Re-Used Props - Beam Weapons
by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider
Many props of Star Trek were reused, with or without modifications, to represent items for a different purpose or of another civilization. Here are quite a few examples of beam weapons. Please take every statement made here with a grain of salt. We may want to overlook generously that distant civilizations have the same weapons.
Pistols
TOS disruptor
The classic disruptor, which is nowadays most familiar as a Klingon weapon, began its life on Eminiar VII in TOS: "A Taste of Armageddon". It was later modified to serve as the Klingon disruptor in TOS: "Errand of Mercy", "Friday's Child" and "Day of the Dove". Aside from that, the Romulans used this type of disruptor too, in "The Enterprise Incident" (where they had Klingon ships likewise). Even the original ribbed "barrel" of the Eminiaran weapon was re-used. It appeared as a part of a big scanning device in TOS: "Metamorphosis" and "The Ultimate Computer".
Scalosian weapon
The same gun is used by the Scalosians in TOS: "Wink of an Eye" and, a few episodes later, by the Ardanans in TOS: "The Cloud Minders".
Varon-T disruptor
This weapon originally appeared as a Mariposan gun in TNG: "Up the Long Ladder". It was seen more clearly in TNG: "Captain's Holiday". The prop seems to include parts of the even more often re-used Rutian pistol (see below). In TNG: "The Most Toys", a prop with the same grip but a different barrel was prominently featured as a Varon-T disruptor, a cruel weapon outlawed in the Federation. The disruptor reappeared without noticeable changes in a number of later episodes, each time in the hand of a single person because there is apparently only one copy of this particular prop. On a few of these occasions the weapon may have been another Varon-T disruptor.
In the book Star Trek: Action! by Terry J. Erdmann, the author mentions that the double-barreled weapon used by Arturis in "Hope and Fear" was made from the mold of the Varon-T prop.
Kevin Uxbridge's pistol
There are two varieties of the same basic weapon design, one very simple and the other one a little more ornate. The simple version first appeared in TNG: "The Survivors" as a low-yield phaser. It was then seen in DS9: "Battle Lines" as an Ennis gun. It got more screen time as the Yaderan pistol in DS9: "Shadowplay" and briefly appeared again in ENT: "The Seventh".
The second variety was first seen in DS9: "Through the Looking Glass" as Mirror Universe Jadzia's gun. It was then used by the Ilari in VOY: "Warlord". It got most screen time in DS9's season 6, however, where it was used by Krit and Nahsk in DS9: "Who Mourns for Morn?" and the Bolian bartender Graife in "Honor Among Thieves".
Rutian pistol
This pistol is one of the most frequently re-used weapon props. Unlike the Varon-T disruptor, with which it shares several features, there are at least three of these props so that alien security forces may be armed with it. The pistol first shows up in TNG: "The High Ground", used by the Rutian planetary security. Its color is silverish dark gray on the grip, with colorful red, silver and gold details around the barrel. The prop remains unchanged for several more appearances, in TNG: "Legacy", "Man of the People", "Starship Mine", "Frame of Mind", "Attached", DS9: "The Passenger", "Necessary Evil", "Whispers" and "Who Mourns for Morn?". The weapon is painted brown in TNG: "Gambit II", DS9: "In the Hands of the Prophets" and "Melora". Finally, a plain black variant can be seen in VOY: "Time and Again", "Resistance" and "Living Witness". A further modification appears in VOY: "Homestead".
Ansata pistol
This pistol with its angular casing and metallic nozzle was first seen in TNG: "The High Ground", where it was used by the Ansata terrorists. The people on Turkana IV in TNG: "Legacy" had the same type of weapons. It then appeared several times in the first season of DS9, as a weapon type of Rao Vantika's henchmen in "The Passenger", as a Miradorn weapon in "Vortex" and as both an Ennis and Nol-Ennis weapon in "Battle Lines". It later showed up again on TNG in "Journey's End" as a gun used by the Native American colonists of Dorvan V. After that, it could be seen three times on Voyager, first in VOY: "Tattoo" as a weapon of the people of Chakotay's tribe (along with the "Romulan phaser rifle"). It was then seen as Bahrat's gun in "Fair Trade" and made its final appearance as the original Hirogen pistol in "The Killing Game I".
Ennis pistol
The Maquis as well as the Suliban and even the Ilari in the Delta Quadrant "reuse" one pistol previously seen with the Ennis in the Gamma Quadrant, in DS9: "Battle Lines".
This weapon closely follows the lines of a design for Yuri's gun in the 1986 Dirty Pair movie.
