Going to pass on this. For a lot of reasons, not because it looked like a Frankenstein Tric.
1. The Protruding PWR LED, which also acts as a switch, although is a nice feature but I'd prefer magnets on both the Main Body and the Flap. When the flap is loose over time, the spring in the switch could be pushing against it and it would be 'open' most of the time.
2. The Screen, although the animation looks good, the rounded corner is so bad.
3. Using USB Type-C connectors for the Medical Attachment is a bad idea. They could have just used magnets and a pair of spring loaded contacts. Even the alignment fins are a bad idea.
4. As for power, you'd need to disconnect the Medical attachment and plug in a micro-USB cable into the body. It'd be great if they used Qi Wireless charging instead.
5. At 635g (1.4 Lbs), it is even heavier than the eFX MkIX (468g), which is already a problem for me when I was cosplaying. It was so heavy that my whole Costume sagged when holstered.
Although I am not well verse with the whole body design, it is, too sharp. And the hinges are well, let's put it this way, the FE Medical Tricorder looked more like a idealised version but with un-ignorable snafus halfway.
Thats an interesting point on the hinges weakening over time. Would be cool if they included magnets to help keep it closed.
Not sure what you mean with the USB C connector in the medical attachment? The pop-out hand-scanner has separate LR44 batteries and it looks like the small gold square is the pressure switch to activate it. I don't think it draws power or anything from the main unit, it just clips into the base.
I'm not sure where the USB charger is. Are you saying it's in the scanner slot at the top? I don't actually mind that because it means there's no charging port visible in the main body. As for QI, it's cool but I've never come across a QI device with a removable battery. One GREAT part of this is that the LiPo battery is replaceable, giving the prop a much longer lifespan
The weight is a bit of a hit-and-miss thing for me. On the one hand, it means it has a solid metal build and probably a substantial battery. I don't Cosplay so features are more important to me than portability. However, for those wanting to carry this around, I can definitely see how the weight would be an inconvenience. And it's not exactly logical in-universe for a device like this to weigh so much!
Personally I love features like the gorgeous display cases that FE produces, the functional animated screen, the lack of any obvious IP branding, copyright or manufacturer text on the piece (even the display box uses the "Starfleet" delta not "Star Trek" branding). That sort of thing irritates me no end, when you pay for an expensive high-quality prop and it has the IP name or the manufacturer logo slapped on it. Don't break my immersion!!
One other thing I like, that seems to bother others, is the metallic finish and crisp edges. They're inaccurate to the screen prop, but they make it feel more like a real-life manufactured piece rather than a hand-made prop.
We have the ideas of
set accurate (accurate to the prop) vs
screen accurate (accurate to what we see on the screen) vs
scene accurate (accurate to what they were actually portraying). This feels like it's more "scene accurate" ie: the idealised or real-life version of what the show was showing us, which is something I usually really dig.
I can definitely get it isn't for everyone, and the price is pretty steep but it's also packed with features for that price.
For me, it's funny because I really love the look of the Wand Company TOS Tricorder and the features and design of that are amazing - a lot more refined than this... but TNG was always my jam, far more than TOS and ultimately I'd prefer to spend the money on this than the TOS one from Wand Company!
