Nichelle On Cover of 1968 Sepia Magazine

Found this image of the cover of Sepia featuring Nichelle from 1968. Is it any wonder that she shaped my perception as to standards of beauty as a young man? Also, I now want a hotdog for lunch.... a $10 hotdog with all the trimmings.

(Click on images to enlarge. Once open, you may have to click again to view full-size.)

Bonus: Nichelle "hangs out" with Leonard at the premiere of The Motion Picture in 1979!

Bonus #2: A lovely rare promotional photo of Nichelle from "The Search For Spock."

1993 Article on Star Trek Collector Cards

The Skybox Masterpiece Series: Star Trek edition is a collection of cards with painted artwork depicting scenes from all of the incarnations of Star Trek up to that point, and much of the art was amazing. I have most of the cards, I only wish someone would release a book of the paintings in larger format, like the Star Trek "Ships of the Line" books did the calendar art. I also wouldn't mind owning a print or two from the series to frame! Today's post is from the Non-Sport Update cards magazine, published in the summer of 1993. I will be scanning and posting more of the cards in the near future.

First, the cover, a reproduction of one of the Wrath of Khan paintings, and a fine one it is...

 (Click on images to enlarge; once open, you may have to click it again to view full size.)

Below is the write-up about the cards, framed as a fictional encounter between the TOS crew and a rep of the Skybox company. Someone should have told the writer how to use stardates to indicate real-time dates. I figure that out in the early 70's when labeling my cassette tapes, as "Recorded Stardate 7405.15."

Bonus: Director Nick Meyer confers with Shatner on the set of "The Wrath of Khan," from the book "Charting the Undiscovered Country: The Making of Trek VI."

"Tell me to 'dial it back' again, Nick, and I will punch you!"

Bonus: Shatner enjoys a clinch with shapely Sherry Jackson (who played the android Andrea) in a publicity still taken during the filming of "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"

"Are you... fully functional?"

Star Trek Poster Book #4

The Star Trek Giant Poster Book (actually a magazine) was one of the greatest publications to come out in the 70's on the show, and I never missed an issue. I said earlier that I would post all of them, and I plan on doing so, starting back now with issue #4, published December 1, 1976. (Read all of the previous posts by using the tag link.) They are spaced apart somewhat since I have to scan them in sections then put them back together in photoshop, all for your enjoyment. You may leave a token of your appreciation in the tip jar on the counter. Or better yet, leave a comment!

(Click on images to enlarge. Once the image loads,
you may have to click on it again to view full size.)

As for the interior poster, you can see what it was from the thumbnail preview on the back cover, a frame blowup from "Day Of The Dove." No need to open it up and take a photo of it for this post, since it's not a great poster. In fact, that was the one consistent criticism I had against the magazine; most of the posters were simply grainy frame blowups, and only once or twice did they use sharp promotional photos, which were by far the best ones. Why they didn't go that route every time, instead of film clip enlargements, I have no idea; but the whole idea of the poster book suffered because of it. On the whole, though, an excellent publication.

"Shatner: Then And Now" 1977 Article

From issue #3 of the "All About Star Trek Fan Clubs" magazine, published in June 1977, comes this loose filmography that features some photos of Bill from his various appearances. The feature runs out of steam quickly, as the last two pages switch to a nonsensical "biorhythms" article that takes up space (we'd learn more from a chart on his bathroom habits), but has some good photos from his "Barbary Coast" stint.

The cover art (scanned, as is everything on this site, from my own copy) is about the best the magazine ever featured, in my opinion.

(Click on images to enlarge. Once it loads, you
may have to click it again to view full size.)

Nimoy On Tour-1976

From August 1976, issue #4 of the "All About Star Trek Fan Clubs Magazine," a fun fan publication that found national distribution, comes this interview with Leonard Nimoy with some candid photos taken as he spoke at a college in New Jersey in February of that year. Note the wild scarf he is wearing! First, the cover...

(Click on images to enlarge. Once the image is loaded, you may have to click it again to see full-size.)

Also from the same issue comes this two-page spread of photos snapped during the fondly-remembered New York Star Trek '76 Con, taken January 1976.

Bonus: Seldom-seen series of photos of Nimoy in Spock makeup.

Now, if you were one of the creators of this magazine, or a contributor, please don't be offended by my labeling of it as "amateurish." This simply means as opposed to professional, but it is obviously a labor of love by fans, and for that it is enjoyable. If anyone feels I have wronged someone by this impartial observation, feel free to comment. If I didn't think the content was worth reproducing here, I wouldn't do it. On the contrary, it offers a view of the show and its cast and creators that the more professional magazines may not have had... and an excitement. So more power to them for getting the opportunity to connect with fans like us across the country! It might not have been as slick as Starlog and other contemporary publications, but what it lacked in style it made up for in enthusiasm for the subject matter.

1979 Robert Wise Interview

1979 was one of the most exciting years to ever happen for many Trekkers, and especially me. From that heady time comes this interview with director Robert Wise from Issue 30 of Starlog magazine, which came out in December of 1979, bearing the cover date of January 1980. For many, this issue came after they had seen the movie, but since I had to wait until January to sneak off to see it (thanks to my uptight and perpetually-irritated stepfather) this material only stoked my fervor.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

However, the excitement was tinged with worry, as early word leaked out that the movie was less than stellar. We kept on believing, though, and didn't let the rumors dampen our anticipation. This article by Tribbles author David Gerrold from the same issue did worry me, though... fortunately it did earn enough to warrant a sequel, which amped up the action factor.

Bonus: From 1967, a photo of Shatner on a smoke break, from one of the movie-TV gossip magazines.

"I could knock the Marlboro Man right out of his saddle."

Coming soon: the Harold Michaelson interview from this same issue.

Trek 25th Anniversary Roddenberry Interview

The December 1991 issue of Cinefantastique featured a number of articles centered around the 25th anniversary of the original series, and sports a great painted cover of the Great Bird of the Galaxy being buzzed by various Enterprises.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

We're looking at a couple of the articles from this issue this time, starting off with an interview with Roddenberry musing about the future of Trek.

Next, an article about one of the recent Trek cruises as various Trek celebrities are interviewed.

1975 Model Rocketry Catalog

Although I never owned the actual model rockets, my 16 year-old self was excited to find this digest-sized Estes catalog in 1975 that featured their new Star Trek model rockets on the cover! We get a great cover painting, and a two-page spread inside about the models... nice. I am also including scans of any pages that mention or depict the Trek models. I was impressed with how accurate the Enteprise model was, without very much in the way of alterations to make it into an actual flying rocket. I know that if I had bought one, I would never have flown it, preferring to keep it in good shape to display (if I had lived in a home with a father that permitted such things). Enjoy!

(Click on images to enlarge.)




Although, the Klingon ship looks like it was built around a barrel.

Anyone familiar with early Trek merchandising remembers how the starship was often erroneously depicted with rocket exhaust coming out of the shuttle bay (which irritated me). In the case of this model rocket, it was actually correct!

UPDATE: I said earlier that I had a newspaper clipping somewhere of a local model rocket club launching the Enterprise. Well, I've found it, and it's below. It was clipped from the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel on May 25, 1975. I didn't save the entire article, only the photo and the line in the article about the launching of the Enterprise rocket.

Update: I have heard from a reader who was one of the people in the above photo! Blogger Robert Koenn said... "A friend just gave me the link to your blog. It is funny because I am in that picture. I am the guy standing on the far right side of the picture with my right arm up to my ear. This was a launch back around 1975 down in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I lover ST but never owned a flying Estes ST kit. I do have numerous ST plastic models on my shelf and in boxes to build."