Echo Papa 607 - Star Trek The Next Generation : S01E2 : "The Arsenal of Freedom"

[caross]

The Echo Papa 607 was an advanced weapon system developed by the arms merchants of Minos.

Intended to be a complete weapon of war, the Echo Papa 607 was able to automatically send out small drones to gather intelligence, take prisoners, and mount attacks. The main advantage of the system was its progressive adaptability; data on enemy equipment and tactics was returned to the parent system each time a drone was destroyed, and a new drone was manufactured which improved on the previous model; countering the enemy's abilities. The process of analyzing each encounter and replacing a drone took only twelve minutes, and through this method the drones quickly became impossible to stop.

Source: Memory Alpha
STTNG: S01E21: The Arsenal of Freedom​

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I'm starting a new project, a replica of the Echo Papa 607 Advanced Weapons System. My younger brother and I were/are huge fans of STTNG, and during a recent conversation, he let it leak that he would love to have one of these for his very own. So, it is now my new project.

I always like to try a new thing (technique, material, feature, etc) whenever I do a new project because I find that I'm unable to experience the true nature of the new thing if I "fake" learn. If it is part of a real project, it helps me really engage and learn a new skill. The is a relatively straight forward project in my mind - at least at this point, but we all know how things can evolve.

So, after a bit of research, I found a wonderful paid 3D model on CGTrader by 3DTechDesign. I was so pleased with the detail and design of the model, I went ahead and bought the stand as well! I mean, once my bro has this, he has to display it nicely!

During my investigation of the model files, I had an idea... Since I can easily manipulate the model in Fusion360, I could design a way to embed lighting into this model and actually get the 'phazer' to glow green and the 'visor' to glow yellow. So that is going to be my thing to explore with this build!

I did some research and ended up with an interesting source for small-scale LED lighting, BrickStuff. They seem to be focused on the LEGO space and offer all kinds of lighting options. LEDs, Bar LED, rope-LED, battery packs, and ICs replicate certain behaviors like Flicker, Marquee, etc. I just purchased:

• AAA Battery Pack Power Bundle ($10.00) - Not the smallest option, but AAA batteries are more simple to replace than button batteries, and there will be more than enough power to drive 6 of these LEDs at once for a long time. If there was a way to turn it on and off...​
• Pico LED Lights, Green with 30cm (12in) Cables (4-Pack) ($10.99) - embedded in the 'phazer emitter' piece at the bottom of the EP607.​
• Pico LED Lights, Yellow with 30cm (12in) Cables (4-Pack) ($10.99) - I would use these for the 'visor' on the upper part of the EP607.​
• Touch Switch with Cables ($12.99) - This is the icing on the cake!!! A Touch Sensor!!! Yes, please.​

This is going to be fun.

 

[caross]

It begins...

 

[caross]

I ordered the mini-LED lighting system and, while waiting for it to arrive, figured I would make the stand. I'm not sure how I'm going to finish it.

I'd love ideas.

At the moment my most likely direction is something that would fit in here:

It feels like a similar design language to the show... not "alien". I'm sure I can find some cool stuff here. Off searching!

LED Kit showed up. This will be fun!
I intend to remix the model in Fusion360 to build in battery storage, switch location, and the best way to run wire inside the model to light the Visor and Phazer.

I'm also considering doing a SLA print from a company I found. Have not decided if I'm going to do that, because I will certainly need to to sample FDM prints to make sure it all works out - do I want to make another? Maybe if I perfect the fit, I'll do another.

 

[renaissance_man]

The original was made from a shampoo bottle and a toy.
You could save a lot of surface sanding and cost by using a clear plastic egg for the main piece.

Clear Plastic Eggs

 

[caross]

OK, I'm back at it! Work has been insane and sucking everything out of me, so I didn't have anything left for this fun part of my life... until last night.

I'm trying something new with this. I have an excellent model to start with, so I am going to mod it in Fusion360. I'll carve out areas to hide the electronics and LEDs, as well as modify things to allow me to pull it apart semi-easily to service batteries, etc.

I needed to determine how I would get the LEDs to the visor and phazer areas. I've got the capacity to drive 5 LEDs, so I'm going to give 3 to the visor and 2 to the phazer. I'm going to dig a void out of the model to store the battery and connector bus. The touch-sensor I'm going to try to embed close to the surface so that I can power the system and just use a carefully placed tap on the outside of the finished model to turn it on and off. It seems to work well through ~2mm of printed PLA, so we'll see. Bench test worked out.

The model is well designed, so I was able to carve out channels and and add voids to let me route the wires to the appropriate areas.
It is a little complex to view the wireframe, but here is what that looks like:

The square voides are space for 28mm x 28mm plastic Latch-n-Hook fasteners with VHB adhesive I had left over from another project. The VHB adhesive can hold a lot, and the latch-n-hook has a tight lock. This will allow me to affix the top and bottom halves of the dome to lock everything, but still allow me to pry it apart should I ever need to get back in here again.

