Unraveling the Secrets of Star Trek Phasers & Their Unique Variations

[@jdnelms62]

Walter Koenig thinking to himself, 'Jesus, what did I do in my life to deserve this?'

[@jaytc3218]

You beat me to the punch! He looks like he's either disinterested or tired. But either way, he looks like he would rather be somewhere else.

[@catsupchutney]

@@jaytc3218 A sure sign that the host was not doing his job.

[@blockmasterscott]

I never knew that Nichelle Nichols had a phaser collection. That’s cool! 👍💪

[@mrtrek64]

I'll bet Nicholes didn't know she had a collection either until it was auction time and money to be made.

[@mikekannely2286]

Walter Koenig looks like he's about to fall asleep during this discussion.

[@michaelp.Watermaker]

Old.

[@acejackalope]

I imagine he's just heard it all and would love to be asked about anything that's new in his life.

[@Youngstown529]

@@acejackalope Hey Walter, what's it like to be old and unemployed?

[@btrees]

@@Youngstown529stick around and see.

[@Mike_Regan]

That's called retirement. You'll be there too, someday. If you make it.

[@Aranjuez44]

Poor Walter.... he was actually rolling his eyes at one point. I cannot say that I blame him much.

[@iamjackscompletelackofsurp9606]

To this day the original phasers still look cool!

[@btrees]

And still works just as well as it ever did 😁

[@dalebachman2892]

I'm astounded they were made so crudely. The looked so good on screen but very cheap in real life and no two were the same.

[@spockboy]

Matt Jefferies was brilliant. One of the wonderful aspects of the design is that It looks like it actually does something.

[@HarryPrimate]

They look a lot better than the mini dust busters that were used in the next generation.

[@larryaldrich4351]

Nichelle's phaser would bring in a fortune at auction.

[@StudioAuctions]

We'll find out on October 7th!

[@theshitheads3178]

Are you Jewish tho

[@ninjabearpress2574]

The thing that bugs me about not just the phasers, but a lot of sci-fi weapon props is the shocking lack of a trigger guard. If you shoot, you know what I mean.

[@AgentM79]

They probably worry about an actor’s finger getting injured or broken by being caught inside the guard. That, plus the fact that in a hastily-manufactured prop, that would be the easiest part to break. I have always loved the TOS Phasers as weapons, but they were impractical from a real-world standpoint in terms of their controls. Assuming the Type-2 Phaser was always carried on-safe, you’d need two hands on the weapon at all times. The primary hand would hold the weapon and press the trigger, and the reaction hand would off-safe the weapon immediately before pressing that uncovered trigger “stud”. The phaser wouldn’t be drop-safe with the safety off if something in the environment touched the trigger. A 1911 or BHP-style thumb lever for one-handed operation would be necessary. The Type-1 only works if the setting wheel also raises the “electron aspirator pile” so the user-facing edge can act as a thumb rest so the rigger finger can depress a trigger button on the underside. Although the Starflleet Technical Manual drawings (by Franz Joseph) placed the Type-1 trigger on top of the weapon, I don’t believe this was accurate. We never saw how the weapon was actually fired on-screen. It just “fired”. And although Velcro was futuristic enough in the 1960’s, it provided exactly zero weapon retention for the user.

[@victormercado4478]

Walter's like all this talk about a phaser, at least I'm getting paid to sit and give facial expressions.

[@MikeLinPA]

LOL! I was thinking, 'I'm so glad Walter is there, bringing so much to the conversation.' Have a great day.

[@mrtrek64]

That cardboard cutout of Walter Koenig looks very life-like.

[@AC3handle]

hope they're able to keep it in the family for a while longer.

[@samuelmorado70]

I had one in the mid 70s. It was so cool to have . One piece . Pretty heavy. Made of metal

[@EnigmaticPenguin]

“Let’s see Paul Allan’s phaser.” ~ Patrick Bateman

[@Steven_Andreyechen]

Funniest comment on this video by far

[@ElmoUnk1953]

Walter looks just like my stepdad. Always great to see him.

[@williamking1554]

i own the wand co phaser and communicator and all the diamond select versions wand co communicator battery dont work any more great vid though wish it was longer

[@randywilcox7504]

The thing that always bugged me about phasers was the total lack of any sighting system. We have red dot sights currently, but the phasers had nothing! It seemed that they didn't even have iron sights like on a regular hand gun. Very odd. The only time I ever recall seeing any kind of sighting system was on an episode of Enterprise where one of the MACOs had a pop-up scope on a rifle.

[@transtubular]

Something I realized after diving into a personal project creating a Type II, the seeming decorative lines on the sides just under the type I actually line up directly with the emitter. I would say they were intended to be "iron sights" for use by the actors but...almost never actually used because....actors.

[@RoyGNH]

The wheel at the top lifts that aluminum panel via a clear plastic piece which rises up. That would create an optical sight which is why if you look at a phaser head on, you can see the front of the P1 phaser. It’s an actual sight. They didn’t miss much back then, and were pretty creative!

[@randallace]

They used a clip from a model maker in there !!

[@niftyspock]

Thats a nice phaser....Lets see paul Allens phaser.....

[@davidtrautman6482]

I have a phaser #1.

[@jamesdietz29]

Walter is sitting right there... nobody talks to him. SMH

[@keithbrown8814]

They sure could have showed the phaser more....instead of just 1 second bytes........sheesh!!!

[@georgevavoulis4758]

So sad about most of the original cast has passed away

[@SolitaryWolf]

Walter was there but was never incorporated into the conversation. Why? He looks bored.

[@btrees]

I’m guessing that this isn’t the full interview.

[@newsbender]

He looks exhausted and ill

[@jeffreyfoltice3099]

Should be handling with white gloves

[@SBrundle]

FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE.

[@mem1701movies]

Amazing how horrible they look up close.

[@elusive1970]

LOL! The props or the people? What are you talking about here

[@cjc363636]

I thought the same thing. What I think I heard years ago is that the original props were not made even at consumer-grade level, they were made to last for the TV production. Staying 'together' longer than that wasn't part of the plan, so the materials just fall apart after decades. I'm wondering if modern 3D printed props will have the same fate years from now.

[@theothertroll]

Im thinking so what? 🙄