On November 9, 2024, an iconic piece of Star Trek history - the "hero" or working Type II Pistol Phaser prop which had been used for close-up photography in such memorable TOS episodes as "Court Martial" and "The Gamesters of Triskelion" and had been extensively pictured in the famous 1968 behind-the-scenes reference book "The Making of Star Trek" - sold at Julien's Bid Long & Prosper auction for a record shattering $910,000 (based on a hammer price of $700,000 plus a 30% buyers premium); making this phaser the most expensive piece of Star Trek memorabilia ever sold at auction. The emergence of this prop into the public consciousness was just a recent development; as it was privately held for nearly 50 years by it's consignors who inherited it from a relative in the Hollywood prop industry. The original pre-auction estimate for the phaser was $100,000 - $200,000; which was consistent with earlier, recent Star Trek memorabilia sales history. In the Heritage Greg Jein Collection auction on October 14, 2023, Lot #89139, the Jein TOS Hero Phaser prop that is virtually identical to this piece realized a final price of $187,500 including buyers premium - or approximately 1/5th of the price observed in the Julien's auction.
The TOS “hero” phaser props were elaborately constructed based on the design created by Walter “Matt” Jefferies, the Art Director and Production
Designer for TOS – who might be best known as the creator of the
original U.S.S. Enterprise starship. The working phaser features:
- A removable Hand Phaser unit (also called a Type I Phaser) that mounted into the Type II body and could be secured in place or released by depressing the bronze colored cylindrical button (or “Lock Release” ) projecting outwards from the left-side of the Type II body
- A moving silver thumbwheel ( or “Force Setting Wheel”) on the top surface of the Hand Phaser that would, when rotated fully forward, raise a clear acrylic “sight” mechanism out of the top of the unit, lifting slightly the rear of the silver rectangular meshed plate or “Electron Aspirator Pile” and also causing the beam emitter at the very front of the Type II body to extend forward
- Fully rotating the silver thumbwheel forward would also cause a tiny “grain of wheat” light bulb mounted into the beam emitter to illuminate. This would be useful for the graphic artists working on the post production “special effects” processing for the series to correctly add in the bright blue or red or white colored light beam seen projecting from the phaser when it was firing.
- A rotating ring piece as part of the aluminum front nozzle section (or “Photon Accelerator”)
- A machined aluminum rear “Deflector Shield” component with 4 fin-like projections incorporated in the design. (This detail was simply painted onto mid-grade level phaser props.)
- A removable grip or handle which also served as a PowerPack for the Type II unit; as revealed in the episode “The Omega Glory”, where discarded powerpacks were found as evidence of extensive use of phaser weapons in a battle
This historic piece with it’s intricate internal design mechanisms truly represents the pinnacle of 1960’s propmaking expertise.
Presented below is the complete Julien's auction catalog description, with accompanying photos, for this iconic hero phaser, as well as several rare images that reveal the elaborate internal construction details of the prop.
Special thanks to John Long, the renowned Star Trek prop expert and prop maker who masterfully performed the restoration and conservation activities on both this Hero Type II Phaser and the Hero TOS communicator prop also sold at the Julien's Bid Long & Prosper auction, for his very gracious permission to include his detailed photography of the phaser's interior within this article.
Lot #7 Star Trek: The Original Series | William Shatner "Captain James T. Kirk" Hero Screen-Matched Phaser Prop
An original screen-matched, hero, Phaser prop used by William Shatner as
Captain James T. Kirk in the television series Star Trek: The Original
Series (Desilu Productions, 1966 - 1969).
This iconic prop, created in 1966, is one of only four hero or
“practical” versions of the Phaser used on the show which feature
intricate details and moving parts that were unique to those few props,
making it exceedingly rare. This Phaser is known in the collecting
community as the "Finney" Phaser because it was seen on screen used by
actor Richard Webb who portrayed the character "Finney" in the season
one episode "Court Marshall." Held by its current owners for nearly
fifty years, this Phaser was thought to be lost until now. The current
owners inherited the Phaser from a close relative who was a Hollywood
prop industry veteran that purportedly acquired it from a former
Paramount Pictures employee that worked on early Star Trek productions.
Construction
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry wanted to avoid the sci-fi cliche
“ray-gun” and preferred that his new weapons have details and features
beyond just a static prop. To that end, the hero Phasers feature a
removable top-mounted Phaser 1 that could be used by itself or in place
within the larger body which, when combined, were collectively referred
to as a Phaser 2. Both of these pieces are marvels of prop engineering
with various electric switches, hidden linkages and moving parts that
can only be seen when the pieces are opened to reveal their inner
workings. The intricate interior details with both custom and
off-the-shelf parts from the 1960s are specific matches to another
acknowledged hero Phaser previously owned by prop maker and collector
Greg Jein. The handle of the Phaser, which is also removable, is the
battery compartment that powers the light in the emitter tip.
In addition to the fact that this Phaser perfectly matches the materials
and methods of construction seen on the Greg Jein Phaser, this Phaser
was also showcased in The Making of Star Trek, a book published in 1968.
The Making of Star Trek included a photo section featuring many key
Star Trek props. The section on the Phaser included detailed photos,
including interior images of the Phaser 1 section perfectly match this
Phaser.
Screen-Matching
Thanks to the fact that Star Trek has been re-mastered from its original
film to high-definition Blu-Ray, this Phaser can clearly be matched to
specific scenes in multiple episodes which is a highly unusual and
sought-after feature.
This Phaser holds another distinction that sets it apart from its
counterparts. It was apparently designated by the prop master as “The
Beauty Phaser,” which is demonstrated by its excellent condition and its
many close-ups throughout Star Trek’s three seasons, the only Phaser
used in this way. We have been able to identify unique details,
scratches and flaws on this Phaser to make positive identifications of
this prop to a number of specific episodes. It can be seen in close-up
in the episodes, ”Court Martial”, "The Cloud Minders", "The Gamesters of
Triskelion" and “A Piece of the Action,” a singular honor.
Restoration
While the Phaser was already in exceptional condition, it nevertheless
underwent restoration to stabilize inner working parts to allow gentle
movement without risking damage. The interior battery compartment had
corrosion fro a previous battery. The corrosion was removed and the
compartment was stabilized to prevent further damage. During this
process, an external power source was used to illuminate the original
bulb still present in the nozzle tip. Although it is possible to use a
battery to enable the lighting of this bulb, further work would be
required to fully stabilize these connections for reliability. The
original acrylic semicircular top meter cover was absent from the
Phaser, a replacement has been created for display purposes and comes
with this lot. This part was not affixed to the Phaser in any way, to
maintain the integrity of the piece.
Estimate: $100,000 - $200,000
Some very special internal construction imagery courtesy of Star Trek TOS expert John Long ...
A perfect match of the interior hand phaser compartment cover appearance with a 1968 photo published in The Making of Star Trek ...
A closeup screen shot from the 2nd season episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion" ...
A closeup screen shot from the 1st season episode "Court Martial" ...
Some breathtaking modern day imagery of the hero phaser, illuminated again!, courtesy of John Long ...
