Star Trek III Communicator

[13doctorwho]

I have a movie Scotty costume I made last year. I didn't have time to make any props to go with it so I thought I would work on that. First up is the communicator.

I modeled the communicator based on tons of pictures I found online. I found a picture on this site of a prop replica next to a ruler, so I scaled the pictures to that and went from there. I sill need to break the model into pieces and hollow it out. I'm hoping to put electronics in it. Let me know what you think.

 

[Jlewis]

Looks great. Waiting to see a print of this thing.

 

[AJK001]

I'm looking forward to see how this comes out. The ST3 & ST5 Communicators are my favorites but they are very hard to find except for a couple of runs done in the past. The thing that usually holds them up is the grill.

 

[BajaTym]

Right on! I love ST movie-era props, specifically those from TMP and SFS. Anyway, it looks like you've got off on the right foot. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress/build.

Have you decided if you're going to make a brass lid or just stick to with a 3D print? Also, I'm not sure if you're going for 100% accuracy, or just making something fun to go with your uniform... if you're going for accuracy some of your shapes could use some tweaking.

Anyway, good luck man and keep posting!

Cheers! -- James

 

[13doctorwho]

I am going to 3D print the antenna in metal. My biggest problem right now is the scale. I saw a picture of a replica with a ruler and it looked like the body was five inches long, but that seems way to big. I saw a picture of another replica with a dime in the picture for scale and that made it about four inches, maybe a little less. It's easy to take my model and reduce it a little, but I don't have an exact number. I cut a block of wood with the five inches by whatever the width worked out to and it seems too big. I still have to get that figured out.

 

[13doctorwho]

It's been a while, but I've been working on this. I have spent a couple weeks hollowing this out for electronics and dividing it into parts. The overall look has not changed from the first post, it's just been broken into parts. The separate parts will make it cheaper, easier to paint, and easier to install electronics. Pictures below...

 

[Nick K]

Great work. I will watch this Thread with eagerness.

 

[13doctorwho]

Thank you for the likes and comments.

I am currently designing the electronics. I want it to chirp when flipped open and blink the two LEDs. I did something similar for another prop so it's just making a board that will fit the space with the batteries.

I'm considering rechargeable lithium polymer batteries, but I haven't decided yet. Stay tuned!

 

[R5D4]

Thank you for the likes and comments.

I am currently designing the electronics. I want it to chirp when flipped open and blink the two LEDs. I did something similar for another prop so it's just making a board that will fit the space with the batteries.

I'm considering rechargeable lithium polymer batteries, but I haven't decided yet. Stay tuned!

You should just make it chirp 3 quick times like it did in the snowy scene on Genesis in Star Trek III. When Saavik opened it.

 

[13doctorwho]

I just received some test prints! This is just a solid body to gauge scale before I print the multi-part kit for electronics. The antennae had to be slightly changed to be able to print in metal. As I don't have another way to make one I'll have to live with it. I think the size is pretty close, what do you guys think? Could not find a single dimension anywhere on line! Take a look and let me know what you think.

 

[AJK001]

That looks great and I'm very impressed with your grill. It is hard to tell in the pictures but unless you have very small hands it looks a little big but don't change things without some more input from others.

 

[13doctorwho]

I bought a resin casting from a member on here. It looks like mine is a little big. Mine is about 4.5 inches long (closed) and the casting I received is about 4.0 inches long. So, it's easy to scale my parts to be more accurate... but it makes getting electronics in it more difficult. I may also have to modify the antennae AGAIN to make it printable... making the antennae even less accurate.

Going to have to think about this. I could simplify the electronics to make it fit, or remove them all together. The biggest problem with the electronics is fitting a descent battery to run the sound. And, of coarse, there is the option of making a "STUNT" version with no electronics... but having the chirp when it flips open would be bada$$! There is one other option, except the size difference because it makes the electronics easier. I'm probably not going to do that because the size difference is noticeable... if it was off 0.25 inches, I might ignore it... but this is too much.

 

[AJK001]

I have 3 different STIII Comms that are all different sizes. I have one from Starland from the late 90's that appears to be about the same size as yours and is supposed to be oversized. I have one from Federation Surplus from his run in 2008/2009 that is supposed to be the most accurate. I also have the ST3 & ST5 Comms from Stapleton13 that are a little bit smaller than the Fed Surplus ones but are still very nice. What this all means is that you can size it to whatever works for you and makes you happy. I didn't know the Starland one was oversized until years later and I'm still happy with it and the others in my collection.

 

[13doctorwho]

So a little update...

I bought a resin casting from a member on here.

I took a little time to build the kit mention above. I designed the antennae grill for 3D printing in metal... it's not a 100% accurate, but it was the easiest way to make a custom grill to fit the kit. Here are some pictures of how the kit turned out. I still plan on making my hollow electronic version, I just need to resize the model.

 

[AJK001]

That looks really nice. I like what you did with the grill. I don't know if you did it on purpose but the the part you have painted gold on the inside, it should be silver.

 

[Duncanator]

If you want a more accurate grill, try etched brass. That's how the originals were done. The etched brass grill was bent over to form the sides and hinge.

 

[Nick K]

Wow. Looks great.

 

[tye williams]

Awesome

 

[ogtrekkie]

Looks great - any to sell???

 

[STpropguy76]

Any updates?