Wah Ming Chang is my great uncle! I dearly wish to have met him, but I’ve studied all his work growing up - highly recommend seeing all of what he did in his life: everything from Bambi, Pinocchio, the time machine, on and on. I’m actually going to visit my grandmother right now. She did wax casting work for him back in the day!
What an amazing talent he was. The other aspect of his art - his bronze figures are absolutely lovely and whimsical. My favorite is his momma bear and cub.
I can remember playing with a very early portable cassette tape player that was shaped and finished much like the tricorder, and came in a pleather carry case. I enjoyed it both because it was a recorder, and because it looked like a tricorder. My brother gave it to me after he came back from Vietnam in around '68 or so. He and the folks used cassettes to send back and forth at the time while he was there. I wish I still had that thing.
I had one of those too--my mother gave it to me sometime in the late '70s, when I was in early grade school. I used to narrate my plastic army men's battles. Mom claims she still has the tapes and occasionally threatens me with the fatal levels of cringe I would experience if I ever heard them today. :)
Well they already have those self-contained computers on a little pedestal trolley that they can push around to patients. All we really have to do is shrink that right.
Please do whatever you can to ensure that it makes the correct sound effect. I very much want my doctor of the future to wave the little wibbly device at me and tell me I have the Denebian flu.
Ensign Brad Boimler: Is that a classic TS122 tricorder? Dr. M'Benga: It's a 120. Ensign Brad Boimler: Do you mind if- Can I- Can I hold it? [Dr. M'Benga hands him the tricorder] Ensign Brad Boimler: Thank you so much! Oh, my God! They *never* improved on these. I mean, yeah they got smaller and more powerful and arguably less likely to explode. But, design-wise... Dr. M'Benga: 'Explode' you said?
Every time Star Trek's tricorders are discussed, I think of how today we can scan objects and spaces with a cell phone, and how there are apps that help identify everything from insects to plants, just shy of sixty years after the first season.
@@JosephDavies it does seem like a culturally significant artifact to me. But I suppose an accurate enough replica would be good enough? Still, there is something special about the genuine article. The object that was actually there. Although it was only for the dismal third season.
Adam’s comment about the pace that the original ST episodes were produced is so accurate. I saw a production interview about ST:DS9 episodes spending on catering per episode what entire original series episodes cost to produce.
Oh man what a joy it is to see these incredible props survive for so long! im 27 i never watched star trek as a kid so im catching up and started with Voyager then Ds9 then enterprise and so on in backwards order but still incredible and am only now getting to the original show and just wow the new shows are so similar to the 60s original which is so brilliant to see Uhura wearing her ear piece or the classic tricorders or communicators to the transporters star trek has such strong roots in scifi and im ashamed i waited so long to watch such an important strong sci-fi peice of cinema history Live Long & Prosper yall
You're so lucky to be just discovering the franchise for the first time! So many wonderful episodes and films, and even after a lifetime with it, it still captures my imagination. Trek is indeed a cornerstone of science fiction.
The Kodak instant camera from the '70s looked a lot like a closed tricorder. When I was a kid, I used to play with the one my dad had and pretend I was a science officer.
According to original production notes the Tricorder came about due to a producer feeling the female crew members should have something draped across their shoulder resembling a purse, with the suggestion, "It could be a recording device where Yeoman Rand can record a Captain's log etc."
@@allendean9807 I never understood why people thought that Kirk and Rand were a potential item. There's maybe one episode--possibly two--that hints Rand having feelings for Kirk, but he never reciprocated and so nothing ever happened between these nonlove interests. Yet, to this day, people somehow think that the two were an item and even the production back in the '60s responded to Whitney's leaving as freeing up Kirk's romantic options.
The styling reminds me of the 1965 Sony CV-2000 line of 1/2" video tape recorders and accessories. These were intended as the first consumer video recorders but many ended up in Hollywood performing mundane tasks. Look up the movie "Auto Focus" about Bob Crane and his tech frantically swapping heads in his Sony. My parents bought a complete setup that was used to block out the double on "The Patty Duke Show" and we used it to record hockey games around LA. Sony styled everything to match from the stands to the cases right up to the recorder itself and the huge monitor.
