Thanks Knightone! Does the communicator you posted have a voice box on the back? I got a lab coat/cardigan to wear over my costume. It's a pretty thin material so I'm not sure how much weight it'll hold.
The only thing I'm worried about at this point is that we screwed up on my measurements somewhere and it's not going to fit right. I'm a tiny person, so I really don't want it to be too big anywhere, like most costumes are. So I'm pretty anxious to get the costume!
Yes, the communicator is the type with the separate sound module in the back attached with a magnet. But you can use a rare earth magnet to attach it to your uniform instead of the included sound module. With the rare earth magnet, it's actually more secure, so you won't accidentally lose your badge. The badge itself weighs next to nothing.
Just be careful when spraying the dull coat. Do one thin layer at a time as the smooth metalized plastic can cause it to run if you spray it on too thick. Spray one light layer, let it dry, then spray another light layer. You won't need more than two or three layers of it.
As for your uniform, you can usually find places locally that can do slight alterations for you so I wouldn't worry too much about some minor imperfections.
The dull coated sonic badge looks a lot better than I would have expected!
K
I compared the IPI communicators to the Rod.com/HMS ones as well as some castings that supposedly came from some original molds. They all matched up nearly identically in size and shape in every way. I'm guessing either HMS/Prop'er (sp?) made their protoypes or Paramount just gave them originals from their prop department. I took some quick pics, I can try and take better pics if you want them.
The one on the left is the Rod.com/HMS, the one in the center is from the production molds, and the one on the right is the IPI. The production one is a hair smaller than the other two. The IPI matches almost exactly to the Rod.com except the cut-out in the gold section is slightly offset compared to the Rod.com. It's not noticeable unless you have the two side-by-side, though.
The one on the left is the Rod.com and the one on the right is the IPI. The IPI is a mm or two thicker than the HMS one, However, when being worn, you'd never tell the difference without an up-close inspection and knowledge of the real thing. The one in the center may or may not come from studio molds. I got them in the same lot as the Generations badge above, but was not 100% assured of the provenance of the TNG series ones.
As you can see, the IPI's are very, very close to the Rod.com badges. So, for an accurate costume, the IPI's are a great choice. Certainly better than most of the metal versions (unless you can find an original Lincoln Enterprises badge from the late 80's, which looked wonderful). I just like the IPI's better than resin cast since the sculpted and pre-colored detailing allows for a neater appearance than painted resin.
