Original USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Model To Be Restored… Again

The original studio model of the USS Enterprise has been at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum for quite a while. For a long time it was suspended from the ceiling (which is where I saw it when I was a little kid), but for the last decade it’s been sitting in the museum gift shop in a display case (see above).

The model has gone through several dubious “restorations” (some better than others) over the years, but even when done with the best of intentions, the model still doesn’t quite resemble what fans of Star Trek saw on television in the 60s.

Well, that’s about to change — the model has now been removed from its spot in the gift shop, and will spend the next 18 months being restored. Once the new restoration is completed, it will find its way not to the basement level of the gift shop, but instead the main floor of the museum.

And I’m looking forward to it.

Via Air & Space