I quit worrying about that when I started researching TOS phasers. Just in the Type I alone, there were sharp and rounded corners on the "crispy"; aluminum rails, painted-on rails, and rails painted on over Velcro slapped on the side; different-colored watch crowns, faceted crystals, or nothing at all between the thumb wheel and force setting gauge; brass or black emitter tubes; silver or black or missing "trigger buttons" on the bottom; more or less of a "teardrop" shape from above; and so on. And often, the same prop could be different from episode to episode, as it got damaged and repaired.
Same with the Global Link here; some had belt clips and some didn't (even in subsequent shots that were supposed to be the same exact device); sometimes the belt clip tapered and sometimes it didn't; in one episode, Kincaid's prop had no belt clip, but two red LEDs on the back (one on the main body and one on the handle); sometimes the back of the screen on the static "open" prop was a solid piece, and sometimes it was clearly made up of smaller segments; sometimes the front lens was a slightly different shape or size; and several other little differences from prop to prop.
If I were making a replica of a specific item at a specific point in time, yeah, I'd probably obsess over fractions of a millimeter; but once I started looking at things closely enough to see differences in purportedly identical props, it became a lot easier to stop obsessing over accuracy and go for an idealized version rather than an exact duplicate.
ronagoldberg
about 8 years
I always have that cringe moment when I post a model of a prop from TV or film because of the obsession with being 100% accurate but it's just not possible.
Shipbrook
about 8 years
Thanks!
But sure there's a point; there's always room for other interpretations. (I'm sure mine isn't 100% accurate - in fact, I know it's not, because I made some compromises to take FDM printing idiosyncracies into account.)
ronagoldberg
about 8 years
Nice job! I started work on this model awhile ago but haven't gotten back to finishing it. I guess there's no point now.