Richard C . Datin , Jr . Richard " Dick " C . Datin , Jr . was the model maker who was called in by the Howard Anderson Company to construct the three - foot " Enterprise " model , designed by Matt Jefferies in 1964 , and thereby becoming the very first studio model maker for the " Star Trek " franchise , though he , as sub - contractor , has never received official credit as such . Pursuant the three - foot " Enterprise " studio model , other contributions Datin was called upon to make for the were the : The Space Station K - 7 was Datin ' s last contribution to the " Star Trek " franchise , but his signature contributions went unacknowledged for the next few decades , due to the fact that he was not officially credited . Therefore almost forgotten as being the first model maker for " Star Trek " , Datin had an uphill struggle to regain recognition as such , the Smithsonian Institution for example , flat - out refusing to believe his claim on the occasion of their 1992 - 1994 " Star Trek Smithsonian Exhibit " . To add insult to injury , for nearly two decades it was Don Loos who , not by his own doing , was credited for the build of the eleven - foot model , due to a misinterpretation of a remark Jim Dow had made in a 1979 interview , perpetuated by authors of several reference work s ever since for the subsequent two decades , with the build of the three - foot model attributed to Matt Jefferies , this due to a remark former " Original Series " Art Director Rolland M . Brooks made in a 1987 interview for " Cinefantastique " magazine . Yet , a 1996 article by Dan Fiebiger for an " Original Series " - themed issue of the same " Cinefantastique " magazine , began to change this state of affairs . Still , how unknown , even to former contemporary production staff ers , his contributions were at the time of the publication of the " Cinefantastique " issue , was exemplified by a rather acid letter , an exasperated Datin sent in as response to another article in the same issue , " " In my opinion you owe the readers of your magazine a sincere apology for including the highly fictionalized account of Roland Brook ' s " [ sic . , and who was still maintaining his misconception ] " portrait how Matt Jefferies " spent more than four months building the model ship . . . " for STAR TREK [ 27 : 11 / 12 : 104 ] . His recollections of the miniatures , as transcribed by author Sue Uram , are so far from the truth it is utterly pathetic . I pray that your learned readers will be able to distinguish fact from fiction upon reading Mr . Brook ' s version and Dan Fiebinger ' s abridged but detailed account , despite the unutilized last minute corrections , regarding the " U . S . S . Enterprise " in the same issue . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , # 4 / 5 , p . 126 ) It was however , specifically the assistance of " Star Trek " studio model aficionado William S . McCullars in particular , that has brought his work fully into the limelight . The highly detailed in - depth interviews McCullars did with Datin , published as a two - part article in and ( 2001 ) , has provided insightful information into the art of model - making of the 1960s , due to Datin ' s meticulous record - keeping . McCullars recalled in 2011 , " 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 eleven - foot " Enterprise " studio model display at the . Richard visited the NASM five or six years ago and had great pride in the dedication plaque . " He had already been acknowledged previously by his former boss , Howard A . Anderson , Jr . , in a 1994 episode of the television documentary series " " , of which Datin was exceedingly proud , and in which he himself made a brief appearance . McCullars ' act of sending the photograph of Datin taking delivery of the 11 - foot model with accompanying text to the National Air and Space Museum , thereby reversing their 1992 position by adding it as a plaque to the permanent display of the original studio model , finally gave Datin and the other builders of the model , the acknowledgment for their contributions , Datin himself had vainly tried to get for years . Career outside " Star Trek " . Richard Datin was a 1950 Architectural and Structural Technology graduate of New York Institute of Applied Arts & Sciences of Brooklyn NY , and , becoming a professional model maker , has built scale models for various Hollywood studios and TV commercials beginning in 1955 . In 1979 , Datin changed careers and became the founding curator of the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City . During this time and after his retirement in 1989 he has also written several history books about his hometown of Reno , Nevada . Richard Datin passed away on 24 January 2011 in Reno , Nevada , his hometown for decades , but was , upon his own request , interred in the family plot in Nauvoo , Illinois . His daughter N . Datin McDonald published the below mentioned biography on her father in 2015 , in which his work , including that for " Star Trek " , was dealt with in detail . For the work she built upon the writings and notes her father had left , and as such , the book is in part a posthumous autobiography as well .