Star trek TMP phaser prop from scratch

[Benjo]

Here is a second trial, made out of 1.5 mm sheet.
It turned out pretty badly. The rear shape looks off and misaligned. That’s an ugly one.

I've started to rework my bucks and correct what looked wrong to me.
There's no point in being accurate here but I'd love to have something that looks right to my eyes.

 

[WinstonWolf359]

Here is a second trial, made out of 1.5 mm sheet.
It turned out pretty badly. The rear shape looks off and misaligned. That’s an ugly one.

I can see that one man's "pretty badly" and "ugly" is another man's "pretty great" because I think it still looks really good and captures some of the original handmade look really well.

I really appreciate all of the work you're putting into this, and I can't wait to see how this all turns out!

 

[publiusr]

I sometimes wonder if price scanners were influenced by this prop.

 

[Benjo]

I can see that one man's "pretty badly" and "ugly" is another man's "pretty great" because I think it still looks really good and captures some of the original handmade look really well.

I really appreciate all of the work you're putting into this, and I can't wait to see how this all turns out!

Thank you very much !
I love the handmade look on props but I must admit it's something else when it's on your own recreation.

I sometimes wonder if price scanners were influenced by this prop.

That's what I love with some of the Star Trek phaser designs. The Dustbuster looks like a price scanner too.

 

[Benjo]

I did another try today, after improving the overall shape of my bucks.

This time I removed all the rounded excess to try to align the parts the best I could.

I'd love to make a TMP hero out of it but it is likely not the best setting to build that one. There's always that light misalignement between the P1 and the P2, like the WOK hero props.

 

[Benjo]

A few progress pictures.

I also found a french car spray can not that bad. I've made a test on an old resin attempt. I looks bluer on pictures than it is in person.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Outstanding work!

 

[WinstonWolf359]

Phaser looks great, and so does that paint!

 

[Benjo]

Outstanding work!

Phaser looks great, and so does that paint!

Thank you very much guys !

 

[Benjo]

I'm done with it.

So here is my vacform WOK hero phaser prop.

Vacforming process is said to be "a question of trials and errors". I had to make three trials to obtain something I was satisfied with.
1.5 mm HIPS sheet was used on that one.
I have the very impression that this mold configuration, with the separated P1, isn't the best one to keep the nice tapered shape of the original design.
That's maybe why two parts pulls were used for the TMP hero prop instead of the separated P1 configuration.

I should have let the "dilithium crystal" sits over the top without the ring and the butt plate should be thicker but, considering the inconstancies between the props I took the freedom to just go over a more classical representation of that phaser.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Excellent job! The ring around the Dilithium Crystal is accurate …to your point, the details on the vacuform models are inconsistent.

 

[TheBeast]

I can see that one man's "pretty badly" and "ugly" is another man's "pretty great" because I think it still looks really good and captures some of the original handmade look really well.

Ergo my imposter syndrome kicking in...

Still, between their complaints and me squinting REAL hard, I may be learning something, WW359.

 

[Nicksdad]

Turned out great Benjo, truly a labor of love on your part.

 

[Benjo]

Excellent job! The ring around the Dilithium Crystal is accurate …to your point, the details on the vacuform models are inconsistent.

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Thank you very much !
Even the two WOK hero props made specificaly for the movie are not identical: the side rails, the emitter stud emplacement, the trigger area, chasing LEDs, etc.
To me there's no real canon version, it's up to anyone to choose wich configuration looks the best.

Turned out great Benjo, truly a labor of love on your part.

Thank you very much ! I did the best I could with what I had on hand.

 

[WinstonWolf359]

Beautiful! I think it looks fantastic!

 

[Benjo]

A couple of weeks ago the idea of trying to model the TMP phaser on Solidworks grew up on me while watching this fantastic thread:

STAR TREK- TMP wrist communicators (...and now with more TMP goodies!)

After deciding to scratch an itch to have a replica of the STAR TREK- THE MOTION PICTURE wrist communicator, I downloaded the digital model offered online by CosplayItemsRock (although, in retrospect, I could have just modeled my own), and then went about modifying it for accuracy, to scale it...

www.therpf.com

I'm no good 3D modeler, I just know the basis and tinker with it.
What was just a poor attempt to play with the idea of imagining an idealized version of the prop became a more serious attempt at carefully reinterpreting the prop the best I could with what I can do on SolidWorks.

