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- From The IDIC Page website
"Over the course of almost 25 years, I have been on a journey, photographing Star Trek's USS Enterprise and other studio models used in the filming of the television and movie series. The trek began in 1979 on my first trip to Washington DC and to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum ("NASM"). Since then, I have visited the NASM at least once a year, and, during the extraordinary 1992-93 NASM Star Trek exhibit, I went back at least a dozen times. After that, my travels took me to New York City's Hayden Planetarium for their 1993-94 Star Trek exhibition, the Museum of Television and Radio's 1993 Star Trek exhibit, numerous Planet Hollywoods, the now-defunct Viacom Store, and many other locations. Additionally, many of the rare photos you will see here have been given to me by the original model-makers themselves, as well as others involved in the production of Star Trek."
- Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.
This was McCullars' message to the outside world when he put his website "The IDIC Page" on-line in 1997. McCullars was not a stranger to the Star Trek franchise, as he was the Chief Editor of the fanzine Imzadi, which ran for 19 issues from 1990 through 1992.[1]
After his stint as fanzine editor, he pursued his hobby as stated in his preamble on his website. Still, McCullars decided to publish his findings in the form of his website, at a time when, especially for Star Trek model kits modelers, behind-the-scenes material was all but inaccessible. As one of the very first of its kind, his website solicited input from actual production members like Richard C. Datin, Jr., Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, Ed Miarecki and Gary Kerr amongst others.
At one point McCullars decided to put his findings in writing, as free-lance writer, for several licensed publications. Publications wherein he has been published were:
- Starlog, October 1989: Raiders of the Lost Starcruiser (about the "lost" TOS Klingon Battlecruiser studio model at the Smithsonian Institution)
- Star Trek: Communicator, Issue 120, 1998: Starship '72, The forgotten detour of the NCC-1701 (pp.16-17,77)
- Star Trek: Communicator, Issue 132, 2001: Enterprise '64, The real Builders of the Storied Starship, (pp.48-55)
- Star Trek: Communicator, Issue 133, 2001: Enterprise '64, Part 2, Building a better Starship, (pp.44-51)
- Star Trek Magazine issue 120, 2005: Behind the scenes: Visual Effects (A favorite article of then Chief Editor John Freeman, who recalled, "My favourite feature this issue is probably our revamped Flashback feature, which covers the making of the ST: TOS episode "Space Seed" and features some great behind the scenes visual effects images. Some of these have appeared online but a guy called Curt McAloney has digitally restored them and they look terrific."[2])
His 2001 interviews with Datin were instrumental for the latter's recognition, "I managed to track Richard down during the late ’90s to discuss his Star Trek modelmaking. I have a lifelong interest in the studio spaceship models used in Star Trek. Richard agreed to interviews, which went on for about two years off and on. He was incredibly patient with me and kept such good records of his work, as well as having a good memory. I finally completed the article around late 2000 or early 2001, and it was published in Star Trek: Communicator magazine in a two-part article. (There is actually a third part to the article, which the Communicator asked me to write for their planned website that never materialized!) After that, the Smithsonian contacted me and asked for my help. I wrote the dedication plaque text and supplied the photo of Richard and the other Enterprise modelmakers for the 11-foot Enterprise studio model display at the NASM. Richard visited the NASM five or six years ago and had great pride in the dedication plaque.", McCullars stated upon the passing of Richard Datin.[3]
McCullars' website went off-line when its provider AOL went bankrupt in 2005 and hasn't been up since, McCullars having said to "weighing his options" in 2009.[4]
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