I remember back in the 60’s, my dad had a Texas Instrument calculator that was about the same size as the tricorder. It could do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and had a single memory location for storing subtotals.
Adam is the kid who was told not to put his hand in the cookie jar - he just wants so desperately to put his hands not just in, but all over the cookie jar - IT'S NOT YOUR COOKIE ADAM! - Love him but he makes me so nervous around delicate and rare props.
I remember reading (though I can't remember where) that the tricorder and communicator moirés were created with two layered patterns on transparent discs, the outer one fixed and the inner one attached to a disassembled pocket watch. So it was a real physical effect, at least on the hero props.
My father worked at Zenith back in late 1960s, and this reminds me of one of the transistor radios he designed, with the leather case and such. Adam's correct in that the props of star trek looked like contemporary items in terms of styling.
Thanks for the info! I read somewhere that Wah Chang used as a shape reference for the communicator a child's school pencil box or case. I always wondered if there was a 'shape inspiration' for the tricorder. It looks so late 60s portable camera/radio etc, with the leather and black strap.
Heck, a lot of _Star Trek_ props *were* contemporary items. There's a whole coffee table book about the show's use of mid-century modern furniture and whatnot; it's called _Designing the Final Frontier._ Pretty neat if you're into that kind of thing.
it is nice to see the original props, I managed to acquire one of the Master Replicas Tricorders a few years ago. I now a see a small modification I need to make. :o) I can now say that My main influence at a career choice was Chief engineer Scotty. I went into the field of process control and automation. Fast forward a few decades I am now living on a different continent and still working in my instrumentation field, everything from Nuclear power plants to cereal making companies. Still following Star Trek as it evolved. I decided to start a small company of my own importing Sci-Fi models and toys from England, Japan, USA. This lead me to selling my merchandise at our local conventions. The one year I was asked to join the pre-convention press conference. You've guessed it, James Doohan was also on the panel. As luck would have it I was stuck backstage with James and the two Robin Hood actors for a couple of hours while the convention Staff worked out the SNAFU. The say say you should never meet your Heroes but for me James kept us enthralled with his tales and escapades of WW2. Scotty was 100% James Doohan. And I got to thank him for my career choice. A true Gentleman and scholar.
For future Propstore videos can we have their guy wired up with a heart monitor and a readout. I'd love to know what happens to them as Adam's arms and hands dance very close to their Unicorn objects 😂
Probably is more comfortable with someone like Adam who has built actual props for big movies and knows how to handle these objects (and restore them as well) than just some random fan. But would be interested
My favorite OG _Star Trek_ prop is the laser pistol from "The Cage", because it's clearly made from parts of a junked manual typewriter, and I just love that kind of thing. That shoestring-budget ingenuity.
So cool to see this. I saw one at the Star Trek exhibit at the Smithsonian back in 1992 (or '91) which I believe belonged to Greg Jein. Not sure if this is the same piece but it was very cool to see closeup.
@wraith1977 I think so too. That exhibit was fantastic back then and was well worth the trip out there to see it all. Several of Greg's pieces were there.
Love these. I have all the toy manufacturers versions, the tricorder, the communicator, the phaser and the communicator that was a cereal promotion. I also have a cosplay pattern to make an Original series dress that i still haven’t made even though i have had it more than a decade. No trashing Star Trek. Without Star Trek, we would never have Star Wars and Han Solo. Or the Mandalorian and my cute little green jellybean (sometimes a real ass hat) Grogu. I am such a geek.
When I see a closeup of the 'crappy frame' as you put it, I think the mat board might actually be 2 separate pieces inside the frame. One of my first jobs was working for someone who also did framing, and she custom cut every piece of matting for the pictures. The inside edges were cut at an angle rather than a 90 degree cut, and when there was a 2nd piece of mat, the upper piece was cut with a slightly larger opening, to complete the look. It's a wonderful picture complete with signature, and I would NEVER change a thing about it.
I like how the tiny screen has curbed surface, slightly circled sides and rounded corners as the tv tube sets of the time had. It would be less identifiable as a screen if it was a flat rectangle with sharp corners. Ditto the materials. It reminds me of my dad’s vintage Konica camera.
