Anovos Debuts Star Trek Beyond Type-1B Phaser

Quality costume maker Anovos has debuted their first Star Trek Beyond prop, the Type-1B phaser.

The phaser kit, which requires assembly and painting, is scheduled to ship in November 2016. The phaser will be available in two models: a basic kit and one with a servo-powered spinner allowing the user to flip between stun and kill settings. Both are currently available for pre-order, with the basic version set for $300 and the servo-powered version $400.

Anovos’ Star Trek products page also list a Star Trek Beyond uniform tunic, dress, and jacket as coming soon. It is currently not know whether the jacket will be the one Kirk sports in the trailers, or the U.S.S. Franklin jacket that Spock wears.

The phaser kit gives us our first close-up look at the Type-1B in addition to what we have seen in the trailers for Beyond. The Type-1B maintains the same overall shape as the phaser that debuted in Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, but ditches some of the prop’s chrome accents in favor of gun metal, black, and aluminum along with a gold toggle between settings. The barrel of the weapon is also rectangular, as opposed to the previous version’s circular design. The Type-1B also includes an additional nod to The Original Series’ Type II with two dials, presumably used for power settings, located near the rear of the weapon.

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Nice to see a few nods to the brilliant original design.

I was never a real fan of the NuTrek phaser; the shiny colors and rotating barrel always seemed silly to me. Still, this one is an improvement; the color scheme and dials make it feel closer closer to the original series and the rectangular barrel is kind of reminds me of the the phasers from ST:TMP/ST:TWOK.

$300/$400 is still way too expensive for a kit which must be assembled and painted though. For that price, I’d also expect some electronic sounds and lights. Paramount really needs to step up its game when it comes to licensing Star Trek. It seems all we get are overpriced replicas with do nothing or low end items. They would do well to get a company like Art Asylum which can produce relatively good quality items at a reasonable price.

My imaginative mind has been telling me for years since, I think I saw the rotator setting first in Kirk or Spock’s hand on board Nero’s ship, that a red shirt could die in a “Whodunit” by the bad guy rigging it to fire backwards when it was set to stun. Just a terrible design.

That’s from THE SILENCERS, the first MATT HELM movie. Kind of a semi-automatic version of the old polish revolver joke.

I griped loudly about how much I hated (and still hate) the Abrams-Trek phasers, so it’s only fair that I loudly shout WOW, I FREAKING LOVE THIS! It even makes me like the flip-around beam emitter, which I loathed on the earlier version. I like the TOS design elements, but it also reminds me of the Star Trek III phaser. (Anyone else?) It’s a TOS, TOS-movie, and nuTrek blend that really works for me. Applause to the re-designers! When a $50 version is available, I’ll scoop it up.

I’m more excited for the BEYOND tunics!

I absolutely hate the new tunics. Horrible, ugly looking things.

Hey, it doesn’t look like a garden hose nozzle anymore! 1000% improvement, emitter reminds me a bit of torp launcher on TMP refit.

Nothing beats TOS phaser. The upgrading done by ST Continues really is perfect.

I really enjoy New ST, and I’m a TOS guy. Sure, it has flaws, but I’d take Abrams Trek over any TNG movie except First Contact. Not crazy about Beyond so far, but I’ll give it a shot.

Also, meant to say… This is a vast improvement over the phaser in the first 2 movies. Those things must’ve been handcrafted on Naboo. No chrome, thank you.

But TOS has them all beat. No competition.

The rotating barrel is silly. It’s such a dumbed-down visual which seems designed to pander to its audience. The equivalent would be a cop’s pistol in a present-day movie, with a safety switch that glows red when on, and green when off, so the audience knows when to get worried.

Except its not a safety switch indicater.

Same difference. Is it there to make sure the crew doesn’t accidentally kill someone when they meant to stun them? Is it functional, such that a new lense is needed for killing vs. stunning (for which there is no canon to justify this)? Or is it there to tell the audience that they need to worry now because they phasers are all set to “red”?

