The unfinished kit.
The film used prop
Notice the detail on the back of the head of the prop.
Fan made prop
Prop for sale in Las Vegas Hilton.
(note the oversized Starfleet crest, and the miscolored grips)
- The resin tricorder kit.
- A sheet of styrene - thickness undetermined. Refer to pics.
- 14 Walthers brass washers #2-56 (Hob-Bits also makes an equivalent washer).
- 24 Hob-bits Hex 0-80 1/4" H-866.
- Plasti-Kote black automotive primer.
- Plasti-Kote Truck and RV Clear gloss sealant.
- Plasti-Kote gloss black.
- Krylon Dove Grey, or approximate match.
- Assorted detail paints.
Start by thoroughly washing your kit piece (NOT the graphics!) in warm water. I use palmolive dish washing liquid and a toothbrush to clean out all of the little nooks and crannies. Washing the resin with soap and water helps to remove any mold release, dirt, grease or other junk that might be stuck onto the resin.
There's not a lot of clean up necessary on this kit, but there is some. The outer edges of the grips will need to be sanded down and level with the rest of the grip, as will the top of the base, and the bottom of the head. I recommend laying a full sheet of 220 grit sand paper flat on the table, then pressing the resin pieces down onto the paper and smooth them down by sliding in a circular pattern. Be sure to apply equal pressure across the resin when doing this, otherwise you may end up with a "dome" effect where the edges are more heavily sanded than the center.
Fill in any air bubbles or pinholes with putty, and sand them smooth.
Primer all parts of the kit with a laquer based automotive primer, such as Plasti-Kote. I use Plasti-Kote black automotive primer on almost all of my kits, as it tends to really bite into the resin and stick, and also because it's easy to wetsand. If you want a really smooth finish in your kit, wetsand the primer until it's nice and smooth. Use somewhere between a 400 grit and 600 grit sand paper to get it rolling. Go as fine as you want it.
I have not determined the exact paint codes yet for the tricorder, but the body should be a light grey, and the grips are dark grey, possibly black. In some stills, the studio prop takes on a definate blue hue. This is mirrored in the props for sale in Las Vegas. Your best bet is to paint it in a way that makes you happiest, though I beleive the grey is accurate. Plasti-Kote makes a Grey truck primer that is pretty close to what the body color should be. I suspect that the grey they used for the film is something closer to Krylon Dove or Slate grey. Also, refer to the pictures on the left for placement of the small black rectangle on the lower left hand side of the face. Use 3M Low-Adhesion masking tape to mask off the area, then spray with Plasti-Kote gloss black.
Once everything is painted, glue the grips to the body using duco 5 minute epoxy. Be sure to strip some paint off of the body and the insides of the grips to give the epoxy something to bite into. Then glue the body onto the underside of the head. As far as I can tell, the body should be positioned in the dead center of the head.
Cut some sheet styrene into a rectangle that will fit in between the grips on the lower part of the tricorder. Check the pictures included for size reference. This will be the panel where the starfleet crest goes. Paint this styrene using the same paint code that you used for the body. Glue it on using the duco epoxy.
Using an exacto knife or scissors, trim the graphics so that there is only a tiny border around the actual printed graphic. Use your best judgement. To apply the graphics, soak them in warm water for a few minutes until they begin to separate from the backing. I recommend spraying some water onto the tricorder head before attaching the graphics. This will allow you more time to position the graphics once you get them onto the prop. Using a pair of tweezers, carefully pick up the graphic out of the water and place it onto the prop. Gently press it into place using a damp, lint free cloth. Repeat this process for the starfleet crest that goes on the body. The set of graphics for the control panel that ships with the kit includes three different parts. The main part is intended to go straight onto the face of the tricorder without modification. Because the printing process used to make the graphics is not perfect, I included another small set with the red and green removed from the white rectangle outlines. This allows you to paint in your own red and green rectangles, and then lay the white outlines down over them. This is not necessary, but may make your prop look a bit nicer.
Once your graphics are in place, I recommend sealing the entire prop with a gloss coat. I strongly recommend the Plasti-Kote gloss coat for Trucks and RVs. It comes in a big red can, and like most Plasti-Kote products, is only available at Pep Boys. Putting the gloss on over the decals will hide the seam of them a little bit, and will make it such that repeated touching will not wear down the graphics.
Now for the greeblies! For every white circle on the graphics, glue down a washer. For the hex nut screws, you will want to drill holes for them, and then either screw them into place, or place a drop of epoxy into the hole, followed by the screw. For placement of the hex nuts, please check the reference photos. They are placed in the horizontal center of each button.
I do not have color codes for the details on the scanning head of the tricorder, nor is much reference material available. I have only found one picture of it, which is include on the left side of this page.
Questions or comments, please e-mail me at matthewmunson@yahoo.com