@@AerialTheShamen They look similar, but the tricorders were custom-built props. Mind you, I used my parents' portable cassette recorder _as_ a tricorder in many, many living room away missions, and I doubt I was the only child to do so. :)
@@ZGryphon AFAIK an early Phillips recorder looked similar. I expected that they placed a detachable cover with monitor dummy over its buttons and (because in 1960th they were expensive hightech) in other situations still used it without that part e.g. for movie audio recording (although they had strong noise floor if I remember well).
That special kind of 3D scanner that tested used a few times would be perfect for this prop then it would be much easier for people to make their own possibility functional replicas
That really is the Holy Grail of Star Trek memorabilia. Of all the details I am most impressed with how well they did the curvature of the CRT/TV/Monitor. It looks like you could just turn it on. That being said, Adam! Quit waving your hands around so close to the items! I’m just waiting for an accidental whack and it goes tumbling down onto the floor.
Adam, now that you've see the original, you can go home and make an exact replica - and not a replica of a replica or some concept tricorder from memory or trying to recreate it from watching ST-TOS again. Cool. thanks for sharing.
Even though they were trying to show us the future, the tricorder screen looks remarkable like a 1960's television screen. And the memory disks look like the old reel-to-reel 9-track tape drives of the IBM 729 from the same era. The other part of the Star Trek future that always puzzled me was that by the 23rd century, it still takes helmsman, a navigator, an engine room, and yes a captain to fly that thing. You'd swear they were operating a 16th century Spanish galleon.
It's such a cool prop, both futuristic and familiar. The basic concept is the sort of electrical meter carried by electricians and electronics techs, so it's a proven form factor. There was often a similar lower compartment, to carry test wires and clips.
Adam and guest, check out Frederic Pohl's "The Age of the Pussyfoot" novel. In it, he features a device called the "Joymaker", which combines today's multifunction devices (that even let you talk to people if you use the right app) with medical scans and dispensaries, pleasure drug delivery, and general nuisance alerts. Great fun. Great novel. Not well known, but 1960's fortunetelling gold.
Very nice piece of Star Trek history. I wonder if it's from Greg Jein's collection or if there's another collector whose collection came on the market rather recently.
This was fantastic that an original Tricorder TV prop was found and in good condition! I'm biting at the bit anxiously waiting for The Wond Company's release of their working Tricorder. Hopefully the original Medical Tricorder prop can be found and the Wond Company release that too!
It would be extremely interesting to watch George Taki stand next to that tricorder and tell us about them. He used tricorders in several episodes, maybe this one.
One can't help but wonder what happened to the tricorder Spock throws away in "Arena" (when the Gorns lock on to it and send it a feedback loop strong enough to make it explode). I need to look at that scene in slow motion.
There is at least one more sketch that I've been able to identify, which has some additional writing on it denoting features. But Chuck is right that this sketch is the one most frequently used in media when referencing Wah Chang's original design. Additionally, this sketch hung in Wah Chang's studio for many years, and I've been able to find evidence showing that the frame is the same one used to hang the sketch on his wall.
do seach youtube there crowdfunding things, actually made one, I even think been on this channel to, look, gorgeous, only didn't like the disk tape drive thing, just display only, but hole the runns, ? not cheap $600 dollars or somthing but at leaast you see where money was spent 🙂
thing that intrigues me the most about this is the OG Tricorder never really has any closeup shots of it, its always just an at-arms-length prop so you usually dont see those details on it.
My understanding is that there were different types of tricorders. I remember from an episode of DS9, where they went back to the time period of TOS, and while aboard the Enterprise, someone pointed out that one of the DS9 guys had a medical tricorder (I'm assuming as opposed to some other type) Also, there was another part to it. A small handheld sensor or scanner of some kind. Dr. McCoy would hold that sensor next to someone, then look at the tricorder. It made an electronic sounding noise. That one looks very similar to a 1970s cassette tape recorder in a vinyl case I have.
Two really nice collector pieces. ❤️ There was extensive use of the Tricorder in the episode "City on the edge of Forever" Many say it's the best episode, check it out if you haven't seen it. 👍
A tricorder truly was pointing towards the future anchored in the time, now seeing a version in real life is like reimagining a science fiction reality of the time.