Somehow even in the low-tech 1960s TOS managed to do this without a flippy red/blue doohickey, and the audience was able to follow along. But evidently, 50 years later, for the alt universe this was needed for both the characters as well as the audience watching them.

Weapons don’t have this now, and it’s hard to imagine they’d need them then. If anything a physical indicator on the handle, much like a gun safety, would be better since the person using it would not have to take their eyes off their target to verify the status of the weapon.

Maybe it’s so the intended target knows if the shooter is bluffing or not — “you’re not going to kill me, your flippy-thing is set to blue!”

I don’t understand the “bluff/threaten to kill” thing… you could drive home the point by flipping it to kill and they would get the visual …. Plus even if you do stun them, they still lose. The TNG phasers had indicatorsdindicators but they alwayd hadf to look at them while adjusting the settingsd. I think the real-world explanation is simply it looks cool and the studios know audiences want/need cool stuff to see…. I don’t see any flaws in the design except its not canon but its also not 1960 anymore. Update my Trek for the big screen is fine by me.

What’s wrong with dumbing down in this case? We are a visual species. It’s much more satisfying for us to see something turn red to blue or vice versa implicating the different settings than constantly hearing “phasers set to stun”

I liked how they used it in Trek 09 – it was clear when in stun and when it wasn’t. I don’t think it’s pandering – it’s clever. One could argue that way too much expository dialogue and technobabble is pandering.

I think everyone who complains about the rotating stun/kill emitter on the Abramsverse hand phasers is forgetting that the phaser/laser pistols from the TOS pilot “The Cage” (also appearing in “The Man Trap”) had a similar design. The weapon had three nozzle type emitters at the front and the operator rotated the barrel to change the nozzle and the setting. Makes sense because on early phasers/lasers it might have required a separate crystal be put into position to change the properties of the energy beam. Because of this precedent I think the 2009 phaser fits in nicely with the Star Trek evolution of the weapon. It’s just too bad they phase pistols on the prequel show Enterprise didn’t follow this pattern (but of course Enterprise totally violated a lot of established timeline canon by introducing phasers/transporters/shields/Ferengi/Borg etc. too early).

Links to “The Cage” phaser/laser pistol and information:

http://www.geekalerts.com/u/Star-Trek-Cage-Laser-Pistol-Prop-Replica2.jpg

http://trekpropzone.com/phaserhistory.htm

So, you DO hold it like an ice cream cone. Wouldn’t it be super easy to fire this thing accidentally, like maybe incinerating your leg?

No one on Trek ever id that so there must be a safety feature built into the technobabble technobabble…..

No, and this is not a Bad Robot specific knock, you’d think by the 23rd century Federation arms would have some sort of authorized user i.d. so that only authorized personnel could fire them and not just any old sod [Alas, poor Trooper] could pick one up and fire it.

I seem to recall one of the various series’ episodes or maybe one of the movies establishing that Federation ships had some sort of ship-wide weapons block so that unauthorized hand weapons would not work on a starship, but I don’t recall them go anywhere with the concept.

Along the lines of addressing the safety deficiency: I could buy some sort of subtle finger flexing [23rd century arms version of a mouse gesture?] to engage a safety and disengage it. But I am not inspired as to what sort of gesture could offer the same safety assurance as a trigger guard?

Found it. It was THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY:

http://www.chakoteya.net/movies/movie6.html

” As you know, Commander Chekov, no one can fire an unauthorized phaser aboard a starship.” — Nicholas Meyer and Denny Martin Flinn

A distinct improvement. But I still find the stun rotatory thing to be rather stupid. It’s the 23rd Century.

