The binders for the Star Trek Universe collection.
In 1998 Newfield Publications released the Star Trek Universe collection. It was a set of ten cards that could be placed into a three-ringed binder. Each card gave trivia and information on a different subject from the (then) four Star Trek series. This included crew, ships, races, episodes/film synopsis, characters, movies, culture, technology and behind the scenes. The company included a set of coasters and three-ringed binders. The publication ran until 2001 when it unexpectedly shut down after 950 cards in total.
Each card had a product number of ####-##-##. The first four numbers were some sort of organization number used by the publisher. The first two digits was the card set number (cards marked 16 from the 16th set) and the last two digits are the number of the card in the set (01-10). For some reason, there is a replacement set for set two that changed some of the cards.
When this first started, I got the introductory set. But I was never able to fully subscribe to the program. I’ve always wanted to have a complete set. Every once in a while I’d come across someone who was willing to trade, sell or just give away the cards that they had. I’ve been slowly completing a set and I’m finally within striking distance of accomplishing this goal. If I can find these last cards, it will be complete.
The Borg Queen (Set 2 Replacement card)
Set 14:
The Galileo Seven
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Lieutenant Saavik
Elim Garak
Tricorders
USS Voyager NCC-74565
Set 15:
The Naked Time
Obsession
Lessons
Dr. Julian Bashir
Amanda Grayson
Dabo
Set 16:
The Ultimate Computer
Chief Miles Edward O’Brien
The Clown
Transporters
Set 90:
Up the Long Ladder
A Man Alone
Babel
Demon
Warhead
Pel
Starfleet Propulsion Specialist Kosinski
Qualor II Surplus Depot
Romulan Tal Shiar
DEEP SPACE NINE Infirmary
I have loose cards and several sets still in shrinkwrap if anyone would like to make a trade. If someone has cards that they would be willing to sell or give away, please let me know by emailing me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com
“I don’t like mobs. In my option, if you need one to get what you want it’s not worth getting.” Odo- Bar Association, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #WeAreStarfleet
“That green-blooded son of a bitch! It’s his revenge for all the arguments he lost.” McCoy- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Stardate: 8210.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #WeAreStarfleet
“If you want to be an effective captain, you’ve got to set your personal feelings aside and listen to what other people have to say.” Mayweather- Horizon, Date: January 10, 2153 #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #WeAreStarfleet
“If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains – however improbable – must be the truth.” Spock- Star Trek (2009) #StarTrek #WeAreStarfleet
June 3 “We don’t have to stop being individuals to get through this. We just have to stop fighting each other.” Janeway- Scorpion Part II, Stardate: 51003.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #WeAreStarfleet
“Just words.” Kirk “But good words. That’s where ideas begin. Maybe you should listen to them.” David Marcus- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Stardate: 8130.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #WeAreStarfleet
June 5 “Among humans friendship is sometimes less an emotional response and more a sense of familiarity.” Data- Legacy, Stardate: 44215.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #WeAreStarfleet
“Rules are for Admirals in back offices. I’m out there trying to win a war.” Lorca- Lethe, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDiscovery #WeAreStarfleet
I’ve had a chance to scan in a few more homebrewed stats from different tech resources. These are starships for FASA’s Star Trek Starship Combat Simulator. We finish up the Federation destroyers and move into some unusual starships.
Off the top of my head, I’m not certain which source I used for this starship. I recognize the artwork, but not the book. I’ll have to see if I can find it so I can give it proper credit. It is another member of the upgraded Saladin family.
This also came from the same source as the Thunderbolt. It is also another variant of the upgraded Saladin class. This type of kitbash was very popular in the original source material.
This design came from the fan-made Starfleet Prototype: The Journal of Innovative Design and Ideas. Even though it was listed as “Issue 25 2291-2292”, I don’t know if any others of this journal was released. It is a very well detailed book which has other designs that I have homebrewed, or would like to homebrew.
Found in the Starfleet Dynamics (another excellent fan-made tech publication), the Guam Class was one of the few deck-carriers I had seen. Since FASA’s sources was lacking carriers, I converted this one over and added it to my book.
This starship came from a set of blueprints (also fan made) that I had found on one of my convention trips. I miss the days of going to a con and walking away with another resource book, tech manual or set of blueprints. Again I thought the idea was unique and converted it over.
Another set scanned and uploaded. Keep sending me your feedback. I’ve been enjoying talking with those that enjoyed these types of homebrewing and designs.
