# TOS E 3 Footer



## Trekfreak (Mar 26, 2005)

I may have been living under a rock for some time so excuse me if this question sounds stupid or anything but has anyone found the missing 3 foot filming model of the TOS Enterprise or not? I'm hearing it has become such a coveted item to find that someone has hired Lara Croft to look for it.LOL!


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## Opus Penguin (Apr 19, 2004)

From my understanding, and I could be wrong, it has been missing for a long time. One rumour is that the Roddenberry's leant it to a friend and it was never returned. I don't know how much truth is behind that though.


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## CessnaDriver (Apr 27, 2005)

I wonder if the "lent it to a friend" story was to keep Paramount from demanding its return. Roddenberry may not have had the legal rights to own it. 

And seeing how Paramount is selling everything Im sure they would have wanted it back.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

One rumour is that Paul Allen has it along with the TOS Romulan BOP. Having been to the Science Fiction Museum I can believe it! The museum is mostly his colection.


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## johneaves (Sep 26, 2006)

true, it was loaned out and never returned, the borrower is still a mystery though.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Think maybe MR might give Majel a discount on one for a replacement?


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## Trekfreak (Mar 26, 2005)

I can image if someone was in possession of the model, they would probably sell it to the highest bidder. It is such a priceless piece of Sci-Fi and TV history. Someone could shell out big moolah for it.


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

Except for the major legal battle between whoever has it, Gene's family, and ParaBorg if it ever surfaces...


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## CessnaDriver (Apr 27, 2005)

spe130 said:


> Except for the major legal battle between whoever has it, Gene's family, and ParaBorg if it ever surfaces...



That is why I think we will not see it anytime soon.
If it resurfaces. Paramount will demand it's return, saying Roddenberry never had rights to own it. That it is effectively stolen. 
I bet whoever has it knows this, or at least fears this. 
Any lawyers here?


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## X15-A2 (Jan 21, 2004)

Well, Paramount gave the 34 inch model to Roddenberry when he returned to the studio to do STMP. He kept in his office on display and undoubtedly took it home later. If Paramount was so concerned about it, they should not have given it to him in the first place. Wherever it is now, it got there through Roddenberry.


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## CessnaDriver (Apr 27, 2005)

It would be intersting to know if paperwork existed proving it indeed a gift or if it was simply a loan. I doubt Paramount cared about it at the time, but now it is worth much more. 
I wonder how it would play out in court if there is no paperwork on it. 
Paramount could make any claim now, regardless of what they said then if no records exist. What is that old expression? Possession is 9/10ths of the law.


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## Treadwell (Aug 22, 2002)

Whoever borrowed it might not have it anymore. I might even be landfill. A lot of this these type of things are not taken care of as reverently as we would--for example, a couple of years ago a rare screenused Stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars turned up, but, sadly, it was in terrible condition. Why? 

The owner had let his kids play with it.

The 3-footer may have had the same fate as all of those AMT models we all played with as kids as if they were toys, broken nacelles and all.


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

X15-A2 said:


> Well, Paramount gave the 34 inch model to Roddenberry when he returned to the studio to do STMP. He kept in his office on display and undoubtedly took it home later. If Paramount was so concerned about it, they should not have given it to him in the first place. Wherever it is now, it got there through Roddenberry.


I thought they gave it to him when TOS ended.


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## X15-A2 (Jan 21, 2004)

It was presented to him when he returned to Paramount. There would have been no agreement or paperwork of any kind, it is a question though who exactly would have given it to him in the first place. That model would have been kept in the SFX Dept lockup (I been in it...) and would have been basically out of sight/out of mind. I could imagine one of the upper-level execs calling the department manager and asking "hey, do we have any "Trek" stuff that would make a good display?" and then recieving a call back with a list of possible items. The model would have stood out as an obvious choice so it was pulled out and taken to the front office whereupon it was then presented to GR as a "welcome back" gift. I doubt seriously that anyone thought much about where it would go from there and GR would have quite reasonably have then seen it as his to do with what he wanted.


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## bil4miller (Jul 30, 1999)

I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up smashed in an earthquake or burned up in a wild fire. If it was out there, it would have surfaced by now.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

I would hope that nothing bad happened to it and that it's adorning someone's Trek display, or worst case scenario gathering dust in a garage or attic. Regardless, I hope we one day get information on it, as well as the RBoP. It'd be great to have those fan mysteries resolved.


