S31 Dark Phaser by Triple-Fiction Productions (5)

I have the proud distinction of being the owner of the very first prop built by Triple-Fiction Productions, closely inspired by (though not completely identical to) the Section 31 "Pattern M" Dark Phaser pistol that was famously seen wielded by Section 31 agents and Khan Noonien Singh (John Harrison) aboard the secretly-developed S31 battleship U.S.S. Vengeance.  This prototype, one of a series of four test props constructed by the TFP team to evaluate the practicality of the design and see what needs to be done to refine the design - and what further liberties might need to be taken with it - in order to make it more practical for convention use.

The prototype is scaled to a medium size (for the S31 Phaser), but compared to most Phaser pistols, this weapon is enormous.  It is easily one of the largest Phaser pistols in my entire collection, rivaling the Captain's Phaser Mk.2A "Stumpy" in size and outstripping it in sheer mass.  The prop is significantly heavier than the light, thin ST:2009 video game Captain's Phaser Mk.2A and sometimes feels, when gripped in the hand, like it was made out of some kind of stone rather than hardwood.  I do suspect that the size of this initial prop might be a wee bit large compared to what I've seen in the few screen shots of the Section 31 Phaser that have been made available from "Star Trek: Into Darkness," and have suspected that the prop I have might be anywhere from 5% to 10% oversized.

The most distinctive thing about this particular prop is its paint scheme, and that's definitely worth discussion.  Although the distinctive muted blue spill lighting frequently used on the U.S.S. Vengeance set seemed to obscure some of the colors of the finalized Section 31 "Pattern M" Dark Phaser hand prop, I believe from what I've seen of the published concept art that the original prop had been deliberately designed by John Eaves to have been intended to be near-100% matte black.  However, my friends at Triple-Fiction Productions and I had decided that if they simply allowed the prop to remain completely black, it wouldn't look very interesting on camera for the same reason we had originally been concerned about changing the colors of the ST:V/VI Assault Phaser.  This prop is even more intricately detailed than the ST:V/VI Assault Phaser, but these details would simply fade into a sea of matte black in a color-accurate prop.

Therefore, we decided to embark on an ambitious experiment.  Usually, when we employ a "counter-shading" technique like the ones used on the Copperhead Special Assault Phaser, the prototype ST:VI Assassin Phaser Rifle, the three Assault/Assassin Phasers carried by my Kirk-cosplayer friend Brent, and two of the three Mark II ST:2009 Captain's Phaser props, we would use a darker shade as the primary color, and balance it by using a lighter color as the counter-shade to emphasize details.  This time, I asked Triple-Fiction Productions to use an "inverse" or "reversed" counter-shading technique.  We chose a slightly lighter shade of charcoal or gunmetal grey as the primary color, and then selectively colored certain parts of the prop in black - and, as often happens when TFP's propmaking team decides to execute one of my prop ideas, the final result looks amazing in person.

Although it's still not identical to the way the prop looked when seen on screen in "Star Trek: Into Darkness," the paint scheme definitely supports the intent of the prop.  It looks militaristic and menacing, which is absolutely in keeping with the idea of the S31 prop being nicknamed the "Dark Phaser" during production, and stands out in stark contrast against all of the other Phaser pistol designs employed by Starfleet in any era, including the other J.J. Abrams Alternate Reality Phaser designs.  With the other alternative paint scheme (black main color vs. light gray counter-shading) being used as a one-off for a particular customer, TFP and I have decided that the colors used on this version will be kept as a pattern for subsequent models of the prop that may be made in the future.

The finalized prop also has a practical addition that wasn't seen on the screen-used prop: a thin, screw-secured metal belt clip, painted in silver and fastened to the right side of the prop.  Although I am not a ST:2009 cosplayer, and primarily have the prop I've got as a memento, a museum piece, and a beta-tester, I am also holding onto it as an emergency backup for the members of our cosplay group whose characters do need it just in case something happens to those cosplayers' own props.

This submission shows an angled view of the completed #1 prototype Section 31 "Pattern M" Dark Phaser inspired by the original design from "Star Trek: Into Darkness" that emphasizes the front of the weapon.  The original drawn design accepted as "Pattern M" did not seem to have an extended emitter tip at the end of the barrel, but examination of some of the close-ups of the prop's business end from the movie suggests that the finished prop did have one and that's why one was added to this prototype.