica" and "Malicia" costumes went to the same buyer overseas. I am happy that is the case, as I hope the buyer gets two female friends to wear them to a con and then show off photos! The costumes are really beautiful with velvet bodysuits and intricate details.

The final costume from my collection that I am highlighting here, is the Keith Carradine "A.G. Robinson" costume from the Enterprise episode "First Flight". Now this is a standard "Enterprise" blue jumpsuit, in command gold, and this one even had a pair of boots. Though why they are hiking boots I do not know! But this was a great episode and I really liked it. Carradine is of course an accomplished actor and pulled his brash character off well.

I thought this was an important costume when I got it and I think someone got a great deal as this costume only went for $ 1,400. In Starfleet history, AG Robinson was the first human to break the Warp 2 barrier.

Well, that is all for this entry. I will have Costumes Part 2 up tomorrow!

Alec

The Propworx Star Trek Auction Catalog

2011-06-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a CRAZY month of May as we moved the Propworx offices to a smaller and much nicer facility. There is a reception area now and the walls are lined with my best Sci Fi prints and art. We will be having an open house at the end of the month and you will all be invited!

In the mean time, this Saturday is the Second annual Propworx Star Trek Auction! Yeah, let's face it, this needs to be an annual event! We already have a ton of stuff for auction # 3!

But in the mean time, you need to download the beautiful PDF catalog. You can do so here.

While we didn't print a catalog this time (we simply don't sell very many and we don't do enough business to eat the production and printing costs), we did do our usual stellar effort in putting a catalog together. A PDF only catalog allows us a lot of freedom too. We don't worry about page counts and other limitations. We can use more photos and make them bigger. We are just learning how to best do a PDF only catalog, but we hope we will continue the tradition of the best auction catalogs in the business.

Alec

TOS Female Uniform Dress on eBay - Phase II

2011-05-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

The TOS female mini-dress that popped up on eBay last week has caused quite a stir. You can see it here. The discussion has been whether it is a 3rd season or a Phase II and I can tell you pretty conclusively that it is a Phase 2.

I met with Bruce and Laurie Carlson yesterday and they were very nice people. They took plenty of time out of their day to show another collector and myself the costume and admitted they don't know much. Bruce worked on Star Trek 1-6 as a grip and had plenty of stories.

I inspected the costume, and then compared notes with Gerald Gurian, who I consider a very good authority on TOS costumes. Gerald and I recently authenticated a TOS Gold Velour costume, and so I know his expertise and his openness to discussion.

THE COSTUME

The costume is in amazing shape, and comes complete with 3rd season insignia and braid. I will tell you upfront, that the plastic zipper, and the square weave fabric, makes it pretty clear that this is a Phase 2 costume. Note that while the photos show it golden, it is TOTALLY green. Just bad lighting!

Here are the photos:

NOW HOW WE KNOW THIS IS A PHASE II COSTUME

ZIPPERS

TOS season 1-3 costumes had metal zippers with the name "Unique" in on the pull

A Season 1 Gold Command Tunic Zipper

Phase 2 costumes had plastic zippers with a metal pull.

Two Phase 2 Costumes showing plastic zippers

DIAMOND WEAVE

Standard TOS Season 3 wool double knit fabric.

SQUARE WEAVE

This is the fabric that is used on Phase 2 costumes.

A Sample from a known TOS Chapel mini-dress

And the TOS Mini-dress currently on eBay

So a few people who I have talked to concur that this is a Phase 2 costume and not a TOS 3rd season one. Still, it is a beautiful piece and I think it will go over the $ 5,000 starting bid.

Alec

Profiles Auction # 44 results

2011-05-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well, there were few surprises in the Profiles # 44 auction and a bunch of good deals. I am sure the fact that the Propworx auction went live the week before Profiles' auction helped keep the prices reasonable, as there are 2 1/2 times more items in the Propworx auction than Profiles had.

The two big fails, were, as predicted, the Spock costume from TMP (no bids) and the Shuttlepod (no bids). You didn't have to be a genius to know that the TMP Spock Robe was worth maybe $ 15,000 TOPS and that this one would never hit the $ 30,000 reserve. And since Martin Netter already had one Shuttlepod, and was the only guy likely to be interested in something so big, that this one would not sell either.

The biggest shock was the nose cone to the Phoenix, which went for a shocking $ 15,000! That blew me away, but you never know what people like. (There is an unpainted one from Doug Drexler in the Propworx auction).

The Bajoran, Cardassian and Romulan PADDs all went for $ 1,000 which I thought was rich, but not too much so. All were nice pieces. These at $ 1,200 (when you factor in BP) is the high end of the spectrum, but not crazy.

The distressed Archer jumpsuit from Enterprise was reasonable at $ 3,000 ($ 3,600 with BP). The Prop Store has been trying to sell that one for a while, but it was overpriced I felt. An Archer is generally a $ 5,000 costume in good shape, and this one was somewhat distressed. A couple people have asked me about this over the past year or so, so I am happy to see it go at a fair price (and to a respected forum member!).

I also thought the distressed Janeway from "Scorpion" was a solid deal at $ 3,000 ($ 3,600 with BP), as it had a comm badge and a stunt Tricorder. I just don't think you will get a better deal than that. So good buy whoever got it!

Amazingly, the hero Tricorder went for a paltry $ 2,250 ($ 2,700 with BP). That is a steal! I was so tempted to bid on it, but alas I nee dto moderate my buying habits and I just made a big score that took my budget for the year! But what we have seen lately, after last year's Tricorder bonanza in Profiles June 2010 auction, was prices going down for Tricorders. I think now is the time to buy one.

Now the costumes with Mannequins were interesting. A couple sold well and most didn't sell at all! Here is a rundown:

TNG $ 1,700

ODO $ 3,000

DS9 $ 1,900

Neelix PASSED

Vidian PASSED

Nausican PASSED

Kazon PASSED

KESS PASSED

Lawxana Troi PASSED

Romulan Female PASSED

Borg $ 12,000

Quark $ 5,000

Overall, a good auction, but the starting prices were too rich on some good items.

Alec

Propworx Auction live on Live Auctioners!

2011-05-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

The Propworx Star Trek auction, consisting of 257 lots of props, costume & set pieces, will be held starting at 10am PST on Saturday, June 4th. But you can start bidding and see the entire catalog now by signing in to Live Auctioneers here:

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/25105

There are some awesome items in this auction, inlcuding:

Celeste Yarnel's Red Duty Dress from "The Apple"

And the only Star Trek TOS matte painting I know to have been sold!

Starbase 11 from "The Menagerie"

So check out the auction and make sure you sign up and get approved before hand!

Alec

Propworx Star Trek Auction site live!

2011-05-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

The Propworx Star Trek auction will have over 200 Star Trek props, costume, original art and more in it, and the Propworx Star Trek web site is up and running with blog posts about different items.

Now, as many of you know, Propworx is my company. I started it when Battlestar Galactica was coming to an end in 2008 because I didn't want us collectors to have to deal with It's a Wrap again after the Star Trek auctions and the non-stop customer service problems.

I think over the past 2 and a half years we have proven to be the most collector-friendly auction house out there. We have a passion for what we do, and nothing is more important to us than Star Trek. So I am sure you will find this a really awesome sale and even find some amazing TOS pieces that you haven't seen before.

So check out the Propworx Star Trek site every day as new content goes up!

Alec

Profiles in History Auction 44 - Part 2 Props

2011-04-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

There is a fair number of props in the Profiles auction. All the basics are here, phasers, tricorders and the usual Geordi VISOR. (There seems to be one of these every single Profiles auction). So here are some thoughts.

Lot # 1484, 1485 & 1486

These are three early TNG props, all made from balsa wood. Very cool and very rare. Their rarity is balanced out by the fact that they are less desirable to most collectors than resin ones. There is a Dustbuster phaser and two static tricorders. In this market, I think they are $ 800-1,000 props.

There are 4 PADDs in this auction, and represent a few major races. PADDs are pretty common, but also good looking, easily displayable props. I have a bunch and love them all.

The Klingon PADD (Lot 1492) one is the least interesting Klingon PADDs I have seen. Really rather boring. I think the $ 400-600 estimate is pretty right-on. I would say $ 400 max if I was buying. The last one, which went in Auction # 40 last summer (Lot 1469), went for $ 450 and was much nicer than this one.

The Romulan PADD (Lot 1493) is very cool. I have one of these and like it as I love all things Romulan. Relaly looks great in person. This one should go around $ 600.

The Cardassian PADD (Lot 1494) is also a nice piece and again, probably a $ 600 item.

Lot 1497 is a TNG era PADD. Simple, there are a bunch of these in existence. Don't go over $ 500 on this.

The Klingon Knife, Lot 1491, is a staple of prop collecting, especially if you like Klingons. Like the Bat'Leth, it is instantly recognizable and thus very popular. I think the estimate is way low. This is a $ 1,500 item easy.

The Ferengi Triocorder is interesting as you don't see these often, but I am not sure there will be a lot of interest. The Ferengi just aren't that popular (except with Francis!) and so I will be surprised to see this break $ 1,000.

The Hypospray, Lot 1496, is another important prop and I think this too goes around $ 1,000 -1,500. A lot of collectors like the staples and this one looks like a nice one, with a brass tip and a plexiglass vial.

Lot # 1498 is a Mk VII Tricorder and pretty cool. This one is supposedly functional, but not working at this time. I am not sure why Profiles wouldn't have this fixed. So I would want more info on this. Working Tricorders have been going in the $ 4-5,000 range. This one might go in the $ 3,000 range, and is worth it at that level, but without verification that it works, not more. The Mk VII that went in Auction # 40 went for $ 4,250 and was much nicer and worked.

Now why does Profiles have a ridiculous $ 800-1,200 estimate? That is just absurd. I wish auction houses would stop playing games with estimates. I mean I understand perfectly why you estimate low, you want people to think it is affordable, but at least be realistic.

There are a few more staples of Star Trek collecting. A Romulan Disruptor pistol, a Cobrahead phaser and of course Geordi's VISOR. It amazes me how many of these come up for auction. The last one sold, in Auction # 40, went for $ 4,500. The estimate for this one is appropriately $ 4,000-6,000.

Lot # 1517 is a lot fo 5 Tribbles from "Trials and Tribbleations". The last time Profiles has a group of these was in Auction # 40 (Lot 1493) and it went for $ 1,800 for 10 Tribbles, or $ 180 each. Pretty fair. This lot has 5 Tribbles so should go in the $ 900- 1,000 range.

Well, that is it for now. More next week.

Alec

Profiles in History Auction 44 - Part 1 Costumes

2011-04-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

So, Profiles will have 103 Star Trek lots in their upcoming auction. But 22 of these lots are mediocre original art from Lincoln Enterprises that really aren't relevant for a prop & costume collector. Thus we have 81 items, and there is a good selection of props, costumes, original art and even a full size Enterprise Shuttelpod.

The two iconic pieces in this auction are the Khan costume head piece and the Spock robe from the beginning of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The Khan piece has a $ 30-50,000 price, which I think is high.

The Star Trek market has been flooded since 2006 and this piece sold originally in the Bob Justman auction in 2002. At that time it sold for just under $ 30,000. But at that time Star Trek costumes were much harder to get, and TNG and later costumes were selling for 2-3x what they now get. However, this is a very important piece, so I am going to be very interested to see what it gets. If it opens at $ 30,000 it might not sell. From talking to my collector friends, the general consensus seems to be that this is a $ 20-25,000 piece.

Profiles of course, has a lot of buyers who have the money to drop $ 30,000 though, so it will be interesting to see. It is a beautiful display by Star Trek collector Tom Spina.

The Spock TMP costume is totally overpriced. A $ 30-40,000 bid is just not realistic. Profiles started this last auction with the overpriced "Roberta Lincoln" and "Lenore Karridian" costumes in their last auction, both of which had absurd $ 20,000 opening bids and neither of which sold. This costume is cool, but a $ 15,000 costume max. And more like $ 10,000. So how do they get $ 30,000? It is far from iconic and I will say if you spend $ 30,000 on this you are nuts.

THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA ORIGINAL STAR TREK COSTUMES FROM THE EX HIBITION STARTREK:THETRADITION CONTINUES

The Paley Center for Media is a permanent collection of over 45,000 television programs, 20,000 radio programs and 10,000 commercials, encompassing comedy, drama, news, game shows, children’s programs to political conventions. The shows include concerts, sporting events, science fiction, TV movies and miniseries. The following lots (Lots 1518-1531) and previous (Lots 1490-1504, 1513,1514) were part of the exhibition, “Star Trek:The Tradition Continues,” with life-size custom-made mannequins, most adorned with make-up appliances painted and dressed by Paramount, modeling the original uniforms from the Star Trek series and are being sold to benefit television and film preservation.

So the above costumes were loaned by Paramount to The Paley Center and for some reason, The Paley Center is now selling them. I got called by CBS about these. I had hoped they would go into a CBS Star Trek archive (which they don't have). None the less, CBS's loss is your gain! These are nice pieces and already on mannequins. And the mannequins are pretty cool. A lot of Voyager pieces though. Not my favorite.

There are also Janeway and Archer captain's costumes, both of which are distressed and have been floating around a lot lately. These should sell in the $ 3-4,000 range since good ones sell about $ 5,000. Don't go overboard on these and look for a bargain. Otherwise pass.

The Captain Archer jacket is nice. You don't see a lot of these, so I like this. It should be a $ 2,500-3,500 item.

I will review the props and then the artwork seperately this week, so stay tuned!

Alec

Details on the Khan costume piece in Profiles Auction

2011-04-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

So I found out who consigned the Khan piece and it is a legitimate collector who is a Propworx customer and a very nice guy. The costume was originally part of the Bob Justman collection. Why Profiles didn't state this, since this was their auction, is beyond me.

Here is what the collector said to clear up any confusion over the piece:

"I bought the piece in the first big Profiles Star Trek auction all those years ago.

I bought it along with Khans tunic, Khans glove, Khans necklace, Khan's wrist comunicator, and various wires and other jewelry.

All of the costume pieces had labels saying Montalban/khan etc. The helmet has no label, never did.

All the pieces came out together and were verified by various star trek experts.

In addition, if you watch the movie, it is clear there was only one helmet-- in the botany bay, all the other helmets are already off, and gone from the scene.

In the exterior sand storm shot, there is only one helmet that looks like this-- most don't have metal and have different shapes.

After the bloated budget of the first ST movie, Khan was made on a shoe string budget, and all the making ofs describe how few version of the costumes and props there were. Very few hero anything.

Additionally, looking at close up photos and screen grabs, the mesh work is very elaborate and the same-- hard to duplicate.

And there is a scratch on the metal under the screen right "eye" that screen matches up.

The shoulder wrap I acquired separately years later from David Jackson (Backlot Props) -- who despite its Paramount and Khan tags (which can be seen on the Profiles blog site) came in a pile of WB clothing. Who knows why. I just thought it would look great with the helmet which it does.

Tom Spina built the display."

Thanks to the collector for providing this information. One other note. It is ALWAYS the responsibility of the seller to prove the authenticity of an item, not the potential buyer to prove it is not. Profiles needs to provide information like this up front. The burden of proof is on the seller.

Alec

Why you never trust an auction house.

2011-04-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Don't trust, just verify! That is a change on the old "Trust, but verify" slogan of the nuclear arms treaties, but very accurate. I have said it over and over. Just because a well-known auction house is selling something, doesn't mean it is real. Profiles in History has attempted to sell fake items many times.

The Planet of the Apes statue that was on the cover of Profiles 28th auction was a total fake and this was uncovered with minimal effort it seems. Something Profiles didn't do.

Meanwhile in Auction # 37 the cover item, a supposedly rare Dracula poster, which Joe Madelena swore was real, turned out to be a fake, and one of many that some collectors had forged and were trying to pass off.

Now we have the Rocky Boxing gloves. These are fake too and Sylvester Stallone's attorneys have now sent a cease and desist order to Profiles in History threatening legal action if the items are not removed. Read it on The Prop Blog here.

And on TMZ here.

In Star Trek we had the fake Jem Hadar Battlecruiser that I wrote about here.

So what does this mean to Star Trek collectors? BUYERS BEWARE. Yeah that old saying still goes.

What is the provenance of an item?

Who has authenticated it?

Most of this information is never given and you can't simply trust an auction house that is selling thousands of items a year. You need to do your research!

Alec

"Errand of Mercy" Chair found!

2011-04-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

Jason White is one of the top prop & costume collectors in the country, who I met at the Christie's Star Trek auction along with his brother. He is also a big Star Trek fan and a Star Trek Prop Forum member. He recently acquired a piece of Star Trek history and wrote about it on the forum. I asked him to publish it here.

From Jason:

A genuine antique hand carved throne chair used in numerous historic films and TV shows, the main one I was interested in was of course Star Trek. We also found it in an 1940 Karloff/Lugosi/Lorre movie so that was exciting. Who knows where else it will show up.

With numerous studio markings underneath from all the different prop houses it came from, started off in the RKO prop house, when the decline of RKO began in 1948 it was bought out by eccentric tycoon Howard Hughes, who eventually sold it to a tire company. It was soon purchased by Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz in 1957, who made it part of their "Desilu Studios." Eventually, the RKO/Desilu property was swallowed up by its massive neighbor, Paramount Studios.

STAR TREK - THE ORIGINAL SERIES (1966-1969)
Errand Of Mercy ( Season One )
Used by John Abbott who played "Ayelborne" the leader of the Organians
When Kirk and Spock visited their world in 2266

YOU'LL FIND OUT (1940)
Starring Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre
The only pairing of these legendary actors
Puppets from King Kong and the un-finished Creation also appear in this film

CITIZEN KANE (1941)
Starring Orson Wells, Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead

THE SPANISH MAIN (1945)
Starring Maureen O'Hara and Paul Henreid

AT SWORD'S POINT (1952)
Starring Maureen O'Hara and Cornel Wilde

THE UNTOUCHABLES (1959-1963)

I-SPY (1965-1968)
Return To Glory (Season One)
Starring Robert Culp, Bill Cosby and Dolores Del Rio

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (1966-1973)

The search continues...

This was originally sold by Paramount when they liquidated some furniture at one of the top auction houses, the auction didn't get much press as the auction house weren't allowed to use the studio's name which is why a lot of collectors missed the auction.

Didn't make sense to me but bargains could be had if you did your homework. There were a lot of TOS Trek pieces sold at that auction as they used props from the old RKO prophouse. The goal is to track these treasures down. Most pieces have been scattered all over the world, mostly to antique shops as most of these items were rare one of a kind antiques.

There was another matching chair sold at the time which has been screen matched to an old episode of the 50's Superman show. This chair here has been screen matched to the Trek episode.

You can see 2 chairs on screen at the same time in Citizen Kane and At Sword's Point.

Thanks to Jason for the great information!

Khan Mask to be sold at Profiles Auction

2011-04-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

Profiles in History will be offering what is claimed to be the mask Ricardo Montablan wore in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The display is nice, but as always, what is the provenance on this piece?

Profiles will be having a number of Star Trek items in their May Hollywood Auction 44, but so far, this is the only significant piece in the auction.

More reviews of the other items they have shortly.

Alec

QMX releases Star Trek Phaser replica

2011-04-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Having seen the prototype of this at San Diego Comic Con, I can tell you this is a great deal for a high quality replica. QMX, like EFX, does great work and I highley Reccomend this!

From the QMX Press Release:

The Best Diplomat: A Fully Activated Phaser Bank

Got pesky Romulans lurking in the shadows? Or Klingons off the starboard bow? All you need to ward them off is this gleaming 1:1 scale, screen-accurate replica of the stunt phaser used in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek.

Our replica has been cast from a first-generation master of the screen-used phaser. Its solid polystone core is precision metal-plated in several finishes – steel, gunmetal, aluminum block and chrome – to create an exact match of the actual hero phaser used in the movie.

The QMx Enterprise Metal-Plated Phaser Replica measures 10.5" long x 7" high (grip included) and weighs more than one pound. It comes with a custom-designed display stand in smoke-colored lucite and includes a brass name plaque.

All this for just $49.95.

USS Enterprise model from Sci Fi Museum not what it claims.

2011-03-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

The 6' Enterprise model that has been on display at the Sci Fi Museum, allegedly from "Trials and Tribbleations" sold for $ 10,000 on eBay. However, it is pretty clear this model was never used in the episode.

This was a model made for sale at Star Trek: The Experience. I have no idea how this seller claims this was used in Trials and Tribbleations. It clearly was not. Like the Jem Hadar Battleship that Profiles in History withdrew, this is not a screen-used model, but from the molds at best. And most likely, since Greg Jein built the original for that episode, not even that.

An Enterprise model on sale at the Star Trek Experience

The Enterprise on display at the SF Museum

The owner had Nichelle Nichols and George Takei sign the model. Every collector who has ever seen this has cringed.

Copies of the seller's original receipts only prove it is a souvenir!

1) Paramount didn't make the models for Star Trek. These were always outsourced to different model or prop shops, or in the case of the actual "Trials and Tribbleations" Enterprise, Greg Jein.

2) There is no proof this was in anyway used for "Trials and Tribbleations".

3) No actual screen used models were sold at Star Trek: The Experience. Some of these models may have come from the original molds, but none were ever screen used.

4) Paramount never let out models from Star Trek. They were almost all sold at the Christie's auction.

The eBay auction ad can be found here.

From the eBay auction ad:

I am the first private owner of this genuine USS Enterprise (TOS) model that has been on display at the Seattle Science Fiction Museum for the part several years. The model was one of several built by Paramount Studios for the 1996 5th season Star Trek: DS9 episode "Trials and Tribble-ations"; which was produced as a 30th Anniversary tribute to TOS. It is approximately 6 feet long and three feet wide. It is not lighted. I personally had Leonard Nimoy and John Delancie sign the model in Las Vegas where I purchased it from the Star Trek Experience in 1999. I then had it signed by Nichelle Nichols and George Takei at the Science Fiction Museum. I am the person in the green shirt standing with them. I have included photos of the original receipt, the letter of loan and renewal and the insurance document from SFM. The model has always been professionally packed and will be shipped to the buyer in the packaging from the SFM - shipping will be via motor freight and will be billed at actual cost. There are minor scuffs in places, but overall it is in museum condition. This model was not used in the filming of the episode but was made at the same time in the same molds as the "hero" model that was lighted for the episode - that model is still in the possession of Paramount Studios.

It's truly a unique collectible for the Star Trek aficionado. This may be the only opportunity you have to own a NCC-1701 model made directly by Paramount.

Thanks to all on the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum for their insight and thoughts!

Monster Maroon Guide

2011-03-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

I found these two great images on Google and thought I would share them. They are a good guide to teh Monster Maroon of Robert Fletcher.

Consignments Closing for the Propworx Star Trek Auction

2011-03-08T13:51:00.000-08:00

This is the last week for consignments for the Propworx Star Trek auction, scheduled for May. If you have any interest, please contact Jarrod@propworx.com. Jarrod is my right hand man when it comes to Star Trek and is the point person for all Star Trek consignments.

Here are some of the great items in the auction, which will have about 200 items.

Celeste Yarnel's "Lt. Landon" Uniform from "The Apple" with boots!

Klingon Disruptor

Star Trek: First Contact Phaser Rifle

The Jem'Hadar Pistol

2011-03-04T09:26:00.000-08:00

The Jem'hadar pistol was seen as an alien weapon as well (without the front cowl). This one is from my collection. I also got the Jem'Hadar rifle from Profiles as well at the same auction.

We see a lot of the Jem'Hadar pistol in "One Little Ship"

Used by both sides!

A close up of the pistol from "Tacking Into the Wind"

The last pistol was sold in Profiles in History Hollywood Auction 40, June 2010

Lot 1515. Hero Jem'Hadar Pistol from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. (Paramount-TV, 1993-99) Cast resin pistol with vacuum-formed hood, painted grey with color accents. First used in the episode, "The Jem'Hadar," and subsequently used throughout the series. Built by HMS Creative Creative Productions and measures 9 in. long.

