Some of my work...

[Eric Ardros]

I just wanted to share a few of pics of some of the scratch-build prop work I've been doing for my own collection:

TNG Medkit -- Pic 01

TNG Medkit -- Pic 02

TNG Medkit -- Pic 03

TNG Medkit -- Pic 04

TNG Medkit -- Pic 05

TNG Medkit -- Pic 06

TNG/DS9 Dermal Regenerator -- Pic 01

TNG/DS9 Dermal Regenerator -- Pic 02

TNG/DS9 Dermal Regenerator -- Pic 03

TNG Laser Scalpel -- Pic 01

TNG Laser Scalpel -- Pic 02

TNG Commbadge with fake Internal Electronics (custom; based on design seen in TNG Technical Journal)

TNG/DS9/VOY-era Commbadge "Future" Variant (custom)

Classic Movie-era Uniform Insignia Variant (custom)

TOS P2 Handle (custom; based on stock 23C part) -- Pic 01

TOS P2 Handle (I'd actually done a short run of these a while back on another prop forum, and they were quite popular) -- Pic 02

TOS P2 Handle (compared to a Rylo handle) -- Pic 03

Mk XIII Tricorder (custom; based on Motorola C333 shell)

TNG Desktop Viewer (based on 90's electronic coin bank) -- Pic 01

TNG Desktop Viewer -- Pic 02

And there you have it, a few examples of the scratch-build work I've been known to do in the past.

I just wanted to share some of the hard work I've put into some of my own collection pieces, is all. I hope everyone likes what they see.

In case anyone hadn't noticed, my preferred medium of choice for my scratch-build projects is plain ol' sheet styrene; it's amazing just how versatile that material is. You can use it for just about anything.

In some of the above projects, I used styrene for simple alterations, whereas for others the piece(s) was made entirely out of nothing but styrene, built up in layers. Man, I love that stuff, lol.

Comments? Questions? Both are welcome...

 

[UFO]

that TNG medkit is outstanding>. any chance i could get a copy of your templates? or measurements or something? ive always wanted to build one of those.

 

[Eric Ardros]

Well thanks, lol. I've always been very pleased with that particular scratch-build myself.

Sadly, that one no longer resides in my collection *sigh*; I'd had to sell it off a while back to help cover some expenses, as things were kinda tight money-wise for me at the time. Managed to sell it for $100.00 USD, still unfinished. Like a few of the other pieces shown above, I had planned on making it available as a sellable kit once the master was complete (been wanting to start my own prop company of sorts for a while, now), but unfortunately other things have prevented me from doing so until now.

Anyway, about those schematics, sure thing. It's been a while since I've touched on that project since I don't have that piece anymore, so I'll have to go looking for the templates I made, but I do know I still have them. I'll shoot you a PM for your e-mail info when I've been able to find them *wink*. Let me tell you, it was a real pain trying to draft it on paper, as of course there's absolutely no decent reference material available online for such a rare piece.

Could never get screen-accurate measurements, and only ever had a handful of semi-decent pics/screen caps as a point of reference. Still, I managed to do a pretty good job of it, I think. I was fortunate enough at one point to talk to someone who had had access to a screen-used Medkit, and after relaying the dimensions of mine to them (they couldn't give me the screen-used dims), was told I'd gotten the size of mine within five percent of what the size of the screen-used ones were. Not bad for simply eye-balling it... heh heh

 

[Harlock]

Nice work, Eric.

 

[Eric Ardros]

Thanks, Harlock. I'm glad you like. :$

 

[Eric Ardros]

UFO,

Haven't found the actual schematics/templates yet (I haven't been able to set up my prop shop down in the basement yet, since moving into this place, so most of my prop stuff is still in boxes), but I was able to find the measurements of my scratch-built TNG Medkit:

Height: 14 1/2 Inches

Width:

7 1/2 Inches (Across Top)
10 1/2 Inches (At Widest Point)
6 1/2 Inches (Across Bottom)

Depth: 3 3/4 Inches (Front to Back)

Hope that helps. They're not exact, but like I mentioned in my above post I got it within 5% of the screen-used dims, so it's pretty close.

I'll still try to find my drafts, but I don't know how well they'll print out or if they'd print out at the correct size. It may just be easier for me to copy them for you (once I find them) and send a set of them to you, if you like. Let me know... B)

 

[UFO]

that'd be awesome man, if you can find em. dont worry too much about it though, i may try and knock something out with the dims you posted...thanks.

 

[Vaderman]

Your TNG "laser scalpel" is a hyposprayer... FYI
Looks great.
Nice work, I love seeing stuff hand made.

 

[Eric Ardros]

@ UFO: No problem, dude. I just try to help out my fellow proppers when I can *wink*. Maybe the dims I posted will be enough to help you in your own Medkit build (they're good for a start, anyway), but if not I'd be more than happy to send you a set of the schematics...

