Phasers for my Birthday

On the eve of my birthday, I received an sms from Chow F.C. which read "Just received a message. Don't know who to turn to for legal. Can you drop by 10.30 now? We are scared". I had to go see what's wrong and after all, I've known Chow before I graduated from law school. As I was parking in front, I noticed Chow's anxious demeanor as he stood near the cul-de-sac waiting for me. Parked and worried, I brisked down the driveway with him.

As we sat down and he feigned a mumbling desperation, the cheeky fellow brought out my old Playmates ST:First Contact Type II Phaser and exclaimed "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" :)


The fiend! :) He duped me!!... and I was getting a little worried there! Turns out, he'd finally finished the modifications!!...after about 1 1/2 years... (time is a luxury most of us do not have these days...)

He's done up the electronics; added an LED bar, replacing the plastic, fake power level gauge, installed a micro-switch at the bottom....



The "emitter" krypton bulb has been replaced with 3-super bright micro LEDs.











but mostly, as I've been pestering Chow, a screen saver mode...after about 5 seconds untouched, the LED display starts a sweeping motion, as if on a starship viewscreen. Cool!

Then, as if that was not enough, I met up with Kenny G. later who had completed my ST:Nemesis Type II "Dolphin" Phaser kit ("Dolphin" because of it's uncanny resemblance to the porpoise's snout).

The paintwork is just fanstastic. Kenny's talent with the airbrush is undisputable. The finishing mirrors automotive clear coats and the silver shimmers under the light. In the day...

the body of the "Dolphin" phaser shows it's blue and green hues from the myriad of paint mixtures used, giving it a more unique feature...

but what I really like about this piece is the slide open cowling which reveals the power cells behind the pre-fire chamber. On a working prop, these cells would be glowing.

Thanks guys.... I really appreciate your work. "Arm phasers"....

Now, I'm waiting for the video of my little celebration with Asther, Francis and Mike...