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If you know me, then you also know that my blog posts can get a bit lengthy at times. This one, however, I will try to keep a bit shorter than usual. What I want to describe to you however are some of the problems that presented themselves while casting the Neutrino Probe components for which I have all the molds now. Also, I tried a few new techniques with these parts to improve the appearance of the product and make the assembly process easier. What new techniques you ask? Read on to find out. [More…]

When I got my mobile holo-emitter in an exchange deal, there were some things I didn’t like about it: First off, the curcuit graphic which had been made from a gold foil with the pattern printed green on it was not cut out accurately thus being too small for the intended place. This was especially distracting in the upper right corner of the indentation where the gap was really quite big. Second, the surface of the prop wasn’t really worked up to the degree of a smooth finish I would have liked to have. [More…]

One of my favourite characters from “Star Trek: Voyager” is the holographic Doctor. Just as Spock, Data and Odo before him, he as an artificial intelligence represents the outsider among humans, who wishes to be treated with respect and as an equal being. He strives to become more than his original programming and tries to become as human as possible. [More…]

They’re small but powerful – Starfleet Comm badges. They not only decorate uniforms and show that the owner is an officer with the respective training, but they are also full of high-tech.

Once activated, these small devices enable the user to communicate with any other crew memeber who is also equipped with a smiliar badge. While the activation is done by a simple tap, everything else works through a highly sophisticated [More…]

In “Star Trek”, the idea of the paper-less office has been perfected. No pieces of paper, no pens, but only so called PADDs are used to note, capture, save, copy and transmit any kind of information.

Not only humans however use this kind of technology (see Voyager PADD), also several alien races like the Cardassians have realized the comfort of easy to use mobile [More…]

One of the most important materials in the hobby of prop building is casting resin. It is used to make copies of a master model using a silicone rubber mold. Most prop kits on the market are made from some kind of resin. [More…]

Welcome to the online assembly instructions for my ODN scanner hero kit. In this tutorial, you’ll see how to prepare the electronics for installation and how to insert them into the body. You’ll also learn how to prepare and assemble the hollow resin shells to build up a fully functional hero ODN scanner. First, here’s a pic of the entire kit: 2 resin body parts, electronics, acrylic rod, display graphics, styrene (1.0 mm and 1.5 mm), 2 screws, templates for the styrene details. That’s all you need, so let’s begin! [More…]

In this second installment of my ODN Scanner progress report I will describe how the finished master model (see Part I) is used to fabricate a silicone rubber mold which then can be used to cast resin kit parts.

Because the finished prop was supposed to contain an electric circuit with a super bright red LED and five green sequencing lights, the mold had to be done in a way so that the [More…]

Chief engineers using their wonderful high tech instruments to diagnose, calibrate and repair circuits and talking “technobabble” – that’s what I love about Star Trek! Geordi LaForge, Miles O’Brien and B’Elanna Torres are some of my favourite characters because they know every system and every technical detail on their ship inside and out – from waste disposal to the warp core. [More…]

Latinum – the ultimate Ferengi currency in the Star Trek universe.

As discovered in the sixth season Episode of DS9 “Who mourns for Morn?“, the truly valuable component of gold pressed Latinum isn’t the outer shell, but the inside which is filled with a silvery liquid – similar to quicksilver in appearance – that is the Latinum itself. The outside is composed of gold, which is considered worthless since it can be easily replicated. [More…]