Showing posts with label Weapons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weapons. Show all posts

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Star Trek Phaser Rifle


A unique piece of Star Trek memorabilia went under the hammer at auction recently for a cool $231,000. Top Toy designer Reuben Klamer, created trek's iconic Phaser-Rifle with only a two week deadline. Klamer built the wood-aluminium gun for free which apparently gave Star Trek a fighting chance to survive. The move got him licensing rights for toys of the weapon too. Its fascinating to think a "toy" used only once, saved the entire show by relaunching Captain Kirk as the shows heroic action character.


Kirk uses the phaser rifle to kill his friend Gary Mitchel, causing a rocky landslide to fall on top of him. The story goes NBC wanted this action packed "wagon train to the stars" to get high TV ratings. No-one could have predicted how popular Trek was to become especially after the network rejected Star Trek's first pilot.

The shows creator, Gene Roddenberry seized the moment when NBC gave him the nod for "Where No Man Has Gone Before." It also helped having William Shatner to replace Jeffrey Hunter in the second pilot. The studio sets were redressed for the newer Enterprise crew, keeping the "guy with the ears" and reinventing "frosty No1" as Dr McCoy's blonde assistant in sickbay.

Auction House Juliens Hollywood Legends stated recently that Roddenberry wanted "a really big Gun" which took everyone by storm all over again, 47 years later! The prop was sold to a rich private American collector who has one of the biggest collections of original Star Trek costumes in the world. This prop will join the collection and will not end up being displayed at museums. Star Trek fans really owe a huge debt of thanks to Reuben Klamer, the shows creative mastermind behind the gun, whose invention along with the Big Bird of the Galaxy and Walter Matt Jeffries saved Star Trek from the scrap heap. Thank you Reuben for designing a really wicked phaser rifle with totally amazing wow factor. Reuben's Phaser Rifle has a sweet sound to it.






Fire long and Prosper, trekkies and trekkers.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer




Trek vibes over at Trekmovie points to a Khan/Gary Mitchell toss up bringing war to the streets of earth. We also get shots of a ship rising up out of the ocean which fits with Cumberbatch detonating the fleet. Cumberbatch's character is definitely on a thrill to kill but why tell Kirk and crew 'I have returned' except to terrorize.

If this is Gary Mitchell where are his glowing eyes? The gun signifies a hateful thing and yet if you carry one, you'll come out top trump in arguments. Remember how Kirk got his own way in Star Trek 2009. 'I got your gun.'  Guns give you an immense sense of power and power is an aphrodisiac.

This may well be an instrument of satan but it is unbelievably sexy. Its interesting to see guns in Star Trek Into Darkness. Star Trek's philosophy used to be fundamentally good filled with optimistic explorers who should never submit to 'god' greed or dogma, reason is supposed to be better than violence but is it more exciting to watch?

When I look at this trailer its easy to see why the gun and violence is changing the course of Star Trek history in a truly appalling way and yet its what we want. Isn't it?

  

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Wicked Weapons

W is for Wicked Weapons.

Fighting and warfare have been the subject of Science Fiction stories from almost the beginning of time itself, with writers out foxing themselves in creating new weapons for the future. The familiar and once ever present ray gun is but one of a class of weapons called energy weapons, that fire a beam or ray at various settings and deadliness.

My favorite is Star Trek's Type 2 classic hand held phaser of 2266. Its got three extremely powerful variable settings. The lowest stun setting will weaken moving targets and cause them to fall unconscious. The highest setting will disintegrate dense material, heat rocks, heat coffee, cut metal and vaporize humanoids! For safety phasers are normally set to stun. On top of the Type 2 hand held unit is a small type 1 phaser which snaps into place to complete the set. Some of these weapons are distinguished by the type of energy they use or sound they fire such as heat rays and laser guns. Star Wars fanboys and fangirls love the lightsaber which features a deadly buzzing sound and bright blade. Other weapons are noted for their effects, blasters, death rays, disintegrators and disruptors.

Now tell us what your favorite Science Fiction Ray Gun is? Its over to you, trekkers.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Star Trek Phaser Laser


Blu-ray Laser Phaser


Star Trek Phaser. The future and the past come together as we build a Blu Ray Laser Phaser. I picked up a playstation laser assembly for $45 bucks and a Star Trek classic phaser for $30 bucks. To get to the blu-ray diode, I removed the necessary screws from the laser assembly and carefully extracted the precious Blu-ray diode. After soldering two wires to the diode and installing it in an access laser housing. (mfgcn.com)

I set it aside and moved to the phaser. This was easy to disassemble by removing the light bulb and some screws. Now its time to install the blu-ray. After making some cuts, the laser housing fit perfectly in the phaser light bulb bracket. I also picked up a 150 own resistor 9 volt battery, 9 volt battery snap and a new switch that replaces the phaser trigger. After soldering the connections to the Blu Ray diode, 9 volt battery, the resistor and the new switch, it was time to assemble the phaser.

