The Wand Company TOS Tricorder is coming!
- Thread starter Jediwannabe
- Start date
Whenever this thread gets updated I keep getting my hopes up that there is some actual news and each time I get disappointed. I'm not disappointed at TWC, I'm just disappointed that each time this thread gets updated there isn't really anything worth noting.
...he said, updating the thread with something that was the very thing he was calling out. 
Trekfan
Well-Known Member
At this point I assume the TOS tric is unlikely to be released. The effort required is too high, the number they would likely sell is too small. I am glad I picked up a Wand Phaser and Communicator while I could.
If the TOS tric ever comes out I will surely pick one up, but at this point I have just given up on it.
If the TOS tric ever comes out I will surely pick one up, but at this point I have just given up on it.
dbrussee
Well-Known Member
The use of the Poke-Balls is a great strategy for predictable funding. There is a large audience for all things Pokemon, the entire Pokemon universe is based on the "collect 'em all" philosophy, there are a large number of different Poke-Balls, and the efforts to customize each is likely very small. It certainly feels like a sound business strategy. If the tricorder was a no-go, I would expect that Wand Company would communicate that fact and close the door on the expectation. The fact that they have not done so leaves me, at least, encouraged.
Starbase101
Sr Member
Tricorder is still planned to be released, right? Haven't seen any updates from TWC in quite a while....
Macnmike
Member
The last official word from TWC Boss Chris Barnardo was that there would be movement by the 2nd Quarter. The word on the street and elsewhere is that their investment in this project is too much to fail. Time usually tells.
Best. Mike.
Attachments
1138sw
Sr Member
I'm sure monies and covid was a big part in causing massive delays. Manufacturing is still pretty f'ked up and still catching up. It's still gonna take time before things really return to normal timelines.
I hope they release something. I would be disappointed if they didn't. No monies were involved in the any pre-orders so I'm not concerned. Just hoping this release actually happens.
asalaw
Master Member
As far as we all know, yes. If they pull the plug, they'll announce that, but it seems unlikely, given that poke-ball sales seem brisk and that's what's funding the project. It's just a lot more coding R&D than they bargained for.
Prop Collector
Sr Member
Tricorder update #17
Preproduction commences - the voyage home
Space is big … journeys are long, and as it transpires, so is this project
Season 1 recap
In late 2016 we started serious discussions with CBS about the possibility of developing a replica tricorder. However, it would take another three years until the stars fully aligned and we met with Greg Jein in Burbank to scan his screen-used hero prop so that we could properly kick off the development. After six months working with scan data we became increasingly confident that we could successfully tackle such an ambitious project and by the summer of 2020 we were ready to announce our development. Despite the havoc created by Covid, the initial development work progressed quickly, and by March 2021 we began these newsletters to bring the detailed story of this epic challenge to as many fans as possible with the expectation that as the story unfolded we were easing the project into production.
Yes, you read the headline right... pre-production has started with the first 30 units being built up to test the production line and provide a suitable quantity for functional, performance and final regulatory testing. Here you can see some of the built-up button PCBs ready for assembly into programmed tricorders.
So close but so far
However, even as we were getting ready for production, for many different reasons, the finishing line continued to be tantalisingly out of reach. It seemed as though every time we turned a crucial development corner a new and previously unconsidered issue came into focus. After a few false estimates of when production would start and 14 blog posts ramping up excitement, at the beginning of September 2021, we decided to stop trying to predict how long it would take to get the tricorder into production with potentially disappointing dates, and concentrate fully on completing the development. At the time, one of the main chips we needed was on a 52 week lead time and we felt that even attempting to estimate when production would start more than a year out was futile.
Moiré bezel mounting plates ready for assembly
Almost two years on from then, and nearly two and a half thousand days since we started scoping out the project, as we have now completed the critical component acquisition and as we move into the last stages of pre-production, we feel that it is at last time to start telling you more about the tricorder, and the final developmental steps that will culminate in full production in a few months time.
Texture and form combine to ensure the tricorder parts mimic the original thermoformed Kydex as closely as possible.
At last, we are happy with the textures and how they map over the surface in a way that is faithful to the prop, yet creates a look of a solidly engineered piece of scientific equipment. The aluminium side frames are precision machined before being hand finished so that the brushed edges match the top and bottom of the frame. Each of the aluminium parts requires a different set of processes and skills to make them - the 80,000 data discs needed for the first full manufacturing run are each turned on a lathe and then individually laser etched, while the cross bar is extruded and wire cut. As the software enters the polishing stage, the mechanical processes that need to come together not just to make this iconic prop but to manufacture it as a collectible piece of equipment are finally securely in place.
