Steampunk Communicator - Star Trek

[ghigham]

Built for the British STEAMPUNK MODELLER publication, this Communicator device is made of wood, metal and electronics. I tried to honor Wah Chang's original minimalist design concept but retro-fit it with the bells and whistles of "steampunk" aesthetics.

A video of it appears here:
Steampunk Communicator / Star Trek - YouTube

I'm currently building a Tricorder to match...

 

[PropDoc]

This is fantastic! Can't wait to see the tricorder!

 

[Tremas]

That, is beautiful!

 

[spidersolo]

That is a rel work of art.
It is simply fantastic!

 

[Jack T Chance]

A true work of art! You've done well, sir! Now bring on the tricorder!

BTW, I posted a link to this thread on my Facebook page, so others can see this. :cool

 

[darthgordon]

I actually really like this.

 

[22 Stars]

Awesome job. I've been thinking about doing a Nerf Mav as a Trek Punk, basically the reverse of Steampunk, Trekking out a Mav.... Great work!

 

[Maelstrom]

Very nice! Where do you source or what are good sources for brass bits and bobs like the ones used on this?

 

[ghigham]

THANKS everyone! The brass bits in this were generally culled from browsing jewelry supply stores - the filagree domes above the lights being a good example. I soldered them onto mini brass ship port-holes, which in turn were soldered into holes that I cut into the etched brass plate. A few bits also came from salvage, as I'm always taking stuff apart looking for the "good" parts!

 

[WalkingEye]

Very cool.

 

[Dave Porter]

Very nice indeed.

thumbsup

 

[Zendragon]

Thing of beauty

 

[bill70808]

That is impressive

 

[BAK55]

That is a beautiful, fantastic piece of work. I agree about looking forward to seeing the tricorder, as other RPF members have mentioned, but I'm also curious in seeing how the phaser -both hand and pistol versions- could be done while maintaining Wah Chang's original style.

 

[ghigham]

The Phaser is a natural progression, and perhaps the most challenging to design to match my set. WETA really set the bar on guns and it's admittedly difficult to purge them from one's mind to avoid being derivative, but the smaller almost "handy" design of the original Phaser helps as a good starting point.
The Enterprise itself is also in my pipeline, though not much more than rough sketches just now.
I've tried to create a miniature roll-top for the Tricorder, but creating that in such a small scale with copper strips - even cheating the tambour with a flexible backing - was not going to work. I', trying to get a collapsible shell design - also in strip copper - to work now.
The REAL tricky part is the pegs/notches cut into the back ends of each so that it grabs itself when closing, with each strip/leaf following the one before it! Working it in cardboard first.....any suggestions?

 

[Zaphod]

Beautiful! I'd love one of those in my display case.

 

[TheSt.LouisKid]

Cool.

Someone call Sporak. If it's a communicator he'll want to see it.

 

[Yellowjacket]

Some props are props. Some props are replicas. Some props are amazing works of craftmanship and imagination, and so much so that they border on high art. Fantastic craftsmanship!

 

[winghead]

I just recently attended a Steampunk wedding!! I've never been into Steampunk, so, I had no idea what to expect at the wedding, but the Costumes they wore and Gadgets they displayed, where all cool and very interesting!
Love your Piece and really like how you incorporated the Star Trek Theme into making it!! Great Job! would have been nice to have taken something like this to the wedding!

Was thinking it would be cool to try and make a Steampunk Ironman costume! do you know if anyone has done this here on the forum?

 

[ARKM]

Very cool prop.