“The originals were made of leather…” WRONG. Wah Chang’s communicators and tricorders were cast in horsehair kydex. Desilu’s prop department took his apart, made casts, produced lesser quality copies, then reassembled Chang’s in a sort of botched manner. Nimoy loved Tootsie Roll Pops. No, nothing lit up. “How they did the moire effect….” They came from an Edmond Scientific book on moires. Two of the communicators had 30-second stopwatches in them and in the remastered HD episodes you see more episodes in which the “Alpha” or “Beta” hero comms were operated.
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Propstore's Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction: Los Angeles Summer 2024
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Adam, are you or Norm going to do a video on the TOMY+ 1:350 scale die-cast metal replica TOS USS Enterprise and TMP Refit USS Enterprise?
How I would like to visit museums of things from Hollywood storage right now. But I can't yet (
Wah Ming Chang is my great uncle! I dearly wish to have met him, but I’ve studied all his work growing up - highly recommend seeing all of what he did in his life: everything from Bambi, Pinocchio, the time machine, on and on. I’m actually going to visit my grandmother right now. She did wax casting work for him back in the day!
What an amazing talent he was. The other aspect of his art - his bronze figures are absolutely lovely and whimsical. My favorite is his momma bear and cub.
That drawing is the stuff dreams are made of…
I knew Lana - is that your grandmother? If so, I'm delighted she's still with us, as she is a sweet kind soul.
Your great uncle was a legend, well worthy of a documentary.
As impressive as the prop is itself, I think the invention of the name "Tricorder" is worthy of praise too - it sounds so plausible.
Wah Chang is an absolutely underrated icon. I've always been more of a communicator fan than a tricorder, but I would dearly love to have this sketch.
The way he was treated at the time by Desilu and the Propmakers' Union is such a sad part of the story.
Holding my breath whenever Adam gesticulates excitedly while standing inches away from a priceless historical ST:TOS prop :D
I was worried that he was going to break the door off, when he opened and closed it. 😳
Made me nervous as well...
Same. Literally felt my body heating up over the stress lol.
Stopped watching over just this issue. I need an emotional support Tribble. 😮
For me it was the touching of his face and then the prop. Why wear the gloves then?
I can remember playing with a very early portable cassette tape player that was shaped and finished much like the tricorder, and came in a pleather carry case.
I enjoyed it both because it was a recorder, and because it looked like a tricorder.
My brother gave it to me after he came back from Vietnam in around '68 or so.
He and the folks used cassettes to send back and forth at the time while he was there.
I wish I still had that thing.
I had one of those too--my mother gave it to me sometime in the late '70s, when I was in early grade school. I used to narrate my plastic army men's battles. Mom claims she still has the tapes and occasionally threatens me with the fatal levels of cringe I would experience if I ever heard them today. :)
I work for an R&D company, and one of our recent research areas has been to produce a real medical tricorder, specifically inspired by Star Trek.
Tell me it’s the TNG era design though 😂
@@Novarcharesk why not both 😂
@@Novarcharesk Both with tiny little screens xD -- Who needs accesibility AAA standards, amirite? :)
Well they already have those self-contained computers on a little pedestal trolley that they can push around to patients. All we really have to do is shrink that right.
Please do whatever you can to ensure that it makes the correct sound effect. I very much want my doctor of the future to wave the little wibbly device at me and tell me I have the Denebian flu.
Ensign Brad Boimler: Is that a classic TS122 tricorder?
Dr. M'Benga: It's a 120.
Ensign Brad Boimler: Do you mind if- Can I- Can I hold it?
[Dr. M'Benga hands him the tricorder]
Ensign Brad Boimler: Thank you so much! Oh, my God! They *never* improved on these. I mean, yeah they got smaller and more powerful and arguably less likely to explode. But, design-wise...
Dr. M'Benga: 'Explode' you said?
That crossover episode was lots of fun. Can't wait for season 3
Instant exploding tricorder, just add GORN.
Guess they're still having problems with LiIon cells in the 23rd century...
Kaboom!? - Then they were likely a relative of Samsung Galaxy Note 7. 😉
Every time Star Trek's tricorders are discussed, I think of how today we can scan objects and spaces with a cell phone, and how there are apps that help identify everything from insects to plants, just shy of sixty years after the first season.
A museum should be picking this up.
