A Classic to be Reborn

An ambitious project? A chance to see one of the true screen greats reborn for a new age and the enjoyment of fans?

Paul Olsen has a plan - to build a replica of the original movie USS Enterprise refit by the very men who helped bring her to life in 1978 for The Motion Picture.

The model used for the film series - from it's encounter with V'Ger right up to The Undiscovered Country (same model different registry) - is now in the hands of a private collector and Paul, who was responsible for the iridescent pearl paint detail on the original filming model, is spearheading a project to raise $3million to make a new eight foot starship from scratch by the original MAGICAM team.

There are a few stages to the fundraising with the first $24,000 required to set the public relations machine in motion. That's the first three months of this 14 to 16 month goal and after that the physical build can start. Paul, already has a book on the subject of building the stunning original and it's just one of the perks available if you are willing to help fund this great project.

The 1701 Rebuild  project could easily be a classic adventure story - a lost artifact, the reunion of the team that created it and the journey to return it to the public domain after all this time. Should make a movie - but for now making the replica will have to suffice (like that's not the best thing EVER!).

I got the chance to find out more thanks to the wonders of modern communications technology (ok, the internet) to discuss what has to be the most gorgeous USS Enterprise ever constructed - Eaglemoss take note, this is how you do a refit Constitution Class.

"It will be a faithful, exact replica... with modern materials and electrics," explained Paul. "We'll be able to do some detailing inside the hull and have that baby light herself completely to knock the socks off everyone who sees her. Richard Taylor will design her display...and with him let loose, it will be a breathtaking knockout."

Paul attended the 2012 Destination Star Trek and his experience there led to his writing of the Creating the Enterprise book to document the story of the construction of the ship from The Motion Picture. That book then led to Paul ocean-hopping and brought him back in touch with both designer Richard Taylor and starship builder Jim Dow. They did some homework and found that the original had been sold privately some time ago and from there the 1701 Rebuild project was born.

The team are working to Richard's original drawings and will be starting from scratch exactly as it was done the first time. "It's been two years, several thousand hours and about $20,000 spent so far...two trips to LA...going down blind alleys...a LOT of work." noted Paul who is based in London. He has also brought on board Mark Stetson who was involved with the building of the original movie model and Boyd Crompton who many readers may know from TrekWorks both of whom add a lot of model-making expertise to the Rebuild.

Perhaps it's putting it lightly that even at this stage there's been a lot of work as Paul also directed me to five hours worth of reading and viewing material. How you can see this and more we'll come to shortly but what I can say is that even the fraction we got to see documents the full journey from convention appearance through to where we are now.

While you would expect this team to have been involved in the construction of other notable ships from the movie series you'd be surprised to know that aside from designing some of the effects for V'Ger, the Enterprise was the only model they were involved with. Saying that though, there's one that he would have liked the chance to build; "I loved the Bird of Prey...but really, to have been given the keys to the Enterprise and told it was up to me to finish her off for her debut was more than anyone could ever want."

Fans have responded well to the project and can help by spreading the word and, if they can, donate funds to boost the work. "Spreading the word [will] hopefully get others to become Prime Movers (project backers) so I can put the package together to raise the big money - a few dollars each from a million fans will do it. Once I have all the Prime Movers I need, it will be a done deal because I'll then be able to reach people all over the world through mainstream media, as well as the net." said Paul. 

Prime Movers will receive different types of perks dependent on their contribution from $15 to $500 as we're more than familiar with through platforms such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo which are springboards for fan projects such as Axanar and The Red Shirt Diaries. Among those items is a copy of the Creating the Enterprise book which helped light the spark for this daring and potentially $3 million project as well as photographs, copies of the original movie decals, access to exclusive material and interviews (some of which we got to see as a preview!) with the trio which reveal how they constructed the starship back in the late 1970's and for higher levels of donations a visit to the workshops where the model will be realised.

Jim Dow with the original model (photo courtesy of Paul Olsen)

As Paul discusses in his video introduction though, this new ship will be built with state of the art techniques and be even better than the original which, we are led to believe, is in a terrible state after being used for six movies and taking a pounding at the hands of ILM.

One other perk that Paul did mention was the Prime Mover sculpture which will sit with the finished model on display; "We will design [it] with all Prime Movers' names engraved on it---either Richard or myself will design it...or maybe both of us. That will travel with Enterprise everywhere so fans all over the world can pay homage to those who helped me in the beginning. They will become part of Star Trek history, and rightfully so."

I'm liking the vision here - the concept, the big dream to make something so iconic and recognisable be given a new lease of life using the most up to date methods possible. Over the next two years we intend to follow the path of the project as they gather funds and begin to piece the movie NCC-1701 together. I suspect one of the points that will be levelled is why would you want to see the movie Enterprise when the original TV series ship is going to be restored for the public to see at the Smithsonian? Well I for one am more of a fan of the movie refit and through the precise construction of this model - from the original plans - we will have a chance to see a missing piece of the Star Trek story as well as get to know what techniques have changed in model building in the last 35 years. In a sense it's a homage and an experiment rolled into one.