El Chup,

I don’t think the 23rd century has anything to do with this weapon’s major design flaw. Its problem is it eliminates options in negotiations because if the authority wielding it wants to bluff that he’s willing to kill, he can’t because it has an “I’m bluffing” neon indicator. It’s like having a modern handgun with various colored lights to indicate what kind of ammo is loaded: live, rubber, blanks, etc. There might be some justification for having such things on the general public’s weapons so the authorities don’t use deadlier force than is necessary in dealing with them, but of what possible sense would it make to have such indicators on the authorities’ own weapons?

Haha, I read this after I posted my rebuttal below — exactly, no more bluffing. That’s half of what Kirk’s standoff speeches were about …

How would aliens know if red means kill and blue means stun? Plus, if you get stunned you still lose/get captured/ etc.

CaptainSheridan,

Innumerable episodes have shown in going up against aliens they’ve never met before it is pretty much assured the first stun shot isn’t going to work. Remember the Horta, the Kelvans, etc.?

But that’s not even the issue here. In the first two movies these foes: Nero, the Klingons and Khan all know exactly what those weapons’ colored emitters mean. Nero because he’s been hanging around 25 years. The Klingons because it’s established they actively employ military intelligence gathering on Federation weapons, and Khan because Marcus trained him.

Also worthwhile noting that in engaging the altKlingons, neither Kirk nor Khan used 1B phasers. So this whole other speculation about the 1B needing this design for enhanced audience tension and anxiety in conflict engagement got thrown out the window in Kirk and crew engaging his deadliest combatant foes in the same bar fight so to speak.

So what? Klingons & Romulans can be stunned or killed… what’s it matter if they can see what setting you have your gun on? Just so you can threaten / bluff that you’re going to kill them? So, set your gun to kill (with dramatic flare) and they say, oh no I guess he means it! Either way they are going to call your bluff or they won’t. Either way once you pull the trigger or don’t its going to end your bluff. And either way Klingons and Romulans and people who know you as peaceful Starfleet aren’t going to believe you killed someone instead of stunned them without checking for a pulse. It doensn’t give you any real disadvantage negotiating.

CaptainSheridan,

Re: negotiating

You have a fundamental misunderstanding of negotiating. A successful negotiation is one where you motivate the other party to do what you need them to do. Knocking them out or killing them when you need them to consciously perform some act is a failure, i.e. you win the immediate battle but lose the war.

Not to mention, even the phase pistols of Enterprise (which also had only a stun and a kill setting and the only series canon in the JJ movies) didn’t need a flipping emitter to switch from stun and kill

Nice design upgrade! Shades of the Trek VI phaser with that top hood. However…

Are they really going to charge $300 for something you have to assemble and paint yourself? Was everyone at Anovos completely unaware of ThinkGeek’s flat-out AMAZING original series phaser that came with every bell and whistle you could imagine AND could change the channels on your TV, all for the low price of $150? Even the Master Replicas JJ-phaser that did nothing but sit on its stand and look shiny went for about $80. And then there’s always that guy working out of his garage who’ll sell you a mail-order resin kit for about $60. I mean… Who’s the market here? Nobody dumb enough to pay $300 is going to be smart enough to build it.

The hood was already on the 2009 phasers.

Very cool…but if QMX could make an acceptable profit selling them for $80, these guys are making a killing. Too greedy. Having purchased the Into Darkness phaser for under $100, I have to pass on this.

Nothing beats the TOS version phaser pistol designed by Matt and John Jeffries with enhancements made by Wah Chang.

You are 100% right on, Finnegan. I would venture to say this latest design is a bit better than it’s own predecessor, but I would still rather see a Phaser that shoots a Phasing BEAM instead of bullets or spurts.

Exactly!

Regards.

I’ve always hated the phaser ‘ spit balls” from Nu Trek.
I do like this phaser, but like others, will wait for a $50.00 version,

What a nice phaser!

Dumb. Why is it necessarily to mechanically switch from stun to kill? Software issue, not hardware.

Regards.