“This ship bears the name Discovery. Never has that been more fitting, or more prescient. She has carried us into the future, and it will be our privilege to make that future bright. Let us begin. Together.” Saru- People of Earth, Stardate: 865211.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekDiscovery
May 25 “I suppose it has thorns.” Miranda “I never met a rose that didn’t.” Kirk- Is There In Truth No Beauty?, Stardate: 5630.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #WeAreStarfleet
May 26 “I happen to disagree with his decision but he is my commanding officer and I follow orders.” Riker- Second Chances, Stardate: 46915.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #WeAreStarfleet
May 27 “I’m a doctor, not a counter-insurgent. Get a hold of yourself. You’re not just a hologram, you’re a Starfleet hologram!” The Doctor- Basics Part II, Stardate: 50032.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #WeAreStarfleet
May 28 “Sooner or later, you’re going to have to adapt.” Dax- Bar Association, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #WeAreStarfleet
May 29 “You’re down there, right now, with Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites, getting ready to sign the Charter. The membership is going to grow. Dozen, eventually hundreds of species. A United Federation of Planets.” Daniels- Zero Hour, Date: February 14, 2154 #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #WeAreStarfleet
It’s been a while since I’ve put together any type of new cosplay. There hasn’t been any events where I could cosplay at (with the pandemic and everything). I’m also a little self conscious about trying to cosplay with my glasses and gut. I know that my friends and other cosplay enthusiasts would try to tell me that those two items don’t really matter in cosplay. But I’m my own worse critic when I look in the mirror. So I’m using this project as a motivator to get a new cosplay finished and to lose some weight in the process. In the past I have cosplayed Star Trek (several Starfleet uniforms, Angosian soldier), Star Wars (Imperial Officer, Rebel Commando) and my favorite, Arthur Dent from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (a robe, pajamas, copy of the guide and (of course) a towel). I may have to do that one again for a convention.
I started with the decision to put together an Admiral’s uniform from one of the new Star Trek series on Paramount+, Star Trek: Picard. This is the uniform used by Starfleet in the mid 2380’s. I thought that the red with the gold stripes looked really sharp. The sleeves were also quite interesting as well. As we see different admirals wearing different styles of uniforms, I’m taking the opportunity to make my uniform a little more unique. That will be revealed later.
Step one has been completed. Some friends had purchased their mid-2380’s uniforms from a site called FanRek and they really liked them. I saw the shirt portion of the admiral’s uniform there (and at the time they were having a 20% off sale for Mother’s Day) so I pulled the trigger and made the purchase. The shirt arrived in ten days which shocked me. I thought it would have taken a few weeks more. This made for a very pleasant surprise when the packaged arrived. I’m modeling the shirt in the above photo. It appears to be made out of a nylon type fabric (I don’t know my fabrics by heart) so I will be wearing an undershirt with it. But for the test photo it felt fairly comfortable. In the past, most of my uniform tops had been hand made by friends. However schedules had been very hectic so I decided to try this company.
For step two, I’m going to get a new set of rank pips and combadge. I have a set already on my 2370’s uniform (grey top with division colored undershirt). However I didn’t want to add to the wear and tear of the two shirts by swapping the pins as needed. I didn’t see anything special on the episodes for pants or boots. So I am going to continue to use the black pants and black boots that I have used in previous cosplay.
Step three is going to be the additions to the cosplay that I want to make. I’m not ready to talk about it now because it may change as I try to put it together. But it would logically fit in with the theme of the uniform style. Yes photos will be posted as things come about.
For future cosplays I have a few ideas. I’d like to do a hybrid of a TOS/TNG style Klingon uniform. We’ve seen a few Klingons with bellies and I’ve got a good cloak that would work this with cosplay. From Babylon 5 I’d like to assemble an Centarui Ambassador (like Londo Mollari). Besides being able to have a belly, I could have some creativity with the flamboyant jacket. As I’ve always been fascinated by pirates, that is also on the list as well.
When you find out your favorite NBA team has the best record in the league.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes twitter account for the week of May 17th through the 23rd.