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## sennim (Aug 24, 2009)

As a Johnny comes extremely lately, this is what the late Majel Roddenbery had to say about it in a response to McCullars now defunct IDIC-page, July 10th, 1997:

"That particular ship was a real model and it was Gene's - he loaned it to someone and Gene forgot to get it back and it was never returned. It's a shame because it's a piece of stolen property and since it has historical value - it is quite priceless."

And as far as the "Constitution"-class studio models are concerned, you might want to check this one out:

memory-alpha.org/wiki/Constitution_class_model (add "http/" in front)

(Granted mine for 95% but I'm kinda proud of this one)


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

sennim said:


> memory-alpha.org/wiki/Constitution_class_model (add "http/" in front)
> 
> (Granted mine for 95% but I'm kinda proud of this one)


Interesting page... when did it become a page of it's own?


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## Spockr (Sep 14, 2009)

May as well chime in with my favorite version of the *true* story:

It was given to Gene who took it home at one point to show it to his adolescent boy Rod (aka Gene Jr.) who by all reports unceremoniously jumped into the family swimming pool with the model thereby destroying it. Majel's story about it being "loaned to a friend who never returned it" is viewed by some as a cover up for this very embarrassing moment in Trek history.

Take it for what it is. I read it on the internet so it must be ...

Regards,
MattL


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## moogybaby (Jun 7, 2006)

My own story on this was when I worked at Merrill Lynch in the late 1980's. The fellow that I worked for said that his friend's son in Rockville Centre owned it.

He knew the last name Thiess, without being prompted. Whether there's any truth to that I can't say.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Well, I'll be happy to authenticate any model that turns up. I've collected together a list of flaws/scars on the model to identify it from any attempts at passing off a replica/forgery. The list is extensive enough to be able to tell if a model is the real one even if it has under gone an amount of restoration and repair.

Incidentally, the list is also how I estimate the dates of images of the model. For example, quite a few flaws/scars were introduced to the model between the second and third seasons of TOS when the model may have taken a rather serious fall.

At any rate, I'm still holding out hope that the model still exists and is in relatively good condition.


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## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

Because it is still regarded as stolen property, I wonder was repercussions would be to whoever admits having it? What if it's a second generation owner? I have a feeling it's long gone.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I think it would be interesting to find out if it has been reported as stolen property. It is one thing for different parties to make such claims in public statements, but has anyone actually filed such a claim?


I'm not naive about this... while I hope it is okay, I wouldn't have spent as much time documenting the model if I actually thought it would turn up again. Part of the reason I'd like to eventually make as accurate a representation of the model as possible is because I figure that might be the only way anyone will ever get to see (a version of) it again.

Well, that and I like this version of the Enterprise. :thumbsup:


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## Joel (Jul 27, 1999)

spe130 said:


> I thought they gave it to him when TOS ended.





X15-A2 said:


> It was presented to him when he returned to Paramount.


When was that? I too always assumed that GR had it the whole time after TOS ended and that it was lost sometime in the early 70s. 

I guess never hearing any date related to the story didn't help.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Roddenberry left TOS after the second season... the 33 inch model did not.

Roddenberry returned to Paramount around 1975 (as I recall) to start work on Star Trek Phase II. I believe that was when he was presented with the model. There are a number of images of him with the model in the 70s (including this one from 1975), but I know of none that can place the model with him in the 80s... so I've always assumed that that was when it was loaned/lost.

That is the best info I have been able to gather... maybe *X15-A2* has more detailed information.


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## Jafo (Apr 22, 2005)

I always wondered why it had different details on it than the other one. 
IE: little bumps on top of the warp engines rear of the bussards


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

Well, Rob, if anyone can craft a counterfeit, you are _the_ man -at least at 22" scale.  ("Honestly, this is the real deal. When it got lost thirty years ago, it must have also lost one third it's mass as well. Space warp physics. Ask Hawking. Bid now, bid often!")

If Majel actually said that quote, that... doesn't demonstrate an admirable trait. _Stolen_ property? I' d hate to have had her lend me her toaster or borrowed a cup of sugar from her... Have the cops busting my door at midnight searching for reports of a stolen toaster. "Honestly, officer. Maje lent it to me. Just yesterday, no less!"

