Rationalized New Phaser (Small review)

[Johnnymuffintop]

So, I go into my local K-Mart today, just to see what they have.
I was really hoping they had the Hot Wheels Enterprise, but sadly they did not.

So, out of the three things they DID have, the phaser, the Enterprise, and the transporter playset, I went with the phaser.
Was it worth the $18? The materials sure aren't, but I'm a trekkie and it's a phaser, so yes, it's worth the money.

And as I played with it, I kinda felt like the guy a weapons designer give the new equipment to in order to see how well if would work in combat.

The first thing that felt awkward to me was the button placement, size and shape of the handle, and the lack of grip. Under any form of strenuous activity, a smoothed chrome handle would slip right out of someones hand.
Secondly, I kept want to "cock" it like I would a pistol, so I begin to imagine how the battery would be put in, the internal components, etc.

So, to look a little more stylish and TOS like, I decided to do some sketchs on who I would modify the new phaser, both to make it more practical AND more appealing to the eye.

Still need to do the drawing itself, just wanted to let you guys know, as well as hear your ideas of what could have been changed. PICS COMING SOON!

 

[sojourner]

Well, if the pic I saw was real, the first thing I would do is strangle who ever designed the phasor for putting red and blue clear plastic sections on it. If it looks like that in the movie I will cry a little inside. It just looks so much like a toy and not a weapon.

 

[Johnnymuffintop]

Sorry to say it Sojourner, but it DOES look that way in the movie.
My best guess is, like in Star Wars with the crystals of each light saber, the red and blue crystal tips would focus the phaser power in two different ways, the blue being the lesser refined/less powerful of the two.
If you have the blue tip active, and have the phaser on the highest power setting, it would only be about a fourth of the power the red tip. Also, the red tip looks like it has a slight grip to the "non-business" end, perhaps to focus the beam.
Blue would be enough to kill most humanoids, while red could at it's highest setting could breach a wall.

Ok, so, here's my tweak on the JJPhaser. I tried to bring in some elements of the TOS, STIV and STVI phasers. Gave it an actual trigger, not a button (would feel like the trigger on the XBox 360 controller) and a REAL handle, not a stick, with some grip to it.. I also made the Delta shield more obvious and gave it a crosshair on top.

First up, comparison of the two:

Next, loading the weapon:

Just had a thought of hiding the secondary tip, don't really like it too much but you guys may. The "heat sink" part slides forward, spins around, then pops back in:

I'll make some shots of the inner workings tomorrow.
P.S. Mods, thanks for moving the thread.

 

[MadMan1701A]

I really like the version that hides one of the tips if it's not in use. It looks more like what we're used to.

I'm worried about all these sharp angles, though... what if you fell on it sideways, and the back end of the phaser ends up embedded in you?

 

[largo]

OSHA was abolished in the Federation charter, to the great dismay of the Red Shirts Union.

 

[Captain X]

The red tip is still stupid - it's like the orange tip put on the end of toy guns.

 

[sojourner]

From a design standpoint, I learned to fear for this movie yesterday when I read the "Designing the Enterprise" article on Trektoday and read this statement by Roger Guyett:

"When I was a kid, when I bought toys or when I built things, I always wanted stuff to move. And one thing that frustrated me about the original Enterprise was that nothing moves on it. It was just a very static thing."

Isn't "I wanted stuff to move" almost exactly what TPTB told Rick Sternbach when he went to design Voyager? So now we get a telescoping main deflector dish. It looks like Roger's love of moving parts made it to the hand phasers as well.

 

[Johnnymuffintop]

The red tip reminds me of how the laser pistols looked in The Cage, albeit a much smaller version. Perhaps that's what they based it on, if that's the case, they did actually try to make it fit into TOS.
I still think as far as my version goes, it still needs both tips shown. It both feels more practical to just have it spin instead of pop out. The less moving parts, the better. Plus I don't want to venture TOO far from the JJ one.
UP NEXT, THE TRICORDER... maybe, should I?

