Share your home console projects ^_^

Discussion in 'Fan Art' started by K1productions, Jun 23, 2020.

  1. K1productions

    K1productions Commander Red Shirt

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    Here is something I'd love to see. I know many of us in our fandom have tried to build our own home control consoles, whether it be something simple like a page taped to a desk or dresser, or building a full unit out of cardboard or even wood. Many of us have dreamed of being on the bridge, and worked our creative muscles to visualize it in a physical manner. I would like to see all of yours.

    Of course it is only fair to share mine. While I don't have a catalog of everything, I do have a specific effort I made, built out of wall shelves, with matting board made to construct the angular surface of the panels. The rest were just printed graphics layered in clear packing tape to give the plexi-looking finish (and of course to protect it from greasy finger smudges).

    BIRTH OF THE WALL PANEL (The Motion Picture):
    My first attempt was in a Motion Picture style, as this was shortly after I found the "Enterprise Flight Manual" on the cygnus-x1 blueprints page, outlining all of the control panels intended for the Star Trek Phase II bridge. Of course this sparked my geekdom in a massive way, and this was the result
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    It wasn't really based on any specific panel, as there are pieces from all over, though many ended up being similar in design. It was at this point that I realized how plain it actually looked. The only part I was truly happy was the Fuel Management display on the wall, which was a combination of a wall and surface display in the Engineering panel,... the one we get the least glimpse of in the movie (probably because Scotty never sat there. And I realized why, because there was nothing for the actor to do, as it was all displays, no actual buttons).

    FIRST UPGRADE (Generations):
    I grew tired of this design quite quickly. My favorite console designs have always been the Final Frontier - Generations era, and this became the focus of my first upgrade to the panel. All the structure remained the same, as there was no real reason to change it. Fortunately I planned ahead and ribbed it underneath so it would remain solid, rather than bending inward every time I touched it. I wanted to make an Enterprise-A design, but it turned out to have more of an Enterprise-B feel once I had the new design completed.
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
    It was again a mixture of a variety of elements, particularly the top row of displays being Voyage Home era rather than Generations. If you look closely though, I did more than just random colors and numbers. I had really planned out functions for each panel and the buttons within, even on the curved input panel.

    Something that happened purely by accident, some of the panels were in the same place as they were on the Voyage Home version. Environmental test on the far right, maintenance in the middle of the left panel and internal security on the far left. Interesting the way things work out now and then. I did get a lot of time and love out of this version, but of course (as is the nature of A.D.D.) I had a new idea I wanted to try.

    SECOND UPGRADE (The Original Series):
    One day I was wandering through Michael's (art supply) and found some colored translucent mosaic pieces. While not as large as the molds that made the Original Series panels, they still offered the opportunity for something tactile. I found some half-sphere pieces too, and the urge immediately hit to build something TOS style.
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
    I think this is the one I was the most happy with of all of them. The tactile nature of it (as previously mentioned) did help a lot. Plus I loved having a legitimate curved ergonomic style console, as they always seemed to pop out at me the most, from a design standpoint. That isn't to say it didn't require photoshop work like the earlier panels, namely the wall displays. I should note that the top MSD display was not my creation. While I did make it in photoshop from scratch, the original design was from one of the talented designers on the old Okudagrams.com forums (before it was destroyed by hackers).

    This was the final console to be fully realized before those shelves were finally removed.

    OTHER WORK IN PROGRESS DESIGNS:
    That isn't to say I made some other design efforts, as it seemed like every month my interests shifted. There was always so much to draw from. Like, for example, the curved ergonomic console I mentioned. There was always something about the Enterprise-A-B style I wasn't quite happy with, and I attempted to design an upgrade to a full curve style. I completed the basic design in Photoshop, but never got around to coloring or assigning font to them (aside from the large console names)
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    I think I can honestly say, this is the one I was most disappointed to not make a complete version of, as I was EXTREMELY pleased with the overall design. I think I am out of chronological order here, as this may have been the one that inspired me to build a whole wall unit, rather than relying on shelves, but I will save that design for last.

    Another upgrade that got a bit more work completed shifted ahead a century to Next Generation / First Contact era
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    It should be noted that the top image includes bot the console and the wall display combined together. I never got around to designing the screens that would fill in the blank areas, but it was my intention to do so.

    I had even begun laying out a Voyage Home version, but never got around to making it in Photoshop (in any manner worth posting here, so I snapped a picture of the sheet I drew it out on instead)
    [​IMG]
    Even the blank nondescript ovals were having functions and values assigned to them. That is how obsessed with details I get, LOL

    FINAL UPGRADE:
    Finally, I had torn down the shelves, as they weren't exactly the most sturdy structure in the world. Its not like my alternative was MUCH better, as instead of wood (which was too expensive) or cardboard (which was too cheap) I built an entire structure out of poster board. While I never took a picture of the unit itself, I did still have the photoshop file with the control console, which is easy my favorite, and why I saved it for last. Not just the design, which I was very happy with, but all the detail that went into assigning functions to everything.
    [​IMG]
    The sad part is,... even though I printed everything out, the panel never got fully made because... like a moron, I clicked "fit to page" instead of "actual size", and that was when our printer went kaput. .. and I wasn't about to spend $50 to have OfficeMax or the FedEx store print it out LOL

    Anyways, that concludes my home console project journey. I would love to see what some of you have done in your home console crafting journeys, whether it be structural or graphical
     
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2020
  2. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    My Dad did a TOS bridge segment from wood for a friends project.