Sale price $ 1,800

Per Star Trek guru Jorg Hillebrand:

The Jem'Hadar pistol, in this incarnation without any modifications, appeared in three more episodes. It was seen as a mirror universe weapon in "Through the looking glass" (used by Smiley O'Brien) and "Shattered mirror" (used by the Intendant).

In "Marauders", two dirty Jem'Hadar pistols were seen as nondescript alien weapons.

The Bajoran Phaser Rifle

2011-02-23T18:58:00.000-08:00

First seen in the season 3 Star Trek:Deep Space Nine episode "Shakaar", the Bajoran Phaser Rifle was shorter and bulkier than other phaser rifles, but its differences made it interesting.

The Original Production Sketch of the Bajoran Phaser Rifle by Jim Martin

From Star Trek: The Magazine

Deep Space Nine: "Shakaar"

Voyager: "Flesh & Blood"

The most recent sale of one of these rifles was in Profiles in History Hollywood Auction 40 for $ 2,250.

Thanks to Jorg Hillebrand for the screencaps! I have asked Jorg to review every new post and add what he thinks is important. If you don't know Jorg, he is the premier Star Trek resource. If you need to know something Star Trek, he is your man, and frequents the Star Trek Prop Forum.

Robert Fletcher Article from "Fantastic FIlms"

2011-02-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

This article appeared in the February, 1980 issue of "Fantastic Films". It is a must read for any Star Trek costume collector!

Click on the images to enlarge, and then adjust your screen to read the text.

A Tale of Two Death Stings Part 2

2011-01-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

The Klingon Death Sting is an interesting weapon, as it was seen before, in the middle of, and after the development of the other type of Klingon Disruptor. That type, which we all recognize as THE Klingon Disruptor of the DS9 era was first seen in Star Trek III. It was later changed to have a "beakie" nose in TNG and later.

We first see the Death Sting in Star Trek: TMP, but not really! It is actually stuck in its holster and we only see the butt sticking out of the first officer's holster.

In Star Trek III we see the version we are all so familiar with, but before the "beakie" nose.

ST III Klingon Disruptor - note the nose

In Star Trek VI, we are back to the Death Sting, but now it is a different color and the actual prop is cast off a TMP version. It now has a solid back.

General Kord with a Death Sting. Notice it is missing the "tube" on the right side!

TNG starts off with all Klingons using the Death Sting.


In the TNG episode "The Icarus Factor" we see 8 Klingons with Death Stings in their Holsters

The Emissary - K'Ehleyr has a Death Sting in her holster

"Sins of the Father" - Note Kurn's holster

However, in "Redemption Part I, Klingons have switched to the Beakie Disruptor.

"Redemption Part I" - Note the silhouette on the right

"The Chase" - The Beakie is in full force!

"Firstborn" - We see the full beak!

The Beakie was developed because the Star Trek III style kept breaking when actors pulled it from the holster.

And then Deep Space Nine kept the Beakie Disruptor from the outset.

"Past Prologue" - We see the Beakie the whole series.

A Tale of Two Death Stings Part 1

2011-01-20T10:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I recently bought a hero resin and metal Klingon Death Sting from a collector friend. This was the version built for Star Trek V and used in TNG. What is great is that I own a Death Sting from TMP, which I have written about before here.

So I decided to have my photographer at Propworx take some detailed photos and we can start doing some comparisons and matching. I went back and reviewed the previous artciles I wrote and thought that since I now have two versions we might be able to get some more detailed info on the history of this weapon.

So next week will write some more on these weapons and we will see what more we can learn. And if you own one of these, please email me and let me know. I would love to see other versions of this.


TMP Death Sting

Star Trek V Death Sting

The Sword Of Kahless

2011-01-12T00:12:00.000-08:00

Acquired from It's a Wrap, this is one of three stunt Sword of Kahless that were made for the Deep Space Nine episode "The Sword of Kahless" and then reused in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Prophecy".

When it came on eBay in fall of 2008 I was on the set of Battlestar Galactica and remember calling Max Cervantes, the well known propmaker, and asking him about the swords. He told me that three stunt swords were made.

Another stunt sword surfaced recently and my good friend and fellow big Star Trek collector Donna Sakaida bought it. Though not from an offical source it proved similar to mine.

ST XI Romulan Disruptor in Detail

2011-01-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some detailed photos of the Romulan Disruptor from Star Trek 2009.

Propworx Star Trek Auction II - Call for Consignments

2011-01-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

This April, Propworx will hold its second Star Trek auction. We already have over 125 items and there are some great props & costumes including a matte painting from TOS and Celeste Yarnell's TOS Red mini-dress uniform.

If you are interested in consigning to the auction, please email me at alec@propworx.com.

Alec

Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Blog makes "Top 100 Sci Fi Blogs" list!

2011-01-07T00:12:00.000-08:00

OK, so it isn't "Entertainment Weekly", but the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Blog got voted to the 100 Top Sci Fi Blogs by the "Guide to Online Schools".

So I wonder if this is just an elaborate SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ploy, as last year in December, we got voted to a similar Star Trek list for the Radiology Technician's School website! This is what they spend their time on?

Whatever, it is nice to be Noticed!!

Alec

Working on the blog!

2011-01-04T12:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it is time for a change. And so the four year run on the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction blog is going to see a design change. I haven't been happy with Blogger for years, but now they offer more design options. Most importantly the way images are managed is soooo much better on the new system so I have switched over. I will be making more changes over the next few days, so stay tuned. Hopefully you find this format easier to read and navigate.

Alec

Profiles Auction Results

2010-12-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

Well, Profiles Auction # 43 went off this past Friday & Saturday and I think it went true to form. Most items went about where one would expect and the items with the high reserves didn't sell. There were also some good bargains.

Here is the rundown:

Lot # 992, TOS Insignia $ 5,500

Well, this really is a premier piece of TOS history and I think it is a reasonable price. The fact that it is from the William Theiss collection is important and make the piece more valuable. You got to love solid provenance (especially since that is never something Profiles reveals much).

Lot # 1004, Starfleet HQ concept sketches $ 1,000

I liked this lot and I think it is a good price. Basically $ 500 each. I was close to going for this, but the holidays have money tight and I passed. Besides, I just pent a ton on some private sales. If the winner wants to sell one to me, let me know!

Lot # 1009, Maroon $ 5,500

Well, this piece wound up right where I expected it. The Sulu pieces drove up the price one would expect for a standard Maroon. So I think the buyer (A good friend of mine) did well with this.

Lot # 1025, Hero Boomerang Phaser $ 3,750

A good price on this I think. I think it could have gone at $ 5,000 no problem. So whoever got this did well.

Lot # 1027, Counselor Troi Monitor $ 1,200

This was a very good deal, maybe the best of the auction. A good character piece that will look great on display (something you all know is important to me!). At $ 1,200 plus BP it is a steal.

Lot # 1031, Picard Starfleet Academy Marathon Wall Placard $ 425

Another really good deal. This piece is an important piece of Star Trek history as we know Picard won the Starfleet Academy Marathon from "Best of Both Worlds Part One". So I like this piece and at this price a STEAL!

Lot # 1034, Brent Spiner Tricorder $ 2,000

Wow, this was another steal! $ 2,000 for a stunt Tricorder isn't bad. This one is attributed to Brent Spiner, which I generally don't give any credence too, but it was attributed by William Dolan, Set Decoration Lead from Star Trek: Insurrection. So it is OK in that case I guess.

Here are a few of the lots that did not sell:

Lot # 995 William Theiss Costume Sketches $ 2,000 is just too high a starting bid. And obviously the lot isn't worth this much. Considering I bought a Captain Kirk costume sketch from TMP for $ 1,000, this lot should have started at that and may have finished around $ 1,500.

Lot # 996 Teri Garr "Roberta Lincoln" costume

A $ 20,000 opening bid is absurd. This costume is a $ 10,000 costume at best if you got lucky and got the right bidder who was rich, didn't have any sense about them, and loved that episode. So good luck finding THAT collector! It just isn't that important a costume!
Lot # 997 Barbara Anderson "Lenore Karidian" costume

If a $ 20,000 opening bid was absurd for the Teri Garr costume, it is insane for this one. This costume is a $ 5,000 costume at best. Mediocre costume, mediocre episode. MEH.

If this consignor came to me and asked for these reserves I wouldn't take the costumes. A waste of time.

Lot # 1026 Dummy Borg Head

Well, this started and failed to open at $ 1,000. This should have started at $ 500, but not a bad buy at $ 1,000 since everyone loves the Borg.

Well, I would love to hear what you won. Please post it on the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum!

Alec

Profiles Auction 43 today and tomorrow

2010-12-17T09:28:00.000-08:00

Profiles in History has its 43rd Hollywood memorabilia auction today and tomorrow (Dec. 17 & 18) and it really is a great selection of props & costumes for all genres. And after the disaster that was the Piece of the Past auction yesterday, Profiles is a welcome breath of fresh air.

The Star Trek items will be Saturday since they are later in the auction. What is cool is there are some good TOS and TMP items.

I think the TOS patch set is really impressive. It has an estimate of $ 2,500-3,500 which I think is reasonable and it comes from William Theiss' personal collection, so the provenance is good.

The William Theiss costume sketches, lot # 995 has an awesome Osira costume sketch from That Which Survives, which I love. It also has a "Lenore Karidian" costume sketch from Conscience of the King. I have come to really enjoy costume sketches, and the Kirk one I own, by Robert Fletcher, is hanging over my Mantle.

There are two TOS costumes. The Teri Garr "Roberta Lincoln" costume from Assigment Earth and the "Lenore Karidian" costume from Conscience of the King. Now the Teri Garr costume is awesome as it is from a well loved episode and worn by a famous actress. However, the estimates of both costumes at $ 20-25,000 seem way high to me. The Teri Garr costume I see in the $ 10,000-15,000 range, and the Karidian costume in the $ 5,000 range. The Karidian is just not that important a costume.

The Original Concept Artwork of Vulcan Temple from Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a beautiful and very big piece by legendary artist Robert McCall. There is something to be said for owning a piece of Star Trek art by a famous artist (if you love their work). I bought a Bob peak preliminary for Star Trek III the Search for Spock and it is a beauty.

Sadly, my new apartment in California is much smaller than my huge townhome in Atlanta and my wall space is limited! Even my costumes are no longer on display in my home (thank goodness for my office). Anyway, I am a big believer that everything needs to be on display. and now I find that is always a factor in my purchases.

The Maroon is nice, but not a complete Sulu, so that will appeal only to a certain segment who don't mind paying a higher amount for a partial. I am not in the market for a Sulu, so I can't get too excited myself, but still a nice piece.

However, why is the jacket so wrinkled? You never see Maroons like this because the fabric is so thick. You can see this affects only the left side (as you look at it) and it is pretty clear that this wrinkle stops at the center seam. I would not be inclined to bid on it unless I got to inspect it because of this. The estimate is fair and I think $5,000 is not unreasonable.

Overall there are a lot of good items in this auction. I think what we are all seeing is there are so many good items out there (Propworx already has over 100 items for its March Star Trek auction, and that is just from two collectors!) that you have to be picky and you can afford to be.

Finally, Profiles in History has once again switched auction software providers from Live Auctioneer, which we at Propworx found had a serious bug in it, to iCollecter, which Profiles had switched to before, and then switched back to Live Auctioneer.

I would be VERY interested in hearing what you all think of the bidding experience between both providers as Propworx is thinking of switching to iCollector because of the bidding bug in Live Auctioneer (It sometimes shows you as the high bidder and then you don't win the item).

Best of luck to everyone bidding.

Alec

Piece of the Past cancels auction at last minute!

2010-12-16T19:05:00.000-08:00

Well, this auction has been a disaster since we first found it. And now, with 3 minutes left. the auction site closed down.

SHILL BIDDING?

Well, here is why. With just under 9 minutes to go, I see my bids are almost all bid up to the EXACT maximum. (3/4 were bid up to the max I had put in and 1 was just under). Now what are the odds of this considering how different my bids were? I took a shot of the bid summary at that time, and here it is:

I contacted POTP at 6:52 and told them to call me as I suspected foul play. Because of this, they canceled the auction. They felt it would look bad, and it probably would.