Likely some rich guy will buy it, and it won't be seen again until his estate sale in 20 or 30 years.
"It belongs in a MUSEUM!" - Dr. Jones
Ever since Paul Allen passed there has been a lack of appreciation and funding for "pop culture" exhibits and museums.
It belongs in a museum!
"And so do you!" 😅
You should buy me a Ferrari! (it's very easy to be generous with other people's money)
@@Redswipe It's a quote from Indiana Jones.
It really does. It's a shame all of these items are most likely ending up in private collections.
@@JosephDavies it does seem like a culturally significant artifact to me. But I suppose an accurate enough replica would be good enough? Still, there is something special about the genuine article. The object that was actually there. Although it was only for the dismal third season.
Adam, we all live vicariously through you
Adam’s comment about the pace that the original ST episodes were produced is so accurate. I saw a production interview about ST:DS9 episodes spending on catering per episode what entire original series episodes cost to produce.
I used to have one of these. I love classic twenty third century designs. Black finish, silver highlights....
Dax....Star Trek Deep Space Nine Trial and Tribblations...😂
"It would've been fun."
"Too much fun."
the only DS9 episode I can stand
@@hobbitdude1330 Wow. I think it's the best out of all the series. Seasons 4-7 are stellar
I was just about to post this but thought I'd better check. Well done!
Oh man what a joy it is to see these incredible props survive for so long! im 27 i never watched star trek as a kid so im catching up and started with Voyager then Ds9 then enterprise and so on in backwards order but still incredible and am only now getting to the original show and just wow the new shows are so similar to the 60s original which is so brilliant to see Uhura wearing her ear piece or the classic tricorders or communicators to the transporters star trek has such strong roots in scifi and im ashamed i waited so long to watch such an important strong sci-fi peice of cinema history Live Long & Prosper yall
You're so lucky to be just discovering the franchise for the first time! So many wonderful episodes and films, and even after a lifetime with it, it still captures my imagination. Trek is indeed a cornerstone of science fiction.
Not quite backwards order, but if you are enjoying it, it does not matter
The Schwartz is Strong in this one :0)
This prop design reminds me so much of the Polaroid SX70. Makes me realize how much influence props like this had on future products.
The Kodak instant camera from the '70s looked a lot like a closed tricorder. When I was a kid, I used to play with the one my dad had and pretend I was a science officer.
What a treasure, Star Trek is so important to so many people, and this work by Chang, and many of his works, are priceless.
According to original production notes the Tricorder came about due to a producer feeling the female crew members should have something draped across their shoulder resembling a purse, with the suggestion, "It could be a recording device where Yeoman Rand can record a Captain's log etc."
Writing out Rand was a bummer… Grace was awesome. They just wanted the only woman in JT’s life to be the enterprise…
@@allendean9807 I never understood why people thought that Kirk and Rand were a potential item. There's maybe one episode--possibly two--that hints Rand having feelings for Kirk, but he never reciprocated and so nothing ever happened between these nonlove interests. Yet, to this day, people somehow think that the two were an item and even the production back in the '60s responded to Whitney's leaving as freeing up Kirk's romantic options.
Believe she quit
Looked good together
She pretty clearly expressed her interest in him in Miri.
The styling reminds me of the 1965 Sony CV-2000 line of 1/2" video tape recorders and accessories. These were intended as the first consumer video recorders but many ended up in Hollywood performing mundane tasks. Look up the movie "Auto Focus" about Bob Crane and his tech frantically swapping heads in his Sony. My parents bought a complete setup that was used to block out the double on "The Patty Duke Show" and we used it to record hockey games around LA. Sony styled everything to match from the stands to the cases right up to the recorder itself and the huge monitor.
Thanks Adam. Great to visit with these old friends.
I remember back in the 60’s, my dad had a Texas Instrument calculator that was about the same size as the tricorder. It could do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and had a single memory location for storing subtotals.
Adam is the kid who was told not to put his hand in the cookie jar - he just wants so desperately to put his hands not just in, but all over the cookie jar - IT'S NOT YOUR COOKIE ADAM! - Love him but he makes me so nervous around delicate and rare props.
The way he is swinging his arms around, I was waiting for him to knock it off the table. LOL
Thanks Adam. Still waiting for my The Wand Co. Tricorder!
