Star Trek TOS Phaser Rifle

[bgt01]

Downloaded the awesome TOS phaser rifle from Perry's Paper and it looks awesome. It looks like it makes a nice desktop model, but I decided to make one small change.

[vulcan8630]

OMG, 1 to 1 scale!!!!!! I tried this with a "poster making" program and must have messed up the scale....therefore i hope your project is more successful and I hope you will share the plans because I'm betting you will succeed!!!!!

[bgt01]

Yup. When I saw this file was vector art it just seemed like the right thing to do. All I did was scale it up and print it out. I'll be doing a build thread and the whole thing is "seat of the pants" building. So far, all I've done is glue the main body parts to 1mm chipboard for support. I plan to add structure with cardboard, foamcore, craft sticks and anything else I can think of.

If spring ever gets here then the "inside-desk" work will drop off, but this is something I can work on in the garage. And, if my co-worker develops silver eyes and mind powers I'll be ready!

[talls6]

That's pretty cool. I look forward to your build thread.

[ganeshsingh158]

I can hardly wait, I love TOS Star Trek designs and 1:1 prop models are always cool to see!

[bgt01]

IT’S BACK!

EYEPIECE

Felt it was finally time to put in a little work on this in an effort to finish up some lingering projects. I started with the eyepiece/targeting scope. All flat parts for the the 3 blue sections of the body were glued to 1mm chipboard. I glued the curved outer skin to one of the flat sides, then built up pieces of chipboard on the inside to give the second side something to stay level with and add strength.

Next, I curled and glued the gray parts of the eyepiece. I used Legal01’s method of using white labels to attach the ends. Then, the parts where the black cylinder attaches were glued back to back. Next, the black cylinder was formed. Finally, all the parts were lined up and glued together. The use of the chipboard kept the parts nice and flat.

[bgt01]

FORWARD BODY

Next up was the forward body of the rifle. Again, all the flat sections were glued to 1mm chipboard (and some that probably shouldn’t have been!). My original plan was to cut all the flat sections apart at the folds and glue them back together to get a clean, strong fit. That was going to create a lot of opportunity to get parts out of alignment. So, I decided to first try and fold the parts. I cut small lines with an X-acto across the back of the folds, then used a V-shaped needle file to put wide grooves in. This actually worked really well for the most part and saved a lot of time and hassle. This is the method I used going forward.

To get as flush a fit as possible where the flat parts come together, I used my files to angle all the edges. Almost all edge gluing was done with Super Glue gel for more strength.

The side pieces were tricky because the bottoms are curved and the chipboard is really stiff. I just kept working it over with a wooden dowl until in finally came into place. Those sections do look a little wrinkled, but that’s a far trade for a strong part that can be handled easily.

The left side section is supposed to have a slider, which is not included in the original file. I made one out of chipboard that I colored black with a Sharpie. The T-shape underneath keeps the slider from coming out. It’s not super-smooth, but it is functional. I made the bottom plate a raised detail. The right section has another raised plate with some simple buttons.

The plates, like other sections on this model, should be recessed details to match the studio model. I printed the model long before I studied the reference pictures. Any redoing of parts to match was going to take some time and I really just wanted to build the thing. So I’m sticking to what’s there and doing some things that aren’t canon to add detail. Maybe I’ll make a more correct one down the road.

Next up was the antenna. I made a center out of a popsicle stick with layered paper to get the right size cylinder. The four antenna parts were glued together and I mounted it in place. It’s pretty straight.

[bgt01]

BOTTOM

This parts was assembled using the same method as the main body. I used to the desktop as much as possible to keep it level and used Super Glue gel at all the seams to further help it hold its shape.

[paperengineer]

Very cool, great find. Can't wait for it to be done!
Live long and prosper!

[THE DC]

I am so interested in this thread!

I have thought about building this for a while and am very interested.

Thank you for sharing!