Deep Space Nine: Maihar Du

No self respecting Nagus would be caught without his Hupyrian servant, so for the final post of 2012, I thought I would post this Ferengi related costume:  Maihar'du.  The character appeared in 7 episodes, but this costume was only in 4.

The first appearance of this costume was in the the season 3 episode 'Prophet Motive'.

The second appearance was in the season 5 episode 'Ferengi Love Songs'.

Season 7 gave us the final times we would see Maihar'du and this particular costume with 'The Emperor's New Cloak' and finally 'The Dogs Of War'.

The character of Maihar'du was played by Tiny Ron and all of the costume components have tags with his name.  The sheer size of the costume precludes the use of a standard sized mannequin, so regrettably, I have to use the auction photos here.

Deep Space Nine: Quark

Oh, is this one sweet. This Quark costume is known as the 'Aztec Cherry'  and it is unique in that we get to see it's fabrication by Garak in the season 4 Deep Space Nine episode 'For The Cause'. It is showcased very well in a total of 21 episodes such as 'The Magnificent Ferengi' and 'Business As Usual'.  There was only one of this costume made and it is so amazing.  The fit and finish is impeccable.


This Ferengi costume may be one of Quark's most recognised as it is seen very frequently from season 4 through 7, including the series finale 'What You Leave Behind' In fact, the final time we see Quark, he is wearing this costume. Quark wears it with either a brown or maroon jumpsuit, with both versions displayed here. It is absolutely beautiful in person and it is among my favorite Ferengi costumes.


In 'For The Cause', it was shown on screen as a work in progress as many of the accents were not yet applied, and it had changed a bit from that point, as Quark had mentioned what he didn't like about it in that very episode. It no longer has
the cuffs, and the collar is now a narrower and different one than in that episode.




When the Star Trek Experience was retired in 2008, I felt it appropriate to wear this particular costume at the closing (I mean, it's Quarks, right?). This shot was taken after it closed for the last time .



Fun fact: When this costume was discovered, my friend Dana and I both wanted it really bad, but neither wanted to let the other one have it. So with my good friend Jim (see Niner's Paradise)as the moderator, we all agreed that Dana and I would flip a coin for the right to purchase it. Clearly, I won and I treat it like the prize that it is. I want to thank Dana for being a such a good sport.

Deep Space Nine: Quark

This Quark costume is first seen in the Deep Space Nine season 5 episode 'The Ascent' where Quark and Odo have crashed on a Type L planet and struggle with the planet, and each other, for survival. This episode showcases Quark at his best, and even Armin Shimmerman says this is one of his best episodes. Both men survive and this costume is used through to season 7, including the final episode.

This costume is used in 10 episodes and originally starts out with a blue jumpsuit, but later employs a maroon one, which I own. The fabrics and detail in this Ferengi costume are superb.



The internal tags show this to be the hero costume worn by Armin Shimmerman. There were at least two hero and one distressed version fabricated for the show. There are very subtle 'tells' between the two hero versions, and I can verify mine was worn in the season 6 episode 'Statistical Probabilities'.  The 'distressed' version was sold on Ebay before I knew about it, and New Ferenginar would love for it to come home. (Update: 10/05/13 it did!)

As a footnote, I wore this costume to the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention in 2009. While walking around the vendor's area, I spotted Rene Auberjonois and said 'Hi'. He then told me to turn around, and guess who was behind me? Yep, Armin Shimmerman. He and Rene were due onstage and headed for the stage door, but Armin took a moment to talk and take a couple of photos with me. As he left, other people tried to stop him for pics and autographs, but he declined as he clearly needed to go. Armin did not have to stop for me, but he did and that makes him every bit the awesome guy you think he is. Armin, you have a fan for life!

Deep Space Nine: Broik

Broik can be seen often throughout the entire series, portrayed by David Levinson. However, this Ferengi costume is only briefly seen in the Deep Space Nine episode 'Bar Association'. At this point in the series, he still had not uttered one word on screen. While it may not be one of the flashiest of Ferengi costumes, I am glad it is in my collection.



Upon closer inspection of this costume, It seems that the base shirt is likely a modified off the rack shirt, with the scraps used for the headwrap. The vest is custom made, and I have seen the same fabric used in another Star Trek costume. I do not have the jumpsuit for this costume, and I suspect it was used from another Ferengi costume as seems to have been a common cost cutting practice.

This costume did make one further, albeit minor, appearance in the season 4 episode 'Broken Link'.

Deep Space Nine: Gral and Lonzo

This Ferengi costume was used to portray two different characters in this series: 'Gral' was a Ferengi businessman who traveled to Deep Space 9 in the episode 'The Nagus' so he could hear the Grand Nagus Zek announce his successor. Even though he initially opposed the selection of Quark as the new Grand Nagus, he offered up his services to Quark as his personal bodyguard in exchange for premium opportunities in the Gamma Quadrant. What he offered as 'protection', was intended as a threat. 'Lonzo' was a card shark whom got played by Odo as 'Curzon Dax' in the episode 'Facets'. Gral was portrayed by Lee Arenberg, but in a highly odd contradiction to practice, there are no tags in any piece of the costume to denote this. However, every piece does have the name Mark Barrett, which would suggest that Lonzo was portrayed by him. This costume also makes several guest appearances in DS9. It can be seen briefly in the episode 'Family Business' and was also seen hanging in Garak's shop in 'Profit And Loss'. Lastly, we see it draped over Quark's sofa in 'Prophet Motive' Update 10/20/14: I finally got to meet Lee Arenberg at the Las Vegas Star Trek convention in 2014. He was as generous with his time as he was funny.

 I am glad to have met him.

Deep Space Nine: Nava

This Ferengi costume was featured in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode 'The Nagus'; wherein Nava is a Ferengi businessman that is invited to a conference held by Grand Nagus Zek aboard Deep Space Nine. During the course of the episode, Zek supposedly dies and Quark becomes the Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance, until Zek's full plan is revealed.

Barry Gordon portrayed Nava, and the inside tags verify this. This costume was used only in this episode and there are no other names inside on any part, so no part of this costume was used for any other Ferengi costumes. This costume is of particular interest to me, as the cropped jacket has a unique collar and long band down the center.