Return to the BUILD
“In this stage, you assemble the radio and handset, fitting them to the cargo area.”
Contents
Parts
Materials: All of the parts in this stage are plastic.
Magazine – Issue 16
- Model Instructions
- Sigourney Weaver: The Gatekeeper
- Strange Noises: Sound Designer Richard Beggs
- Ghost Nanny: How ILM Created the Demonic Nanny
- Monster Mechanisms: Under the Skin
- Ecto-101: John Candy
Build
Radio and Handset
In the real Ecto-1, this is a military RT-695/PRC-41 Radio Set:
It is worth noting that the outer case is missing from the real radio, exposing the frame and some internal bits:
While they did get this component’s name right, I feel these parts could use more detail. First, I hand-painted some of the features on the AN/PRC-41 Radio Control Panel with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum acrylics to spruce it up a bit:
Second, the supplied AN/PRC-41 Radio case should not be a solid box; it should be the exposed guts. Luckily, there is a mod coming from Mr. Fusion Designs that will really help this come to life. I will install it as soon as it becomes available:
Step 01
Fit the AN/PRC-41 Radio Control Panel to the open end of the AN/PRC-41 Radio, as shown:
There is a tab and notch that align these the correct way. You may notice that the sides of my case are ‘bowed’ in. This made it a little tricky to get the control panel in place, but at least it made for a firm hold once it was seated:
Secure the control panel to the radio case from below with one (1) DP screw:
Step 02
Retrieve your Cargo Area Floor assembly. Align the locating pin and two screw holes on the bottom of this radio assembly to the matching holes at this location next to the jump seat:
Secure this AN/PRC-41 Radio assembly to the floor from below with two (2) DP screws:
Step 03
Press the hole of the larger H-33 Handset Receiver onto this large pin of the H-33 Headset, as shown.
This is a press-fit. It was not very snug on my parts, so I added a drop of super glue to lock these together:
Press the hole of the smaller H-33 Handset Diaphragm onto this small pin of the H-33 Headset, as shown:
Connect the H-33 Handset Cord between these pins of the AN/PRC-41 Radio Control Panel and the H-33 Handset Receiver, as shown:
A real H-33 Handset has a thick black coiled cord on it, yet they only gave us a basic vinyl tube. I thought I would give replicating the original cord a shot, so I looked around for an old USB charging cable (I know they have black wires inside them). I cut out about 12 inches of the cable and stripped the insulation and shielding off. This left me with a foot of these four thin wires:
Next, I pulled the black wire out of the twisted bundle and wrapped it tightly around two of the other wires, like this. The two inside wires acted as a solid center I could form the coils around:
Then, I removed the two inner wires, stretched out the coils a little, and straightened the ends, like this:
To install my new coiled cord cleanly, I first removed the AN/PRC-41 Radio assembly from the car and pulled off the H-33 Headset Cord. Then, with sprue cutters, I snipped off the pegs the original cord connected to (one on the AN/PRC-41 Radio Control Panel and one on the H-33 Headset):
Where the pins were, I used my Pin Vise Hand Drill again to make shallow holes. I used a drill bit barely thicker than my new coiled wire:
Finally, I used a tiny drop of super glue to secure one end of the my coiled black wire into AN/PRC-41 Radio Control Panel…
… and the other end into the H-33 Headset, as shown:
I finished up this mod by re-installing the radio assembly back into the Cargo Area Floor assembly. I think this custom coiled cord turned out fantastic!
Step 04
Slide the H-33 Handset Receiver assembly down into the Phone Cradle (49C), as shown:
Back in Stage 51, I completely changed the routing of the Flex Tubes. If you did the same thing I did, now is the time to connect the first Flex Tube 3 to our radio. I simply used a small drop of super glue to secure this into place on the AN/PRC-41 Radio Control Panel as shown:
Thoughts
What should have been a very quick stage turned into a mod party. I think it was worth it as this little radio turned out awesome! I enjoy doing these little mods.
Next Up
Stage 56 – Jump Seat, Jump Seat Connector/Support/Base/Sponge/Interior