Props

[Thomas]

Given that the setting is 2889 to 2892 we have developed new props (handled by an actor) for Gatekeeper - some based on the old ones and some completely new. In this section we'll present these.

[Thomas]

The Gatekeeper Badges

Gatekeeper has two different Starfleet badges one official badge and one for the Gatekeeper team (Photo 1). The official badge is based on the future badge shown several of the time travel episodes of Voyager (Photo 2), but further developed to get a new design for the Gatekeeper movie, and a better symbol for time travel! It works the same way as any other Starfleet badges - which the Gatekeeper badge do not.

The Gatekeeper Badge consists of two peace doves forming the well known warp symbol and each dove has its own function. As time is of the essence one always cover both doves when using the badge as a communicator, BUT - if covering the badge for longer than a single tap the second dove will activate and create a transport bobble around the body capable of impulse drive and life support.

Creating these badges physical was NOT as easy as it seems by any means and a large number of different materials were used to build a prototype to create a mold. But whatever materials we used they would break because of the small details and sharp angles.

So the 4Fathers made contact with the company the 3D Medialab and had the artist Robert Gustafson recreate the badges as CGI (Photo 3) and print them out on a 3D printer * (Photo 4). The result was perfect and a mould was created for the Starfleet badge, while the Gatekeeper badge was too detailed and needed a 3D print for each individual badge. These were finally glued together and spray painted in silver and gold (photo 5)

* A typical 3D printer is very much like an inkjet printer operated from a computer. It builds up a 3D model one layer at a time, from the bottom upward, by repeatedly printing over the same area. Working entirely automatically, the printer creates a model over a period of hours by turning a 3D CAD drawing into lots of two-dimensional, cross-sectional layers -effectively separate 2D prints that sit one on top of another, but without the paper in between. Instead of using ink, which would never build up to much volume, the printer deposits layers of molten plastic or powder and fuses them together (and to the existing structure) with adhesive or ultraviolet light.

[bjelkeman]

Thomas, is there a big need for more of these type of things over the next couple of years? I have been seriously thinking of building a 3D printer, a RepRap Mendel (http://objects.reprap.org/wiki/RepRap_Version_II_Mendel), and if it would be useful for Gatekeeper, then I get a real reason for building one too.

[Thomas]

ABSOLUTELY! My programmer has been nagging me to build one but I simply haven't got the time OR the know-how (even though he sent me a heap of info) hehe. We'll be doing prototypes on the 3D printer and then create a mold. In some cases we need to write each one - like the Gatekeeper badge (which we have done).