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

[WinstonWolf359]

Personally, I like the screws on the TMP buttons. I think having more texture and more detail, especially on a prop that is generally smooth and featureless, is needed on a hero phaser. I don't see any reason why the real-world reason for them being there couldn't be the in-universe reason they're there.

While I like the metallic blue color and the exaggerated phaser I parting line, I think the stud trigger and plain control panel decal on the TWOK phasers make them look too much like a background/dummy prop to represent an ideal in-universe phaser.

 

[Benjo]

Every iterations of the prop were meant to represent the one same object.
Even the WOK metallic blue color seems to have been intended at one moment, when Price worked on the first bigger version, as written on the sketch.

Contrary to WinstonWolf359 I think dummies decals seems to be what the phaser should have, like a lighting tactile screen. I personnaly always hated these tiny hex screws and prefered the thin P1 separation line.
The point might be to get an idealized version without getting to far from the original props.

The initial design that led to the actual prop might help to choose.

 

[Oracle]

Every iterations of the prop were meant to represent the one same object.
Even the WOK metallic blue color seems to have been intended at one moment, when Price worked on the first bigger version, as written on the sketch.
View attachment 1877022

Contrary to WinstonWolf359 I think dummies decals seems to be what the phaser should have, like a lighting tactile screen. I personnaly always hated these tiny hex screws and prefered the thin P1 separation line.
The point might be to get an idealized version without getting to far from the original props.

The initial design that led to the actual prop might help to choose.
View attachment 1877023

Oh, can I ask what are these from? I've never seen these design drafting images before.

Thanks

 

[Benjo]

Oh, can I ask what are these from? I've never seen these design drafting images before.

Thanks

They both can be found on Google.
That being said, the first one was given to me by a prop guy on "Star Trek prop enthousiasts" (Facebook) with other documentation about the TMP phaser prop.
The second one comes from a website that can be easily found if you tap "Star Trek the motion picture phaser design".

 

[Oracle]

They both can be found on Google.
That being said, the first one was given to me by a prop guy on "Star Trek prop enthousiasts" (Facebook) with other documentation about the TMP phaser prop.
The second one comes from a website that can be easily found if you tap "Star Trek the motion picture phaser design".

Oh I see that's probably why! I have reference books and materials and it just struck me odd I'd never seen those before as I thought I'd seen most things TMP era for design work. Thank you for those

 

[Gregatron]

They both can be found on Google.
That being said, the first one was given to me by a prop guy on "Star Trek prop enthousiasts" (Facebook) with other documentation about the TMP phaser prop.
The second one comes from a website that can be easily found if you tap "Star Trek the motion picture phaser design".

The second is the patent design which was submitted for legal/merchandising reasons.

 

[Gregatron]

According to tracking, the comm and tricorder test prints are now waiting at my door!

 

[Gregatron]

The Good:

* I’m very pleased with the overall details and proportions. Looks pretty darn spot-on. The comms are the same width as my old ones, but the added length and accurate detailing makes them look more “right”. The model based on the resin comms looks a little too slender. The standard model looks good, but the thickness added to the Dummy Hero may actually look the most screen-accurate.



The Bad:

* These PLA prints are very, very rough. Lots of print lines, lots of flashing. This makes it difficult—particularly in the case of the tricorder’s moving parts—for things to fit together correctly without some filing and trimming.

* The axle holes on the tricorder are TINY, with PLA flash partially blocking them. I managed to jam the steel axles through the flip-head axle holes, but the chip door holes were just too tough, so the door is just loosely set in place.

Fortunately, the flip-head action works great. And I dropped some brass grommets into the holes on the face of the tricorder. My measurements were correct. There’s no problem with opening and closing the head.

However, the tolerance on the flip-top axle is off, and so the head just flops around loosely. Gonna have to modify the axle diameter or the hole diameter. Alternatively, I could add holes for magnets to the design, to keep the head either open or closed.


* Because I can’t fit the axle through the chip door holes, I can’t properly test how it opens and closes. Gonna have to guesstimate when making tweaks.

* The data chip fits into the flip-head slot perfectly, but then it actually got jammed in the chip door…and I can’t remove it. I dunno if this is due to the tolerances being too tight, or because of the rough printing and the accompanying flashing.





The paint can is for scale.

 

[Gregatron]

I ended up drilling out the tricorder chip door holes (with a much larger bit than the tiny 0.5mm hole) and gluing the axle rods in. It’s a loose fit, but the door appears to open and close properly, which is what I wanted to check. I think I’m gonna modify the model by separating the door into two pieces (the outer part, and an insert for the chip tray, a la the HMS kit) so that only the two sides of the outer door need to have a axle hole, as opposed to the hole running all thr way through a solid door. A lot less chance of the hole accidentally being filled during the printing process, that way.

