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[WIP] [FAN PROP] STO Combadges and Rank Pips
sumghai
Member Posts: 1,072 Arc User
As part of a prospective long-term cosplay project, I'm looking into getting some custom combadges and rank pips made - the designs will be more or less an attempt at replicating the 25th Century Starfleet designs seen in Star Trek Online.
As such, I would like to post my continued progress + photos, to obtain as much feedback as possible regarding accuracy etc.
Disclaimer
It is my understanding is that making / reverse-engineering replica props is a controversial topic, particularly with major franchises where attempting to sell significant numbers privately-made items could land me in legal hot water with CBS and Cryptic Studios. As such, the items I make will mainly only be available to myself and a very small selection of real-life friends - I won't be selling limited runs via the RPF, eBay or anything of the sort.
The other point I would like to make clear is that I will be doing my designs from scratch - i.e. I won't simply recast something that another, more talented artisan made with their sweat, blood and tears.
25th Century Starfleet Combadges
http://sumghai.deviantart.com/art/25th-Century-Starfleet-Combadges-v2-426116525
Essentially my attempt at replicating the design of the badge included in the Collector's Edition of STO, each measuring 6.35 x 4.23 cm, and ~5 mm thick. The inner delta is ever-so-slightly inset into the face of the badge itself.
The plain badge is a template from which the three variants - CMD/TAC/SEC, ENG/OPS and SCI/MED - are derived, and will not be actually produced.
At the back of each badge will be a recess containing neodymium magnet discs, that will attach to a corresponding magnet insert inside the uniform jacket.
25th Century Starfleet Rank Pips
http://sumghai.deviantart.com/art/25th-Century-Starfleet-Rank-Pips-v2-426121321
More or less based on the pips available from the in-game tailor. The commissioned officer pips are 1.27 cm high and just under ~4 mm thick, small enough to be comparable to the TNG rank pips, but still large enough to be handled easily and roughly to scale with the actual in-game designs.
Like the combadges, the rank pips will be afixed to the uniform jacket via pairs of neodymium magnets, with one set of magnets glued into the holder strip that goes under the jacket fabric.
Needless to say, each rank pip set will consist of the backing holder, four gold pips and one black pip, so that folks can mix assemble their own appropriate rank as needed.
Also, the Fleet Admiral rank "pip" is only shown as a limiting-case scenario, to help me determine how tall and wide that colored strip on the right chest of the Sierra 1 Uniform will need to be (when I get around to sewing the actual jacket).
Materials / Fabrication
The badges and pips will be made via metal cold-casting - essentially, a mixture of urethane resin mixed thorough with fine metal powder. This reduces the weight and cost of producing the items, compared to actually commissioning foundry to melt and cast real solid metal items.
A cursory glance suggests that brass metal powder would be the way to go - ideally, I'd like a slightly subdued and worn look rather than shiny reflective gold depicted in-game.
I've had some experience working with casting urethanes and silicones from my current job, and the only major pieces of equipment I would need are a vacuum pump and a desiccator jar.
To translate my designs from CAD to the final props, I will first have a master mold CNC milled from RenShape 460 polyurethane prototyping board. The master mold is then used to make limited-use silicone rubber "daughter" molds from which the final resin items will be cast. I will only need one set of master molds (okay, maybe two - one for backup), while the silicone rubber ones can be periodically replaced when they inevitably wear out.
So yeah, that's what I've got planned for far - at the moment, I'm seeking feedback regarding design accuracy / dimensions / scale etc, so thoughts and critiques would be greatly appreciated
As such, I would like to post my continued progress + photos, to obtain as much feedback as possible regarding accuracy etc.
Disclaimer
It is my understanding is that making / reverse-engineering replica props is a controversial topic, particularly with major franchises where attempting to sell significant numbers privately-made items could land me in legal hot water with CBS and Cryptic Studios. As such, the items I make will mainly only be available to myself and a very small selection of real-life friends - I won't be selling limited runs via the RPF, eBay or anything of the sort.
The other point I would like to make clear is that I will be doing my designs from scratch - i.e. I won't simply recast something that another, more talented artisan made with their sweat, blood and tears.
