The Orville Comm Scanner prop build

renaissance_man

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Following on from a post I made in a general thread about props from the Fox series The Orville, I thought it would be best to have a thread dedicated to the build up of the Comm Scanner.
I modelled the two halves in Solidworks and had them 3D printed.
I've started the surface preparation with a first sanding pass, then it will be a primer, CA glue, primer and sanding pass before painting.

I had the screen part 3D printed in a translucent resin which I will then try and backlight with high brightness white LEDs.

Orville CommScanner Kit Renaissanceman by JamieThomas28, on Flickr

I'm also working on a fully hero kit of the Hand Scanner from Star Trek Enterprise and since the Orville Comm Scanner shares some design aspects such as the pop-up mechanism and light-up display screen, I think it will be a good challenge to get both working at the same time.
 
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Looking good so far and I can't wait to see both this and the Enterprise Scanner.

The Enterprise scanner has been sat in a box for too long. Seeing another pop-up, light up scanner this time in The Orville gave me the push to get both finished as I think I can use the same mechanism in both scanners.

I'll be doing the surface prep on the Orville Comm Scanner this weekend.
I'm also going to work on the side push buttons and likely make them from 2mm sheet styrene/plasticard/HIPS

Thank you for your positive feedback.
 
I gave the main parts another coat of primer and then gave the top pop-up section a coat of matt black.

I also drew up a graphic and printed it up on standard paper just to get an idea of the sizing and fit. I think the final central graphic will be an acetate printed graphic..

37923757155_cc69ab8659_c.jpg
The Orville Prop Comm Scanner by JamieThomas28, on Flickr
 
Hi renaissance_man,

In the picture posted above it says it is a Kit WIP (work in progress).
Are you going to have the body, buttons and top available as a kit?

attachment.php


Thanks.

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Hi renaissance_man,

In the picture posted above it says it is a Kit WIP (work in progress).
Are you going to have the body, buttons and top available as a kit?

https://www.therpf.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=777221&d=1507824568

Thanks.

.

I certainly am.
I will start a thread in the Junkyard very soon.
I want to build one up myself so that
I can do a tutorial for anyone who buys a kit.

I would like to get the pop-up mechanism done in the next few weeks.
 
That's good news.
As mentioned in the other thread, will you be looking into the slight discrepancy in the spacing shown in the photo?

orville 11c.jpg

Thanks for the response.
Looking forward to the final design. :)

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That's good news.
As mentioned in the other thread, will you be looking into the slight discrepancy in the spacing shown in the photo?

View attachment 779719

Thanks for the response.
Looking forward to the final design. :)

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Just waiting on some springs for the pop-up mechanism and I'll be good to go on offering kits.
The scanner will be as close to screen accurate as possible and will be the same as you see in the close-up shot above.
 
When you make these available and depending on price, I would be interested in getting a kit for myself. :)

Will the kit also include a "transparent screen" as a place holder and if so, what will keep it from falling in
since the pop up portion will be movable up and down, it will leave a bit of a void in the body?
Also, will the kit include the diffused acrylic block for the pop up glowing part?
To avoid having to change the battery, I think I will incorporate a rechargeable 3.7v Lipo (thinking out loud).
Do you have a picture of the back of your prop to see what we'll have to work with?

commscannerback 1.jpg

If you are selling just the the body parts and screen, I can put in my own lights, battery and pop up mech.

Thanks for your efforts. :)

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When you make these available and depending on price, I would be interested in getting a kit for myself. :)

Will the kit also include a "transparent screen" as a place holder and if so, what will keep it from falling in
since the pop up portion will be movable up and down, it will leave a bit of a void in the body?
Also, will the kit include the diffused acrylic block for the pop up glowing part?
To avoid having to change the battery, I think I will incorporate a rechargeable 3.7v Lipo (thinking out loud).
Do you have a picture of the back of your prop to see what we'll have to work with?

View attachment 779843

If you are selling just the the body parts and screen, I can put in my own lights, battery and pop up mech.

Thanks for your efforts. :)

.

Fear not propmaster2000, all will be taken care of. I've taken all these things into account in my model and kit and as the saying goes "this isn't my first rodeo"! :D

The pop-up section is likely to be laser cut acrylic, it may bump the price up slightly but I'm all for quality on my kits.

You're very welcome, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the kit when I offer it up.

I may offer options on the kit for people who just want main body parts and those who want the full works.
 

I'm guessing you're a fan of scanning devices and props... me too.
As soon as I saw that the Orville crew had their own version of a scanner/Tricorder I knew I was going to have to make one.
The fact that it is similar to the Enterprise era Hand Scanner was a huge bonus!

Thanks for your interest and enthusiasm, I'll try my best to make this the best prop I can.
 
Ya. Medical and engineering scanners as well.

Thanks for the replies.
I just didn't see some of my concerns addressed in this thread or the other.

propmaster2000

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Any advancements on the pop-up Comscanner?
I see the book has a picture of the prop. Front and Back!

Can you post a close-up of the scanner for reference?


comscanner 1 book reference.jpg

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I had a new body 3D printed after making some minor modifications.
I need to get a new display screen laser cut from clear acrylic.
The inside of this prop is a tricky one to squeeze everything inside.
I'll dig the book out and post a shot of the page.
 
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