Enterprise found

 art, awesomeness, blather, history, Hmm..., models, news, science fiction, spacecraft  No Responses »
Nov 042023
 

Several models of the Starship Enterprise were built for the original “Star Trek” series. The most famous is the 11-foot model which was used for most of the effects shots, and *amazingly* managed to survive long enough to end up in the hands of the National Air and Space Museum. But before the 11-footer was a 3-footer. This was made early on, and was solid wood with no lighting; still, it was used in a number of shots. This model stayed in the hands of Gene Roddenberry, modified to rest on a mike stand bolted to a wooden base. This model was lent to the first special effects house during the production of the aborted “Star Trek Phase II” series in the mid-70’s… and then it vanished. Whether it was stolen, misplaced or lost has not been clear, but Roddenberry considered it to be stolen. Stuff like this that disappears stands a good chance of never being seen again. Witness many of the models made for “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

But then, the “Aries Ib” model for “2001” was found a few years ago. And as it turns out, that 3-foot Enterprise was recently found. It was in a storage unit, purchased by someone who buys such things at auction. The new owner then put it on ebay with a starting price of a mere $1000. And then Star Trek fandom found out about it and has been going nuts. The Roddenberry estate contacted the seller and the auction has been pulled.

News was revealed here:

https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/red-alert-lost-3-ft-tos-enterprise-found.354596/

The current seller has broken no laws… it seems he just bought an abandoned storage unit. But the Enterprise remains stolen property and should be returned to the Roddenberry estate. Still… it sure seems like the seller aught to be compensated for finding this thing, even if he didn’t really know quite what he had. It’s in pretty rough shape, as can be expected. With luck it’ll receive some sort of restoration, though arguments can be made for exactly how far that should go. It should definitely be cleaned up. It’s drooping and cracked; that should be fixed. But fixing the paint and decals? I don’t know about that. Perhaps it, unlike the NASM Enterprise, should retain the appearance of years. There are some “errors” that were there from the beginning, those should stay.

It is very unlikely that this will ever see an auction. But if it does, it’ll doubtless go for Lotto-levels  of cash.

The photos from the ebay listing:

 Posted by at 10:13 pm

Sabrebat

 aircraft, art, history, models, Monthly Historical Documents Program, Patreon, projects  No Responses »
Oct 042023
 

Grumman won the contract to build the forward-swept-wing X-29. But Grumman was not the only company to go for the contract; Rockwell devoted a fair amount of effort – both engineering and PR – to win the prize. Their concept was similar, though intended to be a wholly new aircraft, and with a notably different planform.  Below is a magazine ad from 1980 showing a model of the Rockwell “Sabrebat” concept.

 

The full-rez scan has been uploaded to the 2023-10 APR Extras folder on Dropbox for $4 and up Patreons/Subscribers. If you would like to help fund the acquisition and preservation of such things, please consider signing on either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.



 

 

 

 

 Posted by at 10:50 pm

“XB-2002 Stealthawk”

 aircraft, art, history, Hmm..., models, politics  No Responses »
Jun 282023
 

This popped up on ebay a few years ago. It purported to be a Boeing design for an advanced subsonic stealth bomber… but the design is, clearly, rather silly. Supposedly it dates from 1984 and was produced at, by and for Boeing, intended to be a decoy for the B-2 Advanced Technology (Stealth) Bomber competitors. I’m not sure Lockheed or Northrop would have looked at this and seen a serious design, however.

*Some* aspects of it seem like they might have been taken from an actual stealthy bomber design… the inlets and exhaust, indeed much of the middle part of the wing/body, look about right. But the stubby wing and especially the straight-vertical fins in substantial numbers are goofy aerodynamics and spectacular corner reflectors.

At least two of these were made and wandered out into the wild over the years.

 Posted by at 12:31 pm

I imagine there’s a market for this sort of thing

 aircraft, art, awesomeness, Hmm..., models, science fiction, youtube  No Responses »
Jun 222023
 

A “hovertank” is, of course, a terrible idea. A hovering vehicle pretty much by definition has no traction with the ground, thus cannot well handle a lot of recoil… which is the sort of thing a cannon provides in spades. And anything that hovers has to be built light enough to get lurched off the ground, which reduces the capability to be armored. And… on and on.

Nevertheless, the “hovertank” has it’s place in science fiction.

And now modern consumer electronics and drone technology has reached the point where a hovertank can in fact be yours. In subscale plastic model form at any rate.

I’m honestly surprised and impressed that that bitty quadcopter could lift that, and do so effectively. Now imagine that the kit was designed for that from the get-go, using vac-formed parts… or even carbon fiber laid-up components. Far lighter, and better integrated with the lift system.

 

 Posted by at 12:58 pm

“2001 Briefcase Computer:” video camera

 art, awesomeness, history, Hmm..., models, science fiction  No Responses »
Jun 052023
 
A “2001 Briefcase Computer” update: there hasn’t been much to say recently, but I’ve completed the rough-cut of the video camera. It’s made from the correct model Japanese telescope, the correct tripod and a scratch-built body with four chrome-plated “knobs.” The black bits are unclear on the prop, but were made from textured 1mm black plastic, recessed slightly into the body. The body here is white; the final versions will be fiberglass and painted to look like aluminum. There is a barely-visible square at the front, presumably a sensor… and an almost invisible square at the back. As currently built the back-square is simply a square of plastic; without further views of the proper, which I doubt are forthcoming, there’s nothing more I can add that would be “canon.” However, that would be the obvious place for switches, controls, etc.
To finish the camera, I need a correct coiled cable. Unfortunately, this sort of thing doesn’t seem to be too common these days. It is larger than a phone headset cable, with the coil appearing to be about 1 inch/ 2.5 cm in diameter. Does anyone know of such a cable? There is no connection between the cable and the camera visible; I suspect on the prop the cable was simply jammed in a hole, glued or even taped on. However, some sort of reasonable “plug” would have to be included. On one hand, a USB plug would seem right… on the other hand, the “2001” aesthetic doesn’t exactly go for “simple and easy to use,” so a nightmarish cable coax fitting would almost seem right.
To compare with:
 Posted by at 8:57 am
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