Hi all. Long time lurker, rare poster. Been away from the prop game for some time pursuing other interests. I guess the COVID situation had me digging out some old projects and one of the ones I decided to tackle was this Stapleton TNG cricket Phaser kit. I bought it maybe a decade ago along with electronics from GMProps. Great little kit! I thought this might be a nice way to ease into one of the three TNG tricorder builds languishing on my shelf. Here's a quick journey for this one:
The kit itself which I think everyone is pretty familiar with:
The emitter on this is beautifully cast in red but has an incorrect nose. I have seen some with some kind of insert, but I decided to modify it to a shape that more closely matched my reference pics.
That was done really just with a small round jeweler's file and sandpaper. Next up was installing the halves together. I used JB weld to secure the circuit board. It looks like it will hold just fine. Test fit:
Glued and clamped:
The emitter was glued with CA. Gaps were filled with Tamiya putty (not the best - it shrank horribly and required 3-4 applications), JB weld, and CA. Sanded smooth and ready for first primer coat:
The emitter was masked with Tamiya tape using screen-used reference and primered all over. There were some holes and gaps to fill. I think I laid on maybe 4 light primer coats.
First paint going down. This is a Duplicolor metallic gray I think. I used cans I had laying around, only buying the gold and bronze colors for the look of the prop in the episode "The Game"
I started with the dark gray for the emitter first, as it allowed me to mask as little as necessary and move backwards. Mask removed from the gray:
Skipping ahead a couple of steps. The bronze was next and then I used a metallic gray I had for the largest area of color. My reference showed this not as a bright silver but sort of a medium silver. My gray was too dark, so I ended up misting the whole thing with Krylon brilliant aluminum. Turned out pretty nicely!
Clearcoat applied and ready for final details.
Here are the final beauty shots of the assembled cricket:
The colors aren't a perfect match. I wish the bronze were a little more orange and brighter and the emitter color were a touch darker but in some light it looks spot on so I'm happy!
The video upload didn't work for me so here's a YouTube link: TNG Cricket Phaser Build - Complete
The kit itself which I think everyone is pretty familiar with:
The emitter on this is beautifully cast in red but has an incorrect nose. I have seen some with some kind of insert, but I decided to modify it to a shape that more closely matched my reference pics.
That was done really just with a small round jeweler's file and sandpaper. Next up was installing the halves together. I used JB weld to secure the circuit board. It looks like it will hold just fine. Test fit:
Glued and clamped:
The emitter was glued with CA. Gaps were filled with Tamiya putty (not the best - it shrank horribly and required 3-4 applications), JB weld, and CA. Sanded smooth and ready for first primer coat:
The emitter was masked with Tamiya tape using screen-used reference and primered all over. There were some holes and gaps to fill. I think I laid on maybe 4 light primer coats.
First paint going down. This is a Duplicolor metallic gray I think. I used cans I had laying around, only buying the gold and bronze colors for the look of the prop in the episode "The Game"
I started with the dark gray for the emitter first, as it allowed me to mask as little as necessary and move backwards. Mask removed from the gray:
Skipping ahead a couple of steps. The bronze was next and then I used a metallic gray I had for the largest area of color. My reference showed this not as a bright silver but sort of a medium silver. My gray was too dark, so I ended up misting the whole thing with Krylon brilliant aluminum. Turned out pretty nicely!
Clearcoat applied and ready for final details.
Here are the final beauty shots of the assembled cricket:
The colors aren't a perfect match. I wish the bronze were a little more orange and brighter and the emitter color were a touch darker but in some light it looks spot on so I'm happy!
The video upload didn't work for me so here's a YouTube link: TNG Cricket Phaser Build - Complete
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