 

[Rick Sternbach]

From a design standpoint, I learned to fear for this movie yesterday when I read the "Designing the Enterprise" article on Trektoday and read this statement by Roger Guyett:

"When I was a kid, when I bought toys or when I built things, I always wanted stuff to move. And one thing that frustrated me about the original Enterprise was that nothing moves on it. It was just a very static thing."

Isn't "I wanted stuff to move" almost exactly what TPTB told Rick Sternbach when he went to design Voyager? So now we get a telescoping main deflector dish. It looks like Roger's love of moving parts made it to the hand phasers as well.

The producers back on Voyager wanted one thing to move on the ship, and that was about it. Otherwise, they were very conservative with what happened with ships and props and so on. There's no connection between what we did back in 1994 and what the new crowd wanted on Trek XI.

I can't say that the new phaser is terribly impressive design. Certainly won't be remembered in the same way as the iconic TOS phaser.

Rick
www.spacemodelsystems.com

 

[USS Intrepid]

The producers back on Voyager wanted one thing to move on the ship, and that was about it. Otherwise, they were very conservative with what happened with ships and props and so on. There's no connection between what we did back in 1994 and what the new crowd wanted on Trek XI.

I can't say that the new phaser is terribly impressive design. Certainly won't be remembered in the same way as the iconic TOS phaser.

Rick
www.spacemodelsystems.com

For the record, I love that ship (Voyager, not the new Enterprise). The phaser, not so much.

 

[Johnnymuffintop]

More rationalization towards the design of the new phaser.
On my design, as well as the actual one from the film, the metal grill between the two tips and the silver fins on the back are heat-sinks.
The blue tip is a focusing crystal, which refines the phaser beam. The red tip is an amplification matrix. You can change the power setting on the top as well as change the tip for extra power.
The highest setting of the blue tip is strong enough to heavily stun most humanoids. The red tip can vaporize rock, however it overheats REALLY quickly. Unlike typical phasers, it's not a constant beam, it's more like a very rapid pulse. The red tip takes longer to build up a charge for each shot, which is why it is typically only used for rocks, buildings, etc. The blue tip is much more practical in most combat situations.
The reason the two tips are placed the way the are is because of how the beam is created, this image will demonstrate:

 

[sojourner]

I am hoping the image found here is more accurate. No blue plastic piece and more of a brushed metal than chrome look.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5221564/star-trek-icons-star-trek-icons

 

[Gepard]

I am hoping the image found here is more accurate. No blue plastic piece and more of a brushed metal than chrome look.

Here's a couple of images of the real prop originally posted on the RPF:

So, yeah, it doesn't really look like the toy.

 

[sojourner]

It looks like a kitchen utensil.

 

[Gepard]

It looks like a kitchen utensil.

Been there, done that.

 

[Patrickivan]

I thought it kind of looked like a toy water pistol when I first saw both the toy and the prop (and still do)...

I find some things weren't changed to "update" the look, but changed simply for the sake of changing them. They could have done better. But it's done and here now. For this movie anyway.

I liked the original series phaser, though it would still have had to be modified to make it look appropriate for a movie today. I really liked the one from TWOK too. Sleak and simple. After that, they just looked too bulky and silly.

 

[Wingsley]

It's beginning to look like the design of props and maybe even ships for this new movie are being driven by merchandising considerations. Not a good sign.

 

[Johnnymuffintop]

As I've been playing with the toy more, and been looking at the prop, it looks very "Cadillac" like, and I like that. Very past-future, which was what the original series was.

 

[sojourner]

It looks like a kitchen utensil.

Been there, done that.

Why did you have to remind me of the most moronic scene in that movie?

 

[Praetor]

Johnnymuffintop, I really like your effort at redesigning, espeically the 'hidden' version. I still hate that rotating barrel.