'Starship Enterprise' Model Found on eBay Authenticated as Original

The 3-foot-long model that belonged to ‘Star Trek’ creator Gene Roddenberry had been missing since 1978.

Friday, April 19, 2024 at 12:15 PM ET

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The wooden model was built in the mid 1960s by Hollywood scale-model-maker Richard Datin Jr., a subcontractor for the Howard Anderson Company. [Courtesy: Heritage Auctions]

Key Takeaways:

The original, 3-foot-long model of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) from the first Star Trek television series, used in the pilot and opening credits, has been rediscovered and authenticated by Heritage Auctions.
Created in the mid-1960s by Richard Datin Jr., the model belonged to series creator Gene Roddenberry but went missing after being loaned out for filming in 1978.
It resurfaced on eBay in fall 2023, allegedly found in a California storage unit, and has since been returned to Rod Roddenberry, Gene's son, who plans to have it restored and displayed.

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The model of the Starship Enterprise that showed up on eBay in November is (drum roll, please) the original—as in the first model of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) used in the filming of the original Star Trek television series—according to Heritage Auctions.

Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry, who in addition to being a prolific screenwriter, was a decorated B-17 pilot during World War II and later flew for Pan Am. He died in October 1991 at the age of 70.