Next, I needed to slightly modify the Phazer piece to allow me to get the LEDs into a position where they would do the most good in lighting the inside of the plastic so I got the intended glow.

I did a test print with various types of infill and solid "channels" to help direct the light. (Left print). I tried a few positions, as well as drilling directly into the plastic to see if that made a difference. It did, solid plastic does a decent job of light transmission, but the drop off is rather quick, so I had to get the light source within 30mm of the edge I intended to light.

I just carved out regions I didn't care about, and that would be hidden in the final model, but if you look at the "v" in the center, you will see I carved out a 5mm x 2mm puck where I can embed the LED. I've got room for 2, and I'm going to face they away from each other so the light projects towards the exit edge.

I haven't decided how I'm going to affix these LEDs into those voids. Leaning towards UV Hardening Expoxy. TBD. Thoughts or recommendations?

​

I printed both the Visor and Phazer in transparent green and yellow filament, respectively and they came out nicely. 100% infill to help with light transmission.

Another bench test with janky tape holding the LEDs in place, and I think we're looking pretty good!

Now days of printing to get the rest from virtual to real.

 

[Robot Monster]

Glad to see the original build is recapped in this thread. Will be following the progress.

 

[caross]

The original was made from a shampoo bottle and a toy.
You could save a lot of surface sanding and cost by using a clear plastic egg for the main piece.

Clear Plastic Eggs

Thank you for this!
I find the creativity behind the original props to be an amazing example of creativity.

I've found myself re-watching old movies, Alien, Star Wars, Star Trek, Silent Running, Blade Runner - just to name a few - where I purposely am trying to identify background art / props / materials for the original source. "Hey, that is a piece from my mother's old vacuum!" or "That looks like the top of a Sorry game dice roller!"

The ingenuity and creativity is/was astounding!

Need a hallway scene from the Nostromo? Sure, give me $20 to go get some styrofoam takeout containers, hot glue and silver and black spraypaint... 30 minutes later you have something that looks like it belongs in a human-designed ship in deep space!

 

[renaissance_man]

A bit more background on the prop in the auction description for the original piece.
Echo Papa Original Prop Heritage Auctions

 

[caross]

All parts printed and deburred.

Dry-fit looks decent. Some finish sanding and minor cleanup.

The UV Resin showed up yesterday, and I think that is going to work really well for lock in the LEDs into their little voids.

I'm going to prime and paint everything in pieces. Then lay in the electronics, CA clue everything together except the top of the dome, and then weather it a bit as a single piece. Per the story, these are enhanced-build-and-deployed every 12 minutes, so It will be pretty clean looking and free from battle damage or wear. The stand will get a little weathering.


I did a test run of the LEDs and the touch-switch works beautifully hidden under 2mm of PLA.

 

[caross]

Time to paint!!

Painting consisted of a few light coats of grey primer, then deep brown metallic, and some light copper metallic to give everything a little bit of depth.

I finished everything off with a few coats of satin clear to protect.

A few learnings on this one:

Lessons Learned: I knew this, but I need to be constantly reminded: Apply light coats and let things fully dry. Invariably, I end up rushing because I'm seeing progress and lay down too much paint on top of damp paint—and it runs or gets a visible wrinkle... or, more likely, I touch it to see if it is dry. Reader, it wasn't.

Lessons Learned: I learned this last time on my Edge of Tomorrow Rotor Sword: Design in or use painting mounts. A few popsicle sticks hot-glued to inconspicuous areas are huge wins for efficiency and ease of painting.

Now, on to the electronics.

 

[caross]

Electronics.

As mentioned before this was my first attempt at integrating electronics/lighting into a build.

I ran the wiring along the channels I designed into the 3D print. They are held into place with drops of UV Hardening Resin (I think this might be a new favorite material for me). The dots harden instantly.

For the LEDs themselves, I pushed them all the way into the voids I made, and then covered them with a generous glob of resin. Shot em with a blast of UV, and they hardened up perfectly.

Bench test for fit, and lighting!

 

[caross]

Weathering

One of the learnings I picked up from my previous build, and from some of the work I've seen here on TheRPF is that the weathering is best when it fits with the story and the use of the object.

The Echo Papa 607 is re-replicated every 12 minutes to continually improve on its design. So it will always look clean and ready. However, the testing/sales room equipment is thousands of years old. So, I decided the stand (not in the episode) needed to be beaten up, grime-covered, and worn. So, browns, blacks, greens, and reds made a nice multi-layer grime. Tucked into the corners, I think a few passes of paint-n-wipe looked pretty decent.

The LED lights had an option to add in a touch sensor. I wanted it to be barely visible, so I used a Brother label printer to print out a clear label with the standard power symbol. Stuck it right to the back of the EP607, above the touch sensor, and covered it with a clear satin spray, and it works perfectly. Gentle brush of a finger, and it toggles on-off.

 

[caross]

Finished!!

​

Enjoy, bro!

(Echo Papa 607 - Star Trek The Next Generation : S01E2 : "The Arsenal of Freedom")

 

[caross]

Oh, and had to do something with the shipping box.