And then when I wrote that this smacked of shill bidding, they wrote:

"No idiot it doesnt what it smacks of is you sabotaging the auction from start to finish"

OK, well, calling me an idiot is not the way to resolve an issue.

Star Trek Forum User Philippe had the same problem:

Well I noticed exactly the same thing. I had a bid on one item 1 hour ago at my maximum and I was already feeling it weird but possible if we follow the increments process.

So I did increase my bid just in case to what I thought would be still a fair price but less than what we saw in PIH auction for the same item. Then my bid went fast to exactly my new limit. Was going to look at the number of bids to compare with previous one when the system "crashed".

You can imagine I feel this is a bit awkward. So hopefully somebody will have bid more than me during the crash because if not there is no way I will pay for this unless I know exactly what happened and I can see the bidding history. Even so would trust the bids if those are from someone from the forums. If not would still feel fishy.

Guess the forums will have quite a few comments to come on this auction.

Cheers,

Philippe.

AUCTION DISASTER

This auctions has been a disaster from Day 1.

1) Fake items

2) Wrong photos

3) Bad descriptions

4) Failure to disclose damage

5) No provenance

6) Crappy software

And then instead of coming on the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum and taking feedback, all Kevin did all week was bitch about collectors who knew nothing and whine that a member of the forum was using the name "Star Wares", which is the name of a company he supposedly bought. (No trademark, and no licensed business in CA, despite claims of both by Kevin Martin).

Was I wrong to want to cancel my bids? This auction was a disaster. I wanted to see it successful, and that is why I went to see the stuff and posted photos. But when you have fake items, and the photos and descriptions are so bad, and there is no provenance, well you are setting yourself up for failure.

I look forward to discussing this with you all on the Forum.

Alec

Piece of the Past final analysis

2010-12-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened with this auction since I first found out about it two weeks ago. I have tried to be open and fair with Kevin Martin and the Piece of the Past Star Trek Auction he is running. Being that he is new to Star Trek auctions, I have tried to help, and have done a lot of work trying to authenticate many of the pieces. It is obvious that there were fakes mixed in with real items which is always a problem.

The biggest problem is the same problem we see over and over in this hobby. People assume that since an item was sold in an auction at Christie's or Butterfield's or Profiles that is provenance. It is not. Provenance is being able to prove where an item came from, and in this hobby it means tracing it back to the studio. In this auction we have no such proof.

Plus, there have been a lot of problems with this auction besides inadequate provenance. Inaccurate descriptions, fake items and the wrong photos were really unacceptable to most Star Trek collectors and has caused many of them on the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum to choose not to bid. What Kevin failed to realize, is that all the problems with the auction has cast doubt on the auction as a whole. Now, I am bidding on 4 items, but on 2 of them my bids are low as I have doubts about them. If I win them I will take them to Mike Moore of HMS, who is the real authority on those items and have him authenticate them. I know I can return them if they turn out to be fake and if I lose, I won't worry about it.

Ultimately, what we have is an auction of items bought 10 years ago, before the Star Trek collecting hobby was as sophisticated as it is now. People simply didn't know what was real and what was not. It is like the situation with the Mark English fakes in the early 80's. There was no Internet and people didn't know.

Remember, provenance is KING.

So here is the latest on the items where questions have been raised.

First, the Cardassian Pistol. Even though not mentioned in the auction ad, it is broken in two. The description says it was from a Paramount auction at Christie's, but no reference is given.

The Klingon Mek'Leth is unlike any one I have ever seen. The finish looks totally wrong. Without provenance I would pass.
The Horgh'an was one I was interested in, but passed when I compared it to the two I have handled, both of which had totally different finishes. They were matte and this one was glossy and too light. No provenance...pass.

The Klingon Knife is a United Cutlery Replica. Kevin maintains that the sheath is a real prop, but it doesn't match any I have seen and since the sheath fits the knife, I would pass without provenance.

A lot of questions have come up with this Tricorder. The graphics appear wrong and appear copied from the technical manual. No provenance.

Piece of the Past pulls two items

2010-12-13T17:43:00.000-08:00

I contacted Star Trek prop maker Richard Coyle about the suspect Star Trek III Phaser and the Klingon Disruptor. Here is what he said:

The Star Trek III Phaser:

It looks like a very poor recast of one of my models that I used to make to sell to fans at a cons.

But it is not one of my models, not my work. too crappy.

The missing rail under the front end in front of the trigger is a mark of one of my early models as is the out of line LEDs in the Phaser One.

SO it is not off a original studio prop, it is off one of my models.

Rich

On the Klingon Disruptor Coyle said:

By the way the Klingon Pistol needing repairs is one of mine…

The two part body with the black handle is a tell.

The real ones were one part model and handle.

I think I should be involved with your site more often…

Sadly a lot of my old work shows up now as so called real props.

Rich

When I presented this info to Kevin at Piece of the Past he immediately withdrew the items.

Alec

Piece of the Past "Generations" Kirk costume photos

2010-12-12T21:10:00.000-08:00

"Generations" Captain Kirk death costume - stunt

The Kirk costume in the Piece of the Past Star Trek auction is a mix of a Shatner undershirt and stunt vest and pants. Interestingly both the vest and pants have slits in them for what was probably wires for a stunt rig,

This is an important costume, even though it is mostly stunt. And I think it is worth $ 4-5,000 or so. I hope these close ups help some.

Alec

Shirt Tag

Holes in the shirt

And holes in the vest

Vest Tag

Inside back of vest

Piece of the Past Star Trek auction photos

2010-12-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

OK, here are photos of the items in this auction.

Cardassian Rifle Resin, broken ends, unglued emitter tip and handles.

Klingon Knife One piece rubber

Klingon Disruptor Needs repair

Bajoran Pistol
Boomerang Phaser

Appears correct. Good holster Isolinear Chips

Horgon

ITEMS IN QUESTION

The following items need more inspection and research. Each presents potential red flags, but we really can't say anything one way or another at this point.
Cobra Head Phaser

Will be taking mine to compare as this one is very light. Not convinced.

Tricorder

Authenticity is up in the air at the moment. Graphics seem wrong. We are working on this.

Klingon Knife

This is a United Cutlery Klingon replica.

Mek'Leth

Ok, this looks TOTALLY wrong. Photo they used isn't even of the piece. Here is an actual photo. I have never seen one like this. Handle is NOT wrapped. Totally shiny and unlike anything I have ever seen.

Star Trek III Phaser

Obviously a cast off an original. Smaller, which means recast.

Piece of the Past Star Trek auction next week.

2010-12-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

A Hollywood memorabilia company, Piece of the Past, which is run by a long time collector and dealer named Kevin Martin, is holding a Star Trek auction next week. Kevin also runs The Hollywood Show, a major Hollywood autograph show and has been in the business a long time (He did one of the last private autograph signings with Ricardo Montalban).

The Star Trek auction is the collection of a private collector who has been buying at Christie's and Butterfield's auctions through the 1990's. And while most items have a Chirstie's tag on them, they are not from the 2006 Christie's Star Trek auction, but from various Christie's Hollywood Memorabilia auctions before then.

I visited Kevin at his office in Murrieta, CA (out by Lake Elsinore) and inspected all the pieces. Kevin is no newbie to Star Trek props & costumes, having worked with Paramount in the 1990s and sold many Star Trek items Paramount sold him then. This was all news to me, but very interesting to know.

So a few things about the auction:

1) The software isn't bad. It is not Live Auctioneer or iCollector, but I have no problems trusting it. It seems to work well.

2) The auctions all end at the same time. Kevin said he always does his auctions this way, but let's face it, it is not the way to run an online auction. I have been in the auction industry online since 1999, and I can tell you you WANT people to be able to bid on items at the last moment.

3) There is a 15% Buyer's Premium, which is very reasonable.

4) Unfortunately you can't enlarge the pictures, so that is disappointing.

5) The policies are not up on the site and I have told Kevin this, so they are changing it.

There will be more info up every day, so please keep checking back.

Kevin Martin's bio from his site:

Kevin Martin is one of, if not the most respected autograph and memorabilia dealers in the world. He is also one of the leading celebrity autograph authenticators in the industry. Besides his over 20 years of experience, he has published dozens of features in Collecting magazine, Autograph Collector Magazine's long-running column "Fakes, Frauds, and Forgeries" and many other publications including Movie Collector World, Big Reel, The Robb Report, Antiques and Collecting, and more. Kevin Martin is also the author of several books including the standard yearly price guide The Official Autograph Collector Price Guide, as well as The Autograph Collector Guide to Authentication, and Signatures of the Stars. You may have also seen him on the longest-running autograph show in television history called "Showbiz Collectibles" on the Video Catalog Channel.

HOW MUCH?

2010-12-02T15:07:00.000-08:00

$ 26,000 for a Phaser? Well, this auction popped up on eBay with a $ 26,000 opening bid! Need less to say, this guy won't get anyone to buy it. And I don't know who the seller is. Is it real? No clue, but anyone who wants this much money should be putting some provenance in their eBay ad.

Alec

Happy Star Trek Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T06:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

On this day we should all think about what we are thankful for, and one thing I am VERY thankful for is all my friends in Star Trek prop collecting.

It started at Christie's in 2006 when I met Dana Hammontree and Rob from Atlanta in line waiting for the doors to open. After that I kept meeting people who I have come to call friends. Jim Williams, my fellow DS9 maniac, Mark Short and Giles from London, our favorite Patrick Stewart look-alike, though we didn't become friends till the following year when I went to London and hung out with him. The crew from The Prop Store of London welcomed me into the hobby and their VIP suite. Stephen and Tim were awesome, and I also got to meet Andy (who won the Reliant), Bill Bayliss (who won the Kirk Maroon), and Dave Abberly (who won a bunch of stuff!). Bill and Dave let me crash on their floor the last night when I decided I was having too much fun to want to leave! I also met Jason (Prop King) and his brother, as well as Denise and Mike Okuda.

What a great time that was, and that got me writing my blog. That turned into starting the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum where I have met so many fellow collectors.

Since then I have made so many great friends. Lyn, Carolan, Katie, Donna...the forum has a lot of awesome female collectors. Anthony Sforza, Aaron Carlson, Adam Schneider, Ray Cole, and of course Jorg, the Star Trek savant! Susie, Francis, Alex from Hong Kong, Grant the Canuck, Burt, Dave (Dochol), Althea, Darrin, John, Chris, Doc Brett, Willie, Kenny, Rob, Anthony Pascal from Trekmovie.com, Josef from Austria and of course Doug Drexler.

Oh I have probably missed one or two of you, but if so, you know who you are and how much I appreciate you. Thank you all for being my friend, sharing our passion for Star Trek together and supporting this blog and the Forum.

I wish you all every blessing!

Alec

Kelvin Phaser in detail

2010-11-19T02:48:00.000-08:00

I am a huge fan of Phasers. I own a lot of screen used ones, both hand phasers and phaser rifles. I think they are the most recognizable and iconic props from Star Trek and so it is kind of my specialty.

I guess I can say I got one of my Holy Grails this summer: The Kelvin Phaser. And that is funny, because this is pretty new, but the moment I saw it I fell in love with it. And the reason is because it looks like the TOS Phaser. It is a total homage and frankly, THIS should have been the new phaser, not the chrome one which got chosen. But that is just one man's opinion.

And I am big on homages to TOS. I always thought the Star Trek III Phaser was the perfect next generation of the TOS Phaser. It looked like it was an evolution of the TOS Phaser. You could see its heritage. And I loved that. (Don't get me started on that piece of crap TMP Phaser).

So this Phaser is now the highlight of my Phaser collection. It was pricey, but I love it. I am told they only made two for the movie. Now if I can land the Kelvin Communicator!

Romwear brings ST 2009 Romulan clothes to fans

2010-11-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

While I try and not talk much about Replicas (outside of Master Replicas and EFX, which are worth owning), I found out last year about the maker of the Romulan costumes from the 2009 Star Trek movie and that they were now selling their costumes to the public. Recently this cam up on teh Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum and it made me think I needed to write about them!

Romwear is a company created by the team that did the Romulan costumes for the 2009 Star Trek movie.

As they state on their site:

ROMWEAR is brought to you by the same designers who were contracted in 2007 by Paramount Pictures to create over 300 original costume pieces for the Romulans in the Star Trek movie (2009), directed by J. J. Abrams.

