Galaxy Quest VoxFX Replica - Never Give Up, Never Surrender

[redshirt]

Well someone beat me to it and created the perfect Galaxy Quest VoxFX. Our own super talented member "stapleton13".


Here are some pics of my recent purchase from stapelton13. I added the piano wire spring hinge and layered pebble film over the lens to recreate the look to match the lumiglas custom plasma disk created by Strattman Design for the movie prop. I have the benefit of matching it to the unused luminglas disks that I bought from the prop maker on the film. By adding this film (3 layers of cut material) DC Fix 3460211 Sand Self-Adhesive Window Film I was able to mimic the look of the screen used prop in the transporter room sequence.


Stapleton13's replica includes a voice activated mode that pulses the plasma disk according to your voice patterns which is awesomely cool, and an always on mode that just lets the plasma disk run randomly. And there's the off position too. This replica is really accurate. He molded a commercial plasma disk into his resin in order to fit the disk into the size of the Vox, with very little tradeoffs in the placement.


This replica is the holy grail for the Galaxy Quest fan that wants the interactive Vox as seen on screen. Funny enough, the onscreen Vox in the transporter room sequence used a Vox body with an open back and wire running through Tim Allen's fingers to a power source. The production crew didn't accomplish what our own talented member has done by creating a self-contained prop. The prop in the movie was also voice activated, but that effect did not make it past the cutting room floor.


First, here's a screen cap from the movie for reference.

And here's my replica from Stapleton13

 

[dirtyharriet]

Wow... just wow!!!

 

[redshirt]

Here's some of Stapleton13's images.


You can see what the plasma disk looks like before the 3 layers of pebble texture film is added.

I would like to stress that Stapleton13 has managed to keep a very accurate shape and look to this, even with the subtle modifications he had to make to incorporate the commercial plasma disk. When I added the piano wire spring I just flick the antenna arm just a bit and it pops open like a charm. …just like in the transporter room sequence where Tim Allen flicks the Vox with his finger and it opens up. Stapleton13 has done an incredible job. I'm a very picky guy and this prop replica really is the best I've seen.

 

[Scotophor]

It's a great prop (WANT!) but I'm an incurable nitpicker. What's the detail in the screenshot, below the hinge spring, that's missing from the replica?

 

[redshirt]

You have a keen eye and don't apologize for nitpicking.

That's a long bullet catch screw that ran through the antenna arm to the body. It is what kept the original Vox closed. They just drilled a hole in the arm for the screw catch and another shallow receiving divot in the body of the Vox where it would catch on it. The problem was that the resin easily got scored by the screw bullet catch (by opening & closing it) and the Vox's screw had to be tightened to the point where they it developed a hole in the body. I have a photo of the original and can post it. Quite a few of the hero Vox's sold after the movie had this wear on it. Some that sold at auction had this repaired prior to sale.

The one plasma hero shown in the screen cap above didn't have the round magnet on the arm to activate a reed switch because it had none. That arm magnet was only used for the hero Vox's with the static plasma image. On those the magnet on the arm was not to keep it closed but was to activate the glass reed switch for the lighting. The lighting was simply grain of wheat bulbs hooked up to small batteries and the reed switch.

On the transporter room scene plasma Vox version they had the back of the Vox body open to insert a custom lumiglas plasma made by Strattman Design especially made for the movie. A cord ran through Tim Allen's fingers and to an off screen power source. They also used a power source that could change the plasma disk lighting with voice activation. That effect didn't make it past the cutting room floor.

This replica made by Stapleton13 does go with the magnetic reed switch for lighting activation, but also uses another magnet for the catch too instead of the original prop screw catch. It's more durable that way and doesn't have issues with the Vox body being scraped up and broken in the catch area.