Jem'Hadar pistol
The Jem'Hadar pistol from the Gamma Quadrant as it could be seen in DS9: "The Jem'Hadar" and "One Little Ship" is one of the most frequently reused weapons. It reappears many times in the Delta Quadrant, as well as in the Alpha Quadrant of the 22nd century. There are several modifications, the most obvious being the removal of the frame around the trigger, as visible in VOY: "Workforce II".
Ferengi pistol
A gun with a typical flat nozzle, which may have been formerly envisioned as a Vulcan phaser, according to The Art of Star Trek, was consistently used as a Ferengi pistol in two DS9 episodes and even in ENT: "Acquisition" (though we should expect their technology to progress in 220 years). Only on one occasion, in DS9: "The Emperor's New Cloak", we could see this weapon type in human hands in the Mirror Universe, but here it could have easily been a (Mirror-)Ferengi pistol as well.
On an interesting side note, the phaser started its life as a Robotech Invid Shock Trooper. One shoulder cannon of the toy was made into the barrel, a leg became the handle of the Trek weapon.
Finnean pistol
Quark holds a gun resembling the above Ferengi pistol in DS9: "Ferengi Love Songs". This pistol is a distinct type without the characteristic disk-shaped handle and was previously used by the Finnean thugs in DS9: "A Simple Investigation". Both types of guns are used by the Ferengi in ENT: "Acquisition".
Bentharan & Ramuran pistol
The Bentharans and Ramurans in the Delta Quadrant use the same kind of guns.
"Imperfection" pistol
This elegant weapon or slight variations thereof appeared in five episodes. It was created for VOY: "Imperfection", where it was used by the salvage aliens. One prop of this type got repainted and appeared as a Hirogen gun in VOY: "Flesh and Blood". For Enterprise, they were repainted again and the tip of the barrel was cut off, so it was no longer slanted. The modified prop was seen as a Takret gun in ENT: "The Catwalk", an Illyrian gun in "Damage" and finally as what it always looked like, a Vulcan weapon in "Kir'Shara". On a curious note, the upper brownish ornament (above the barrel) and the grip are taken from a Kazon raider model kit.
Kraylor & Hierarchy pistol
The small "retro-style" Kraylor pistol in VOY: "Nightingale" is the same model as the Hierarchy hand weapon in VOY: "Renaissance Man".
EM pistol
This weapon has a characteristic boxy case and a vertical nozzle. It appears as a human phase pistol precursor in ENT: "Broken Bow" (Starfleet) and "Fortunate Son" (Earth Cargo Service). The Enolians, however, seem to be using this weapon too, as seen in ENT: "Canamar". The three variants differ in their color and in details.
Arkonian & Tellarite pistol
The Arkonians and the Tellarites don't only have the same type of starships, they also use the same hand weapons.
Malurian pistol
The Malurian pistol from ENT: "Civilization" was repainted and appeared as a Kantare gun in ENT: "Oasis". It was also among the various weapon types that the settlers had gathered in ENT: "Marauders".
The same prop also appeared as an Andorian pistol, together with a rifle that shares the basic features and has an additional stock.
Rifles
Klingon disruptor rifle
The rifles used on Mordan IV in TNG: "Too Short a Season" are a modification of the Klingon disruptor rifles first seen in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock".
Solari rifle
The Solari rifle from TNG: "Loud as a Whisper" reappears as a Regalian phaser rifle used by the Gatherers in TNG: "The Vengeance Factor".
Gatherer/Angosian rifle
Another Gatherer in TNG: "The Vengeance Factor" carries a different kind of rifle. The prop is seen much better in "The Hunted" where it is used as an Angosian weapon. The rifle appears in TNG: "The Hunted" as a hero prop and in large numbers as a background prop. We can later see it in DS9: "The Circle". The prop remains essentially unchanged, but the formerly gray portions seem to be silvery now. We can see it in the episode together with what would become the familiar Jem'Hadar rifle.
The prop was modified more extensively for its appearance in "Blood Oath". The basic color is brown now instead of gray, and the raised parts are gray (not black). In addition, it features a bayonet (kuttar) now. The Albino orders his guards to use the kuttars because the dampening field would disable energy weapons.
We can also see the prop in DS9: "Shakaar", as the old weapon of the Shakaar resistance cell. The colors were changed again. The body is gray now, and the raised panels are light gray. In addition, there are add-ons in the light gray areas that seem to be switches. The knife was removed, but the weapon now sports a large triangular box that acts as a scope. We can see the weapon, still with the Bajoran modifications except for the box, as an Ilari rifle in VOY: "Warlord". A variant with the paint scheme of the Bajoran weapon, but with fewer add-ons and a smaller scope, appears as a Sakari weapon in VOY: "Blood Fever". Finally the weapon, repainted once again, shows up in DS9: "The Emperor's New Cloak".
