How to build a Hero Cricket phaser

[Robiwon]

Ideally you want a small piece plastic glued to the bottom side of the thumb pad that it just touches the switch. You can have a gap between them but you will just have to push a bit harder.

So, yes, you're just flexing the plastic thumb pad. I've built several of these and it's a great kit.

 

[stapleton13]

Ideally you want a small piece plastic glued to the bottom side of the thumb pad that it just touches the switch. You can have a gap between them but you will just have to push a bit harder.

So, yes, you're just flexing the plastic thumb pad. I've built several of these and it's a great kit.

You got it right. See step 7 on page 1 of this post.

 

[flans44]

Well mine is mostly done and it looks really good except that I have some thick seams between the different paint colors. I'm thinking of sanding it down and trying again. Do any of you have any suggestions for how to get as smooth of a transition as possible between the black emitter, the band of color next to it, and the rest of the body? Appearance-wise I did a pretty decent job but I don't like the seams. I have some touch-up to do too of some paint that peeled when I was removing some masking:

 

[stapleton13]

Well mine is mostly done and it looks really good except that I have some thick seams between the different paint colors. I'm thinking of sanding it down and trying again. Do any of you have any suggestions for how to get as smooth of a transition as possible between the black emitter, the band of color next to it, and the rest of the body? Appearance-wise I did a pretty decent job but I don't like the seams. I have some touch-up to do too of some paint that peeled when I was removing some masking:

View attachment 259142

I fill all the seams with puddy, sand, and prime so that the seam is gone before I start painting. I then mask of the emitter details, and paint the whole thing black. After that dries I mask off the black part, and spray phaser bronze. I then cover up the area the bronze stripe should be, and paint the silver.

 

[flans44]

Thanks Stapleton! I did the puddy thing, I'm talking more about seams that were created just by the paint. I'm wondering if I'm not taking the tape off soon enough and a ridge of paint is forming against the tape. I didn't know you did bronze btw. I thought I saw pics here that had that stripe in a darker gray or silver and that's what I did. I'm not sure what bronze I would go with. Are you doing several coats of each color? I think I should do it the way you describe as far as the masking and painting though. I masked off the phaser and did the emitter in black (same as you) but then I masked off all but the stripe and did that alone. Maybe I should paint the whole body the stripe color as you did and then mask off the whole top before doing the rest of the body (over the coat of the stripe color).

 

[Robiwon]

Sounds like you may be spraying to much paint. What you can do is after you have your colors painted spray the phaser with a couple coats of gloss. Once these are dry do a bit of wet sanding with some fine/extra fine/super fine sand paper. This gloss coat and then sanding of the gloss coat will help level out the finish.

Another tip, remove your masking as soon as the paint become tacky or "flashes over". The paint will continue to settle and flatten out leaving less of a visible seam. Also, do you coats in several light coats to build up your color, not one or two heavy coats.

 

[E Williams]

I didn't know you did bronze btw. I thought I saw pics here that had that stripe in a darker gray or silver and that's what I did. I'm not sure what bronze I would go with.

The bronze on the emitter band and thumb pad is a very dark bronze. A good one is Rustoleum 7272830 Metallic Dark Bronze

 

[PeterLC]

So what grey or silver have people been using on these and the other phasers like the dolphin phaser? Is it the same or does it vary a bit from model to model? Being colour-blind I'm never quite sure of colours but would like to at least try to do it right. Also does it need a good coat of primer first? I'm not good at painting.

 

[Robiwon]

I used Duplicolor automotive paint on my two builds. Very durable. And yes, prime before you paint. I again used Duplicolor automotive primer on mine.

 

[E Williams]

Yes to the Dupli-color primer and auto paint.

For this cricket a good currently available color is Dupli-color BGM0478 Med Marblehead Metallic. It matches well to the Plasti-kote 7173 that was used on the show on later crickets. The season 1-2 cricket had a lighter silver, though.

The Dolphin/Nemesis phasers were a similar but slightly darker & slightly bluer Plasti-kote originally. I used Dupli-color BFM0225 Medium Charcoal Metallic on my Nemesis tricorder and it was an ok match to a decade old Nemesis phaser that was painted in the proper color. There is another color that people like to use for Nemesis props but I can't recall it.

 

[iWolf359]

Could anyone tell me if the procedure of installing electronics in a Stapleton dustbuster phaser is better done much the same (ie gluing them in, sealing it up and then painting)?
I've been considering how to go about it for a while, and as I'm rather inexperienced, I'd appreciate your input.

 

[stapleton13]

Could anyone tell me if the procedure of installing electronics in a Stapleton dustbuster phaser is better done much the same (ie gluing them in, sealing it up and then painting)?
I've been considering how to go about it for a while, and as I'm rather inexperienced, I'd appreciate your input.

Same basic procedure with a lot more room to work.

 

[iWolf359]

Terrific, thanks!

 

[stapleton13]