I’m also giving the parts a shot of paint (primer gray for the body, black for the grips). Then, I’ll dry-install the brass grommets, and cut out paper versions of the decal artwork to check how they fit on the tricorder.

 

[Gregatron]

The quick and dirty paint job really brought it to life!

 

[Gregatron]

Brass grommet and (paper) decal test-fit.

I'm not sure if they were accidentally printed at the wrong size, or if my measurements were off, but the decals are undersized. I need to go back and double-check everything.

Meanwhile, the bezels fit perfectly. I need to double-check my references to see how far (or if) the bulbs stand proud of the bezels and adjust the flip-head to accommodate them. Less of a gap when the head is closed would be preferable, of course.

 

[Gregatron]

Been tweaking the tricorder model to improve accuracy/functionality. I think I'm gonna enlarge the axle size on the chip door, but leave the flip-top head axle as-is (aside from improving the tolerance).

The next test print (which may well be the final version) will likely be done in resin, instead of PLA, for smoothness and accurate geometry.

I'm still wondering if I should try coating the grip pads in rubber, or just paint them a charcoal gray to simulate rubber, like the real props were.


I'm also painting up one of the communicator test prints. Once the wristbands I ordered arrive, that'll give me a proper prototype to work with.

 

[Gregatron]

I find myself wondering if I shouldn't just model the communicator as one piece, like the originals, rather than having the separate faceplate.

Also, I think I may need to build some holes into the lower sides of the tricorder (which are covered by the grips) to accommodate some lead weights, because the PLA test print is top-heavy (due to the mass of the head, and the hollow lower body/chip compartment), and so it tips over rather easily.

 

[Gregatron]

Lots of little tweaks to the tricorder, primarily in regards to the filleting of various corners and edges. This new iteration is a combination of accuracy to the props (which were somewhat inconsistent, in terms of filleting) and the original blueprints (which were consistent). For example, on the props, the lower edges of the main body beneath the grips appear to have a higher degree of filleting than the upper edges which join with the head. These have been made consistent on the model, as on the blueprints.

I also redesigned the chip door into two separate parts, although I’m still rethinking the dimensions of the chips, themselves.

The next step will be to double-check the measurements of the decal artwork, and begin modifications to the head. It’s a tricky balancing act. The head has to look reasonably accurate AND open/close correctly AND accommodate the brass grommets/bulbs AND have enough room for the decals.

A few of the brass grommets DO appear to be slightly touching each other on the prototype (causing the head to not sit properly flush by about 0.5mm), and so I need to re-plot their locations in order to allow the head to close without obstruction,

 

[WinstonWolf359]

I'm still wondering if I should try coating the grip pads in rubber, or just paint them a charcoal gray to simulate rubber, like the real props were.

Tamiya's Rubber Black spray paint has that "flat dark gray" appearance that looks convincingly like rubber...

 

[Gregatron]

Tamiya's Rubber Black spray paint has that "flat dark gray" appearance that looks convincingly like rubber...

Thanks!

 

[Gregatron]

Gave one of the communicator test prints a quick paint job.

 

[Gregatron]

I need to do some comparisons with the reference material. At first glance, the filleting of the comm edges may have to be tweaked, and the scribed panel lines may be a smidge too wide and prominent.

I'm also thinking of modeling a tool to act as a paint mask, which would allow for crisp black lines in those scribed grooves. Something which can sit inside the grooves after they're painted black, to mask them while the base off-white body color is applied.

 

[Gregatron]

As it happens, the paper test decals somehow printed undersized. I reprinted them, and now they’re correct.

 

[Gregatron]

Been refining the head. Revised the placement of the brass grommet holes in relation to the (digital recreations of) the decals. And, unlike on the handmade original props, the distances/alignment of the grommets in relation to each other is precise.

It’s been a tricky balance between accuracy and getting everything to fit and move correctly. I also made sure this time that there’s no contact between the grommets on the upper and lower head when the head is closed.

The next step is working out the size and placement of the bulbs inside the grommets, to ensure they don’t prevent the head from fully closing.

Also, I received the set of flat, aluminum wristbands that I ordered. The rounded edges look pretty darn close to some of the screenused wrist communicators (some of which were more rounded, some more squared-off). I ordered them flat so I can custom-bend them to fit.