From February, 1992 through January, 1993; a major exhibition of Star Trek: The Original Series props, costumes and model miniatures was held at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. This exhibition was part of the 25th Anniversary celebration of TOS, and attracted over 880,000 visitors during its 11 month engagement. It was the first time that the Smithsonian had honored a fictional as opposed to scientific achievement; and, to this day, represents the largest and most significant collection of Original Series screen used memorabilia ever to be assembled for public display.
This fourth in a series of posts on Star Trek at the Smithsonian focuses on a Klingon Battlecruiser filming model from the collection of Original Series Art Director and Production Designer Walter "Matt" Jefferies that was used in the TOS 3rd season episode "Elaan of Troyius" (first airdate: Dec. 20, 1968). Matt Jefferies is the creator of this starship design, and he presented the model as a gift to the Smithsonian.
The initial article on this historic Air and Space exhibition featured a rare 26 min video prepared especially for the event in which the Original Series Cast and Crew discussed the appeal and relevance of Star Trek. It can be seen at http://startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com/2009/05/special-1992-smithsonian-video-with.html
Today's and future presentations on Star Trek At The Smithsonian would not be possible without the kindness and thoroughness of Randy Holland, a dedicated fan of Star Trek since 1972, who created an outstanding video record of his visit to the Exhibition over 17 years ago - during the Easter weekend of 1992. Mr. Holland, a fan of all incarnations of Trek, expertly documented all of the treasures on display in a careful, meticulous way (even capturing the many descriptive plaques that accompanied the memorabilia) to allow us to effectively travel back in time to participate in this event as if it were truly unfolding before our eyes.
And now, the Klingon Battlecruiser from "Elaan of Troyius" ...
Some screenshots of the model as it appeared in the 3rd season TOS episode ...
