Tholian ship ( 23rd century ) Tholian ships were small starship s of characteristic shape , utilized by the Tholian Assembly during the 23rd century . These vessels were armed with plasma torpedo - like torpedo weaponry . But their most powerful weapon was the so - called " Tholian web " . This web was " woven " by two or more Tholian vessels around an enemy ship . This web could be used as a high power immobilization field / tractor beam to pull captured starships back to Tholian territory . ( ) History . In 2268 , a Tholian ship intercepted the , demanding that it leave Tholian territory . At the request of First Officer Spock , Tholian Commander Loskene allowed the " Enterprise " additional time before they were required to withdraw to allow the " Enterprise " to rescue James T . Kirk from the interphase d . The " Enterprise " crew was unable to rescue Kirk within the Tholians ' time limit and the Tholians opened fire , damaging the " Enterprise " . The " Enterprise " returned fire , inflicting damage on the Tholian ship . Soon after , a second Tholian ship appeared , and the two ships began constructing a web in an attempt to trap the " Enterprise " . The " Enterprise " crew , fortunately , was able to recover Kirk and escape before they fell victim to the Tholian ' s web . ( ) Appendices . Background information . In the final draft script of , the Tholian ship was described as " " a tetrahedron shaped ship , about one quarter the size of a starship . The ship is crystaline in appearance and of blue green coloration . A soft light seems to pulsate from within . It travels with darting movements . " " Due to restrictive finances , Walter M . Jefferies designed the Tholian ship to be simple and inexpensive to build . Two studio models of the vessel were built , constructed almost entirely from wood except for the addition of reflective inserts embedded near the tails . ( " " issue 26 , p . 11 ) The materials used were balsawood and plastic . The miniature was adorned with the same stick - on reflective metal fabric as was used to decorate many of the hand props seen on . ( " The Best of Trek " , p . 204 ) At least one of the two miniatures , specifically the actual working model of the Tholian ship , was constructed in part by Denis Russell . As he later demonstrated at the Las Vegas " Star Trek " convention Vegas Con , this model was so tiny that Russell could keep it in his pocket . For the making of " The Tholian Web " , the Tholian ships were filmed against black velvet . ( " " , issue 25 , p . 61 ) Mike Minor recalled , " " We shot the models , which had been produced elsewhere , on a little stage at a place down on La Brea and these elements were shot against black so that we could flop the images and have a ship going right or left , from the bottom right to top corner . Or the image of one ship moving diagonally across the screen could be positived with the image of a smaller ship moving diagonally left to right , right to left , up and down [ . . . ] But for plot simplicity in getting the job done we simply had them moving in parallel movements , left to right and right to left . We never pulled back wide , which I wanted to do , and show the whole ship being dragged through space with this spherical dome of energy about it . " " ( " Enterprise Incidents " , issue # 14 , pp . 44 & 45 ) The filming made use of some multi - colored lighting which was employed to help accentuate the strange , alien nature of the Tholians . ( " " issue 26 , pp . 11 & 13 ) To represent the interior of the Tholian ship , a background of tin foil was used , which was then altered with special photographic effects . Methods involved a negative image of the background and then throwing more color onto its highlights , enhancing and saturating the footage . ( " Enterprise Incidents " , issue # 14 , p . 45 ) The visual effect of the Tholian ships spinning their web around the " Enterprise " in " The Tholian Web " , which was nominated for an Emmy Award in recognition of its special effects , definitely made an impression on the television audiences of the 1960s and the Tholian ship was certainly not forgotten . However , illustrator John Eaves – who modified the Tholian ship for appearances on ( in the episodes and ) – was slightly critical of the original design . " " I felt the profile view was a little stark and harsh in " The Original Series , " he said . ( " " issue 26 , pp . 11 & 12 ) On the other hand , reviewer Sue Uram described the Tholian craft as " a rather nice touch from the effects department . " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 27 , No . 11 / 12 , p . 97 ) Also , Richard Van Trueran characterized the miniature of the Tholian ship as " clever . " ( " The Best of Trek " , p . 204 ) This model was the last new original design created for the series , and was subsequently redressed to represent the " Aurora " in . In fact , according to " Star Trek Maps " , due to the similarity , it was believed by Starfleet that the Tholians were using modified Federation space cruisers as their starships . At one point , a screen - used model of the Tholian ship was scheduled to be auctioned at the " Profiles in History " auction in late . It was in when Denis Russell demonstrated a working model of the craft at Vegas Con . For the remastered edition of " The Tholian Web " , the Tholian vessels appeared much different from their initial appearance . Now more closely resembling the Tholian ships from " Star Trek : Enterprise " , the TOS - R version featured an altered structure and lighted interior .