May 17 “Good tea… nice house.” Worf- The Survivors, Stardate: 43152.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #WeAreStarfleet
May 18 “Going out with phasers firing may seem heroic, but in the long run, it is merely foolish.” Tuvok- Learning Curve, Stardate: 48846.5 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #WeAreStarfleet
May 19 “Labels do not make arguments.” Spock- I Mudd, Stardate: 4513.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #WeAreStarfleet
“Once again, I’m struck by your species’ desire to help others.” Dr. Phlox- Dear Doctor, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #WeAreStarfleet
May 21 “James T Kirk.” Lucsly “The one and only.” Sisko “Seventeen separate temporal violations. The biggest file on record.” Lucsly “The man was a menace.” Dulmur- Trials and Tribble-ations, Stardate: 4523.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #WeAreStarfleet
May 22 “A library serves no purpose unless someone is using it.” Mr. Atoz- All Our Yesterdays, Stardate: 5943.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #WeAreStarfleet
May 23 “Know your enemy and know yourself and you will always be victorious.” Portal (quoting Sun Tzu)- The Last Outpost, Stardate: 41386.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #WeAreStarfleet
I don’t know if I like this update to Microsoft Word.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes twitter account for the week of May 10th through the 16th.
May 10 “Perhaps to be a Teer is to see in new ways. I begin to like you, Earthman… and I saw fear in the Klingon’s eye.” Maab- Friday’s Child, Stardate: 3497.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #WeAreStarfleet
May 11 “There are always other solutions. You have said so yourself, many times.” Picard- Sarek, Stardate: 43917.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #WeAreStarfleet
“When it comes to choosing between science and profit I’ll choose profit every time.” Vash- Q-Less, Stardate: 46531.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #WeAreStarfleet
“It’s creative estimating. When you get an assignment, you exaggerate how long its gonna take, then you’re a hero when it’s done early.” Rutherford- Temporal Edict, Stardate: 57501.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekLowerDecks #WeAreStarfleet
May 13 “Just beyond the next planet, just beyond the next star…” Archer (hologram)- These Are The Voyages, Stardate: 47457.1 #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #WeAreStarfleet
May 14 “Speak softly, governor. Those who cannot hear an angry shout, may strain to hear a whisper.” Odan- The Host, Stardate: 44821.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #WeAreStarfleet
May 15 (on being in a war) “Maybe this is one experience that can’t be shared. It’s too.. hard to.. describe how I feel to someone who didn’t see what I saw.” Neelix- Jetrel, Stardate: 48832.1 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #WeAreStarfleet
I received quite a bit of feedback on my last batch of starships that I have converted to FASA’s Star Trek Starship Combat Simulator. So I’ve sat down and scanned a few more into PDF formats. Once again, these are from the original documents that I created back in the early 90’s with a photocopier and cutting and pasting the images into the documents and then photocopying that document.
Most of these entries are destroyers. In my first entry I selected several ships at random. Starting in my second blog post I started going in order of what I had in the book. I tended to follow the organization that was in the three Starship Recognition Manuals. I’ve got a few more destroyers in the next batch then we will be onto some of the dreadnoughts.
In the original source for this starship, it was called the Ranger Class Cruiser. However FASA already had a Ranger Class. So I renamed it to Starranger. Many years later I’ve noticed that there have been several published designs (both licensed and fan-made) that use the “Ranger Class” name.
I’m not certain what source I got this starship from. In 20/20 hindsight I should have referenced them when I created the document. I thought it was an interesting concept on the Saladin/Hermes family design.
And speaking of the Saladin Class, here it is directly from the Starfleet Technical Manual. When I created this document, I had no idea that Saladin was a real historical figure. I created a backstory for the name and entered it into this starship description. If I was creating this document now, I would update it to properly represent it’s namesake.
This was definitely from a fan-made technical manual. It was probably one that I had borrowed from my fellow Treknologist, Dennis Hollinger. I’ll have to ask him if he remembers which book this was from and post it in a future blog entry.
Another member of the Saladin/Hermes family. I believe this was from one of the Starfleet Academy tech books. I’m still unpacking things so I’ll see if I can track this one down. I know I’ve seen other (better) drawings of the Siva class.
That’s it for this round. I’m also planning to set up a page where all of these can be found in one location. More on that soon.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes twitter account for the week of May 3rd through the 9th.
