NakedMoleRat
Master Member
That’s Spock’s tricorder. He would carry extra communicators in case a member of the away team lost one.
McCoy would carry medical supplies and medicines in his.
Kirk had chocolates and aphrodisiacs.
The Wand Company TOS Tricorder is coming!
- Thread starter Jediwannabe
- Start date
McCoy would carry medical supplies and medicines in his.
Kirk had chocolates and aphrodisiacs.
Britcinescribe
Well-Known Member
Perfect. I knew about the chocolates and aphrodisiacs, but had no idea about Spock's tricorder.
NakedMoleRat
Master Member
Correction, Landing Party. I went TNG in that last post.
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
From looking at their previous cad models and pictures, I think the disc ejectors will be concealed by an aluminum trim piece. With their attention to detail and accuracy, I doubt their finished product will look different than what we see on screen.
Here are all the photos included in the email, in the order of appearance:
'"Tough" SLA disc ejector mechanism v4' and the 'MJF Nylon, improved disc ejector v7'. Interestingly neither of these show the 'rocker flap' which keeps the movable disc cradles from extending fully (as two are shown doing in v4 and all do in the v7 version) though one can see in both where it is attached (red). One can see this 'flap' in a photo from an earlier Update:
Another interesting thing those two photos tell us is that the speaker is indeed facing DOWN (see the silver disc to the right on pics), with a seemingly 3D printed resonance chamber below it, presumably open to the lower compartment in order to direct the sound into the larger empty(?) Lower Compartment for richer, less muffled sound.
Here we see the printed Tricorder along with the final product of the Phaser and Communicator:
I really like this photo. It definitely gives a great sense of scale. Interestingly, I've always imagined the Tricorder to be much larger. Heck, it's not even as tall as the open Communicator. And I don't think you could even fit a single Communicator on its side in the lower compartment, let alone two vertically (as suggested in Wah's original drawing):
Moreover, the photo of the trio tells us TWC will be using a similar style display base as well - probably magnetic like the other two bases (as a later photo here suggests). The text on the base looks to read 'U.S.S. Enterprise Standard Issue Tricorder'
Next we get the 3D printing form of the 'Screen bezel, disc ejector glamour bar and buttons':
Here are 'clear SLA resin display glazing panel prints':
An 'early display support frame':
And the design of the door panels:
Now this photo of a 'PolyJet 3D print produced by the factory' reveals a couple of telling details:
First is the moire. It seems to be built into the panel itself (thus seemingly dashing the idea that the moire is a removable data disc).
Second is the lower compartment. The 'drawer' seems to be deep in the front and shallow in the back. In the photo below, blue indicates a regular rectangular 'drawer', where the red indicates the actual shape of the 'drawer':
This photo shows two 'different rapid prototyping capabilities':
The Tricorder prototype on the right indicates WHY the lower compartment 'drawer' is oddly shaped. To accommodate the battery (red):
This makes sense, as there is a power port built into the rear of the case, right behind the battery (as seen in a prior Update photo):
That definitely confirms what Chris had previously written about a much more sizable and robust battery being used on this replica. In fact, looking at the trio photo again, one gets the impression the battery inside the Tricorder is close to the same size as the handle to the Phaser.
And given the weight of such a battery, this placement also makes sense for weight balancing of the Tricorder. Anywhere else and the replica would end up being top heavy and prone to wanting to topple over rather than sitting solidly when one places it on a table.
One other thing to note about the above prototype is a small metal plate (blue) below the battery (red), which is likely needed for the base to magnetically 'hold' the Tricorder.
The final picture is of 'laser-cut sheet aluminum side plates and a Mutlit Jet Fusion side panel' for fit testing:
As a wrap up, the Update identifies the "Coming Next Time": "Functional blocks - working out how it will work"
'"Tough" SLA disc ejector mechanism v4' and the 'MJF Nylon, improved disc ejector v7'. Interestingly neither of these show the 'rocker flap' which keeps the movable disc cradles from extending fully (as two are shown doing in v4 and all do in the v7 version) though one can see in both where it is attached (red). One can see this 'flap' in a photo from an earlier Update:
Another interesting thing those two photos tell us is that the speaker is indeed facing DOWN (see the silver disc to the right on pics), with a seemingly 3D printed resonance chamber below it, presumably open to the lower compartment in order to direct the sound into the larger empty(?) Lower Compartment for richer, less muffled sound.
Here we see the printed Tricorder along with the final product of the Phaser and Communicator:
I really like this photo. It definitely gives a great sense of scale. Interestingly, I've always imagined the Tricorder to be much larger. Heck, it's not even as tall as the open Communicator. And I don't think you could even fit a single Communicator on its side in the lower compartment, let alone two vertically (as suggested in Wah's original drawing):
Moreover, the photo of the trio tells us TWC will be using a similar style display base as well - probably magnetic like the other two bases (as a later photo here suggests). The text on the base looks to read 'U.S.S. Enterprise Standard Issue Tricorder'
Next we get the 3D printing form of the 'Screen bezel, disc ejector glamour bar and buttons':
Here are 'clear SLA resin display glazing panel prints':
An 'early display support frame':
And the design of the door panels:
Now this photo of a 'PolyJet 3D print produced by the factory' reveals a couple of telling details:
First is the moire. It seems to be built into the panel itself (thus seemingly dashing the idea that the moire is a removable data disc).
