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.
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.