I used Greg Jein's collection stunt phaser pictures and dimensions as a basis. There are some really good profile pictures of two stunt phasers, speculating the two parts dummies were the same basis used for the hero version:

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/props/pair-of-stunt-phasers-from-from-star-trek-ii-the-wrath-of-khan-paramount-1982-/a/7278-89272.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515

So, here is what I have so far. I've carefully followed the overall shape of the prop. The fun thing is the side ribs/rails don't go straight from the front to the rear end, they go slightly up over the rear end and this can also be seen on the TMP hero.
Nevermind the handle details, I just don't know how to reproduce all the indents via solidworks.

while following the dimensions and shape the best I could, things are still a bit off. Lens distorsion and differences between models make it difficult to have a reliable overview.

I've made several attempts to get the taper right. It's all about interpretation as I have no good top view of the prop. Mine still looks thick while I've made it as thin as I could. Hard to say whith lens distorsion and differences from one prop to another. While these props shall have the same basic sculpt they're not exactly trimed and put together the same way.

 

[Benjo]

quick update:

This is where things get a bit obsessive.

I've recently started a new hard attempt to create a version of the TMP hero phaser.

My latest theory, for what it worth, is that this particular prop doesn't seem to come from the same base as the dummies. the overall shape looks slightly different, more ovale and roundish.

There are very few reference pictures available of the TMP hero prop so my sculpt is an interpretation, not an accurate recreation.

Here is a wooden master from scratch: two halves + the trigger part. the prop is made in its simpliest shape in order to add details, like the scribbed P1 separation line, later on.

the master was cast with silicone and duplicated out of hollow PU resin casts

I first made a dummy inspired version to see how things turn out

I'm now waiting to receive a new set of vinyl decals. One brown opaque "stunt set" and another clear set to reproduce the clear control pad of the hero prop.

I'm not sure about how the original control pad was done. It was likely made out of clear material as you can see the lights and the circuitry underneath but:
-Did the hero props were vacformed out of clear plastic?
-Did the control pad was a separated piece made out of clear material?
-Did they cut two sloth on the top of the P1 in order to insert two clear bars?

 

[Benjo]

Well well well,

That post is kind of weird of me.
Here are a bunch of pictures of two TMP phaser props I've made from scratch, from wooden bucks to resin shells.
the thing is, I'm not that proud of them.

first is an attempt to recreate the Hero.
I must confess : I'm kind of disappointed with it.
While I love the handmade/messed up appearance of the original props I had real troubles to make my version look decent. To me, it doesn't.

Details look clumsy, the thing looks fatter and smaller on pictures. While it is certainly a focal distorsion issue Gregatron submitted the idea the Hero prop might be a bit larger than the stunts in his own thread:

STAR TREK- TMP wrist communicators (...and now with more TMP goodies!)

I’m still adjusting the shape of the body, with slightly more taper on the front/emitter end, and a larger crystal and mounting ring, which looks more on-point. Still not 100% convinced that the 190.5mm length of the HMS/DST is accurate. The screenused heroes and dummies tend to look more...

www.therpf.com

While I didn't subscibed that theory I'm growing the idea it might be the case.
My version is tad larger than 19cm and I did my best to get the control pad dimensions but something looks off.

So here it is, in all its wonky glory.
This prop was, by far, the most complicated prop I ever tried to recreate.
The tiny brass pins are sadly missing because I haven't find anything like that anywhere. The whole stuff was distressed on purpose, to hide my crimes. It looks more blue on pictures than it really is.

Here is its stunt counterpart. I like it way better.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Well well well,

That post is kind of weird of me.
Here are a bunch of pictures of two TMP phaser props I've made from scratch, from wooden bucks to resin shells.
the thing is, I'm not that proud of them.

first is an attempt to recreate the Hero.
I must confess : I'm kind of disappointed with it.
While I love the handmade/messed up appearance of the original props I had real troubles to make my version look decent. To me, it doesn't.

Details look clumsy, the thing looks fatter and smaller on pictures. While it is certainly a focal distorsion issue Gregatron submitted the idea the Hero prop might be a bit larger than the stunts in his own thread:

STAR TREK- TMP wrist communicators (...and now with more TMP goodies!)

I’m still adjusting the shape of the body, with slightly more taper on the front/emitter end, and a larger crystal and mounting ring, which looks more on-point. Still not 100% convinced that the 190.5mm length of the HMS/DST is accurate. The screenused heroes and dummies tend to look more...

www.therpf.com

While I didn't subscibed that theory I'm growing the idea it might be the case.
My version is tad larger than 19cm and I did my best to get the control pad dimensions but something looks off.

So here it is, in all its wonky glory.
This prop was, by far, the most complicated prop I ever tried to recreate.
The tiny brass pins are sadly missing because I haven't find anything like that anywhere. The whole stuff was distressed on purpose, to hide my crimes. It looks more blue on pictures than it really is.
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Here is its stunt counterpart. I like it way better.

View attachment 1921788
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Outstanding work!

 

[Benjo]

Thank you so much