So what you can get? Well, the whole outfit, sold ala carte. The jackets are beautiful and I think well worth the price. Both Nero's and Ayel's jackets are available as well as other versions. Shirts, pants and boots as well.

I think the prices are very reasonable and the only question is how many people are interested in them. Typically it is the uniforms that are in demand. However, while not uniforms, these are very cool costumes and because of the prices I think they will be well worth it. The jackets are amazing by themselves. I wish these guys would set up at the Las Vegas Star Trek con!

Record keeping in prop collecting

2010-11-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

One thing we never hear much about is keeping good records of your collection. Good records are important for a number of reasons:

1. Insurance
2. Asset recording/tax issues
3. Provenance

With Star Trek collecting we are pretty lucky in that 95% of all Star Trek items in the market are either from the Christie's auction or It's a Wrap.

So let's review those quickly:

Christie's - With Christie's items you should have an invoice to show its provenance. Some people got a CBS letter, but these are lal photocopies and essentially worthless. With Christie's items you have to be able to matc the item to the catalog photo and invoice. Of course some items were sold in lots that were split up, but the same rule applies.

It's A Wrap - IAW issued Certificate's of Authenticity. Generally they had a photo on them. So if you have an item from one of those two sources you need the appropriate paperwork.

Now, what about other sources, like Profiles in History, Propworx or Julien's?

Julien's - New to Star Trek and only sold items from the Roddenberry Estate and the JJ movie. No COA, but solid provenance. An invoice should be what you use for provenance.

Profiles in History - Sometimes gives out COA's if you ask for them. Basically worthless. Profiles has had lots of good Star Trek items, but they have also sold fakes and they don't reveal their consignors. I only buy from Profiles (and I have spent a lot with them) when I know the source. Their COAs are worthless. No photo, no matching hologram and good luck if you ever try to get your money back.

Propworx - (Official disclaimer - I own Propworx) Well, let's face it, Propworx has the best COA's in the business. :-) Photos on the COA, a matching, serial-numbered hologram system and an online archive. This is because we care about this hobby.

OK, so now that you have the proper documentation, what do you do with it? Well, I have a file box and I keep everything in there. Organization makes your life less stressful. When I decide to sell items, as I am doing for the first time in a major way this coming Spring, all I have to do is go to the file and pull the appropriate Docs. I also have a very comprehensive Excel spreadsheet with every purchase, date, price and who from. This is critical for insurance purposes especially. I section it by source, so all my IAW purchases are together, but I have one Master list with everything.

OK, so there you go. Some basics on record keeping. I strongly urge all collectors to maintain great records. It will help you when you go to sell, or if you ever have an insurance claim.

Alec

Star Trek Tatoo anyone?

2010-11-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

I was sent this photo and link by one of the guys at Inked Magazine. It is a girl who actually has Trill spots tatooed on her neck! Now you think I am a geek! You can read about here here.

And of course, she is a DS9 fan!

Justine on her perfect day: “You can’t go wrong with coffee and some DS-9.”

Oh yeah baby! My kind of girl!

Alec

Collecting Original Star Trek Props - StarTrek.com Article

2010-10-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

My second article for StarTrek.com was just published and I reprint it here. Most of this I have covered before, but it was meant as a primer for fans. I hope you enjoy it!

By Alec Peters

October 22, 2010 ext

The world of collecting Star Trek props and costumes was a small and expensive one prior to the big Christie’s Star Trek auction in October, 2006. That auction, sanctioned by Paramount and held in New York City at the world famous Christie’s Auction House, opened up the shadowy world of collecting screen-used props and costumes to Star Trek fans worldwide.

I say “shadowy” because before the Christie’s auction, much of the Star Trek props and costumes in circulation where not legally obtained from Paramount. Poor security, insider theft and lax handling had resulted in props and costumes leaking out from Paramount over the years. Outside of the Bob Justman, Matt Jeffries and Bill Theiss auctions, all of which saw those legends sell off their personal Star Trek collections, much of what had previously been sold at auction or directly from insiders was basically stolen property with no legitimate provenance.

So what is “provenance”? Well, let’s get to some key terms you need to know before dipping your toe in the water of collecting Star Trek props and costumes.

Provenance is the history of an item. It is the trail of ownership that traces its history back to the production. So, with the Christie’s auction, the provenance is Paramount Studios, who was the owner of all of the Star Trek assets. And any subsequent owner need only show that the item was sold at Christie’s to prove the item’s provenance.

Certificate of Authenticity is a document that traces the item’s provenance and shows where the item came from. A “COA” that merely states who you bought it from, even with the buyer’s guarantee it is authentic, isn’t worth anything. It must state how the item came from the production or trace the provenance.

So, now that you know about some basic terms that are important to understand what is authentic, let’s discuss how you describe a prop or costume.

There are two main classifications of original props and costumes:

Production Made

Almost all props fall into this category. This term refers to any original prop or costume that was specifically made for a production. The prop or costume may or may not have been seen on-screen. Sometimes, it is simply that there is no way to prove that it is. Most collectors are perfectly happy with this category of item (I certainly am, and I have a big collection!)

Screen Used

A prop or costume is identified as “Screen Used” if it either is noted that way from the prop or costume shop in the item’s tagging, or can be screen matched (see below). This is a very high level of verification that is needed, and 98% of all props and costumes can never meet this level. Sometimes we know an item is screen used because it is the only item made, and therefore we know it is the one on screen. Other times the item is tagged specifically as the “hero” item and we know that the prop master has identified it as the one used on screen. And sometimes we can screen match the item and that is verification.

There are also two qualifiers that give more information on the nature of the prop or costume:

Hero Prop

A “hero” prop is a prop that has been identified as being directly used in the show, usually for a specific scene or a specific episode. “Hero” props are generally of higher quality, durability and functionality. They often feature finer details, as such props may be meant for—or have been used in—close-ups. In Star Trek, typically a “Hero” prop was the light-up version with working parts. Often however, a “Hero” prop is merely the version that was actually filmed. There may be eight copies prepared for a scene, but only one was used, and thus this is the “hero.” For example, on Battlestar Galactica, “Hero” simply meant the one used on screen. At Propworx, items marked “Hero” have typically undergone verification, which includes referencing to behind-the-scenes materials (continuity books) and screen-matching the item, or finding the item specifically marked “hero” from the prop shop or costume department.

Stunt Version

A “stunt” version of a prop is typically a low-quality version of a “Hero” or detailed prop so that the “Hero” version is neither destroyed nor causes harm to the people involved with the stunt. Stunt versions of props are typically made of rubber. Stunt versions of costumes will be the same quality, though specifically marked “stunt.” They may be old versions of the costume, used by the main actor and then given for use by the stunt actor, or they may be new versions, specifically tailored for a stunt actor.

Now knowing this, the only other thing you really need to understand is:

Screen Matched

The process of matching a prop or costume to what is seen on-screen, ensuring that it is exactly the same item as seen on screen. This means looking for specific identifying marks such as specific bends in paper or pitting and scratching in a prop, or fabric patterns or markings in a costume. The process requires a DVD player (preferably Blu-ray) and patience as you need to look carefully for identifying marks that will positively identify the item in your possession as the one on screen.

Ok, so now that you know all the basics, where do you get the stuff?

Well, there were two main sources for Star Trek props and costumes. The first was the Christie’s Star Trek auction, where 1,000 lots of props, costumes and set pieces were sold. After this, Paramount sold everything that was left through a company called It’s A Wrap, which sold close to 15,000 items over two years on eBay and through direct sales. As mentioned previously, the Bob Justman, Matt Jeffries and Bill Theiss auctions all had many great Star Trek items. Propworx recently held a Star Trek auction that had items from Doug Drexler, Mike and Denise Okuda, and Rick Sternbach, all members of the Star Trek art department for many years.

So, with all these items out there, a robust secondary market exists, through both eBay and the Propworx Star Trek auction, which is now an annual event. You can find items from $100 to $10,000. Everything from original TOS costumes to phaser rifles. The key is to always ask about the provenance. If it isn’t from Christie’s (where there were no COA’s, but you should demand an invoice, which every purchaser got), It’s A Wrap or one of the other auctions I have mentioned, you need to be VERY careful. And the best way to know is to join the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum, where over 1,000 collectors share information and help each other out. The Star Trek prop forum is, without doubt, the biggest and best prop forum on the Internet. Members are very friendly and get together each year at the Las Vegas Star Trek convention to share their hobby.

And of course, you may want to read my blog, Star Trek Props, which has loads of information from my time in the hobby, from the Christie’s auction to the present.

Next time, I’ll go into specifics on how to start identifying your interests and building a collection.

The Replicas You SHOULD Own

2010-10-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Well, most of my collecting friends will tell you I don't collect replicas. But there are exceptions. The TOS Master Replicas versions are the best in the business. I own all four that they produced for Star Trek TOS; the Phaser, Communicator, Tricorder and Klingon Disruptor. They all are made of metal and plastic (the Phaser is really heavy.....just like you would expect a real Phaser to be) and incredibly detailed. There have simply never been anything close, and they even light up and make sound.

Plus, they are beautifully presented on impressive bases with clear plexi cases. So they display very well.

I remember having these on my mantle in Atlanta and after a dinner party for three couple I knew, we all were drinking in my TV room and the guys started taking the props down and playing with them, amazed at how detailed they were and how they were just like one might expect the real thing to be. Of course one of the wives said "Can you boys put down the toys and sit down!" We were having too much fun.

You can find these on eBay, search "Master Replicas" and "Star Trek". The Phaser will set you back about $ 1,000, being the most popular of the lot. There are also William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy autograph versions, but that just means you get a plate with their autograph. Not so impressive, save your money as they cost more.

The Communicator is in the $ 400-500 range. And the Tricorder is in the $ 500-600 range.

I highly recommend them as they really are the pinnacle of Star Trek collecting.

How to destroy a good costume

2010-10-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

Well, Miami Sci Fi has never been a favorite of mine. Their prices are outrageous and they have tried to cause problems for me in the past when I brought their issues to light here on this blog. They are also banned from the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum.

Well, now they have shown how little they know about screen used props & costumes by getting the Robert Picardo Emergency Command Hologram costume that was originally acquired from IAW signed by Bob Picardo in big black Sharpie! You can see their eBay listing here.

As most collectors know, this only destroys the value of the item. You NEVER get a real prop or costume signed. Get a replica signed, that is cool, but not the real thing.

So this costume, which sold for $ 2,469 from IAW, and which Miami Sci Fi wanted $ 5,000 for, they have now marked down to $ 2,999.99 and I doubt anyone will buy it at this price. I always liked this costume and episode and would have bought it for $ 3,000. I was the under bidder in the IAW auction originally! But signed as it is, I wouldn't be interested in it at any price.

Take this as a lesson prop collectors! NEVER get your items signed. An autograph only diminishes the value of a real prop or costume.

Alec

Overpriced Quark at Screen Used

2010-10-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

First let me say I like the guys at Screen Used. They and Prop Store of London are the two big players in direct sale movie props. But when you take consignments from customers and set the price at whatever the consignor wants, you get people who set unrealistic prices and it makes the company look bad.

This is the problem with asking $ 7500 for a Quark costume that typically sells for $ 2,000 (the highest IAW ever got for a Quark is $ 2,126). It is just insane. You can see it here. Ultimately, the only person who would pay that is some poor Star Trek fan who doesn't know better. And then he will find out he got taken and it will sour him on the hobby.

There needs to be a point where a consignment prop store like Screen Used knows the value of a prop or costume and prices it accordingly. Frankly, if this consignor asked me to offer this costume at anything over $ 3,000, I would say no thanks. It just isn't worth it.

I just dealt with this with a Star Trek Prop Forum member who bought costumes from Miami Sci Fi at outrageous prices and is now trying to sell them. He now knows he overpaid but what can he do?

Now before anyone gives me the "Well he should have done his homework" line, let me tell you that always pisses me off. You hear that from long time prop collectors. No one wants to share any info. It is every man for himself. Exactly how do you do homework when you don't know anything about the hobby?

It is the duty of EVERYONE in this hobby to protect newbies, share information and look out for each other. That is what this blog has helped do, that is what everyone on the Star Trek Forum does for each other all the time (and why it is the best group of people in the prop hobby).