Second is the lower compartment. The 'drawer' seems to be deep in the front and shallow in the back. In the photo below, blue indicates a regular rectangular 'drawer', where the red indicates the actual shape of the 'drawer':
This photo shows two 'different rapid prototyping capabilities':
The Tricorder prototype on the right indicates WHY the lower compartment 'drawer' is oddly shaped. To accommodate the battery (red):
This makes sense, as there is a power port built into the rear of the case, right behind the battery (as seen in a prior Update photo):
That definitely confirms what Chris had previously written about a much more sizable and robust battery being used on this replica. In fact, looking at the trio photo again, one gets the impression the battery inside the Tricorder is close to the same size as the handle to the Phaser.
And given the weight of such a battery, this placement also makes sense for weight balancing of the Tricorder. Anywhere else and the replica would end up being top heavy and prone to wanting to topple over rather than sitting solidly when one places it on a table.
One other thing to note about the above prototype is a small metal plate (blue) below the battery (red), which is likely needed for the base to magnetically 'hold' the Tricorder.
The final picture is of 'laser-cut sheet aluminum side plates and a Mutlit Jet Fusion side panel' for fit testing:
As a wrap up, the Update identifies the "Coming Next Time": "Functional blocks - working out how it will work"
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NakedMoleRat
Master Member
Umm, that open communicator is on a stand, so the tricorder is not actually smaller than it.
I know. I was explicitly referencing the photo, so that's exactly what I meant: the Tricorder is shorter than the Communicator *as* displayed in that photo.
In other words, it is *under* seven inches tall. That is definitely tinier than I had *imagined* it being.
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Oh, I wasn't disputing the accuracy of the size of the TWC Tricorder. I was commenting on the difference between the *actual* size of the Tricorder and what I had *imagined*.
I would be amazed if someone managed to get any useful parts from that old Tough resin. Formlabs make a few really great resins but that stuff was horrible. I went through 4-5 liters of it with nothing but warped parts (and parts that deformed within a couple weeks) before I gave up, even with FL's support help. (The new T2000 formulation seems better.)
Really looking forward to the Tricorder to complete the Trek shelf!
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Anyone who owns a TWC Phaser or Communicator, you can get a *approximate* idea of the size of the Tricorder. It is *roughly* similar to the dimensions of the TWC case for the Phaser - if you imagine it cut in half:
Or, if you have the Communicator case, its roughly similar to those dimensions, if you imagine one end section being cut off:
So if you hold one of those cases in your hand, you can get a general feel for what it will be like holding a TWC Tricorder.
As a side note, this makes me wonder what sort of protective case we'll get for the Tricorder.
Or, if you have the Communicator case, its roughly similar to those dimensions, if you imagine one end section being cut off:
So if you hold one of those cases in your hand, you can get a general feel for what it will be like holding a TWC Tricorder.
As a side note, this makes me wonder what sort of protective case we'll get for the Tricorder.
Britcinescribe
Well-Known Member
A bigger one!Anyone who owns a TWC Phaser or Communicator, you can get a *approximate* idea of the size of the Tricorder. It is *roughly* similar to the dimensions of the TWC case for the Phaser - if you imagine it cut in half:
View attachment 1448710
Or, if you have the Communicator case, its roughly similar to those dimensions, if you imagine one end section being cut off:
View attachment 1448711
So if you hold one of those cases in your hand, you can get a general feel for what it will be like holding a TWC Tricorder.
As a side note, this makes me wonder what sort of protective case we'll get for the Tricorder.
I'm pretty excited for this. I'm also pleased there's going to be a matching base for it. (Shame we're only getting a "leatherette" strap, but then I guess in the 23rd century there wouldn't be cruelty to animals. Although they could always clone hide!)
It would be great if they now released a Phaser V2, even if they only did it in limited numbers and sold it direct through the website. I think it was an interesting idea using it as a remote, but just scrap that functionality and give us a working prop with a replaceable battery and the few inaccurate features ironed out. (The fact that Walmart had them knocked down in price at the end might mean they'd be keeping numbers down?)
I could be wrong but I think having all these products have an actual function is part of the licensing requirement as in it isn't a "repllica" it's a remote or bluetooth speaker.
As much as I would love to see a newer version of the Phaser they are not allowed to sell it as a prop replica. For all 3 pieces they are only allowed to make and sell them if they have real world functions such as a remote for the Phaser and Bluetooth for the Communicator.
Cessnadriver beat me to it.
Cessnadriver beat me to it.
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
If I recall, a few years ago TWC said they wouldn’t be doing one because the X-Prize had a competition to develop a working Tricorder. I wonder if anything ever came of that?
Tricorder X Prize - Wikipedia
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
Britcinescribe
Well-Known Member
That makes sense. Although I tried programming the thing, and just gave up in frustration (if the phaser just turned on and off the TV alone, I'd be fine with that!)
NakedMoleRat
Master Member
My daughter and I had great fun with my sonic screwdriver. We would go to Best Buy and turn off the entire wall of televisions. The workers hated us. They figured it was us but could never prove it!
Yeah same here, I fussed with it and got a little function on something and that was that. I pretty much forgot it was a remote until this thread. LOL
