'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 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) model, missing since 1978 after belonging to creator Gene Roddenberry, resurfaced on eBay in late 2023.
Heritage Auctions confirmed the authenticity of the 3-foot wooden prototype, which was used in the pilot episode and opening credits of the original Star Trek series.
The model was subsequently returned to Gene Roddenberry's son, Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, who intends to restore and publicly display it for fans.

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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.