So, while I like the guys at Screen Used, I got to say this costume at this price is just ridiculous. And just so you have a point of reference, Captain's costumes go around $ 5,000.

Alec

The Next Propworx Star Trek Auction

2010-10-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

Just to give you all a heads up. Propworx will be having another Star Trek auction, this time in April, 2011. We are already taking consignments and there will be some great items in this auction. I am putting about 3 dozen of my own items up for auction, and another major collector is putting in about 50. There will also be a TOS red minidress, an original TOS matte painting and more.

We think this will be an annual event, and hope that this will be THE place to buy and sell Star Trek items every year. If you are interested in consigning your Star Trek items to the auction, please let me know by emailing me at alec@propworx.com.

We will of course be producing our beautiful catalog, though this time we will only be offering it by download. We only sold about 200 Star Trek catalogs this past August and that simply is not enough to justify the $ 20,000 or so it costs to print one. But between the online viewing version of the catalog, the actual auction platform itself, and the downloadable PDF, we think everyone will have what they need.

It was interesting that we only sold about 200 catalogs leading up to the recent Stargate auction, yet we had almost 600 registered bidders! So obviously people do not feel the need to actually have the catalog in order to bid.

Feel free to call me with any questions!

Alec

Colin Warde update

2010-10-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

So I am trying to get a bunch of blogs up this week. To start I want to let those of you who dealt with It's a Wrap that Colin Warde, the one guy at IAW who really went out of his way for us collectors, that he is doing well and living in Oklahoma. He now has a son, who is about 1 year old. I spoke with Colin the other day and he sounded very happy.

There is actually a growing film business in Oklahoma (seems every state wants a a bite of that apple!) and Colin is keeping busy doing a lot of different things for different publications.

If you are on Facebook, you can say hi to Colin at his page. We all owe Colin a debt of thanks, as Colin kept many of us from going crazy dealing with the total lack of communication from anyone else. Colin would spend an hour on the phone with you talking about Star Trek, and he was always available to help solve a problem.

We wish Colin continued good fortune!

Alec

Thoughts on my Star Trek hobby...

2010-09-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been 3 weeks since my last post. Part of the reason for that is getting ready for the Stargate auction, which happened at the Sci Fi Museum this past weekend. Part of the delay is simply the cycles one goes through in what one has passion for and what one does not. Oh, I am not losing any interest in Star Trek. Quite the contrary, with everything else I do I find that Star Trek is a constant that I always come back to, like coming home after being on vacation. Sure the vacation was great, but it is so good to sleep in your own bed!

Collecting Star Trek props & costumes is my first love in this hobby. But I also love Battlestar Galactica for obvious reasons (besides how awesome it is!). I just shipped off most of the best pieces in my BSG collection to the Sci Fi museum for their BSG exhibit next month, and while I was in Seattle at the museum, Brooks Peck and Jacob McMurray, the two amazing curators of the museum, showed me where the new exhibit will be. It is exciting to have a museum like the EMP/SFM (the long technical name for the combination Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum) take my items and display them for everyone to see.

As many of you know, I love sharing my collection and the hobby. And I have an awesome BSG collection. Yeah, I am that drug dealer that uses his own stuff! But heck, I love BSG and it has been so cool to stare out from my desk at Propworx and see Adama's Duty Blues, Starbuck's Flight Suit and Apollo's Dress Greys every day. But Star Trek is my first love. And we all know how that goes.

So while I may be engaged with other projects, and sometimes I don't get to update this blog as much as I want, I can tell you Star Trek is still the focus of what I do. So here is what is on my plate Star Trek wise:

1) Star Trek Auction # 2

Yes, another Star Trek auction this Spring! Yes, so many of you were happy with the Star Trek auction this past August that consignors are coming out of the wood work. And after my move to CA, I find that I have about 30 items I want to sell too.

2) A Star Trek Prop & Costume book project.

Just starting on this, but there are so many great props that I think need the full Propworx treatment. So I am starting to work on this and need some of you to jump in and help out. I am thinking in depth stories on select pieces as well as a big overview.

3) Star Trek Prints

Well, with working with Doug Drexler on the Star Trek auction catalog, iit made me realize there were so many great images that Doug had that would make great prints. So I am workingwith CBS on a license and hope to have a series of beautiful Star Trek prints based on Doug's work, next year.

4) Star Trek Prop Replicas

Well, not your typical Phaser/Communicator/Tricorder stuff. QMX handles the new movie stuff very well and EFX does the classic stuff. They are both awesome companies that do great work. Our goal is to do limited editions of some more obscure props, like the Zefram Cochrane statue from Enterprise, the statue of Surak, the bust of Kahless from Worf's quarters. Yeah, really cool stuff in editions of 50-100 max. We have approached EFX about working with them on this, so stay tuned.

5) Super Secret Star Trek Project

I can tell you, but I would have to disintegrate you....

OK, so don't think I am losing interest here! Heck, I spent a small fortune this past summer on Star Trek, so I certainly have no lost any interest! I will dive into some more prop stuff as my photographer will be photographing my entire collection in detail over the next month or so and that will give me the ammo to blog a lot.

Oh, and here is a teaser for you.....

Star Trek Auction trends and more

2010-09-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been traveling a lot the past few weeks, so I haven't had time to really dive into the results of the Propworx Star Trek auction in detail. So I am taking some time here to give a thorough review. Note that all prices include the 20% Buyer's Premium.

Creation Entertainment agreed to host the auction at the Las Vegas Star Trek convention and so we had a great display that thousands of Star Trek fans got to see. There was a constant stream of fans checking out the display and the showcases filled with props.

The Trials and Tribble-ations Captain's Chair was the centerpiece of the display. And while the chair passed at auction, it has since found a very nice home at Propworx. Adam, the owner who won it at Christie's, didn't want to ship it back east and he has no room with all his models! So he made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

The auction as a whole was pretty exciting. And we saw some fun things go down.

Jean Luc Picard (in the guise of our favorite Patrick Stewart look-alike Giles Aston!) gave the mission briefing and kicked things off. He also tried to call a few of the auction items, but it really didn't work that well. Those Brits just speak too funny! :-)

Bob Picardo, who had 5 lots in the auction was there to help sell his 3 Voyager items. The Voyager Captain's chair (Lot # 203) went for $ 3,600, the Voyager Doctor's Hero Sickbay Translight (lot # 204) went for a strong $ 2,400, but his Voyager Script set did not sell due to the high reserve ($ 10,000). Bob is a funny guy and the room was packed with almost 200 people for his auction items. You can watch this video, which is a bit shaky at times, for all the laughter!

DEDICATION PLAQUES

Lot # 10 USS Enterprise E Dedication Plaque $ 5,400

Lot # 104 S.S. Xhosa Dedication Plaque $ 720

Lot # 105 USS Sao Paolo $ 2,400

Lot # 174 Original Series Enterprise Dedication Plaque $ 3,600

Lot # 202 USS Voyager Dedication Plaque $ 4,200

Lot # 209 NX-01 Enterprise Dedication Plaque $ 3,600

So these were overall pretty good prices. About right where experienced Star Trek collectors would pay. These have gone higher in the past, but not with this kind of provenance. So I think all of these were good deals. I especially like the original series plaque from the Enterprise in Trials and Tribble-ations at that price.

TRANSLITES

The large Doug Drexler collection of translites brought prices between $ 360 and $ 1,500. There were some excellent deals here and the prices were very consistent. What I like about that is we have a standard now that we can base future pricing on.

Lot # 133 USS Valiant Master Systems Display $ 1,500

A great deal as these went for over $ 3,000 through IAW a couple of years ago. They are awesome looking and with two in this lot, the per piece price of $ 750 is pretty damn good.

Lot # 134 T'Lani Bridge Hero Translites $ 720

Three translites for $ 720 is a good deal. These were very big too, so I like this lot. You got 3 oversize translites for $ 240 each. You always have to look at auction lots with multiple pieces that you can go in on with your friends and split up.

Lot # 135 Klingon Display Hero Translite $ 500
Lot # 136 Klingon Symbol Hero Translite $ 600

These were beautiful pieces and at the prices they sold at they were very good deals. Mount them in a light box and put them on your wall and they will look great behind your Klingon costume!

So overall, this was a good place for nice deals. Always look at auctions with big sections of similar items for good buys. People get what they want early and then you are bidding against less people, or the better items go high and then good deals are to be had on what is left.

OK, more tomorrow!

Alec

The Propworx Star Trek Auction results!

2010-08-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

The first-ever Propworx Star Trek Prop and Costume Auction was a big hit at the Creation Star Trek Convention held at the Las Vegas Hilton Sunday, August 8th. Propworx set an attendance record with over 200 people in the audience for the event -- and another 250 registered online.

Almost $300,000 in Star Trek original props, costume, set pieces and artwork was sold, including 40 lots of items from Star Trek: The Experience, the Star Trek theme ride that was hosted at the Las Vegas Hilton for 11 years.

On the whole, the auction went very much as planned, with the props and costumes doing very well, and the Rick Sternbach original concept art and crew gifts from the collection of Mike and Denise Okuda being very affordable for the average fan.

Of the original props and costume, the top item was the Star Trek TOS Translight, which went for $ 16,800 (after buyer’s premium). One of the best surviving pieces of the TOS bridge, the translight is historic in that it shows the actual schematic of the Enterprise.

The Klingon Battlecruiser model was the second-highest item at $12,000. This is important because it was created for Star Trek: The Motion Picture but never used. Built off of the original model that now resides with the National Air & Space Museum and was created by legendary Hollywood model maker Greg Jein, this model is an important piece of Star Trek history as it was to be the first spaceship you saw in TMP before the producers decided to build the K’Tinga class ship that became the mainstay of the Klingon battle fleets until Deep Space Nine.

One of the highlights of the auction, besides the frantic bidding, was the appearance of Robert Picardo, our beloved Doctor from Voyager, who auctioned off the chair he sat in for seven years on Voyager. Always a fan favorite, Robert graciously spoke to the almost packed room and cheered the bidders on. His chair wound up going for $3,000 and the translight that was behind the Doctor’s desk went for a strong $2,400.

The surprise of the auction was the $8,400 winning bid (after buyer’s premium) for Data’s painting of his cat Spot! The audience went wild as three different live bidders banged out competing bids. The final bid of $7,000 brought a huge round of applause and a great deal of shock amongst serious collectors.

The auction wound up selling almost all of the 450 lots offered and there were both surprises and great deals. Stay tuned for the next Propworx Star Trek auction next year, as the success of this year’s auction has already got collectors clamoring to offer their items up in the next event.

TOP 5 ITEMS IN THE STAR TREK AUCTION

1) Bridge translight from TOS $ 16,800

2) Klingon Battlecruiser model $ 12,000

3) Kirk spacesuit model from TMP $ 9,600

4) Data’s painting of his cat Spot $ 8,400

5) Observation Lounge TOS Enterprise Model $ 8,400

A new Star Trek blog launches

2010-08-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

While I am writing my Star Trek auction summary, I thought I would tell you all about Vulcanology, a new Star Trek blog focused on, well, Vulcans.

Launched by Star Trek Prop Forum member Scott Lucas Williams, it focuses on your favorite pointy eared aliens.

Check it out!

Alec

Star Trek Auction additional information

2010-08-07T23:15:00.000-07:00

Well, the Propworx Star Trek auction starts at 10:00 am PST! If you have any questions, please call Curtis at 404-702-7598.

PHONE BIDDING

Please email me at alec@propworx.com with your name, phone # and lot #s you are interested in. If I do not get this by 9:00am I cannot guarantee we can help you out.

ONLINE BIDDING

ALL the info you need is here!

Or go here:

Please reach out if you need any help. And check out our blog HERE!

Alec

Propworx Star Trek Auction this Sunday!

2010-08-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

Well you would have to be living on Ceti Alpha III to not have heard about the Propworx Star Trek auction this Sunday, August 8th at the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention. As always, the con will be at the Las Vegas Hilton and Propworx will have all the items in the auction on display so you can review anything you may want to bid on.

