Star Trek - Enaran 'Telepathic' Instrument - Build & Finished

Alan Castillo

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
In the episode "Remember" from Star Trek Voyager, they 'give a ride' to a race called the Enarans.

The race is capable of transmitting memories etc through telephathy.

A member of the group plays an Enaran musical instrument, and 'assists' Janeway through telepathy when she has a go at playing the instrument.

This is a picture of the original prop


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It is, however, IMO, much more beautiful on screen :love


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Of course I had to fall in love with this prop and have one for myself :lol

Naturally, as usual, so long as when I finshed it looked somewhat like the prop and shouted "Enaran musical instrument ! " at me, I'd be happy :)

I was going after the finishing as it is seen on screen.


Step one, one of my (in)famous 'blueprints' :lol


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Have shelving wood left in the garage, but I had to glue two pieces together to give it the correct thickness


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Drew the outline


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And on a thinner sheet, drew the outine again, but made it a couple of mm's wider (look closely, and you will see the 'join the dots game :lol)


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Cut out 2 thick templates, and the slightly wider thin one


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Drew and cut out the top raised decorative shapes


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And sanded them at an angle on the sides to give it the sloping shape.


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Wood filler, and then sanded again to smoothen.


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Now the fun part :lol


The sides of the thicker part of the prop are also slanting at an angle.

I was not about to invest in a router to achieve that, but I have this, a heavy duty grinder with a sanding attachment.

Muuaaaaaahahahahahahahahaha :lol


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So after holding on for dear life at a couple of thousand revs per minute :lol, and applying the beast to the sides of the wood, this was achieved


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Talk about a bull in a china shop :lol

But, at least I could fine-sand it down and fix the ugly bits with filler, to be sanded later for the finishing touches.


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After that, I REALLY wished I had invested in a router, because what I had to do next was a major pain in the backside.

No router, but a hobby drill secured to a small workbench with electrical fasteners will do just fine :lol


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I had to switch the drill on, and slowly pass the edge of the thinner sheet on it, so as to make a groove in the 5mm thick sheet :wacko


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And once all the sanding and finishing was almost done, I finally had the correct slants on all 3 pieces.


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Stuck the layers all together.

(I collect props, not clamps. OK ? At least I didn't use cases of Sangria this time :lol


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Now for the dome part.


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I was after making the 'propeller' thingies you can see, one thick, and another thinner one that tapers off towards the top. I also wanted to make what looks like alternate 'dividers' of sorts at the base of the dome.


So, enter one plastic lettuce preserver for the fridge :lol, some chrome tape used for cars, a plastic lid, a knob that came lord knows from where, the leftover brass sheet from my Vulcan Lamp build, a piece of rod from the mod I made to the Playmates Klingon disruptor :lol, and some thin sheets of wood that were left over for 'floor planking' from a wooden model ship.


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Drew the base on a sheet of cardboard, divided the circle into equal parts, and glued the planking wood on alternate strips


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Cut out the circle, and stuck on the plastic lid, a bit of the rod, topped off by the knob.


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Cut the brass sheet into strips


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And finally, cut out bits of wood for the 'control buttons' on the side of the instrument.


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Which were then sanded down to shape.


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And here she is, after sticking all the bits together and painting :)














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Beautiful Alan! I'm continually amazed by your abilities to make such intricate and realistic looking prop replicas from just seeing something on screen and then simply deciding to make it. I truly envy your imagination and skills my friend. People like you really are what this forum is all about. Kudos! :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup
 
Beautiful Alan! I'm continually amazed by your abilities to make such intricate and realistic looking prop replicas from just seeing something on screen and then simply deciding to make it. I truly envy your imagination and skills my friend. People like you really are what this forum is all about. Kudos! :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

Couldn't have said it any better. This is remarkable Alan.
 
Fellows, your responses have literally floored me :cry (not kidding)

I am SO happy you like it. THAT is what makes it all worthwhile for me :) :thumbsup

Alan, do you just sit around thinking of what obscure props you should build? :lol

Nope, they just call out my name when watching episodes :lol

Really, that's what happens ! I'll be watching a series (as you can probably tell from my last 3 builds, the last one was Voyager :lol), and I make a mental note to look to buy a replica of a prop, and if all fails, to try and make it :lol
 
I'm very impressed as well. Especially with how well you can work with plywood, which I find very difficult to cut intricate shapes out of without it splintering like crazy.
 
Thanks again friends. What a way to start my day :)

I'm very impressed as well. Especially with how well you can work with plywood, which I find very difficult to cut intricate shapes out of without it splintering like crazy.

I too am impressed Ryan.

Not at any skill, but with my luck :lol

I am still using left over super-el-cheapo plywood I bought almost 10 years ago, and only use a run-of-the-mill one-handed Skill jigsaw that is equally as old.

Maybe its because I don't rush, and take my time cutting (?).
 
Thanks Kenny :)

BTW Ryan, I just realised that I don't use a wood blade with the jigsaw, but one for metal. You almost can't see the teeth.
 
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