Star Trek III Communicator

[comm510]

I started this project in 2006 with an eye towards selling through a licensed dealer - but that never panned out due to circumstances beyond everyone's control. I was contacted by several members that had mentioned there may be some interest so here goes!

My goal was to re-create the comm seen in Star Trek III and not the "convention special" that was so common. Nothing wrong with a good cheap costuming prop but there were some glaring differences to be sure.

The original donor pieces were an original Coyle kit from the way back machine and some excellent photos of the original he molded back in the day. Armed with those and a ton of styrene, Hot Stuff and kicker - I came up with the following. Enjoy!



Using the castings as reference the entire center section and surrounding shell was built from scratch with the exception of the fuse puller. Special care was taken to reproduce the angles used in the original. It wasn't perfectly straight to be sure.

Make sure it mates with the profile of the back shell and new midplate.

Checking fit of front, back and insert..

Bonded center insert and top shell, changed the rear hinge area to match real prop in photos rather than convention version..

Milled front and back for electronics.. may have been before I mated the 2 front sections...

Added a brand new 3 piece grill made form close study of original prop pics..

Molded it, blerped a few out and viola!

So what do you think?

 

[Sporak]

I think it's beautiful
I love the lid.

 

[AJK001]

Looks really nice!

I'll buy a couple.

 

[Apollo]

Sweet!!!!!!

 

[Treadwell]

Gorgeous!

Curious, why did you mold in the midplate? If it were separate, it could be replaced with a brass one.

 

[comm510]

Gorgeous!

Curious, why did you mold in the midplate? If it were separate, it could be replaced with a brass one.

Because it was that way on the originals - they used gold tape but you are correct I suppose.

 

[mgoob]

Because it was that way on the originals - they used gold tape but you are correct I suppose.

Is that what we see in these photos- gold tape wrapped around it or paint?

Look nice either way.

 

[comm510]

Is that what we see in these photos- gold tape wrapped around it or paint?

Look nice either way.

It's tape - mirror gold as seen on the originals.

 

[micdavis]

Great job.

Only decent communicator in all the movies.

 

[silverskyes402]

Just got my comm. in the mail today, INCREDIBLE, flawless cast, beautiful grill, overall one of the best pieces ive seen in a long time, I kinda dont want to built it up its such a beauty the way it is!!!

 

[Phantombatman]

Perfect Replica, congratulations, I like it very much. It has the special Star Trek Classic look that I love so much!

Red

 

[bcstanding]

I also got mine. Excellent work Comm510!

 

[damaged_darkness]

are these still up for grabs? the comm looks amazing!

 

[mgoob]

Great, bubble free casting.
Clear and well bent brass lid.
Electronics work OK w/ 4 small batteries.

Found a roll of gold foil tape for mid-plate.

Highly recommend this kit!


Just need some clarity about where magnet goes to activate electronics.

 

[bcstanding]

There is a small blue mark on the brass rod - Comm510 told me that you need to drill a 1/8" hole at that spot and glue the magnet in hole you drilled. I haven't worked on my kit yet though. Do you know what the type of battery is that is needed?

 

[racprops]

I have a friend who want a couple and asked me what I thought and I said that these are the best and he asked me to ask; do you have two to four more?

Rich (yes that Rich...)

 

[AJK001]

I also have a friend who wants to me to get him two of them.

 

[comm510]

The thread is still active in the Junk Yard HERE _:http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=49835and more are available. I will be sending the instructions out this week via email - very short as most of the work was done for you... mostly colors and finishing details.

I came back to work from a lay-off sooner than expected and things are moving a mile a minute - - for now.

Anthony: Yours is nearly done - just needs a tweak or two - will send with EG Tric this week.



Thanks again!

I also have a friend who wants to me to get him two of them.

 

[AJK001]

The thread is still active in the Junk Yard HERE _:http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=49835and more are available. I will be sending the instructions out this week via email - very short as most of the work was done for you... mostly colors and finishing details.

I came back to work from a lay-off sooner than expected and things are moving a mile a minute - - for now.

Anthony: Yours is nearly done - just needs a tweak or two - will send with EG Tric this week.



Thanks again!

Thanks, that is great news.

 

[bcstanding]

For anybody that is looking for a few more instructions on how to finish theirs, I got these details from Comm510:

You have to adjust the tension of the grill hinge points and lightly sand the holes to get the grid to flip.

The paint is Semi-Flat black and Krylon 1910 True Blue Gloss - then everything gets Watco Semi-Gloss clear.

batteries: takes 2 1/3 N batteries (one third N) that's what they're called.... or the equivelant button cell - I think it's AG13 or something. Just typr AG13 into google and you'll get it's equivs. You'll need 4 The 1/3 N is 3 volts and the AG's are 1.5..... total should always be 6.