Its called artistic license. Why do ship’s make a “swooshing” sound in the vacuum of space? Because it enhances the visual. The same with the fun flip of the wrist, opening the communicator. It’s more interesting to watch. And this is a movie. The spinning emitter is nothing more than visual “business” that allows the actor to interact with the prop rather than just hold it, therefore making it more interesting for an audience to watch…or at least the 98% of the audience. The more analytical among us will continue to guff. Lol

Still illogical to have moving parts after so many years of weapons development. That’s why directed energy weapons have so few moving parts, less chance of breakdown. It’s just common sense… Of which the JJVerse lacks.

I’d put my money on 23rd century moving parts any day… I mean they rely on running the ship with switches and big buttons and levers…. I think they can make this just fine. :)

CaptainSheridan,

Another reason the moving parts phaser can’t fly in the JJ movies is those movies have shown us the enemies’ weapons, “Nero’s and the Klingons'”, don’t do this. In a quick draw to escalate to use of deadly force the Federation forces lose every time going in on stun and having to wait for the flip. Remember, everything’s faster in the future and any unnecessary delay in switching off your “I’m bluffing about using deadly force” neon indicator will most likely odds on be deadly for you.

But stun works most of the time and there is no indication you can’t have it set to kill while its still in the holster.

Ugh… and it just gets worse and worse. The new uniforms were bad enough. Frankly, I rather enjoyed the delta print tunics of the first two JJVerse films… About the only thing I liked. But the phaser design was ridiculous. And illogical. Moving parts lead to break down. It’s the one vulnerability of all projectile weapons. Part of the beauty behind directed energy weapons is a lack of moving parts. So… Scientifically and logically, you’d think phasers wouldnt have silly rotating barrels.

But no, the JJVerse doesn’t care about actual science. *yawn*

First off, to each his own, and IDIC, but personally I actually like the newer uniforms. They fit the actors better and don’t look loose fitting like pajamas or something, plus the delta pattern felt over-designed, although it was admittedly visually interesting. They also (to me anyway) resemble the TOS uniforms far more closely, minus the high collar, making it look like a cross between TOS and TNG, which is, again, visually interesting, but in a less “distracting” way.

Secondly, I agree with you on the phasers. Not to mention, even the phase pistols of Enterprise (which also had only a stun and a kill setting and took place ~100 years earlier so is the only bit of the Prime Universe that’s still canon) didn’t need a flipping emitter to switch from stun and kill.

Or, maybe Starfleet decided this design was better after problems with the old ones jamming on kill when set to stun – or maybe it was just humanoid error – and a few too many innocents got vaporized.

I like them. And I don’t think there’s a legitimate scientific argument against them – it’s a matter of preference. And I really did always wonder: what happens if there’s some sort of error or glitch and the phaser kills instead of stuns? It seems wise to make it clear to the user at all times what setting it’s in/prevent accidents (although the hood hides the emiiter from the user). Plus, it seems to switch from kill to stun simply – and at least as quickly as it would adjusting buttons on on a TNG phaser.

Jack,

Re:It seems wise to make it clear to the user at all times what setting it’s in…

That could be accomplished with a subtle bump that emerges in the grip when one of the modes is engaged. There’s absolutely no tactical advantage in advertising that far more readily to one’s adversary that the weapon is aimed at, than to oneself.

Re: Jack

But the possibility of jamming is exactly why (among other reasons) a rotating emitter is a less than ideal design and engineering decision.

“Scientifically and logically, you’d think phasers wouldnt have silly rotating barrels.

But no, the JJVerse doesn’t care about actual science. *yawn*”

Perhaps not, from your perspective, but they have shown respect for the source material of Star Trek in continuing the fine tradition of design, going all the back to the rotating barrel of the Cage and the multiple roating, moving parts of the original TOS phaser and phaser rifle. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.

Much better yet still terrible. Way overdesigned.

I think it’s quite simply designed. The wheels add to the complication a little, but…

Lately, I just keep it on Kill instead of Stun.