Trek Prop Collecting

bluethundr writes "Uhm... Is Star Trek just not considered geeky anymore? Must I turn in my Local Geek Union 508 membership Card? Holy freakin' crap! Did I miss a memo somewhere, or did I fail to notice a story on /. about the one and only CAPTAIN'S CHAIR from the freakin' ENTERPRISE (...no bloody A, B, C or D) being up for auction on eBay? To be had, no doubt for about the amount of a small-to-mid-sized suburban home in the NE USofA." bluethundr continues on his 12-step program below.

bluethundr continues: "And while we're at it. I admit it. I am an Okudagram collector. I go nuts and drain my bank account every time I see one of the control panels from the Enterprise (which I believe to be authentic and usually TNG's D, as that's all my bankroll will allow) on eBay and my home server room looks like a federation outpost. If you weren't aware, the Okudagrams from the show come in the form of black-tinted plexi that has a patterned film applied to it with photographic gels to add color and vellum affixed to said plexi with black masking tape. The idea is to backlight them for the effect they achieved on the sets of lighted control panels. Collecting these things, you get a feeling for what's authentic hollywood material and what's a cheap fanboy knockoff. I can't help but wonder if I am the only /.er to engage in this eccentric hobby... By the way, several control panels from the 1701 (including Spock's Science Station computer!) as well as an array of other authentic stuff from the 60s is also to be had for a (very) tidy sum on "the world's online marketplace"....By the way, I am trying to curb this habit of mine, hence this submission. :-|"

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An Ex-Trek Fan Speaks About The Club Scene

[Joel Rowbottom]

In the early 1990's I was involved in a Star Trek club here in England (that'll be Wakefield Starfleet, affiliated with the NSFA). I spent my pocket money, and subsequently my Saturday-job money, on Trek books and memorabilia. It was good back then because we hadn't been overloaded with books, comics, magazines, figurines, playsets, videos, special-edition videos, DVDs, CDs, blah blah blah blah blah. I went to the occasional convention in the UK as funds would allow, and enjoyed watching episodes of Classic and Next Gen.

As time went on I went to University and lost interest around the time of Deep Space Nine, when Berman took over and made it into a 'franchise'. I think I've seen a total of 10 episodes of Voyager, but it didn't really 'inspire' me. Sure, the films give me a bit of a 'buzz' - I've bought them on DVD - but that was about it.

Now, some 10 years later, I'm moving house and find all my old stuff - the uniforms I made, the books, etc. So I decide to eBay the books (a collection of around 100 Trek books, including original 1960's editions) and it goes for £50. That's about $75 in your money. Pathetic, isn't it? I see the huge amount of Trek crap on eBay, and there's lots of people selling it but nobody really buying it.

Now I'm not even bothering with the rest of the stuff like the comics, etc. because the hassle of me shipping them to a buyer outweighs the benefit of the money in my bank account - may as well just stuff them in the attic and wait until someone comes along who might want them.

I can't seem to find any decent conventions or clubs in the UK either - all the clubs which sprang up (anyone remember Ten Forward, or the National Starfleet Alliance?) have long since disappeared.

Perhaps we've all just grown up. Or the constant milking of the 'franchise' left us all with sour tastes in the mouth. Me, I'm married with a kid now and enjoy watching Enterprise with my wife, and still I can't bring myself to throw out the old uniforms. They'll do for a fancy dress party I suppose ;)

Speaking of cool Star Trek Stuff...

[CleverNickName]

eBay is also auctioning tons of really cool memos from Bob Justman.

The one which caught my eye says:

"Next problem. No Wes. We have Will Wheaton on a 13 out of 13 deal -- just like our other regulars. We pay him whether we photograph him or not. If we don't use him, all his teenybopper fans are going to be disappointed and we won't be taking advantage of one of our new show's greatest assets. I'm told we're not using him because our writers don't' know how to write for him. I find that hard to believe. They're writers, aren't they? I know damn well that *you* can write him -- so why don't you show them how? Put him in a scene. I know you can do it. Another problem solved." "Listen to what Rick Berman has to say about this script -- and everything else, for that matter. He's smart and has very good ideas. He's already a great asset to you and 'Star Trek'. I'm sure that, as time zooms by, he'll become even more valuable."