Brad Nelson phaser build

[Gregatron]

Glued on the metal parts. Had to solve a few minor fit and electronic issues, including swapping out the speaker for the one from the first kit, due to a connection coming loose. I made sure to avoid that with the second speaker by hitting the solder joints with a glob of low-temp hot glue.

All that remains are installing the trigger button and trigger, installing the tenturn knob, and making sure there are no light leaks before gently fitting the wiring and the P1 into place after applying a few drops of glue to the magnets on the front of the P1 to secure it to the P2 (while still making it easy to remove, if necessary).

 

[Gregatron]

So, yesterday, I was in the final stages. I glued in the trigger button, carefully glued the aluminum trigger onto it, and also installed the tenturn knob.

Cut to a few hours later, and my checking to make sure everything worked after the glue had fully dried. Somehow, the trigger no longer had any play when pressed. I assume that a minute amount of glue had seeped out of the trigger and onto the button.

Freaked out and annoyed, I had to go from inside the P2, break the glue bond, and push the trigger assembly out of the trigger box. I succeeded, but A) Chipped off a bit of paint around the trigger box’s hole; B) Caused one wire to break off of the trigger, and the other to break off of the circuit board.

Meanwhile, the tenturn had somehow shifted into a slightly crooked position as the glue was setting, resulting in a wobbly rotation axis for the knob, and the thus bottom edge actually making contact with the top of the P2 at a specific point when the knob was turned.


I was NOT pleased.

Fortunately, I was able to carefully twist the tenturn knob into a better and more level position without causing any damage. More importantly, I performed some emergency surgery to repair the trigger assembly and get the trigger properly soldered back on the board.

There are days where I really feel like this build is cursed.


That all being said, I was successful. I’m now in the final stages of making surely everything works correctly, and getting everything to fit and move correctly. All that remains is giving the electronics vigorous tests to ensure that nothing will come loose once the P1 is installed, making sure there are no light leaks in the P1, gluing on the P1, touching up the paint in the damaged spot on the P2, and applying the prismatic tape.

Sigh.

 

[Apollo]

Hang in there you are almost there!!

 

[Gregatron]

Almost there. Needed to lightly repaint one side of the P2 forehead tower. Once that’s dried overnight, I’ll buff it and blend it into the rest of the P2’s finish.

I laid down strips of black electrical tape into the P2 body, both to secure the board and wires, as well as for light-blocking the emitter. In retrospect, I didn’t think to paint the rear of the acrylic emitter where it sits inside the P2, since that end also transmits light into the P2 body.

I also touched up a scuff or two on the P1, and applied some more Tulip Slick to further light-block the indicator LED.

Getting so very close, now. The final steps will be to make sure all the wires are neatly arranged, glue on the P1, and apply the prismatic tape.

That being said, test-fitting and laying the tape on top of the P1 does reduce the loudness of the sound effect, but part of that could be due to the fact that the backer paper is still affixed. We’ll see.

 

[TopgunTech2]

So, yesterday, I was in the final stages. I glued in the trigger button, carefully glued the aluminum trigger onto it, and also installed the tenturn knob.

Cut to a few hours later, and my checking to make sure everything worked after the glue had fully dried. Somehow, the trigger no longer had any play when pressed. I assume that a minute amount of glue had seeped out of the trigger and onto the button.

Freaked out and annoyed, I had to go from inside the P2, break the glue bond, and push the trigger assembly out of the trigger box. I succeeded, but A) Chipped off a bit of paint around the trigger box’s hole; B) Caused one wire to break off of the trigger, and the other to break off of the circuit board.

Meanwhile, the tenturn had somehow shifted into a slightly crooked position as the glue was setting, resulting in a wobbly rotation axis for the knob, and the thus bottom edge actually making contact with the top of the P2 at a specific point when the knob was turned.


I was NOT pleased.

Fortunately, I was able to carefully twist the tenturn knob into a better and more level position without causing any damage. More importantly, I performed some emergency surgery to repair the trigger assembly and get the trigger properly soldered back on the board.

There are days where I really feel like this build is cursed.


That all being said, I was successful. I’m now in the final stages of making surely everything works correctly, and getting everything to fit and move correctly. All that remains is giving the electronics vigorous tests to ensure that nothing will come loose once the P1 is installed, making sure there are no light leaks in the P1, gluing on the P1, touching up the paint in the damaged spot on the P2, and applying the prismatic tape.

Sigh.

The same 2 issues Brad himself ran into occasionally, trigger and rotary switches. I've buggered these up once as well which was all my OCD could handle. I cannot imagine making 430 of them!

 

[Gregatron]

The same 2 issues Brad himself ran into occasionally, trigger and rotary switches. I've buggered these up once as well which was all my OCD could handle. I cannot imagine making 430 of them!

One—just ONE has been a challenge! To say nothing of the fact that I didn’t have to machine and cast the parts or assemble the electronics from scratch!

 

[Gregatron]

Well...I guess it's done. I put dabs of glue onto the magnets which hold the P1 onto the P2 forehead, and applied the prismatic tape.

I'll take some photos when I get a chance.

The only thing that's bothering me is that, when laid over the sound-venting holes on top of the P1, the firing sound effect from the electronics is reduced in volume by about 50% or so.

Kinda disappointing, but I'm not sure how else to address it without cutting visible holes in the P1.

 

[Gregatron]

More tinkering. I drilled a few holes in both the front and rear of the P1 for sound venting. I also replaced the prismatic tape with a thinner version which has more accurate spacing of the holographic “blocks” (four blocks wide, as opposed to the 3/4 block, then 3 blocks, then 1/4 of a block on the kit’s tape).

As it stands, the sound IS louder, now. Probably not gonna get much better, I think. The P1 is actually pressure-fit into the P2, and tilting it up a smidge lets more sound escape. I may end up leaving it unglued, which will allow for easy access and tinkering.

But, as it stands, the build is finally done. I’ll snap some photos in the daytime.

 

[Gregatron]

And with my PHASE II build.

 

[Apollo]

Looks like it came off the table in 1977!

 

[Gregatron]

Looks like it came off the table in 1977!

Thanks!

 

[TopgunTech2]

Looks fantastic! A lot of work but in the end very rewarding. The lighting in the last picture really shows off the colors. The take-apart phaser Shadow Gray looks like the old Phase II pics, a rich bluish-gray.

 

[Gregatron]

Looks fantastic! A lot of work but in the end very rewarding. The lighting in the last picture really shows off the colors. The take-apart phaser Shadow Gray looks like the old Phase II pics, a rich bluish-gray.

That was the goal. The Pewter Gray is a good match for the earlier convention phasers, while the Shadow Gray is closer to the blue-gray PHASE II version (and is also the same color as my TOS builds).

 

[Nicksdad]

Looks fantastic man, great job.

 

[Gregatron]

Thanks! And thanks for a great kit, as well as all of the advice and support.

 

[Gregatron]

Thanks to TopgunTech2, who pointed me toward a source for New Old Stock, vintage, accurate tenturn knobs.

I received my order, today, removed the extra numbers (leaving only 1-3), and installed it (after removing the close-but-not-quite knob that came with the kit).