You can go to the Propworx Star Trek site and sign up for the auction so you can bid online, download the catalog, and read articles about all the great items in the auction.

Alec

Romulan Senate Robes for sale at Hollywood History

2010-07-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

From "Hollywood History"

"A costume featured in the tenth Star Trek feature film “Nemesis”. These are the robes of a member of the Romulan Star Empire Senate, it is composed of a gorgeous gold under robe with long sleeves that zip to fit at the cuff, have a slit up the legs, and features interior collars to appear more flush in the same multi-colored square style as the Romulan fleet uniforms from the same movie. The outer robe is made of a subdued gold fabric featuring thin, black, pinstripes, a metallic-copper interior lining with elbow length, kimono-inspired bell-sleeves, and an open front that has matching tassels sewn on. All of this goes over a sage-colored dickie with white dots that ties up the back and features a Mandarin style collar. This costume includes a dark-gray, resin cast, pin-backed Romulan senator’s badge."

$ 1,099

I think this is a good price on an outstanding costume. If you don't have one, they display beautifully and I love mine.

Alec

Propworx at the San Diego Comic Con

2010-07-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

I hope you all will stop by the Propworx booth if you are at the San Diego Comic Con! We have a great display with costumes of all 5 captains, the Klingon and Reman costumes that will be in the Propworx Star Trek auction, as well as a bunch of other great items from the auction.

We share the booth with Genki, which produces the Star Trek fragrances (which are actually pretty good!)

We are booth # 3744.

Alec

Kirk hits $ 37,500 at Heritage auction!

2010-07-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to say, I am not taking my buddy Jack Morrissey to any more Star Trek auctions with me as he is a VERY bad influence. My top bid on the Maroon Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan costume was supposed to be $ 25,000. But Jack convinced me, moments before the auction started, that I should bid even higher because of various financial reasons that would work to my benefit. I mean, what are friends for? And what is sad, is that my high bid of $ 35,000 was a LOSER!

Yes, I am the guy who kept bidding on the Kirk after my $ 25,000 max was reached. The eventual winner and I were the only two bidders from $ 25-37,500. And he won. And thank God, because if I had won at my max bid on $ 35,000 I would have HATED myself!

This is also a good lesson in auction market dynamics. Now remember, the Christie's Kirk Maroon went for $ 25,000 ($ 30,000 after Buyer's premium I believe). Does this mean the market price for a Kirk is now $ 37,500 ( or $ 45,000, the price with Buyer's Premium)? Well, no, because there are only two people who thought it was worth $ 35,000 or more, and one now has it in his collection. If another goes up for auction, the loser (me) will probably have his heads screwed on tighter (and leave his enabling friend at home) and won't go above $ 25,000. So unless a third person decided to go higher, the price will come down. But it all depends. How bad does someone want one?

After I lost, I went over and shook the winner's hand. I didn't know who he was. He later came over and introduced himself. He knew me from my blog, and turned out to be one of the oldest prop & costume collectors around. A very nice guy, we chatted for over 30 minutes and exchanged info so we can see each other's collections. He even admitted that if he had known me before the auction he would have backed off as his max was only $ 15,000! It is funny how emotion can affect one's bidding.

Below are the photos and description from Heritage so we can preserve it for posterity.

Alec

Star Trek Film Series Starfleet Officer's Uniform with Jacket and Shirt Worn by William Shatner as Admiral James T. Kirk.

One of the most accomplished and popular feature films to come out of the Star Trek franchise, The Wrath of Khan (1982) was also the first to feature the distinctive scarlet and black duty uniforms that subsequently appeared throughout the original film series as well as several episodes of the various TV spin-offs.
When Gene Roddenberry created the original series in the '60s, he gave Starfleet a basic military structure but avoided what he called "excessive militarism," keeping such details to a minimum. During production on The Wrath of Khan, director Nicholas Meyer (The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) decided to expand this part of the Trek mythos by writing the dialogue to be more accurate to actual naval protocol and adding such flourishes as a ship's bell and boatswain's whistle, and by introducing redesigned uniforms by costume designer Robert Fletcher.
This particular costume Starfleet duty uniform features a jacket and undershirt worn by none other than William Shatner in his role as Admiral James T. Kirk, and later modified and worn by Leon Russom, along with the included trousers, as the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief in Star Trek VI.
The uniform consists of the distinctive maroon jacket, sleeveless white undershirt, black trousers, and black leather belt with metal Starfleet insignia buckle included. The jacket features a Western Costume Co. tag with Shatner's name typed onto it and Russom's name handwritten on it in black felt tip; the slacks have a Paramount Studios tag bearing Russom's name in felt tip sewn into the waistband. The uniform is in overall Excellent condition with the exception of a small hole on the front of the jacket where an insignia pin was attached. Accompanied by a COA from The Hollywood Studio Collection. Photo-match for reference purposes only. For authenticity guaranty see Terms and Conditions.

StarTrek.com re-launches!

2010-07-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

Well, CBS has re-laucnhed StarTrek.com and it looks very impressive. One thing that they are doing different this time is including fan sites from around teh web and featuring them on the site. And yours truly was asked to be one of those sites, so I will be writing blogs for StarTrek.com every few weeks to bring even more fans into the collecting of props & costumes.

Stay tuned for more info and check out the new site!

Alec

Propworx Star Trek website launches!

2010-07-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

The Propworx Star Trek auction is only a month away and so Propworx superstars Joe Beaudoin, Jarrod Hunt and Damaris Degen have put together the Official Star Trek Auction website on the Propworx.com site.

There are blogs on the props, costumes, set pieces in the auction as well as the crew gifts from the Mike and Denise Okuda collection.

Of course I will continue t blog here about the auction, but to get more detailed info, check out the site at http://startrek.propworx.com/

Julien's Auction prices are down

2010-06-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, the Julien's Star Trek auction, announced last November, finally happened yesterday, and was a success for collectors because of reasonable prices and a wide range of low priced items from the Shatner and Roddenberry auctions. The JJ movie items finished the auction and we were all shocked at how reasonable the prices were.

Julien's has taken down their online catalog, but you can see the Flash catalog here and the lot by lot descriptions here.

As predicted the items in the Shatner and Roddenberry portions of the sale all went at very reasonable prices. I actually won the insignia lot, which had two Maroon jacket insignias and a maroon belt.buckle. The lot, which I was willing to go to $ 1,500 on ($ 500 for each of these items I figured) went for only $ 475. Part of the reason is that the lot was so poorly described. No authentication and no description of if any of the items were real or not. Certainly no one at Julien's has that kind of expertise, and they didn't bother to access any experts. The two TNG badges here were both repros and I inspected the lot in person or else I wouldn't have bid on it. I am sure that had to do with the low hammer price.

The Nemesis Turbolift Panel went for a strong $ 1,700.

The Class D and Class B costumes went for $ 500 each.

The Lwaxana Troi costumes did fairly well, and all went under $ 2,000 as I predicted. Still, these are good prices in an auction that was way under market.

Lot # 1564.....$ 1,300

Lot # 1565.....$ 1,400

Lot # 1566.....$ 1,900

Lot # 1567.....$1,100

Lot # 1568.....$1,700

THE JJ ITEMS

Right after these 5 costumes from the Roddenberry Estate came the items donated by JJ Abrahms. Now this started with 8 Enterprise models made by QMX that were then worked on by a series or artists making them pieces of Star Trek art. Now frankly, some of these were down right awful. One or two were interesting, but unless these are done by Alexander Calder or Andy Warhol, I don't see the interest. And neither did anyone else as the models all sold at only $ 500, half of the opening bid!

I had predicted that prices on the 17 JJ movie items would be out of control, but this was not the case. In fact, the last 17 items all went at very reasonable prices! Here is the rundown:

Lot # 1577 Kelvin Crew Member Costume $ 2,750

Lot # 1578 Kelvin Phaser $ 7,000

Lot # 1579 Hero Kelvin Bridge Chair $ 1,500

Lot # 1580 Klingon Rifle $ 1,100

Lot # 1581 Romulan Pistol $ 1,750

Lot # 1582 Romulan Rifle $ 2,250

Lot # 1583 Romulan Crew Member Costume $ 2,000

Lot # 1584 Starfleet Female Cadet Costume $ 1,700

Lot # 1585 Enterprise Insignia Badges $ 1,700

Lot # 1586 Starfleet Male Cadet Costume $ 2,000

Lot # 1587 Starfleet Council Chair $ 500

Lot # 1588 Enterprise Data Tablet $ 1,100

Lot # 1589 Medical Tricorder $ 2,250

Lot # 1590 Enterprise Crew Member Costume $ 2,000

Lot # 1591 Enterprise Communicator $ 6,000

Lot # 1592 Spock Torch $ 750

Lot # 1593 Spock Parka $ 7,000

So why the reasonable prices? Well..

1) Ridiculous Buyer's Premiums - I already wrote about this and I think this was the big reason. 25-28% is out of control. No excuse for this.

2) Buyer fatigue - I heard from lots of collectors that not only had they spent a ton at Profiles. but they were waiting for the Propworx auction. This auction only had 41 props & costumes and people weren't prioritizing this.

3) There is lots more - This is the tip of the iceberg. Be patient and there will be tons of JJ movie items when the inevitable Star Trek movie auction happens.

Overall, I think Julien's does a nice set up, but there lack of experience with Star Trek was very evident. Poor descriptions and lack of understanding of what collectors expect in this regard hurt them. Their crazy buyer's premium and high shipping costs mean they should stick to very high end items where people have so much money they don't care. I really think that big auction companies can't do the fan and small collector market's well. The ROI isn't there and thus they don't invest the time in developing the markets and doing what the fans and collectors need.

Anyway, a good little auction for buyers who got some good deals.

Alec

Julien's Auction Preview - 41 props & costumes

2010-06-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow is the Julien's Star Trek Auction so I thought I would give you all a preview of what to expect. There isn't a lot of great stuff for the prop & costume collector, and only the inclusion of 17 lots from the JJ movie and a spattering of items from teh Shatner and Roddenberry collections make this auction anything more than an estate sale. Please note, this is a VERY EXPENSIVE auction. Here is why:

VERY HIGH BUYER'S PREMIUM!

The 25% buyer's premium is the highest in the industry. Not only that, they charge you 3% for bidding online FOR NO REASON. Why do I say for no reason? Because the software they use is one you purchase, and they are not being charged extra for running the software. Now in the Battlestar auctions, Propworx actually had to pay Auction network 3% of anything won online for using their software and crew (A full television production BTW). But Propworx absorbed that cost anyway. Here there is no such cost so Julien's is basically screwing the bidders out of another 3%! Pay attention, this, plus any applicable taxes, makes this auction VERY EXPENSIVE.

VERY HIGH SHIPPING COSTS

Please note that I just found out that Julien's has switched shipping companies, so I don't have any news on what the shipping costs will be. However, the new company, like their old provider, is a separate business that will certainly be charging more than an auction house itself. More info when I get it.

THE ITEMS

OK, so enough on the high cost of this auction. Let's talk about the items themselves now. 256 items in this auction. A small auction. But even smaller because only 39 are props and costumes!

19 prop & costume pieces in the William Shatner sale

5 Lwaxana Troi costumes in the Roddenberry sale

17 props and costumes from the JJ movie.

WILLIAM SHATNER COLLECTION

The William Shatner collection items are mostly unremarkable costumes. There is a DS9 Bashir costume, and a TMP Class D jumpsuit and Class B shirt.

The Bashir might bring $ 3,000, which is what it is worth. More than that, with the buyer's premium and shipping and this is way overpriced.

The Class D jumpsuit is a $ 1,000 item MAX. No rank or Enterprise badge and no boots.

The Class C would have gone in the $ 600-800 range at IAW. It is nice, but just a shirt and not complete. No pants!

Other than that, there is nothing much. It will be interesting to see if the second tier stuff does anything. The Jem Hadar is woefully incomplete as is the Tarlac.

As far as props go, there is the Enterprise E Turbo Lift schematic translite which is pretty cool.

THE RODDENBERRY ESTATE SALE

Overall, this is an estate sale pure and simple. I find a few lots interesting, but these are not props and costumes, but memorabilia. And I doubt most of this will hold its value. Gene Roddenberry is certainly the man when it comes to Star Trek. We all owe him a lot, and sure I would get a kick out of a business card of such. But the replica phasers and fan art? Not very interesting. But the furniture and fixtures and for a different audience.

