ST:TOS "This Side of Paradise" plant replica help

[rickrickrick]

Hello, folks. I'm seeking some assistance.

I built a very accurate replica of a "This Side of Paradise" plant from Star Trek The Original Series, but can't think of a good way to make it shoot spores/powder, as they do on the show.

It needs to be self-contained, something I can shoot while carrying it around. The base of it is a big hollow plastic Halloween pumpkin, and the stalk is a PVC pipe. I had thought about cutting an access hole in the base so I can slip my hand in, and activate something like a can of compressed air, but I just can't figure out the mechanics of it. Not something that doesn't have to be re-loaded after one shot, anyway.

Anyone ever do something like this? Something with a reservoir of something like confetti that can be fired off several times without being constantly re-loaded?

My thanks in advance for any ideas/suggestions you have.

Rick

 

[rickrickrick]

Bumpity bump bump! No one? No ideas from anyone who worked out a thing like this before? No one's ever shot confetti out of a prop??

 

[feek61]

Maybe try compressed air

 

[TheBeast]

I was thinking one of those itty-bitty Nerf guns might be hide-able behind the bloom. Not sure about the spores...

I may try a handful of one-ended q-tips.

EDIT: I tried three cut in half out of a Firestike Elite. Underwhelming.

Doug

 

[TheBeast]

Not something that doesn't have to be re-loaded after one shot, anyway.

Whoops, missed that part. Nerf, like a revolver, would be multi-shot, but big.

I assumed each blossom would be one shot, so it didn't occur to me you'd need more.

Also, I went back and watched Spock's 'infection' and there was definitely a cloud with the spores as I vaguely remembered.

Talc, corn starch, or similar is doable, but I would hate the mess. Cool gas expanding was probably in the original.

 

[Lightning]

Bumpity bump bump! No one? No ideas from anyone who worked out a thing like this before? No one's ever shot confetti out of a prop??

Cool gas expanding was probably in the original.

ignore the confetti and just focus on the gas cloud. mount a compressed gas duster upside down in the base, and rig up a trigger mechanism. then send the tube up the neck. you'll get quite a few blasts of thick white gas. just don't shoot anyone in the face.

 

[smithjohnj]

Have you thought about using an atomizer to create a "cloud" or "mist" effect. This would not shoot projectiles but that might be harmful in any event. The spray could be plain water so little damage or cause for concern of anyone hit. Obviously scented water could also provide an added effect but so many people complain of "allergies" even with well known and researched perfumes that might not be worth the potential problems. The fluid reservoir could hold several "shots" before the need to refill. The activator could beas simple as a squeeze bulb. I know this sounds like the old novelty "spraying lapel flower" but maybe it will give you a new launching point.

 

[Krel]

The plants were reused props from "The Outer LImits", and the "spores" they shot were puffed rice cereal.

David.

 

[rickrickrick]

The plants were reused props from "The Outer LImits", and the "spores" they shot were puffed rice cereal.

David.

I respectfully disagree. The idea is very similar, but the execution is very different. The plants on the episode "Specimen Unknown" from Outer Limits have very slender stalks, large bulbs behind the flower petals, and no leaves on the stalks. The "spores" eject from a large bulb at the base of the plant - only "gas" shoots from the stalk. The Star Trek plants have thick stems, nothing behind the petals, and big foam leaves, and everything shoots from inside the large diameter stalk. (In fact, there are at least two distinctly different designs of the "Paradise" plants - the ones that shoot, and the one they use for close-ups with a plastic artichoke in the center of the petals.) They are similar, perhaps, but not the same at all. And perhaps the OL plants shot cereal, but the Paradise plants shoot only bits of paper and powder.

Thanks for the suggestions all.

Rick

 

[TheBeast]

I understand the concerns about projectiles, never shoot at a person is a given.

However, I would prefer something spore-like visible.

Second try with the Nerf and twisted toilet paper looked fair over a few feet.

A bit safer over the hard center of q-tips as well.

EDIT: I suddenly remembered Spock getting hit by a bloom another time, The Apple. I think a darker flower, but the 'spray' looked similar