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All The Details... Our Site Directory, Other TOS Props, plus FAQs
| Being in a central position for people's inquiries on their hopefully-authentic communicators, it was inevitable that we would get shown other TOS props as well. While it's not our intention to expand our scope beyond the classic comm, we do like spreading good news around and supporting the honest efforts of hobbyists and collectors. Nearly all of the previously known surviving props prior to 2006 came through only two sources; John Dwyer and Jim Rugg. Fortunately at least a number of other props have also survived into this century, and we'll show here what we can of them.. * Be advised that while we have very high confidence in the authenticity of the below items owing to their known provenance AND their appropriate unique features, our opinion in this matter should not be considered as "firm" as with the communicators. At such a time when these objects do enter the marketplace, their story and construction will no doubt be further studied in detail to the complete assurance of all agents and potential buyers. |
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Midgrade P1, P2, and Medical Hypo Spray. The Alpha
hero communicator is part of this person's collection but is featured
on our site separately.
18 photos courtesy of an anonymous West Coast collector last updated 6/9/08 |
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Midgrade P1.
6 photos courtesy of an anonymous East Coast collector last updated 6/9/08 |
| Q1) What is the most accurate replica or kit I could buy? A) It will not be the policy of HeroComm to critique, good or bad, any replica (except those we consider forgeries). All replicas for sale will tend to have their own set of merits and detractions. As children, we might have been happy to role play with a communicator made of cardboard colored by crayons. Today as adults, some of us will only settle for an authentic screen-used original. Most of us are somewhere in between. On these pages, you may now have enough information to decide for yourself what will fully satisfy your Communicator Jones; a ready-made replica, a pre-fabricated unassembled kit, or diving into your own creative juices to make your own (with HeroComm as your guide). To quote Klaatu before he flies away, "The decision rests with you." Q2) Have any authentic communicators been sold recently on eBay or through auction houses? A) No. The last true original up for public sale was Delta, in late 2001 from Profiles in History. It was purchased by Paul Allen. We will post updates should any originals come up for sale. Q3) Will you ever show how to add electronics, like a sound board or lights? A) No. Our focus has been limited to the props as originally made for the classic TV show. Chat boards would be a more likely place to find write-ups from other hobbyists about such topics. Q4) Are there plans in the future of doing similar work with the phaser and tricorder? A) We have absolutely no plans for anything further beyond the communicator. However, we can gladly report that Don Hillenbrand (who blogs as the Wrath Of Dhan), in conjuction with input from the members at the TrekPropZone board, is currently working on just that - sites dedicated to all known information on the various phasers and tricorders of TOS. Don's a busy guy, so when those site will be complete is right now anyone's guess. Q5 Will you be redoing the Screen Cap Library with high definition images once Blu-Ray comes out? A) No. The library was intended as a tool mainly to locate where communicators make appearances in the show and to identify key details, especially of those actual props not yet rediscovered today. This tool has served its purpose, as all ten of Wah's comms have been spotted and fully fleshed out on our pages. For ongoing studies, individual frames may be retrieved from Blu-Ray discs but not necessarily posted in their entirety here. The task of remaking the library is too large for too little gain at this point. Q6 Can you tell me the functions of the Comm based on any technical docs, episodes, or your vast knowledge of the device. Basically, when the lid is flipped open, does the moiré pattern automatically start moving (Alpha / Beta version)? Which lights illuminate, and when exactly? A) The reason why you have not yet been able to find any authoritative references for how the communicators were to have functioned in the 23rd century is there are none. No firm canon can be established from the show. The “lights” didn’t really work. The moving moiré was never shown beyond a few seconds. The writers, actors and sound editors were wholly inconsistent in how they treated the props from episode to episode. In the mid 1970s Franz Joseph invented some crude parameters to put into his Technical Manual, but those seem to have been based on a run-of-the-mill walkie-talkie. Later “working” copies from the likes of Master Replicas and Roddenberry have had their own interpretations, but that’s all they are... guesses. What this really means is we in HobbyLand still get to make it up however each of us wants. Q7 Noting the use of a stopwatch for the moiré effect in the hero models, I was wondering how did the on-set microphone keep from picking up the sound of it's operation? Was it that quite? A) You would be amazed at how quiet those cheap 1- and 7-jewel stopwatches can be, even after decades of aging. The very loudest from a large batch that has been tested could probably have been picked up by a sensitive microphone nearby, but the vast majority were the better part of whisper-quiet. The best of the best were downright silent, especially once sealed in a black plastic box. As it turns out, the one in Alpha is in that "silent" category; it is virtually inaudible when running now. Certainly sound editors had to omit unwanted background noises all the time (i.e. the sliding doors), but it is likely they had no such problem with the hero communicators. |
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