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

[Gregatron]

One thing that occurs to me is that the wrist comm, unlike almost every other prop, should be comfortable when worn. Perhaps one of the reasons there were so many slight and not-so-slight variations is due to issues/complaints from the actors wearing them, so they kept trying different things as they went. The differences might not be total for looks, but a practical change.

What I'm saying is it might be worth making a mock up of (perhaps) two of the possible profiles and see which version isn't painful to wear.

That's a good theory. But, really, it's the wristband itself that gets bent and adjusted to determine fit/comfort.

Whether the comms were cut to fit and glued onto the bands, or the bands were cast into the resin, I don't really think that the shape of the comm was a determining factor in fit or comfort.

The shapes of the bands vary quite a bit onscreen, too. Some are very curved, while others are rather straight.

 

[pengbuzz]

...

 

[Gregatron]

More decal work. Playing with scaling and positioning.

The group on the upper left is a reasonable recreation of the actual text font on the McCoy hero. The group below it is idealized, and thus all in Eurostile (aside from the number pad). Some markings are as yet missing or incomplete.

The markings above the Starfleet insignia are unique to the folding-head hero.

 

[Funky]

So any chance we’ll see a short run of these?

 

[Gregatron]

So any chance we’ll see a short run of these?

I don’t particularly have the means/time/energy for such a thing, and I’m leery about the notion of profiting from infringement. Sorry!


Meanwhile, I decided to rework the tricorder number pad decals, and made some key discoveries.

I went back to the Brick Price decal scan, which I’d previously scaled based on the dimensions of the phaser control pad decal.

I proceeded to refine the size and shape of the red and green buttons, as well as the thickness of their white borders (presented here in black). Same with the number pad and its borders.

In point of fact, everything was about 7% too big, before now.

More importantly, this led me to confirm that the bordered number decals on the tricorder are exactly the same size and shape as those on the wrist comms. Until now, I’d been using Microgramma Bold Extended for the bordered wrist comm number font. In reality, the numbers on both the tricorders and comms are what we know as Federation/Starfleet Bold Extended—the ubiquitous font used on the movie-era starship FVX models’ names and registry numbers.

However—and this is the important part—

The decals used on the props have no outline/stroke around the numbers. But the gap between the numbers and their outlines (presented as a red outline on the starship hull font) has been removed/filled in, rather than the outline itself being removed. This is key to the numbers looking “right” for the comms and tricorders.

Here’s a quick and dirty comparison of the standard number and one whose border gap I quickly filled in:

The dummy comms which have letter markings and/or borderless number decals, however, DO appear to use unaltered Microgramma Bold Extended.

 

[Gregatron]

I also created a quick and dirty model of the border for the number decals, based on the size of my revised tricorder art. Looks like a dead-on match, to me.

 

[Gregatron]

Upon reflection, the numbers seemed just a tad too small, so I did some tweaking. As it currently stands, both the bordered numbers and the borderless numbers and letters stand at 7mm tall.

I also created quick and dirty mockups of both the comm and the tricorder head in Inkscape, based on the exact dimensions of my models, in order to help with scaling.

The trick is ensuring that the markings will fit without wrapping/overlapping around any edges, particularly on the tricorder. I’m also working to make sure that the proportions and spaces between elements look like the reference images.

Additional calibration will be needed, but that’llhave to wait until I have physical models in hand to work with.

 

[Gregatron]

Scale test with a 7mm mock-up letter “V” and number border.

 

[Gregatron]

After much consideration and experimentation, I think it’s one of two things:


1. The tricorder heads were slightly wider than the dimensions I’m working with;

2. The numbers used on the tricorders and comms were NOT identical in size.


The conclusion I’ve come to is that the comm letters and numbers need to be 8mm tall to look right (a conclusion supported both by my models’ scaling, as well as old TPZ research). And also that, in order to fit properly and maintain proper proportions, the numbers on the tricorder number pad simply need to be a wee bit smaller.

Here we are at 8mm:

 

[Gregatron]

Realistically speaking, I should get a test print or two before committing to the more expensive and durable resins.

Maybe a comm or two in cheap ABS or PLA, with different thicknesses/shapes to see what works best.

And definitely a cheap print of the flip-top tricorder, to make sure that the moving parts and data chips all move and fit like they should.


I'm currently going over the model very carefully. After all, the moving part of the head CANNOT fit flush to the other half, because of the indicator lights and their brass bezels. The bezels are only 0.50mm tall, and the bulbs themselves stand proud of that.

