Star trek TMP phaser prop from scratch

I think you're being WAY too hard on yourself. They look great! The TMP phasers have always been tricky to replicate because they have so many subtle curves and bumps, and I think yours duplicate those curves really, really well. When I saw the photos I didn't read your description at first and I thought you were comparing your hero replica to a screen-used stunt phaser. They both look really good and I'm really sorry you're disappointed in them. I know that feeling all too well. Sometimes there are projects where all I can see are the flaws so I'm ignoring everything I got right because I'm too close to the final product.

I think you should be VERY proud of these!
 
WinstonWolf359 said:
I think you're being WAY too hard on yourself. They look great! The TMP phasers have always been tricky to replicate because they have so many subtle curves and bumps, and I think yours duplicate those curves really, really well. When I saw the photos I didn't read your description at first and I thought you were comparing your hero replica to a screen-used stunt phaser. They both look really good and I'm really sorry you're disappointed in them. I know that feeling all too well. Sometimes there are projects where all I can see are the flaws so I'm ignoring everything I got right because I'm too close to the final product.

I think you should be VERY proud of these!
Click to expand...
I have no better words than Thank you very very much. I'm really happy to read that.
That phaser prop is very special to me so replicating it has always been a "not good enough" story. Maybe there's a kind of uncanny valley with prop replicas: the closer you get, the harder the flaws will look to your eyes.
I've had the very same feeling by the past, letting the freshly done replica left on a shelf as a shamefull object, finding it back a couple of years later and wondering "what the hell was wrong with it ?".
I hope I will love it someday as much as I love all the replicas of that phaser I have seen by the past.
Once again, thank you for your words.
 
Benjo said:
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:
www.therpf.com

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 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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Click to expand...
Still my favorite of the movie phasers. Great job!
 
Having read this thread from the beginning, I find it fairly obvious that this is a passion project for you. For some of my projects, I'm happy with "close enough", but others are just "special". I get it.
However, I agree 100% that you should feel very proud of what you have accomplished. The organic shapes that these phasers exhibit add an extra layer of difficulty. Frankly, I thought yours looked amazing 2 versions ago! I absolutely adore your WOK version!
For the brass buttons on the TMP hero, have you looked at brass rod?
 
Reel Fakes said:
Having read this thread from the beginning, I find it fairly obvious that this is a passion project for you. For some of my projects, I'm happy with "close enough", but others are just "special". I get it.
However, I agree 100% that you should feel very proud of what you have accomplished. The organic shapes that these phasers exhibit add an extra layer of difficulty. Frankly, I thought yours looked amazing 2 versions ago! I absolutely adore your WOK version!
For the brass buttons on the TMP hero, have you looked at brass rod?
Click to expand...
Thank you very much
The brass buttons are tiny hex head screws. I thougt those could be found at model shops as these seems to be used in model making. "Wonderworks", the company who built the TMP props, was specialised in model making.
Brass Rod could do the trick though.
 
Benjo said:
Thank you very much
The brass buttons are tiny hex head screws. I thougt those could be found at model shops as these seems to be used in model making. "Wonderworks", the company who built the TMP props, was specialised in model making.
Brass Rod could do the trick though.
Click to expand...

“Hob-Bits” 0-80 hex head screws are what you are looking for.

IMG_9041.jpeg

IMG_9042.jpeg
 
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