This will be the 1970's Enterprise perfected with the advances of 2015 tech which in a lot of ways is very fitting that she should be given this honour and chance at a second life for fans to wonder at once again.

You can get involved now with the 1701 Rebuild project by clicking over to the main site HERE.

Would you want to see this gem from the movies? Let us know below!

Like our page on Facebook 

Follow us on Twitter

+1 us on Google+

Add us on Tumblr

Pick us out on Pinterest
Add to to conversation on Star Trek: Risa

Dusting off the Past

Usually at weekends my Star Trek intake would be along the lines of flicking through one of my books, watching a couple of episodes or a movie or dropping a few lines to one of my Trek associates via the wonders of the world wide web.

However this weekend Mel and I went along to a local antiques and crafts centre. While this might not immediately peak everyone's interests I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I have discovered the wonders of Star Trek past that can be found deep in the recesses...and at quite reasonable prices as well - even more if you can haggle a bit.

Just walking into the first room and hidden on the bottom shelf of a cabinet was the Star Trek: The Next Generation Chess Set. While I remember the 25th Anniversary gold and silver set which was quite expensive and purchased piece by piece but this was something I think my mind buried at the back of my mind. The cast shot suggests it was made later than 1992 as it's from the sixth season but I couldn't get a better look as it was behind glass doors.

Moving only a little further along and having a look under a few other items on a piled shelf there appeared the seventh season of The Next Generation. Sadly it wasn't complete but I've included a link to the cards set as it was in the folder. You should be able to read the backs of all the cards. I was impressed but as it was incomplete I wasn't too happy with the advertised price. Apologies but the photography was a little rushed here! I've included a few in the featured image above for reference. No doubt many of you have the complete set!

For the first of the rooms that was about it however I then chanced on a second hand bookshop which came up trumps. There were a few dog-eared Voyager novels including Marooned which I swung past quickly but in the entertainment section a whole shelf was dedicated to the Star Trek universe. A couple of copies of the Star Trek Encyclopaedia and The Next Generation Companion (original blue cover) bookended a few more interesting volumes.

So who out there has seen or heard of the Star Trek in Italy book? No? Me neither. This place had a copy though. While the cover might suggest a story of the franchise in the European nation I was more surprised to find that it was a Star Trek book in ITALIAN. Covering all the series I would have loved to see what the translations came out as but sadly I don't speak or read the language (see illustrations above). There were some good images on a flick through but that was about as far as my understanding went. I think a lot of the content might have been taken from other publications in the USA and UK.

Also there were copies of the Boxtree The Next Generation sixth season (here, right) and Deep Space Nine first season episode guides. I actually had both of these at one time however I gave them up. The quality of the writing was poor and the pictures were all from other productions. The only actual Star Trek images were used on the cover. One for the keen of eye here as Geordi isn't wearing his VISOR on the cover. A nice behind the scenes shot but not something worthy of a front cover! From memory there were also a mammoth volume of The Original Series, The Next Generation seasons one to five and the movies (to The Undiscovered Country). A seventh and second season books were later released for The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine respectively but that was it. In comparison to the official publications from Pocket Books they were massively sub-par.

Perhaps even worse and more offensive to the Star Trek universe and sitting alongside two books narrating the making of First Contact and Insurrection (bit thin on the page numbers) was the 1978 Star Trek Annual (above with inside shot) produced, funnily enough, in conjunction with the BBC. If the occasional image of the Enterprise had been omitted you would have no idea that this was a Star Trek annual. I think the cover is more Star Trek than the rest of it put together. Sci-fi yes but not from the mind of Roddenberry. A certain cash-in and something that I definitely left on the shelf!

And what else was there? The novelisation of All Good Things... might take your fancy perhaps? Complete with colour insert pictures from The Next Generation finale I was tempted but there was another volume I SHOULD have bought and will probably pop back to pick up in the next few days; The Next Generation Movie Sketchbook. Significantly reduced it was one of the few Star Trek books I failed to buy back in the mid-1990's and focused solely on (shows its age) Generations and First Contact. I actually remember it being released and pouring over the pages in the local bookshops when I had a chance. For a teenager at the time it was a little out of my price range. Now with a bit of a reduction it's worth going a bit Trek-retro. Great drawing of the Amargosa observatory on the front don't you think?

So the next time your partner suggests going to an antiques and crafts centre, don't knock it. You might just find the Star Trek item you were looking for on eBay or Amazon a lot cheaper than  you thought and even have a bit of room for negotiation downwards on the pricing scale. I went to ask the shop owner the price of the Sketchbook and before I even opened my mouth he was offering me a discount. I'm planning to go back and see if I can hunt out some more Star Trek bargains in the near future...and on the look out for some other secondhand stalls/shops and centres to check out for more items of Star Trek past...

All images by SKoST