J.J. Abrams envisioned a sleek, updated version of the Enterprise for his upcoming Star Trek movie, but the director can't claim a monopoly on pimping out Captain Kirk's interstellar ride.

Street artists, filmmakers and designers from around the world have been beaming down their own versions of the Enterprise for an exhibition of arty starships, shown earlier this month at the ShoWest movie convention in Las Vegas and now popping up in Los Angeles theater lobbies. Bizarre paint jobs and weird materials turn the Enterprise models into unique works of art.

Project organizers from Paramount Pictures invited creative types from Poland, Nicaragua, Korea, Thailand and the United States to put their stamp on undecorated Enterprise models produced by effects shop FX Company and modelers Quantum Mechanix.

Click the thumbnails above for alternate takes on Star Trek's beloved starship, as seen through the eyes of cheerfully twisted sci-fi buffs.

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Complete with lights and decals, this model by The FX Company/Quantum Mechanix was designed to mirror the actual ship seen in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek film, due in U.S. theaters May 8.

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Los Angeles-based pop street artist Mr. Brainwash, aka MBW, slapped a UPS logo on his Enterprise.

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Duncan Lemmon, a street artist from Santa Monica, California, drew inspiration from chameleons and subway graffiti.

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Grindhouse) wanted his model to reflect what Khan would have done to the starship had the villain succeeded in taking it over from Captain Kirk.

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

House Industries designs fonts laced with "typographic optimism." They adorn billboards, greeting cards, hot rods and this toothy Enterprise.

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

In this version, by Costa Mesa, California, artist Brandon Ragnar, the Enterprise goes green. Ragnar produces artwork for galleries, books, magazines and television.

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Jesus Diaz, the zany Gizmodo.com illustrator who produced this eye-catching Enterprise, says he wears Star Trek underpants most days.

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Pop artist Amanda Visell, of Pasadena, California, says she wanted her Enterprise to convey the idea that "Star Trek's version of the future is optimistic, colorful and inclusive."

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Slusho in space? Thai-American artist and animator Amy Vatanakul, who works at Bad Robot Productions, worked Abrams' favorite faux drink into her Enterprise design.

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Based in Warsaw, Poland, artist Olka Osadzinska created ads for Nike, Reebok and Jagermeister before tackling the Enterprise. Most recently, she showed off her acrylic paintings at an exhibit called Nite Stories.

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Creative graphic design collective H5 crafted this Enterprise. The firm specializes in music and luxury products.

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Italian graphic designer Turbokrapfen cites strong colors and pop art as Enterprise inspiration.

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New York-based artist William Lemon III decorated his ship with dried baby rosebuds, dried chysanthumums, tree bark and mushrooms slices. "I set about to make something natural and beautiful that would counter the smell of the toxic matter it was cast out of," he said.

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Jeremy and Claire Weiss, aka American photography team Day19, turned the Enterprise into a probably unrideable skateboard. The pair specializes in portraits of musicians and celebrities.

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Nicaraguan-born illustrator and sculptor Rafael Burgos says he imagined the end of the Star Trek story when he created his dramatic Enterprise model.

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Artist Jeremy Kaplan grew up in Philadelphia "writing on walls" and now works in Los Angeles.

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Jim Lee, a Korean-American comic book creator, artist and publisher, is best known for his work on DC Comics' Batman and Marvel Comics' X-Men.**

Photos: Courtesy Paramount Pictures