I'll sell you one of mine... only $5,000. :lol
Seriously tho, the AA, and the Rodd.com kit, and the Starland phaser that was sold before Rodd.com started out, are all based on the props that HMS made for the TOS re-creation scenes in Deep Space Nine's episode "Trials and Tribbleations".
As such they are quite nice. To reproduce the Trials look, the handle should be gray. To reproduce the Enterprise "Mirror Darkly" phaser, use the AA toy as is but add two thin strips of black Velcro to the P1, above and below the side rail. The velcro doesn't go all the way to the front of the P1, but ends about halfway along the "aspirator plate" on top, or as we call it today, the "extra crispy."
I've seen photos of AA phasers modded with metal parts, and even lasers. They build up quite nice. When you think about it, it's just a styrene phaser "kit" that's already built when you buy it.
The only really dissapointing features of the AA toy, are the lame "rising sight" on the p1 (totally wrong, more of a pop-up BOX than the correct plexi cylinder sight)... also the screw holes on the side of the p2 are a disappointment. You'd have to deal with those, plus correct the "bend" in the p2 side ribs, add a "rim" to the p2 side knob, sand off the texture on the p1 and repaint the entire beast. But when you're done it's pretty definiitely a phaser.
- k