Nate Miller

EXCLUSIVE - 3D Printable Spirit/Rubies PKE Shell Upgrade

Added 2022-07-19 01:32:33 +0000 UTC

The Spirit PKE meter (also known as the Rubies PKE) has been a staple in my costuming over the years - but has escaped my modding interests. I've seen some great paint jobs and electronics mods for the Spirit PKE over the years - but I guess I never got around to tinkering with it. It looked good enough on my belt holster and that was enough for me... until now.

The Spirit PKE shell is a passable approximation of what we saw on screen, but there are some key differences that started to get the wheels turning. Geometrically, the movie prop has more defined edges, and is more "square" in appearance overall. I thought it would be a fun exercise to model the PKE using some of my skills with "Subdivision" mesh editing and sculpt a new shell that would fit the PKE electronics.

I took some photogrammetry scans of the Spirit PKE with my trusty phone, scaled it to size and modeled up new shell. I thought it would be a straightforward exercise but this little guy became an extended project these last few weeks!

After printing, I lightly sanded the exterior and used some UV resin to smooth out the shell and remove layer lines. I then finished mine off with some flat black spray paint and matte clear coat.
The shell allows you to take electronics guts from the Spirit PKE and place them into the new shell. I did have to sand down a few corners of the Spirit black 'wing' chassis' for the perfect fit
I used some dabs of hot glue to position the main electronics boards to the front control plate.
Be prepared to have a some soldering iron and some thin 22 ga wire on hand - the Spirit electronics are very fragile and will break apart if not handled with extreme care. (I learned this the hard way)

Good luck!