25th Century Starfleet Combadges
http://sumghai.deviantart.com/art/25th-Century-Starfleet-Combadges-v2-426116525
Essentially my attempt at replicating the design of the badge included in the Collector's Edition of STO, each measuring 6.35 x 4.23 cm, and ~5 mm thick. The inner delta is ever-so-slightly inset into the face of the badge itself.
The plain badge is a template from which the three variants - CMD/TAC/SEC, ENG/OPS and SCI/MED - are derived, and will not be actually produced.
At the back of each badge will be a recess containing neodymium magnet discs, that will attach to a corresponding magnet insert inside the uniform jacket.
25th Century Starfleet Rank Pips
http://sumghai.deviantart.com/art/25th-Century-Starfleet-Rank-Pips-v2-426121321
More or less based on the pips available from the in-game tailor. The commissioned officer pips are 1.27 cm high and just under ~4 mm thick, small enough to be comparable to the TNG rank pips, but still large enough to be handled easily and roughly to scale with the actual in-game designs.
Like the combadges, the rank pips will be afixed to the uniform jacket via pairs of neodymium magnets, with one set of magnets glued into the holder strip that goes under the jacket fabric.
Needless to say, each rank pip set will consist of the backing holder, four gold pips and one black pip, so that folks can mix assemble their own appropriate rank as needed.
Also, the Fleet Admiral rank "pip" is only shown as a limiting-case scenario, to help me determine how tall and wide that colored strip on the right chest of the Sierra 1 Uniform will need to be (when I get around to sewing the actual jacket).
Materials / Fabrication
The badges and pips will be made via metal cold-casting - essentially, a mixture of urethane resin mixed thorough with fine metal powder. This reduces the weight and cost of producing the items, compared to actually commissioning foundry to melt and cast real solid metal items.
A cursory glance suggests that brass metal powder would be the way to go - ideally, I'd like a slightly subdued and worn look rather than shiny reflective gold depicted in-game.
I've had some experience working with casting urethanes and silicones from my current job, and the only major pieces of equipment I would need are a vacuum pump and a desiccator jar.
To translate my designs from CAD to the final props, I will first have a master mold CNC milled from RenShape 460 polyurethane prototyping board. The master mold is then used to make limited-use silicone rubber "daughter" molds from which the final resin items will be cast. I will only need one set of master molds (okay, maybe two - one for backup), while the silicone rubber ones can be periodically replaced when they inevitably wear out.
So yeah, that's what I've got planned for far - at the moment, I'm seeking feedback regarding design accuracy / dimensions / scale etc, so thoughts and critiques would be greatly appreciated
Laws of thermodynamics as applied to life: 0 - You must play the game. 1 - You can't win. 2 - You can't break even. 3 - You can't quit.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
Is this an honest suggestion, or simply a jab at Cryptic for a minor visual glitch in-game?
Eh kinda both. Sorry I should have appended a
Does the Oddy uniform have it's own badge or does it use the Sierra ones?
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though.
JJ Trek The Kelvin Timeline is just Trek and it's fully canon... get over it. But I still prefer TAR.
#TASforSTO
'...I can tell you that we're not in the military and that we intend no harm to the whales.' Kirk: The Voyage Home
'Starfleet is not a military organisation. Its purpose is exploration.' Picard: Peak Performance
'This is clearly a military operation. Is that what we are now? Because I thought we were explorers!' Scotty: Into Darkness
'...The Federation. Starfleet. We're not a military agency.' Scotty: Beyond
'I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm an engineer.' Miles O'Brien: Empok Nor
'...Starfleet could use you... It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...' Admiral Pike: Star Trek
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Personally, I would have liked to sell some limited runs.
Legal issues aside, I'm not sure if I want to devote much of my time filling orders - I've heard many horror stories on the RPF, ranging from recasters to vendors who can no longer keep up with the demand due to IRL issues and so end up "disappearing".
Nothing is set in stone, of course, but my initial intention to get into propmaking is not to start a business, but to just enjoy crafting.
I suspect they do use the Sierra ones.
http://rlv.zcache.com/youve_cat_to_be_kitten_me_right_meow_button_badge-rb73daa8edf944158a0abea3ac04d1239_x7j3i_8byvr_512.jpg
lol, good work on them.
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The beauty of the process I described is that I can do the run I want mostly by myself (other than the one-off CNC milling of the master molds). After that, it's just topping off on consumables.