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'Star Trek' memorabilia: A geek gal's collection (photos)

Crave blogger Amanda Kooser delves into her "Star Trek" fanatic past with an excavation of toys and props.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
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1 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Mego 'Star Trek' playset action figures

To mark Geek Pride Day, Crave blogger Amanda Kooser delved into her "Star Trek" fanatic past with an excavation of toys and props.

The Mego "Star Trek" playset from the mid-1970s featured pretty decent action figures. They look close to the real actors and have bendable limbs and wrists. The uniforms are made from cloth. Originally, the set included belts, phasers, and communicators for each figure.

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2 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Name this 'Trek' symbol

Here's an obscure one for fans of the original series. Can you name this "Star Trek" symbol? Here's a hint: it's a Vulcan thing. Give up? This is an IDIC, which stands for Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, a key concept in Vulcan philosophy. This pendant was a thrift store find.
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3 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Clinging to a Klingon

The "Star Trek" ride that was once a major attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton is now shuttered. I made a pilgrimage years before it closed and posed with this friendly Klingon near the entrance to the ride.
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4 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Home-made Uhura uniform

One glorious year, my entire band and I sewed our own "Star Trek" uniforms for Halloween. Coupled with knee-high black go-go boots, this Uhura dress was worth the hours of effort it took to create it. The insignia is black Sharpie on gold lame.
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5 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Lego communicator

As a child obsessed with both "Star Trek" and Legos, it made sense for the two to meet. This is a flip communicator I created out of spare Legos. Sure, it doesn't really look anything like the television show props, but it worked for my imagination.
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6 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Star Fleet Technical Manual

One of the prizes of my "Star Trek" collection is the "Star Fleet Technical Manual," published in 1975. It's not particularly rare, but it is extremely cool. It looks and reads like a real technical manual, the only hint that it's not a relic from the future is the copyright page near the front.
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7 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

'Star Trek' insignia: Old and older

The insignia on the right graced my jean jacket through most of middle school. It's best known from the films featuring the original crew. The original series insignia on the left was ordered from the official "Star Trek" catalog.
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8 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Beam me down, Scotty

The Mego "Star Trek" playset from the 1970s included a clever transporter built into the bridge. Place a figure inside, whirl it around using a knob on the top, and then push a button to stop it. Depending on the button, the character would either appear on the bridge or disappear from sight.
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9 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

The Trek trio in toy form

Mego's "Star Trek" playset had little resemblance to the actual bridge of the Enterprise, but it was a clever contraption that folded into a box for storage. The action figures are well-made, though Spock seems to have quite a tan. Other figures were available, but these are the three that came with my set.

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