"I Say There, Scotty, Old Man, Would You Mind Beaming Me Up?"

There are those with too much time on their hands, such as the fellow who made the following model. Some of us are satisfied with the way Star Trek props look as they stand. But not everyone...

I wondered what a Phaser would look like if Starfleet had set up operations during the mid Victorian era, and this is the result.
Constructed to represent a Victorian / Steampunk versions of the STAR TREK original series Phaser II design, this model took just over six months to build working part time.

I adhered to four main design principles of the classic TOS Phaser:
The clear emitter tip.
The ‘ten turn’ at the rear.
The sloped power-pack grip.
The body extending back over the wrist when the Phaser is held.

The prop is constructed of brass, steel, copper, aluminium, varnished pine, two varieties of varnished hardwood veneer, textured vinyl and plastic. Gold plated tube sections and their connecting dials sit either side of the model. The grip features inlaid strips of vinyl at the sides and rear. This material was chosen as it has a similar appearance to the ‘kydex’ used for the shells of the original series communicator props.

The dial atop the clear plastic rear barrel depresses to activate the led that illuminates the ‘dilithium’ crystal. The rear of this barrel features a slotted steel screw that unscrews to change the three AG13 batteries.

As you can see below, this was a labour of love, not to mention a rather interesting exercise. So far, however, no one has bid even the opening amount of $500 in this auction. I'm going to have to pass on this myself. It would make a wonderful Christmas present for that Trekkie on your list....