@ Vaderman: Believe me, I know, lol. I found out a long time ago the original screen-used piece -- only ever seen in a handful of episodes, and even then only vaguely/briefly -- was based on a hypospray body. I guess the Props Dept. at Paramount/Viacom didn't want to go to all the trouble of scratch-building an entirely new prop for that purpose, lol. Makes sense to me, though, from a couple standpoints.

One: it was obviously less time-consuming and cost-effective for the Props Dept to simply alter an existing prop. Two: from a realistic point of view, it would make sense to have basic medical devices be more "modular", allowing several different attachments to be applied depending on the task. More practical that way, imho.

Thanks for the compliments, btw. I take as much pride in building these pieces as I do being able to share/show them to others... :$

 

[KidL]

You've got some really great work there Eric. I don't think I've seen a Laser Scalpel done before. Plus, I'm a sucker for Tricorders so big-time kudos on your custom MXIII design... Any idea what color you'll be using for the body? An MX style dark-gray would be cool, but the TNG dove-gray always seemed more 'Trek' to me.

 

[Eric Ardros]

Thanks for the kind words, KidL. I'm glad others like my work just as much as I did making them. Much appreciated.

Yeah, I'll agree the Laser Scalpel is a rarely-seen piece. Like I said in my last post, it was actually only used in a few episodes, and even then it wasn't clearly seen on screen. I managed to get my hands on a copy of Rick Sternbach's sketch of it a few years back and used that as reference for my scratch-build.

I still have to fabricate the conical attachment on the "head" of the scalpel (the shape of it is different from the typical spray head seen on the hyposprays), and then have to also make an acrylic bit to fit in it. But, for the most part the work's been done.

As for my custom Mk XIII Tricorder, it was just something that came to me one day while I was lazing about at home. I was playing with my cell phone (the one I actually use) and looked over and saw my old Motorla C333 sitting there, useless. Since I'm just as big on custom builds as builds of screen-used items, I thought why the hell not?

In fact, I've got another two C333's sitting here, and I plan on doing the same thing with them. One of them has already been spoken for by a good prop buddy of mine, but the other one... well, maybe I'll try selling it on eBay or something. Or, I could always keep it for myself and put a different screen graphic in place.

Seeing as how I'm all thumbs when it comes to even the most basic electronics, lol, a friend and I are collborating on making a custom board to fit inside, so it will have lights just like any screen-used counterpart. Best part is, we'll be utilizing the existing charge port for the Lithium-Ion battery that will be powering the Tricorder. So, that'll be one less technical aspect for us to try and figure out.

Hmm... maybe I'll give him the extra one for his help in this project *scratches his head, idly contemplating*.

I was always planning on painting it the PK7173 colour scheme, as I think the Dove Grey would be just too light. Besides, I already tried a quick coat of the 7173 over it, and have to say it looks a lot more appealing that way...

 

[LZeitgeist]

Wow, nice work.

 

[Apollo]

Nice job on all of them.

 

[Eric Ardros]

Thank-you very much, kind sir... :lol

 

[KidL]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eric Ardros @ Mar 23 2007, 03:40 PM) [snapback]1446644[/snapback]</div>

Seeing as how I'm all thumbs when it comes to even the most basic electronics, lol, a friend and I are collborating on making a custom board to fit inside, so it will have lights just like any screen-used counterpart. Best part is, we'll be utilizing the existing charge port for the Lithium-Ion battery that will be powering the Tricorder. [/b]

If you accomplish this you BETTER post a vid clip or two (or at least pics)... If not, you better watch your back because I might hunt you down where you live...






you know... to see it in person and reaffirm how cool it is... :lol

 

[Eric Ardros]

Well, here for your viewing pleasure is an animated gif of the proposed lighting sequence for the LEDs (my friend quickly did this up as a conceptual basis):

Mk XIII Tricorder -- LED Animation

Just to give you an idea of how it will look when finished...

 

[KidL]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eric Ardros @ Mar 24 2007, 05:17 PM) [snapback]1447362[/snapback]</div>

Well, here for your viewing pleasure is an animated gif of the proposed lighting sequence for the LEDs (my friend quickly did this up as a conceptual basis):

Mk XIII Tricorder -- LED Animation

Just to give you an idea of how it will look when finished...
[/b]

Cool. Definitely has that sequencing-tricorder feel to it. Since there's no door, I'm guessing it'll be activated by some sort of switch? If so, maybe you could work it into the actual design (e.g. - in place of the A/B switch).

 

[Eric Ardros]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. The only existing plug we'd be using would be the charging port on the bottom end of the shell, so I was thinking maybe where the headphone jack or USB connection would go could be altered to fit a roung or rectangular on/off switch, probably a press-button or some such thing... :love

 

[KidL]

Bump! Any updates?