May 3 “I know that for them (humans) guilt can be a powerful motivator. Don’t let it cloud your judgment.” T’Pol- E2, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #WeAreStarfleet
May 4 “There are lives at stake– by our standards– alien life, but lives nevertheless.” Kirk- The Corbomite Maneuver, Stardate: 1512.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #WeAreStarfleet
“There was a time when the mere mention of my race inspired fear. And now… we’re a beaten people. Afraid to fight back because we don’t want to lose what little is left.” Dukat- Return to Grace, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #WeAreStarfleet
“No one gets all of it right, Raf.” Rios- The Impossible Box, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekPicard #WeAreStarfleet
May 6 “Your past does not excuse unethical or immoral behavior, sir.” Data- The Most Toys, Stardate: 43872.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #WeAreStarfleet
May 7 “You just pretend that nothing bothers you and then you turn everything into a joke.” Torres “That’s a valid observation. Defense mechanisms come in many forms.” The Doctor- Homestead, Stardate: 54868.6 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #WeAreStarfleet
“You will always be a child of two worlds. I am grateful for this, and for you.” Sarek- Star Trek (2009) #StarTrek #WeAreStarfleet
May 9 “We are every bit as fragile as an egg and as impossible to reconstruct.” Aaron Conor- The Masterpiece Society, Stardate: 45470.1 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #WeAreStarfleet
The Last Best Hope is the first novel based on the CBS All Access (now Paramount+) series “Star Trek: Picard”. I recently had a chance to purchase this book for my Amazon Kindle to add to my reading list. Being the first book in the series, I knew that I just had to know the show and not any previous books (I’m doing a lot of catch up on my Star Trek reading right now) so I was eager to open this book up and explore.
This book starts out with Starfleet Command approaching Captain Picard with the task of assisting the Romulan Star Empire after the discovery of the supernova that will destroy countless inhabited planets. The newly promoted Admiral Picard is immediately moved into a role of coordinating the relocation efforts that the Federation extends to the Romulans. He first meets Lt. Commander Raffi Musiker who briefs the Admiralty on the supernova that we first learned about in the 2009 Star Trek movie.
There is a lot of discussion about how the Federation would handle such an evacuation. The resources needed, the ships built, and the manpower required. What projects would be placed on hold just to accomplish such a goal. There is a lot of insight into what happens with refugees. Especially when the government like the Romulan Star Empire is built upon keeping secrets.
Author Una McCormack introduces us to several of the characters we will get to know in the Star Trek: Picard television series. The above-mentioned Raffi Musiker and her time as Picard’s Executive Officer on the USS Verity. We get an insight into the effects the mission has on her family life. Doctor Bruce Maddox mentors a student known as Agnes Jurati. This mentoring develops into a relationship, especially when Dr. Maddox is forced to abandon his life’s work to develop a form of artificial ship builders known as the Synths. One of he Romulan planets that is evacuated by the Verity contains Zani and the band of warrior nuns known as the Qowat Milat. Here Picard meets a very young boy named Elnor. While not seen in the series, Geordi La Forge features prominently in this novel as he heads up the shipbuilding efforts at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards building the Wallenberg Class transport. We also get a chance to meet future Fleet Admiral Kirsten Clancy at Federation Headquarters.
There is also a rich band of characters that are introduced for this novel. Estella Mackenzie works at Utopia Planitia alongside La Forge and comes up with the idea of creating androids to help with construction. With the supernova being a unique event, Doctor Amal Safadi at Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy conducts several studies. He tries to get a hold of his Romulan counterpart, the scientist Doctor Nokim Vritet who first discovered the disaster that had befallen his people. On the USS Verity are two interesting individuals such as Lt. Koli Jocan, a Bajoran who is very familiar with relocation due to the history of her people and provided one of the most inspirational moments within the book. The other is the Romulan “cultural liaison officer” Lt. Tajuth sent to make sure that Picard considers Romulan interest while within their territory. Tajuth provides quite a bit of insight into the Romulan culture. One of the more interesting characters is Olivia Quest. A politician who is a representative from the agricultural colony near the Romulan border called Estelen. She provides a lot of insight into how the smaller worlds within the Federation feel about the sudden influx of Romulan refugees into the area.
With this book set before the Romulan star exploded I was wondering if we were going to see or hear from two individuals. The first one, Spock, did not disappoint me. I was also wondering if we were going to hear anything about Nero and his crew. They did not make an appearance, but this may have been due to (at the time) the rights to characters from the 2009 movie.
The writing style and detail provided by the author delved very deeply into the characters and various sub-plots. The short chapters made for quick reading. Unfortunately, my reading schedule only allowed for short reads each day. Most of these I did not want to put my reading tablet down. I found myself spending extra time reading “just a few more pages”. The writing was that engaging in the story and characters.
This was also the curse of the book. The main characters seen in the show had their stories wrapped up by the end of the book in a very good story. I’m not certain if there was a limit on the number of pages, but it seemed like the very well written characters introduced into the book were quickly wrapped up in a few pages. This disappointed me a little. With how well these characters had been written, I was hoping to find out more about what happened with them at the end of the book. Perhaps this could be an opportunity to see some of these characters again in future novels.
If you enjoyed watching the first season of Star Trek: Picard and would like to know how some of the characters developed before the television series, I would highly recommend The Last Best Hope.