    It wound up in the dump
     
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  3. K1productions

    K1productions Commander Red Shirt

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    Aww that is super sad to hear. I don't suppose you ever took any pictures of it before it met its untimely demise
     
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  4. ashleytinger

    ashleytinger Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I have zero pictures of this, but my sister and I built and painted cardboard versions of the two helm stations of the Enterprise D sometime during the 2nd season.

    They weren't very accurate (we were 8 and 11 at the time if I'm doing my math right) but we built them to goof off with.
     
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  5. K1productions

    K1productions Commander Red Shirt

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    I wish I took pictures of my old cardboard creations too. My dad was not happy when all the tape went missing :P
     
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  6. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Somewhere around Jr. High i built a small-scale replica of the TOS helm-nav console out of cardboard, based on the Starfleet Technical Manual. I forget what happened to it. It was so lightweight when I took it outside the wind wanted to carry it off. No photos of that.

    Back in the early 2000s I designed a scifi set with a lot of custom control panels for a short film. I have been thinking I'd upload all those panels somewhere so fanfilm makers, etc. could just print and use them. I designed them to be backlit by electroluminescent sheets, so they could be entirely flat and "float" in front of the actor, so they're primary white with black, blue and red details.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    In 2004 I designed a bunch of small screens and the fire control panel for the weapons and defense station for the Starship Exeter bridge set.
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2020
  7. K1productions

    K1productions Commander Red Shirt

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    Oh that's sweet. Where did you find those big rectangle things with the phaser and photon labels on them, as well as those semi-circles and what is apparently an arcade machine button? I would love to get my hands on switches and buttons :D
     
  8. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    I didn't build that. I just designed it. The set construction people built it based on my drawing.

    Here's a sketch for some of the Exeter panels and readouts I did in a little notebook. I had designed the GUIs for two strategic space combat games so I actually figured out how all these panels would work.

    Exeter TTI & Atlantis Sketches2.jpg

    Same was true of the panels for the short film. I came up with a set of operational standards and designed the panels functionally. I wanted it to "smell" real.

    This one was a flight controller's audio LOG. The controls at the lower right were for selecting the audio from different squadrons, wings or ships. The controls at the right were all about playback, allowing the controller to playback sections of audio, save "macros", etc. DCP01133.JPG
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2020
  9. K1productions

    K1productions Commander Red Shirt

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    Ahh, so you did the glowing screen things? I'm getting a 2001 vibe from the front ones, but I also see what looks like the Phase II tractor beam control too. They look nice ^_^
     
  10. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    I was updating my post above when you replied. Yes I built the set with all the EL glowing panels.

    Yeah there were a number of in-jokes where I borrowed things just for fun. Most of it was original stuff, tho.
     
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  11. K1productions

    K1productions Commander Red Shirt

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    I like the simple but unique design scheme too. Simple colored shapes for buttons, while the info instead of just being text next to it was across a black band that stretched along the button rows too. That is a very nice touch, and one I didn't think of. Would you mind if I tried some ideas with that same concept?
     
  12. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Have at it.

    It's been so long I'm forgetting my thinking there. The button shapes had significance. Ovals were selection buttons you would toggle on/off, hexagons were action switches, and I forget the distinction of the rectangular ones. The <_] and [_> shaped ones were BEGINNING and END. Blue was OFF, red was ON or ACTIVATED.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2021
  13. K1productions

    K1productions Commander Red Shirt

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    If you have the original designs, I'd even be happy to animate them ^_^
     
  14. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    There's nothing much to animate except buttons lighting up. I did some of that for the film, where I made large animated GIFs that' I'd play on a monitor and have a hand tapping the "buttons" in a way that seemed like they were being operated. I was looking for those animations but they're not in the directory I thought they'd be.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2020
  15. BK613

    BK613 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    try searching for "momentary contact button red". ;)
     
  16. K1productions

    K1productions Commander Red Shirt

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    Heh, my Google-Fu is not strong. What I would really like is buttons that click down when you press them, and switches that are not like light switch type
     
  17. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Try an electronics recycling shop. A lot of what are used on that film set was purchased for $40 and included tons of buttons, switches, connectors, and Even a small piece of a plexi glass clean room apparatus.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2021
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  18. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Here's one of the panels animated. This is a D&R (Docking & Retrieval) readout wherein the flight controller is assessing if it is possible for unit Alpha Gamma 7 to assist the critically damaged 13 back to the mothership. The situation looks dire!
     
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  19. K1productions

    K1productions Commander Red Shirt

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    Oh that's awesome. So you have the actor time his movements to the animation, so he will touch the appropriate buttons just as they start blinking?
     
  20. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Yep!