Posted in: NBC, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: gene roddenberry, rod roddenberry, star trek, Star Trek: The Original Series, USS Enterprise

Star Trek: Rod Roddenberry's Quest to Secure Last TOS Enterprise Model

Rod Roddenberry is attempting to secure what may be his father's long-lost relic, the original 3-foot U.S.S. Enterprise model from Star Trek.

It looks like Rod Roddenberry might be on a quest to secure one of his late father's final pieces of his legacy to secure the last original model of the U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek: The Original Series. The three-foot miniature was originally thought to be lost in 1977, remaining a mystery for nearly half a century, 46 years to be exact. An entry on eBay brought attention to what could be the original 33-inch pre-production wood model from Richard C. Datin, Jr., who built it in 1964. Rod, who's president of Roddenberry Enterprises, is looking to secure and authenticate the possible relic providing a statement to TrekMovie.

"Along with much of the Star Trek community, I was excited and pleased to learn that the original 3-foot filming model of the Starship Enterprise appears to have been discovered after being missing for decades (pending full authentication). I can confirm that I am now, through an intermediary, in contact with the individual who possesses the model," Roddenberry wrote. Datin constructed the model from the Matt Jefferies design as part of the Howard Anderson Company, which was hired to do the special effects of Star Trek's original pilot "The Cage." The model was used in behind-the-scenes photographs featuring Gene and original series lead Jeffrey Hunter before a more detailed and illuminated 11-foot model was ready.

The 11-foot model, which is on display at the Smithsonian, became the one most synonymous with the series, and the 33-inch model was changed to match the 11-foot one in detail. Not to say the shorter model was discarded because it was used in a few TOS episodes, most notably in the season three episode "Requiem for Methuselah". When the series was canceled, Gene received the 33-inch model from Paramount as a gift. When the studio greenlit 1979's The Motion Picture, franchise creator Gene Roddenberry loaned the model to an effects house, where it went missing. The older Roddenberry wrote to executive Jeffrey Katzenberg concerning its whereabouts, but the trail went cold. For more on the developing piece, including statements from Datin's daughter Noel Datin McDonald, Rod Roddenberry's full statement, and more, you can check out the TrekMovie piece here.

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