Hey all,
Thanks to things I learned on the forums, I tried my hand at building the one hand prop I've always wanted....a tricorder. I actually ordered two kits from both Stapleton and gmprops - the VII Medical and the IX. Since the electronics came in for the VII first, I went about collecting all of the various materials I would need, and gave it a go.
(I'm a musician and teacher by trade - not an experienced builder...up until now the only prop replicas I've built have been a Kermit puppet, and for my dad I printed out the huge Pirates of the Caribbean map to the fountain of youth, mounted it on foam core board and then cut out and connected the rings so they can rotate like the map in the movies. So cut me some slack, please!)
I wound up using the Castle Rock Gray paint for the body, which looked WAYY wrong to me (too brown) as I was spraying it, but sure enough looks just about perfect once it's all finished! I had read online someone suggested using wood filler instead of Bondo to fill in the cracks, and since I was trying to cut down on the fumes I was creating in the garage, I thought I'd give that a try. It worked pretty well, but I can still see the seams a little after painting...so I think when I do the IX I will try the Bondo.
I also learned where I need to be more patient, and got some good use with some of my dremel bits I haven't had need to use before. Those things like to grab and jump if you're not careful! Lesson learned, and a little more wood filler used....
Was pretty happy with the primer & chrome paint for the hand scanner - but I messed it up a little by being impatient. Got wise about half way through the build and started using my heat gun before touching things just to be sure.
A little bummed that I think the speaker is very quiet...which it didn't seem to be when I first opened the kit I got from Gerry. I connected it to a 6 volt power supply like I saw in videos/read online, but I worry I may have done some damage to the speaker, since then I only ran it at about 3.5 v. Again - lesson learned for the mark IX....
Overall I couldn't really be happier. The reed switches work like a charm, and it just looks and feels right. Can't wait for the other electronics kit to arrive! I think I may have created a monster...
Thanks to things I learned on the forums, I tried my hand at building the one hand prop I've always wanted....a tricorder. I actually ordered two kits from both Stapleton and gmprops - the VII Medical and the IX. Since the electronics came in for the VII first, I went about collecting all of the various materials I would need, and gave it a go.
(I'm a musician and teacher by trade - not an experienced builder...up until now the only prop replicas I've built have been a Kermit puppet, and for my dad I printed out the huge Pirates of the Caribbean map to the fountain of youth, mounted it on foam core board and then cut out and connected the rings so they can rotate like the map in the movies. So cut me some slack, please!)
I wound up using the Castle Rock Gray paint for the body, which looked WAYY wrong to me (too brown) as I was spraying it, but sure enough looks just about perfect once it's all finished! I had read online someone suggested using wood filler instead of Bondo to fill in the cracks, and since I was trying to cut down on the fumes I was creating in the garage, I thought I'd give that a try. It worked pretty well, but I can still see the seams a little after painting...so I think when I do the IX I will try the Bondo.
I also learned where I need to be more patient, and got some good use with some of my dremel bits I haven't had need to use before. Those things like to grab and jump if you're not careful! Lesson learned, and a little more wood filler used....
Was pretty happy with the primer & chrome paint for the hand scanner - but I messed it up a little by being impatient. Got wise about half way through the build and started using my heat gun before touching things just to be sure.
A little bummed that I think the speaker is very quiet...which it didn't seem to be when I first opened the kit I got from Gerry. I connected it to a 6 volt power supply like I saw in videos/read online, but I worry I may have done some damage to the speaker, since then I only ran it at about 3.5 v. Again - lesson learned for the mark IX....
Overall I couldn't really be happier. The reed switches work like a charm, and it just looks and feels right. Can't wait for the other electronics kit to arrive! I think I may have created a monster...