The aluminium side frames are precision CNC machined to provide the high accuracy needed for registration and location of many of the mechanical components that make up the structure of the tricorder.
We know it has been a long journey for fans eagerly waiting for news about the tricorder development, so thank you for your patience – hopefully it will be rewarded with a lovely product that is worth the wait..
LLAP
Chris
Preproduction commences - the voyage home
Space is big … journeys are long, and as it transpires, so is this project
Season 1 recap
In late 2016 we started serious discussions with CBS about the possibility of developing a replica tricorder. However, it would take another three years until the stars fully aligned and we met with Greg Jein in Burbank to scan his screen-used hero prop so that we could properly kick off the development. After six months working with scan data we became increasingly confident that we could successfully tackle such an ambitious project and by the summer of 2020 we were ready to announce our development. Despite the havoc created by Covid, the initial development work progressed quickly, and by March 2021 we began these newsletters to bring the detailed story of this epic challenge to as many fans as possible with the expectation that as the story unfolded we were easing the project into production.
Yes, you read the headline right... pre-production has started with the first 30 units being built up to test the production line and provide a suitable quantity for functional, performance and final regulatory testing. Here you can see some of the built-up button PCBs ready for assembly into programmed tricorders.
So close but so far
However, even as we were getting ready for production, for many different reasons, the finishing line continued to be tantalisingly out of reach. It seemed as though every time we turned a crucial development corner a new and previously unconsidered issue came into focus. After a few false estimates of when production would start and 14 blog posts ramping up excitement, at the beginning of September 2021, we decided to stop trying to predict how long it would take to get the tricorder into production with potentially disappointing dates, and concentrate fully on completing the development. At the time, one of the main chips we needed was on a 52 week lead time and we felt that even attempting to estimate when production would start more than a year out was futile.
Moiré bezel mounting plates ready for assembly
Almost two years on from then, and nearly two and a half thousand days since we started scoping out the project, as we have now completed the critical component acquisition and as we move into the last stages of pre-production, we feel that it is at last time to start telling you more about the tricorder, and the final developmental steps that will culminate in full production in a few months time.
Texture and form combine to ensure the tricorder parts mimic the original thermoformed Kydex as closely as possible.
At last, we are happy with the textures and how they map over the surface in a way that is faithful to the prop, yet creates a look of a solidly engineered piece of scientific equipment. The aluminium side frames are precision machined before being hand finished so that the brushed edges match the top and bottom of the frame. Each of the aluminium parts requires a different set of processes and skills to make them - the 80,000 data discs needed for the first full manufacturing run are each turned on a lathe and then individually laser etched, while the cross bar is extruded and wire cut. As the software enters the polishing stage, the mechanical processes that need to come together not just to make this iconic prop but to manufacture it as a collectible piece of equipment are finally securely in place.
The aluminium side frames are precision CNC machined to provide the high accuracy needed for registration and location of many of the mechanical components that make up the structure of the tricorder.
We know it has been a long journey for fans eagerly waiting for news about the tricorder development, so thank you for your patience – hopefully it will be rewarded with a lovely product that is worth the wait..
LLAP
Chris
Starbase101
Sr Member
Yep, I just got that email too. Pretty cool....
Preproduction commences - the voyage home
Space is big … journeys are long, and as it transpires, so is this project
In late 2016 we started serious discussions with CBS about the possibility of developing a replica tricorder. However, it would take another three years until the stars fully aligned and we met with Greg Jein in Burbank to scan his screen-used hero prop so that we could properly kick off the development. After six months working with scan data we became increasingly confident that we could successfully tackle such an ambitious project and by the summer of 2020 we were ready to announce our development. Despite the havoc created by Covid, the initial development work progressed quickly, and by March 2021 we began these newsletters to bring the detailed story of this epic challenge to as many fans as possible with the expectation that as the story unfolded we were easing the project into production.
However, even as we were getting ready for production, for many different reasons, the finishing line continued to be tantalisingly out of reach. It seemed as though every time we turned a crucial development corner a new and previously unconsidered issue came into focus. After a few false estimates of when production would start and 14 blog posts ramping up excitement, at the beginning of September 2021, we decided to stop trying to predict how long it would take to get the tricorder into production with potentially disappointing dates, and concentrate fully on completing the development. At the time, one of the main chips we needed was on a 52 week lead time and we felt that even attempting to estimate when production would start more than a year out was futile.
LLAP
Chris
Prop Collector
Sr Member
Yeah. Impeccable timing.
xlowes
Sr Member
Just Whiners !I got it too. Whoever ye were of little faith, oh ye of little faith!