I had time to make a few more cuts just to get everything to fit right. The 9 volt battery fits snugly where the two double lays originally were. I ran all my wiring and closed the phaser up. Now its time to TEST the Blu Ray Laser Phaser. It glows a very cool violet colour, I've boldly gone where no-man has gone before as I think this is the first time ever a blue ray diode has been put in a Star Trek Classic Phaser.



Dr. Rings is an Ophthalmologist in the US Navy had this comment to make:


Yes, these DVD lasers are QUITE CAPABLE of rendering permanent retinal damage. There are DVD laser mods on the web, including this website, etc., that if performed and "just for fun" aimed at a person's eyes (even from hundreds of yards!) can render permanent and irreversible vision damage.

The Blu ray laser phaser is a cool Star Trek toy for the shelf and demonstrations only. But you've got to ask youself.....where's the fun if you can't play good guy, bad guy? Still feel like building one?

Live Long and Prosper, trekkies and troglodytes.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Star Trek vs Star Wars

The trekkie and darkside ravers on Youtube are funny. It seems the endless Star Trek vs Star Wars debate will never end. Two spaceships are facing each other in a battle for their very lives.

Image Owner/Creator: Paramount Pictures or CBS Paramount Television.

Which one will reign supreme over the galaxy? Could it be Picard's Enterprise of the Federation or Darth Vader's Imperial Star Destroyer? One way to settle this is perhaps by analysing the spaceships firepower, like the fanboys are doing on Youtube except how can a Trek or Empire sci fi addict be objective about this? So Never underestimate the Power of the Dark side! right?
wrong! We always question darkside reasoning. Captain Picard's Galaxy Class Enterprise NCC 1701-D photon torpedoes can be fired in concert with its phasers. This is the Federation's Flagship, our pride and joy for most Star Trek TNG fans. It carries a full payload of 275 torpedoes. One of these Federation sweeties has an explosive yield of up to 64 megatons. Multiply that by a maximum of up to ten photon torpedoes. That equals 644 megatons of power fired in successive pattern, after the phasers have melted the enemy's target's defense shields. That should make one helluva kaaa-booom! Yeah!! Blow that sucker. Woo Hoo!!!

Except theres one problem. I've uncovered spaceship specifications which makes for interesting reading and I'm sure Galactic Empire enthusiasts will, enjoy the news. So here it comes.

Jango Fett's small patrol craft is a Star Wars ship of the Galactic Empire of even technological magnitude, to compare against the United Federation of Planets Galaxy Class Enterprise NCC 1701-D. I know this is like admitting defeat trekkies but what if Picards flagship is outmatched by Fetts ship? Starfleet code of honour won't protect us thats for sure.
I watch Star Trek and try to imagine a happy, untroubled 24th century timeline for humanoids. Millions of fans love Star Trek and Star Wars. Its true. So trekkies, lets put down our phasers and not take these spaceship specs to heart even if the Jango Fetts starship specs are based on mere speculation.

Star Wars: Slave-1 specs: Published in Star Wars Episode II Incredible Cross-Sections.

Main guns: 64000 Gigawatts (2 kilotons per shot, 480 rpm firing rate onscreen in AOTC for time-averaged power output rather than peak output).
Missiles: 190 megatons (tail-launched missiles; seismic charge mines are approx 12000 megatons).
Sublight acceleration: 2500G.
Operational range: not stated (however, Obi-Wan's starfighter has an operational range of 150,000 light-years, or similar).
Shield heat dissipation: not stated (however, Amidala's personal yacht has shield dissipation of 2 billion Gigawatts peak, or similar).
Reactor power: not stated (however, Amidala's personal yacht has power output of 7 billion Gigawatts max, or similar).
Max hyperspace speed: not stated (however, same-day flight from core to galactic outer-rim systems requires speeds in excess of 10 million c). c = speed of light.


Star Trek: Enterprise-D Specs: Published in Star Trek Next Generation Technical Manual.

Main phasers: 3.6 Gigawatts
Photon torpedoes: 64 megatons max explosive yield. (The actual explosive output figure is shy of 64 megatons due to the matter, anti-matter intermix delay time.)
Sublight acceleration: 1000G.
Operational range: 2750 light-years.
Shield heat dissipation: 3311 Gigawatts peak.
Reactor power: ~4 billion Gigawatts at max warp 9.6
Max Warp speed ~2000c or speed of light in a vacuum (warp 9.6)

On the face of it Picard manages to bag one of the bad guys! Does'nt that mean the Enterprise-D busted the Empire up? Darth Vader will need to regroup his troops for the next battle, I wonder why Jango Fett's spaceship did'nt come to the rescue?





Merry Christmas Trekkies and may the Force go with the Galactic Empire.


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