First announced to fans this back in late June, Factory Entertainment’s new Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan prop replica is now in the hands of collectors — and today we can bring you a close look at this detailed edition of Khan’s scavenged-parts necklace from the 1982 feature film.
Meant to be constructed from components of the S.S. Botany Bay paired with a broken Starfleet emblem, the original prop worn by Ricardo Montalban was made from electrical components, thin telephone wires, copper wire, and suede leather — a similar original prop necklace, worn by Joachim (Judson Scott), was put up for auction in 2012.
As for Khan’s necklace, multiple versions of the prop were used throughout Star Trek II as his appearance deteriorated during battle with the Enterprise in the Mutara Nebula; in addition, some have reported that the original necklace props were often stolen during the making of Star Trek II, requiring additional versions to be build. (Factory Entertainment’s replica is based upon the undamaged necklace seen in the first half of the film.)
In the included information card, the company explains that this new replica is based upon “surviving original props along with reference material from the Paramount Pictures archive,” including original elements which were recreated as 3D models for manufacturing.
(Sourcing and using 40-year-old components for the necklace would have certainly been a bit of a challenge!)
Factory Entertainment’s version is quite a nice piece — comparing it to publicity photos from Star Trek II, it’s easy to see how much work went into trying to rebuild this complicated, hand-made necklace four decades after the originals were crafted.
The efforts to match the wiring colors and component shapes (in new all-metal castings) are definitely appreciated, and it even sits around the neck in a way that makes you want to take over the nearest Federation starship. The clasp at the top of the necklace is also extremely similar to the one used in the Joachim necklace linked to above.
The metal Starfleet buckle pendant is a nice solid piece, though it does feel a little bit too smooth and manufactured, compared to how the original props used in the film — in several set photos like this one, you can see that the backing ring especially had a handmade feel to it (with a slight bit of texture from the original metalworking), and the delta carried more of a patina.
That’s definitely a minor nit to pick, but something that would have helped bring a real vintage feel to the Factory Entertainment edition.
The only other thing to call out is the coloring on the three major metal components in the necklace itself: the two ringed pieces at the midpoint, and the large wiring hub at the base. The copper ‘wiring’ on these pieces are paint on the black/dark grey metal pieces, which makes sense for the necessary production of the parts, but there’s far too little copper in the paint application.
In the original props — again, comparing to what can be seen in production photography (including the photo on the Factory Entertainment packaging for this replica), the rings should be almost entirely copper colored, and the wiring hub should be copper colored around the circumference of the entire wiring connection, and not just dotted with copper in the middle portion.
Beyond those two issues, though, there’s very little to complain about — and for the first officially-licensed replica of this absolutely iconic piece, it’s a lovely recreation of Khan’s necklace for fans of Star Trek II.
The only question left for you to answer: do you have the pecs to pull it off?
If you’d like to add one of these Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan necklace prop replicas to your own collection, head over to the Factory Entertainment website where they are available for 199.99 each.
Our thanks to Factory Entertainment for sending us a sample for this review.