The Plans

Any reader of this site will not be surprised that Wah's organically-shaped hand-crafted communicator does not render easily to paper. Everything tapers and curves; the top is different from the bottom; the left differs from the right, plus every comm differs from each other! A carefully aligned photograph or caliper-made measurement conflicts with the very next one taken at the same spot. Thus it has been daunting to accurately convey details exactly as-is. The weeding out of errors and weighting averages is a nearly endless process. Our goal has been to produce plans whose margin of error is within that of your printer, and below are the results of that effort. We currently have measurements and 3D digital scans for Alpha and Epsilon, plus tracings of Zeta. Photos of Alpha in all 3 axis were meshed to produce the set of plans below. Clean-up consisted only of averaging the left vs. right shell sides and antenna contours, plus straightening the control well edges, to produce a "quintessential" communicator plan and profile. This was done separately for both top and bottom shells. Other components are shown exactly as measured. Solder, glue and gaps between parts have been omitted for clarity and simplicity.
	Current Issue: July 2007. Our plans show a restored version from the "Friday's Child" era, including the now-missing rear midplate segment between the hinge wheels (traced from that episode's screen caps). The shells have been made symmetrical and the imperfections, including an off-center moiré bezel, have been cleaned up in these plans. The bottom shell is shown with the actual 0.5 degree cant to the right as it was fastened to the midplate. The back end of that shell also seems a bit flattened compared to Epsilon and Zeta.
	Current Issue: January 2008. Based on tracings, measurements, and photographs provided to us by Greg Jein in 2006, the parts to Zeta we have sufficient data on are exactly outlined as they exist today, with all imperfections kept intact. Both precise CAD-drawn lines and pristine original tracings are included. In addition, outlines of Alpha's parts are shown right atop Zeta's (also precisely as they are without any alterations) along with key overall dimensions for both to enable a comprehensive comparison. Complete blueprints will be offered when additional images and dimensions of the original comm can be obtained.
	Current Issue: Feb 2026. Exacting plans for all ten moiré bezel rings, as determined by on-prop measurements, high-resolution photographs and screencaps, and scaling to the actual moiré pattern inserts. Dimensions are given to the nearest thousandths of an inch for the benefit of those with computer-guided lathing. We have high confidence in six - Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Zeta. The last four - Eta, Theta, Iota and Kappa, were mostly measured from only distant screencaps, so far more assumptions and guesses were needed.
Since our PDF-format plans are only as accurate as your printer, we have introduced a means by which you can check if your output device measures up. On each line-work page are lightly-drawn corners of an exact 3" x 5" rectangle you can compare by ruler.