I have the communicator. My favourite S.T. prop. 😀
This is so cool! I was JUST researching tricorders for a costume and this is great timing!
I remember reading (though I can't remember where) that the tricorder and communicator moirés were created with two layered patterns on transparent discs, the outer one fixed and the inner one attached to a disassembled pocket watch. So it was a real physical effect, at least on the hero props.
My father worked at Zenith back in late 1960s, and this reminds me of one of the transistor radios he designed, with the leather case and such. Adam's correct in that the props of star trek looked like contemporary items in terms of styling.
Thanks for the info! I read somewhere that Wah Chang used as a shape reference for the communicator a child's school pencil box or case. I always wondered if there was a 'shape inspiration' for the tricorder. It looks so late 60s portable camera/radio etc, with the leather and black strap.
Heck, a lot of _Star Trek_ props *were* contemporary items. There's a whole coffee table book about the show's use of mid-century modern furniture and whatnot; it's called _Designing the Final Frontier._ Pretty neat if you're into that kind of thing.
it is nice to see the original props, I managed to acquire one of the Master Replicas Tricorders a few years ago. I now a see a small modification I need to make. :o) I can now say that My main influence at a career choice was Chief engineer Scotty. I went into the field of process control and automation. Fast forward a few decades I am now living on a different continent and still working in my instrumentation field, everything from Nuclear power plants to cereal making companies. Still following Star Trek as it evolved.
I decided to start a small company of my own importing Sci-Fi models and toys from England, Japan, USA. This lead me to selling my merchandise at our local conventions. The one year I was asked to join the pre-convention press conference. You've guessed it, James Doohan was also on the panel. As luck would have it I was stuck backstage with James and the two Robin Hood actors for a couple of hours while the convention Staff worked out the SNAFU. The say say you should never meet your Heroes but for me James kept us enthralled with his tales and escapades of WW2. Scotty was 100% James Doohan. And I got to thank him for my career choice. A true Gentleman and scholar.
STAR TREK!!!! 🖖Live Long and Prosper, Adam.
Its Still Works Jim ! Live long and Prosper !
Best Tricorder prop of them all. I've always loved the design and I can't wait for the wand company Tricorder to be released
The form factor, as well as the leather strap definitely give it the look of portable transistor radios and tape recorders of the day
Always figured it was a modified Polaroid land camera.
For future Propstore videos can we have their guy wired up with a heart monitor and a readout. I'd love to know what happens to them as Adam's arms and hands dance very close to their Unicorn objects 😂
Probably is more comfortable with someone like Adam who has built actual props for big movies and knows how to handle these objects (and restore them as well) than just some random fan. But would be interested
Adam, it's good to see you again!!! You have a new subscriber !!!!
It's really cool to see the OG, BUT the new replica is SO INCREDIBLE!
My favorite OG _Star Trek_ prop is the laser pistol from "The Cage", because it's clearly made from parts of a junked manual typewriter, and I just love that kind of thing. That shoestring-budget ingenuity.
looks at spocks phaser behind and t shirt costume. what a set!!
As a giant Trekkie, I am absolutely dying right now 😍😍😍
Adam thank you for this wonderful journey into the past of handmade things Super
Adam, you must see the Star Trek set tour in NY. it's mind blowing what they've put together.
💙🌻💙 It's always fun to see OG props like this one. Thanx🎉
So cool to see this. I saw one at the Star Trek exhibit at the Smithsonian back in 1992 (or '91) which I believe belonged to Greg Jein. Not sure if this is the same piece but it was very cool to see closeup.
I think Greg had a lot of Wah Chang's work in his collection
@wraith1977 I think so too. That exhibit was fantastic back then and was well worth the trip out there to see it all. Several of Greg's pieces were there.
@@outsider238 Unfortunately there were a number of fake pieces mixed into the exhibit. Google Mark English and Star Trek to find out more...
I love the aesthetic from things like camera cases and twch from the day taken forward
Love these. I have all the toy manufacturers versions, the tricorder, the communicator, the phaser and the communicator that was a cereal promotion. I also have a cosplay pattern to make an Original series dress that i still haven’t made even though i have had it more than a decade. No trashing Star Trek. Without Star Trek, we would never have Star Wars and Han Solo. Or the Mandalorian and my cute little green jellybean (sometimes a real ass hat) Grogu. I am such a geek.