There are 5 really nice 5 Lwaxana Troi costumes from TNG and DS9 here. If you like the character, these are nice, but how high can they go? They are probably $ 2,000 costumes. They are certainly very nice and I am sure well made! I mean they were for Mrs. Roddenberry! I doubt Robert Blackman skimped on these. They will display well on mannequins as in the photos.

THE JJ MOVIE ITEMS

I have reviewed all of this before. You can read all of my reviews here.

Now you have to be careful here. While the Spock parka is nice and will probably be the high item in the auction, most of the rest of the items are not unique. The only rarity now is that these items have not been released yet. Once JJ is done with his next two movies, and the assets are released for sale (and that will happen) the rarity of items like cadet uniforms will vanish.

The Kelvin Phaser is already at $ 5,500. This will go at $ 10-12,000, which, when combined with the buyer's premium, will make it close to $ 15,000. That is a LOT of money for a prop you never saw onscreen.

I don't expect any good buys in this portion of the auction. Emotion will overrule common sense and we could see some crazy prices. I warn you all to be smart here and don't go overboard.

I will be at the auction and try and post live while the auction is going on.

Alec

FINAL FINAL Star Trek Prop Forum Profiles Auction results

2010-06-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

FINAL STATS

OK, here are the FINAL stats on how much of the Profiles in History Star Trek portion of Auction # 40 was accounted for by members of the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum.

35 different members won lots

54.2% of all sold lots, not counting the 15 that were passed

51.4% of all lots (150 of 292)

42.7% of the total money spent ($222,650 of $521,025) (premiums/tax not included)

Thanks again to Rik for compiling these stats!

Alec

Profiles in History Auction Review Part 3

2010-06-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

Well, one of the most important stats from this auction is that as of now, the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum has accounted for 47.3% of all sales at the Profiles in History Star Trek auction.

These stats are still being compiled based on members offering up their wins. I will post updated stats as we get more info.

29 members won lots
44.8% of all lots (131 of 292)
47.3% of all sold lots, not counting the 15 that were passed
38.5% of the total money spent ($200,675 of $521,025) (premiums/tax not included)

Thanks to Rik for compiling these stats!

Profiles in History Auction Review Part 2

2010-06-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

My apologies for taking so long to get up Part 2 of last Saturday's Profiles auction, but the travel from hell took its toll and I went down with a cold. But I feel great now so back to blogging! Today I am going to review the top 5 best and worst buys from the Profiles auction.

THE FIVE BEST BUYS

1) Lot # 1251 TOS Chekov's Tunic and Pants $ 8,000.

A total steal at this price. And half where I thought it would go. This costume went to Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum member Dr. Brett and he did well at this price.

2) Lot # 1283 Geordi LaForge VISOR $ 4,500

Another prop that went to a forum member, this time Adam Schneider, who usually focuses on models. A similar piece went not too long ago for twice this price.

3) Tricorders!

Any of the below were good prices!

Lot # 1297.....$ 3,750
Lot # 1331.....$ 1,400
Lot # 1332.....$ 4,000
Lot # 1334.....$ 4,000
Lot # 1335.....$ 3,500

4) Lot # 1408 The Doctor's Hero Mobile Emitter

At only $ 2,750, this is a great price for the KEY prop from Star Trek Voyager. And this is the rare metal version.

5) Lot # 1448 Captain Proton's Jet Pack $ 600

Well, I have to admit I won this one. It went for $ 2,605 in week 33 of the IAW auctions. I was the under bidder then, but happy to save $ 2,000!

THE FIVE WORST BUYS

OK, this doesn't mean they are BAD buys, just overpriced. But as always, I must say that I have sometimes overpaid, and that is OK if a piece is important to you!

1) Lot # 1241 Balok head puppet $ 70,000

WOW! That is a lot of money for a deteriorating piece of foam rubber. Now, this is a historcally significant piece, and I am sure whoever bought it can light his cigars with $ 100 bills, but on balance, this is a lot for a piece that needs restoration and protection, and could easily still degrade. My reccomendation? Take it to Tom Spina STAT!

2) Lot # 1409 XSL "Endgame" Tricorder. $ 10,000

OK, my bad! I was the winner here at my maximum bid! Yeah, one more increment and I was out! OUCH! The highest priced Tricorder in the auction! So why did I pay so much? Well, I own all 4 main character costumes from "Endagame", Admiral Janeway, the Doctor, Captain Harry Kim and Miral Paris. Plus when I saw this Tric in person I was blown away! Total emotional purchase. GUILTY AS CHARGED!

3) Lot # 1486 Mark VII Tricorder $ 8,500

Well, if you waited till the last Tricorder you got screwed! Twice the price of the other similar Tricorders. Procrastination does not pay!

4) Lot # 1490 "Trials and Tribble-ations" Phaser $ 16,000

Well, $ 16,000 is a lot to pay for a DS9 Phaser, even if it is a TOS style. The thinking is this ois the closet to a screen used TOS Phaser you will ever get.

5) Lot # 1491 "Trials and Tribble-ations" Tricorder $ 25,000

YIKES! Again, the thinking is this is the closet to a screen used TOS Tricorder you will ever get. But $ 25,000?

Well, that is it for today. The review will continue Saturday!

Alec

Profiles Star Trek Auction Review - Part 1

2010-06-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

Well, just getting to the Profiles in History Star Trek Auction was a nightmare for me. I had just spent two weeks on the set of Star Trek: Phase II in Port Henry, New York and was flying out of Burlington Vermont Friday. Well, they canceled my flight at 6:30pm and I was forced to drive 3.5 hours to Boston to get a 6am flight back, which would get me to LAX at 11:20, just n time to rush to Profiles! Well, that flight was canceled too! and I had to switch to American and that was a nightmare (I hate that airline), but was able to land at 11:00, get picked up and made it to Profiles in time! Whew!

MY RELATIONSHIP WITH PROFILES

Now, I have a funny relationship with Profiles in History. Even before I started Propworx, I was sometimes critical of what I considered sloppy authentication from time to time on Star Trek items. But I also am a customer and respect that they are # 1 in Hollywood memorabilia and they really have built this business. We owe Profiles a lot of respect for that. But that doesn't mean I am going to shut up and kiss their ass. Not my style (yeah I know, that is a shocker). I will always be fair with my criticism and give honest feedback and try and make the hobby better and safer for all.

Now I like Brian Chanes, my main contact at Profiles a ton. He has always been nice and accommodating, and even when he took offense at some things I said on the Star Trek forum, we were able to talk it out because I honestly am not out to screw with them and I want their Star Trek auction to be a success! Brian is a gentleman and so I enjoy my relationship with him. But sadly, Brian's father passed recently and he wasn't there most of the past two weeks. So when the whole Jem'Hadar ship thing went down, I got the feeling Profiles was pissed off and I didn't have Brian there to talk to about it.

Now Profiles should not have been upset. If someone can prove an item Propworx has in its auction is not as described, I want to know! The last thing I want to do is sell something that isn't what we think it is. It does not embarrass us because we work hard to prove everything is exactly as described. And if we are wrong, we will tell everyone! Heck, I would publish a blog article like the one I wrote on the Jem'Hadar ship if someone else did that on a Propworx item, because it makes the hobby better. It teaches us HOW to authenticate and what detective work needs to be done.

And I don't think Propworx is competitive with Profiles. First of all, we are tiny compared to Profiles! Second, outside of our Star Trek auction, we don't do multiple-consignor auctions like Profiles and probably never will. Not what I want to do. Propworx is about single-consignor auctions like Battlestar Galactica or Stargate. And while profiles jumped into that space with Lost, I honestly don't see them doing that much again since it takes WAY more work than their core auction business, and even Joe Madalena said it was a much less profitable business. So I don't see Profiles as a competitor. I see them as the grand-daddy of this business.

So, that being said, let me say this Star Trek auction was top notch. Overall I give it an A-.

THE REVIEW

Profiles always has their auctions at their offices in Calabasas, CA, about 30 minutes north of LA. I am not a huge fan of this, because they simply don't have a ton of room, but this time they did a really nice job decorating the entire room with curtains and a few items from the auction.

First of all, Profiles gave away very cool miniature TOS communicator key chains that actually opened up and made communicator sounds! A great idea and I told Joe Madalena that. It was a nice little promotional piece.

The only big problem was the rows of chairs were really tight and they didn't have that many people in attendance (typical for an auction these days, people all bid online!) and we were all very cramped. I would have liked Profiles to have loosened up the room layout after the very busy previous two days they had (where I am sure they had a lot of people). They had about 15 people for the Star Trek auction, which is what I would expect. And about half were people from the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum. Honestly, Profiles should rent out the Pasadena Convention Center's smaller spaces for their auctions. It is not expensive and would give everyone a lot more room.

The auctioneer is excellent. Profiles uses the same guy all the time, and he was really top notch and moves along nicely. He is very friendly and even intuitive. At one point there was an item I was ready to go to about $5,000 on and the bidding was going back and forth $100 at a time under $1,000 and the auctioneer looked at me and knew exactly what I was thinking (The look on my face gave it away I am sure) and said "You want to wait till they get done?" and I laughed. So he gets top marks.

The Buyer's Premium is 15% if you pay by cash or check, or 18% if you pay by credit card. No matter what, if you bid online you pay 18%. That is a little odd, because Live Auctioneers, the system Propworx uses also, charges the auction house a flat fee for using the software. None the less, Profiles Buyer's Premium is the lowest of the four major prop houses (Profiles, Julien's Propworx and Heritage) which is nice. If Propworx was doing the volume Profiles does, we could charge less too, but I applaud Profiles for keeping their BP low.

I find it interesting that profiles has so many phone bidding assistants. There were a lot of phone bidders bidding on sub-$ 1,000 items. While nice of Profiles to offer that service, it seems those bidders should get a computer and not waste Profiles time bidding on a $ 500 item! I always think of phone bidding as something for that really high dollar bidder!

And this time, Profiles got the famous German Star Trek savant Jorg Hillebrand involved to make sure descriptions were accurate. That was a VERY good move, one I suggested to Brian two years ago. And besides the Jem Hadar ship problem, they only missed one description, which they corrected on their blog.

So overall, a very well done event.

THE ITEMS

Well, let's start with the top 10 items:

Lot # 1241 Original Balock Puppet Head.....$70,000

Not surprised it went this high, but how does this look in 10 years? A beautiful piece but will deteriorate if not preserved.

Lot # 1491 TOS Tricorder from "Trials and Tribbleations".....$25,000

OK, this is insane. $ 25,000 for a DS9 Tricorder? I mean I wanted this too, because it is the closest thing to a TOS Tricorder most people will ever get. But $ 25K?

Lot # 1490 TOS Phaser from "Trials and Tribbleations".....$16,000

Ditto. I was the under bidder. DOH! Thank God I lost that one. I would have woken up with a bad headache this AM.

Lot # 1409 Mark XSL "Endgame" Tricorder.....$10,000

I won this. I overpaid, but it was an emotional purchase. I own all four main "Endgame" uniforms - Janeway Admiral, Doctor, Kim Captain and Miral Paris (and a cadet). So it made sense to put it all together. Plus it was absolutely the coolest Tricorder in the auction. When I saw it in person I was hooked. $ 10K was my max bid too!

Lot # 1527 EM-33 Pistol.....$8,500

WOW! That is a lot for a pistol, but this one was amazing and the metal pieces looked awesome.

Lot # 1251 TOS Chekov Costume.....$8,000

A STEAL! Certainly the buy of the auction.

Lot # 1486 Mark VII Medical Tricorder....$8,000

Even at this price, a fair deal.

Lot # 1261 Kirk TMP Uniform.....$7,500

I don't like this uniform, but it is a Kirk and a good deal at this price.

Lot # 1330 Away Team Medical Kit.....$7,000

Buy a Tricorder for this and you have one of the best props in the auction.

Lot # 1252 TOS Red Shirt Costume.....$6,500

A great buy on a TOS costume. The insignia was a repro though.

So, tomorrow, Part II and I start getting in depth into the items.

Alec