The Classic Star Trek Phasers
Part two.. The 2nd Season - Page 5
By Richard A. Coyle
In these newer models there were two paint colors, pure black and a
very dark blue blackish gray color used on these handles. There does seem to
be a reason for painting the handle a color not the same as the pistol body,
because later in the series they do show these handles as detachable power packs
and some of the hero models had real removable handles so they had planned to
show this feature as needed. And it did fit into the plot of the story of episode
#52 "The Omega Glory". Watch for Mr. Spock showing Cpt. Kirk depleted
power packs. The handle on the working models were real power packs as they
actually put the batteries for the functional tip light in these handles.
There were two styles and four color schemes for these
handles. The two styles were the first and second season model which are the
same but for the color and a third season version that was shaped differently.
Here is a list of the color combos seen in the classic shows. First,
was the black and whites then the black and blue/grays, then the dark grays
and gray models and then a gray, gray and black models and lastly, a black,
gray and black. This is based on the many colors the phasers were painted. It's
the handle, then the main body, and finally, the phaser one. To use one as an
example, the sequence is: a dark gray handle then a gray main body then a dark
gray phaser one.
For now, allow me to describe these new handles, which were the same
as the black and white models other than color. These handles were basically
a flattened oval in shape, round ends with a flat center section. The flat center
section had two side plates side by side the length of the handle, stopping
just about 3/8" short of the bottom. On the working hero models, this end
3/8s were where the end cap was and it was removable to change the batteries.
This end cap was a bit overdone for there was a small cover held on
by two small screws. Whenthis cover was removed, underneath was a nut that they
had cut a slot in for a blade screwdriver to turn to loosen.
(I guess a socket wrench would not fit) When loosened, this nut would remain
trapped within the cap but would allow the end cap to be removed to allow the
removal and changing of the batteries. Trapping this nut was done by having
a hole too small for the nut to fall out of but big enough for the screw
driver to reach through.