I am on the list for the replica tricorder from the wand company, wondering if it will ever be released.
When I see a closeup of the 'crappy frame' as you put it, I think the mat board might actually be 2 separate pieces inside the frame. One of my first jobs was working for someone who also did framing, and she custom cut every piece of matting for the pictures. The inside edges were cut at an angle rather than a 90 degree cut, and when there was a 2nd piece of mat, the upper piece was cut with a slightly larger opening, to complete the look. It's a wonderful picture complete with signature, and I would NEVER change a thing about it.
I like how the tiny screen has curbed surface, slightly circled sides and rounded corners as the tv tube sets of the time had. It would be less identifiable as a screen if it was a flat rectangle with sharp corners. Ditto the materials. It reminds me of my dad’s vintage Konica camera.
Today, I learned that, back in the '60s, a _Star Trek_ tricorder cost roughly the same as an original _Doctor Who_ Dalek to build.
Probably weighs about the same, too. :)
Didn't they simply modify a portable cassette recorder?
@@AerialTheShamen Nope.
@@AerialTheShamen They look similar, but the tricorders were custom-built props.
Mind you, I used my parents' portable cassette recorder _as_ a tricorder in many, many living room away missions, and I doubt I was the only child to do so. :)
@@ZGryphon AFAIK an early Phillips recorder looked similar. I expected that they placed a detachable cover with monitor dummy over its buttons and (because in 1960th they were expensive hightech) in other situations still used it without that part e.g. for movie audio recording (although they had strong noise floor if I remember well).
Is that a hypno-coin that was available from comic books? Looks the same, same number of bands, same direction on the spiral.
What a cool Star Trek Tricorder Prop!
That special kind of 3D scanner that tested used a few times would be perfect for this prop then it would be much easier for people to make their own possibility functional replicas
That really is the Holy Grail of Star Trek memorabilia. Of all the details I am most impressed with how well they did the curvature of the CRT/TV/Monitor. It looks like you could just turn it on. That being said, Adam! Quit waving your hands around so close to the items! I’m just waiting for an accidental whack and it goes tumbling down onto the floor.
Adam, now that you've see the original, you can go home and make an exact replica - and not a replica of a replica or some concept tricorder from memory or trying to recreate it from watching ST-TOS again. Cool. thanks for sharing.
Thanks.
Still waiting patiently for the Wand Co. to release theres.
So awesome.
Hello from france et merci !!!!!! Adam
With an opening bid of 37,000+ dollars and potential of 150,000 somebody would really have to be a fan..
It'll reach 6 figures for sure
Even though they were trying to show us the future, the tricorder screen looks remarkable like a 1960's television screen. And the memory disks look like the old reel-to-reel 9-track tape drives of the IBM 729 from the same era. The other part of the Star Trek future that always puzzled me was that by the 23rd century, it still takes helmsman, a navigator, an engine room, and yes a captain to fly that thing. You'd swear they were operating a 16th century Spanish galleon.
A lot of science fiction is set not so much in the future as in (the creators' idea of) a cooler version of the time when it was made.
It's such a cool prop, both futuristic and familiar. The basic concept is the sort of electrical meter carried by electricians and electronics techs, so it's a proven form factor. There was often a similar lower compartment, to carry test wires and clips.
I was very nervous watching this how much Adam was waving his hands about, so close to that prop.
Adam and guest, check out Frederic Pohl's "The Age of the Pussyfoot" novel. In it, he features a device called the "Joymaker", which combines today's multifunction devices (that even let you talk to people if you use the right app) with medical scans and dispensaries, pleasure drug delivery, and general nuisance alerts. Great fun. Great novel. Not well known, but 1960's fortunetelling gold.
Star trek paved the way
Epic find.
Now this is epic
It's good that we got to see these before they disappeared.
Very cool.
Am I the only one that thought that Adam's hands flailing around so close to the tricorder was going to knock it off the stand?
Clearly not the only one, judging by all the comments here! 😂
Very nice piece of Star Trek history. I wonder if it's from Greg Jein's collection or if there's another collector whose collection came on the market rather recently.
