First announced last summer, Factory Entertainment’s second Star Trek: The Next Generation prop replica — a hypospray medical set from Dr. Crusher’s sickbay — began arriving to collectors this spring, and after a short delay (there is a lot of Star Trek happening lately if you haven’t noticed!) it’s time for us to check out this replica for ourselves.
Factory Entertainment’s take on the Next Generation hypospray is the first licensed version of the 90’s Trek medical device, and the hand-held injector is accompanied by three vials of colored “medicine,” a hand scanner typically seen paired with a medical tricorder, and a small metal plaque.
The hypo itself is quite hefty for its size thanks to the die-cast metal form, weighing it at nearly 6 ounces with a 5-inch length — but the solid feel in the hand really adds to the illusion that it’s a “real” Star Trek device. The head of the hypospray unscrews to access the battery compartment, because the replica has integrated electronics for sound playback.
Opposite the polished injection nozzle are a pair of buttons which play a long and a short “hiss” to mimic the sound effect heard when a Next Gen doctor treats a patient. Each require the button be held down for the duration of the sound effect’s length to hear the entire thing.
The three vials of colored liquid (pink, indigo, and green) pop right into the hypo’s handle thanks to built-in magnets which hold them in place; while there’s no sound effect to go with them, the magnets are quite strong and there doesn’t seem to be any risk of them falling out of place unexpectedly.
While “copied directly from surviving resources in the CBS archives,” the hypo replica design has been based upon an amalgamation of multiple props created for The Next Generation. As Factory Entertainment’s included product documentation describes:
As normal for productions, a number of modifications and changes were made to the different original props over the course of time. These replicas have been designed to capture the best elements of all the variants in a single blended execution.
As for the hand scanner, it’s a bit of an odd inclusion given that it was only seen in use without a paired tricorder once in all of Next Generation history (by Dr. Pulaski in “Up the Long Ladder”) — but for what it is, it’s a fairly nice version of the TNG Season 1 and 2 scanner (with only a single red light to indicate function).
The hand scanner also plays a scanning sound effect which approximates the sound of a medical tricorder; this device also unscrews to access an internal battery compartment. The flashing red light is brightly lit and nicely colored, however, the plastic casting around the LED bulb is relatively thin — in dark environments the red light bleeds through the plastic itself. (Some internal paint or something could have resolved this issue.)
The entire set is housed in a wood and glass display case which holds everything quite snugly — though perhaps a bit too snugly, as it was quite a challenge to extract the hand scanner and vials from the interior compartments.
Early deliveries to buyers did result in a small number of damaged cases due to a packaging issue — however the company did quickly initiate a replacement program within days of the first reported problem to take care of any fans who received damaged deliveries. (Factory Entertainment told us their shipping processes have already been modified to avoid a repeat of the unintended situation.)
Overall, while the $399 price tag is far from inexpensive, it’s a very solid recreation of one of the hallmark props of Berman-era Star Trek production — and one we’re glad to see a licensee take a chance on after so many years.
For those of you still interested, the Factory Entertainment Next Generation Medical Set is still available until their produced inventory runs out.
While the hypospray set is finally in the hands of collectors, the next Factory Entertainment Star Trek replica is due for arrival this summer — some preorder customers have already gotten word the Next Gen cricket phaser replica may be headed for delivery soon — the company is only just getting started on their line of Star Trek products.
Along with the scaled replicas we showcased last month, Factory Entertainment has shared with us that their upcoming plans include a TNG Season 1 hero “dustbuster” phaser replica, a full-size replica of Geordi La Forge’s VISOR device (with display case), and a full-fledged Next Gen Season 5 hero medical tricorder replica with planned LCD display screen and hero hand scanner (with green and red lights).
In addition to all that, they’re also working on a replica of Dr. McCoy’s Original Series hypospray as well, along with their own version of the Terran Empire dagger seen in “Mirror, Mirror” — and a one more fun item from Star Trek: The Motion Picture… an Illia Probe sensor unit (and accompanying Admiral Kirk insignia), coming later this year.
Keep checking back to TrekCore for all the latest news on Factory Entertainment’s plans, and more from the world of Star Trek merchandise and collectables!