From the pages of Enterprise Incidents magazine (news-stand version) issue #14, published February of 1984, comes this article on the creation of the original Galileo shuttlecraft. It was made by the model kit company AMT in exchange for the rights to make and market the model kit of the ship!
(Click on the images to enlarge. Once open, you may have to click again to view full size.)
Below is an article from issue #18 of EI, that shows the shuttle as it was in the summer of 1984, sitting outside exposed to the elements for years. Over the decades there have been a number of article in various publications that showed where the shuttle was at the time and how bad it looked from the neglect.
The story of the Little Shuttlecraft That Could has a happy ending, though! The Galileo was in the news last year when a new and definitive restoration of it was completed, and it found a home on display in the Space Center Houston in Texas. Read all about the various homes the ship had over the years, the several re-discoveries and earlier restorations,
at the official site. There is a
nice article on it here also. Since then it has even been used in the "Fairest Of Them All" episode of the fan film series "Star Trek Continues," which you can view below.
Below is a photo of the Galileo, fully restored to her former glory and possibly even beyond!
Bonus: Below, the cover art of the AMT Galileo model. A friend had bought the model and was going to throw away the box, but I begged it, the cover of which I cut out and put in my scrapbook album.
Link: read an earlier post on the Galileo with some blueprints,
right here.
Awesome piece here on the Galileo! I pretty much knew the backstory on our favorite shuttlecraft, but loved seeing all the reprints here (and that awesome image of the Galileo today). Nice job. :)
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm a big fan of 'Star Trek Continues' too (their fourth episode is being released in a month!) and a big fan of your ST Scrapbook too. Thanks so much for sharing all this awesome stuff. :)
ApacheDug, thanks for commenting, glad you enjoyed the post and the blog overall! If it wasn't for this blog all my stuff would be sitting in the cabinets and seen by no-one but me when I took them out occasionally.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why the studio didn't just put the Galileo in some storage area, covered with a tarp, for future use. A prop that big seems like something to keep and protect rather than get rid of. I guess they just didn't think anything left over from "that failed show" would ever be worth anything!
Well, I very much appreciate you taking the time to share your Trek-goods Frederick. You've done a lot of nice work here, and it shows. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd SO TRUE about the shuttlecraft! They sure weren't thinking ahead (for a show that was all about thinking ahead); I'm sure NBC kicked themselves in the seat a few times when they realized they cancelled such an iconic series--they were so concerned about ratings & meanwhile they had their target demographic the whole time.
Here's a Nimoy/Galileo mashup of sorts: Back in the mid-1990's, Hallmark marketed several Christmas ornaments based on the Original Series. One of the best was a replica of the Galileo. When you plugged it in to a miniature Christmas tree light socket and pushed a button, you heard a holiday greeting from Mr. Spock himself. My (now-ex) wife gave it to me as a Christmas present back then; I still keep it in its original box. Unfortunately, I haven't heard the greeting in years, as I haven't put up a Christmas tree since I've been divorced.
ReplyDeletePatrick,
ReplyDeleteGlad you got one, I wish I had gotten one also! I did a post on the advertising for it here: http://mystartrekscrapbook.blogspot.com/2010/12/we-wish-you.html
As an aside, I am sorry about your divorce and subsequent tree-less Christmases.
Thanks, Frederick. I saw the ad - after I submitted the post. In addition to the Galileo, I have the Hallmark ornaments of Kirk in the Captain's chair, one of Dr. McCoy on a transporter pad, and one of Kirk, Spock and Scotty in the transporter. As for my not putting up a Christmas tree, that's more my own choice. I live alone now, and see no need to put one up. Maybe I'll get a small tree this year - to display my Hallmark "Trek" ornaments.
ReplyDeletePatrick,
ReplyDeleteIt's neat that you have all those! I have only looked at them longingly in the store.
My brother had this model back in the day and buried his dead pet bird in it like a coffin!
ReplyDeleteAnon,that's hilarious!
ReplyDelete