Lords of Vulcan I’ve never clicked play so fast! 🖖
Just… Wow!
Adam waving his hands all over the place around the artifact is anxiety inducing X1000.
That is awesome ,I can not wait to see you when you are in Australia at the Supanova Comic con Brisbane in November. 😁
Great video sir 👍 😊
Awesome
This was fantastic that an original Tricorder TV prop was found and in good condition! I'm biting at the bit anxiously waiting for The Wond Company's release of their working Tricorder. Hopefully the original Medical Tricorder prop can be found and the Wond Company release that too!
So this begs the question, which third season episode was this used in? They dance around the question, like at 4:25, but never answer it!
It would be extremely interesting to watch George Taki stand next to that tricorder and tell us about them. He used tricorders in several episodes, maybe this one.
Very cool!
One can't help but wonder what happened to the tricorder Spock throws away in "Arena" (when the Gorns lock on to it and send it a feedback loop strong enough to make it explode). I need to look at that scene in slow motion.
Very cool.
There is at least one more sketch that I've been able to identify, which has some additional writing on it denoting features. But Chuck is right that this sketch is the one most frequently used in media when referencing Wah Chang's original design. Additionally, this sketch hung in Wah Chang's studio for many years, and I've been able to find evidence showing that the frame is the same one used to hang the sketch on his wall.
Looking forward to making a modern funcional device 😊
do seach youtube there crowdfunding things, actually made one, I even think been on this channel to, look, gorgeous, only didn't like the disk tape drive thing, just display only, but hole the runns, ? not cheap $600 dollars or somthing but at leaast you see where money was spent 🙂
I would be thrilled to even have a Reproduction model 🥰
There's one coming from the Wand Company. Adam did a video on it a few months ago.
@@WonkoTheSaneUK Cool 😎
thing that intrigues me the most about this is the OG Tricorder never really has any closeup shots of it, its always just an at-arms-length prop so you usually dont see those details on it.
Adam clearly knows what he’s looking at and is fascinated. The other guy is like ummmm yeah $$$ and also uhhhh yup $$$$
Now I know my next project! ;)
It’s amazing how much the og tricorder influenced the pip-boy from Fallout.
He touched his face with the gloved hand and then touched the priceless object with that glove. 😮
My understanding is that there were different types of tricorders. I remember from an episode of DS9, where they went back to the time period of TOS, and while aboard the Enterprise, someone pointed out that one of the DS9 guys had a medical tricorder (I'm assuming as opposed to some other type) Also, there was another part to it. A small handheld sensor or scanner of some kind. Dr. McCoy would hold that sensor next to someone, then look at the tricorder. It made an electronic sounding noise. That one looks very similar to a 1970s cassette tape recorder in a vinyl case I have.
Not gonna lie I think I want one 😮 🖖🏽
Adam, I am so jealous that would got to touch this
I reckon the right hand side "buttons" were changed to be more in line with the buttons on the communicator?
Two really nice collector pieces. ❤️
There was extensive use of the Tricorder in the episode "City on the edge of Forever" Many say it's the best episode, check it out if you haven't seen it. 👍
Those stickers are cool
Adam made me nervous with all his spastic hand gesturing. I could just see that relic flying off its perch and landing in a hundred pieces.
yeah, there were two models, the medical tricorder and the scientific tricorder carried by McCoy and Spock respectively.
A tricorder truly was pointing towards the future anchored in the time, now seeing a version in real life is like reimagining a science fiction reality of the time.
Ai sentence sounding like an Ai sentence.
I'd be terrified to be that close to it. One false move and ..... YIKES!!!!!
“The originals were made of leather…”
WRONG. Wah Chang’s communicators and tricorders were cast in horsehair kydex. Desilu’s prop department took his apart, made casts, produced lesser quality copies, then reassembled Chang’s in a sort of botched manner.
Nimoy loved Tootsie Roll Pops.
No, nothing lit up.
“How they did the moire effect….” They came from an Edmond Scientific book on moires. Two of the communicators had 30-second stopwatches in them and in the remastered HD episodes you see more episodes in which the “Alpha” or “Beta” hero comms were operated.
The pop out glove box in the drawing held the instructions and owner manual.
Yet another great vigeo. I want your hat!