Stolen... I gotta lend more stuff away and get some warrants on the various books, videos and music I've lent to people over the years, sue for damages. The only reason to use such an extreme word is for the potential cash value to her at the time and her current executors. (Is ex-ec-u-tor really spelt the same as ex-e-cu-tor? I never knew!)

Gene lent it to someone one, but it was stolen.


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## Seashark (Mar 28, 2006)

Model Man said:


> Well, Rob, if anyone can craft a counterfeit, you are _the_ man -at least at 22" scale.  ("Honestly, this is the real deal. When it got lost thirty years ago, it must have also lost one third it's mass as well. Space warp physics. Ask Hawking. Bid now, bid often!")
> 
> If Majel actually said that quote, that... doesn't demonstrate an admirable trait. _Stolen_ property? I' d hate to have had her lend me her toaster or borrowed a cup of sugar from her... Have the cops busting my door at midnight searching for reports of a stolen toaster. "Honestly, officer. Maje lent it to me. Just yesterday, no less!"
> 
> ...


The term 'loan' implies that the item be returned a some point.


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## Landru (May 25, 2009)

I think I actually have it somewhere...


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Model Man said:


> (Is ex-ec-u-tor really spelt the same as ex-e-cu-tor? I never knew!)


The dude who swings the axe, drops the cyanide pellets, flips the switch, or opens the trapdoor on the gallows platform is an executioner.

My hunch is that the 33-inch model is long gone by now. If it ever turns up again, it'll be in an alternate universe.


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## Michael Kurland (Dec 7, 2019)

Landru said:


> I think I actually have it somewhere...


Are you serious? That model's been missing since 1976! The last confirmed sighting of it was by Susan Sackett (Gene Roddenberry's assistant, 1975-1991) when she took this photo of Gene in 1975.


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## Michael Kurland (Dec 7, 2019)

johneaves said:


> true, it was loaned out and never returned, the borrower is still a mystery though.


You would think that whoever had it would've returned it by now. At least the 11-footer isn't going anywhere, except "Where No Man Has Gone Before."


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

If it's ever found donate it to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.


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## Captain Robert April (Jul 5, 2016)

This subject has been hashed out in other threads and forums, but best information indicates that during the preproduction of Phase II, one of the D-7 models and the 3-foot Enterprise were loaned to one of the visual effects companies working on the new models for reference. Unfortunately, they took things a bit far and tried taking the models apart, not realizing, or at least appreciating, that these models weren't designed to come apart. The D-7 was returned looking like it had been run over by a pack of kindergartners, while the 3-foot Enterprise was never seen again, indicating that it was completely destroyed.

I'd like to think the pieces are still hiding away in a box somewhere, waiting for some industrious soul with a little Elmer's glue and a lot of patience to come along and rescue it, but I'm a bit of a romantic...


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## StarCruiser (Sep 28, 1999)

Captain Robert April said:


> This subject has been hashed out in other threads and forums, but best information indicates that during the preproduction of Phase II, one of the D-7 models and the 3-foot Enterprise were loaned to one of the visual effects companies working on the new models for reference. Unfortunately, they took things a bit far and tried taking the models apart, not realizing, or at least appreciating, that these models weren't designed to come apart. The D-7 was returned looking like it had been run over by a pack of kindergartners, while the 3-foot Enterprise was never seen again, indicating that it was completely destroyed.
> 
> I'd like to think the pieces are still hiding away in a box somewhere, waiting for some industrious soul with a little Elmer's glue and a lot of patience to come along and rescue it, but I'm a bit of a romantic...


Along with the TOS Rommie Warbird? One can dream...

(Good to see you back!)


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## aussiemuscle308 (Dec 2, 2014)

jheilman said:


> Because it is still regarded as stolen property, I wonder was repercussions would be to whoever admits having it? What if it's a second generation owner? I have a feeling it's long gone.


I've heard stories of stolen cars being returned to their original owner (the 30 year Chevy Belair) and stories of stolen cars being kept by the new owner (Superspeeder Rob's Ferrari on Youtube).
it seems to depend entirely on the court and whether with the current owner having bought it in good faith.


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