Rutian terrorist & Romulan rifle
This prop belongs to the most frequently used guns in Star Trek. More than one copy exists of the weapon. We can see it for the first time in TNG: "The High Ground" where it is carried by the Ansata terrorists. The prop, with the same black or dark gray color scheme, is also used in TNG: "The High Ground", "Suddenly Human", "Ensign Ro", "Rascals", "Starship Mine", "Gambit I" and VOY: "The 37's". But the weapon is definitely most prominent as the Romulan rifle, although it appeared in this role in just one double episode, "Unification I+II". This variant of the rifle with a silver-gray coating was created relatively early, for TNG: "Captain's Holiday". It appeared once more in DS9: "The Passenger". Finally, there is a brown version of the weapon in DS9: "Armageddon Game", VOY: "Ex Post Facto", "Tattoo" and possibly in "Unity".
It is possible that the rifle as it appeared in Trek is based on a Visitor Shock Trooper pistol from "V" that has the same basic rectangular shape.
Gun on carriage
The device looking like a gun on a carriage in Soong's lab in TNG: "Brothers" later appears in the background of the weapon presentation in Quark's holosuite in DS9: "Business as Usual".
Bajoran rifle
The familiar Bajoran rifle reappears in the Delta Quadrant in VOY: "Memorial", and in the 22nd century in ENT: "Marauders" and "The Seventh". For Menos's weapon in "The Seventh", the prop was painted purplish blue.
Jem'Hadar rifle
Interestingly, the weapon we know best as Jem'Hadar rifle first appeared as a Hunter gun in DS9: "Captive Pursuit" and then more or less as a weapon-of-the-week. It even adorned James T. Kirk's souvenir wall in "Generations" until it finally and steadily became a Jem'Hadar rifle. In its first appearance the prop still had two large spikes on the front end making it look almost like a crossbow. These spikes were later removed. And indeed, the weapon was originally a Remco crossbow toy, produced in apparently several different colors around 1990.
In some episodes the weapon sports what looks like a large "front sight", which is sometimes mounted pointing forward and sometimes backward. There are also different versions with bayonets in DS9: "Blood Oath" and, for the Jem'Hadar rifle, in DS9: "Rocks and Shoals". The Jem'Hadar weapon consistently fires blue plasma bullets.
Romulan disruptor rifle
Romulan guards carry this disruptor rifle with its characteristic curved shape in DS9: "Improbable Cause" and "The Die Is Cast". But it also appears in the hands of the Ferengi, once in DS9: "The Magnificent Ferengi" and once in the Mirror Universe in DS9: "The Emperor's New Cloak". The weapon can also be seen in VOY: "Memorial", albeit just in an illusion.
Starfleet rifle
Quark demonstrates a rifle with gold tarnish to his customers in DS9: "Business as Usual". The weapon appears to be a modification of, or at least heavily inspired by, the Starfleet phaser rifle that is in use since "Star Trek: First Contact".
Nyrian rifle
This prop is a modification of the oft-re-used Rutian and later Romulan disruptor rifle. This black rifle appeared three times on Voyager, first as the Nyrian weapon VOY: "Displaced" (season 3), then as the rifle used by Tau's pirates in VOY: "Concerning Flight" and finally as the Vaadwaur rifle in "Dragon's Teeth".
Devore rifle
The Devore rifle from VOY: "Counterpoint" previously appeared, perhaps a bit less prominently, as the gun of the "Dream Species" in VOY: "Waking Moments". It can be seen once again on Uxali in VOY: "Friendship One".
Coridan rifle
The rifle type seen on Coridan in ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem" reappears in the hands of the Enolian guards in ENT: "Canamar".
Eska and Suliban rifle
The Eska rifle from ENT: "Rogue Planet" and the Suliban weapon in "Shockwave II" seem to look quite different on the first glance, but they share many features. We don't know whether the original Eska weapon was accordingly modified or whether a new weapon was built for the Suliban. In any case, we can see a variant that looks more like the Eska model still later, as a settler weapon in ENT: "Marauders".
See Also
Re-Used Props - Other Weapons - blade weapons, forcefields generators and explosive devices
Credits
Thanks to Michael Minnick for spotting the Starfleet phaser rifle, to J. Wilder for the hint about the Varon-T variation in "Hope and Fear", to Battybattybats who pointed me to the Robotech toy, to Greg for the idea that the Rutian rifle is based on a prop from "V", to Marshall who found the prop photo of the Finnean phaser, to Travis for spotting the Ennis pistol of the Maquis and to Wattsma for finding the Dirty Pair connection.
