Halloween on Vulcan: The 1960s

Today we head back to Star Trek's origins in the 1960s.  The very first commercial Spock costume was released in 1967 by Collegeville Costumes.  It seems to me that most of these plastic costumes from the 60s, 70s and 80s are just advertising for the show.  Rather than looking like the character you end up looking like the packaging!  This costume is pretty rare.  I've seen one or two on eBay in the past two years (that's where these images come from).

Though the costume may not be spectacular, I really like the mask.  It's possible to find these in fairly good condition without to much warping or tearing.  The likeness is quite good and I love that they included the blue eye shadow that is often omitted from Nimoy/Spock likenesses.

If you compare the top and bottom images you'll see the bottom one has a punched hole in the mouth where the top one does not.  Either the top one is there and hasn't been punched out or there was a second run of this costume which added the hole for better breathing.  I guess it would be bad to have kids suffocating to be Spock.

Watch for Halloween on Vulcan: The 1970s!

Halloween on Vulcan: The Ears

The first thing most people think about when they hear "Vulcans" is the distinctive pointed ears.  Those ears have been re-created many times as Halloween products going back to Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. In the 1960s and 1970s, the closest we got were full face or head masks.  Here are some ears from my collection.  Please let me know if there are any I'm missing!

In 1979, Aviva Enterprises released a set of Spock ears for The Motion Picture. I haven't been able to verify if these were out for Halloween 1979. The film was released in December so they may not have been around until Halloween 1980. These I only discovered two weeks ago. I bought them on eBay but they haven't arrived yet so this image is from the eBay listing.

In 1982, for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Don Post Studios had the license to create "Star Fleet Collectibles." These included uniform insignia, Khan's pendant and Vulcan ears. I think the shape of these is perfect. The sculptor obviously paid close attention to images of Spock while working.

In the 1980s, Rubie's also released a set of ears. From the artwork, it's clear they're Spock ears but Rubie's didn't have the Star Trek license until 1992.

In 2009, Rubie's created a series of ears with two different sets of packaging. The first were packaged as Star Trek XI ears and the second were packaged as TOS ears. The sculpt is obviously the same.

For those who wanted a less cumbersome piece, Rubie's also created sets of ear tips. In theory this is a great idea since the screen-used ears are just tips as well but these are designed pretty poorly. They are usually warped and the colouring is not very authentic. Once again, the same sculpt was packaged for both Star Trek XI and TOS.

Also in 2009, Rubie's released a rubber Spock wig, complete with ears. These are just good fun.  I've seen several kids wearing them at conventions.

Over the years there have also been a slew of non-licensed ears. There are various generic ones of different colours so they can be sold as "alien ears" or "elf ears" or "devil ears" or whatever.

The best of these are the ear tips made by Woochie. These are the type that I have been using since I first dressed as a Vulcan in 1996. They come in different sizes and the edges can be pretty well blended to your skin. They are a bit more pointy and less curved than I would like but they're perhaps the most "professional" ears available.

Halloween on Vulcan: Anovos

October has always been my favourite month of the year.  The weather is ideal for my tastes and it's got my favourite holiday: Halloween!  Over Star Trek's 46 year history there have been many products created specifically for Halloween and cosplayers.  I thought it might be appropriate to run down some of the Vulcan items.

I'd like to begin with the most recent and most fantastic entries.  These come from a company called Anovos.  Anovos was founded in 2009 and they were first given the license to re-create uniforms from Star Trek XI.  Later, their offerings expanded to include the rest of the Star Trek franchise and also Battlestar Galactica.  They do meticulous research for all their pieces; even sourcing original patterns and fabrics.  In my opinion, their work is masterful.

Right now, Anovos is accepting pre-orders for season three-type Spock uniform tunics.  These are made from the original double-knit fabric used on the originals.  I always thought the season three uniforms looked better than the velour versions from the first two seasons.  Priced at about $300 these are definitely not for casual fans or kids' Halloween costumes.  They're targeted to adult collectors.  I think the price tag is quite reasonable for the quality.

For those fans who would prefer the velour fabric, Anovos is currently working on them.  You can sign up for updates on their website.

The first tunics Anovos made were from Star Trek XI.  Though I don't love that film I think Michael Kaplan did a great job of updating the uniforms.  I really like the two-piece construction and the patterned fabric is pretty cool.  These are, sadly, no longer available but they will be again some day.  Keep watching the Anovos website for updates.

Stay tuned for more Halloween on Vulcan!

Laurence Luckinbill as Sybok

Star Trek's 46th Anniversary

46 years ago on this night, NBC first aired Star Trek!

Google's "doodle" for the last few days has been Trek-related to help celebrate.

Also, just in time for the anniversary, CBS has announced that season two of Star Trek: The Next Generation will beam on to blu-ray on December 4th!

Colour Me Vulcan

For Star Trek's 20th anniversary in 1986, Simon & Schuster published four colouring and activity books.  I recently uncovered these as I was going through some of my treasures that have been packed away and felt they had to be shared!

The cover art is by Jeffrey Oh and the interior illustrations are by Paul Abrams.

I'm slightly puzzled by the drawing of Sarek.  The armour he's wearing is clearly patterned from Sarek's costume in Star Trek III but otherwise he looks nothing like him.  It seems odd they would use source material for only part of the image.

If anyone's in the mood for some colouring please do so and send me the scans to post!

Soval's Ears at Prop Store

The Prop Store of London is selling a pair of ear prosthetics worn by Gary Graham as Soval on Star Trek: Enterprise.

While these are in pretty good condition, they're not worth the $745 asking price.  I've seen Leonard Nimoy ear prosthetics sell for less!