I suppose I can model bulbs to print in clear resin with a lower profile, too. There's currently a 1.5mm gap between the two halves of the head in the closed position.

 

[Gregatron]

Minor tweaks to filleting, alignment, and other details.

Most importantly, I sketched and extruded new 3D “decals” based on the exact dimensions (to three decimal points) of the current Inkscape decal design. This allows me to determine whether they’ll fit properly, and what their proper placement should be. Looks spot-on, so far.

And, as can be seen below, it also allows me to plot out the locations of the brass bezels. I still need to refine the upper head’s decals in order to plot the locations of the eight remaining bezels.

Frankly, it would be much easier to have the holes for the bezels already built into the design, rather than having to eyeball their locations and drill holes for them after printing, or even after painting and decaling. There are just too many variables which could go off the rails.

Until I have a physical prototype in hand, a few things worry me, such as the tolerance/axle size needed for smooth operation for the moving parts, and whether the bezels/light domes will allow the head to fold closed properly. ESPECIALLY since there’s potential for the two sets of bezels on the upper and lower halves to butt into each other when the head is closed.

 

[Gregatron]

Working on placement of the other bezels. Tricky work to balance accuracy with space needs. I actually found that I could slightly minimize the gap between the head halves when in the closed position.

A quick check with the “subtract” function turns the rotating part of the head into a wireframe, allowing me to confirm that the bezels don’t make contact with each other and prevent the head from closing properly.

 

[Gregatron]

Plotted out the rest of the bezel holes, and cut them in.

Meanwhile, I did a quick and dirty experiment. VERY quick and dirty, without any work to properly blend the changes into the existing design.

As we’ve established, props in the film business are often cheats. They give the impression of something without having to actually make it work in reality. Thus, the flip-top tricorder was a cheat, and so were the seamless, open-head heroes and dummies.

That being said, I was curious about a cleaner and more realistic take on the folding head. With the control pad recessed slightly into the folding half, and two lips (somewhat similar to the lip on top of the TOS tricorder hood), one on either side, which fit flush to the upper head, to avoid that unsightly gap when the head is closed.

Of course, this tweak skews too far away from the actual design used in the film. Just a little thought experiment.

 

[Gregatron]

Onward…

 

[Gregatron]

The phaser is by far the most difficult of the three props to model. It’s all curves and organic shapes.


The basic shape of the handle and the body is relatively easy (although getting the specific curves and changing width of the body right has been a pain), but it’s getting the curved shape on the rear underside of the body—which blends into the handle—that’s so tricky.

This is a model of lofting and filleting and little else.

 

[Benjo]

The phaser is by far the most difficult of the three props to model. It’s all curves and organic shapes.


The basic shape of the handle and the body is relatively easy (although getting the specific curves and changing width of the body right has been a pain), but it’s getting the curved shape on the rear underside of the body—which blends into the handle—that’s so tricky.

This is a model of lofting and filleting and little else.



View attachment 1872674

I recently tried to model that prop on solidworks. I had to shape the main body and the handle/rear curve separately, using the same pline as a base.

The other difficulty is to model all the handle and trigger inner curves.
As you said it's all organic curves and shapes and getting a good 3d model of that prop is challenging.

 

[AnubisGuard]

I feel like the phaser might be better off modeled in something like zbrush.

 

[Gregatron]

I feel like the phaser might be better off modeled in something like zbrush.

It's coming along. I just have to reverse engineer and recreate how the original bucks were made. And I think I understand how they did it.

The handle and the rear fin that extends along the underside of the phaser body are one piece, with a plug added to the rear of the handle to create the indentation/hand groove that sits at the top rear of the handle, and then blends into the fin.

 

[Gregatron]

Getting closer. It’s SUCH a complex series of organic shapes that blend together.

Here’s the current version, presented as simulated glossy ABS, to show off the highlights and edges.

 

[Gregatron]

After more tinkering, I decided to go back to an earlier iteration of the handle from my initial attempt at modeling the phaser, two years ago. I think I got it pretty spot on, back then.

Meanwhile, I’ve been refining the curves and overall shape of the body, as well as starting to work on details. Having checked out Benjo’s build thread, I tend to agree that most replicas of this design seem a little too short in the rear. I think the rear of the body might stand to use another 8-10mm or so (as experimented with in the second model in the image below).

In point of fact, while I’ve used the basic dimensions of the DST toy (which itself is based on the HMS kit molds) as the basis for the dimensions and proportions, it really seems off from the actual prop in certain areas.