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Ask HN: Anyone want to buy me a TRS-80 so I can make a sculpture of it?

18 points by pkdpic ↗ HN
I've been making concrete sculptures of computer history hardware and would really like them to continue to be as accurate as possible but I can't find any good resource on the dimensions of the first generation TRS-80. I'm not quite a tech millionaire but if someone wanted to impulsively buy this thing for me I could make a really fantastic sculpt of it: https://www.ebay.com/itm/255205656532.

Some examples of what I've sculpted so far --> https://tombetthauser.github.io/societyofobjects/images/

19 comments

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WalterGR
Where have you gotten the dimensions of the hardware you’ve previously sculpted?
pkdpic
Mostly random aficionado sites confirmed by separate sites and / or relative photo measurements. Surprisingly very few contradictions ended up occurring. But I intentionally started with extremely popular hardware with thousands of potential photo references.
WalterGR
How concerned are you about accurately replicating curves?

I’m asking because I’ve been wanting to get into making replicas! :)

pkdpic
Definitely concerned, especially since the first gen iMac is forsure on my todo list. But I generally find you can get curves without too much trouble by getting the endpoints and the climax of the curve measured in a triangle and then winging it for the inbetweens.

Also would love to see what youre working on when you get rolling!

dang
(I've converted your submission to a text post so it will show up on /ask. Hope that's ok.)
pkdpic
Excellent, thank you!
IndexCardBox
Wouldn't you be more likely to get a response asking "If anyone has a TSR 80 can you provide me measurements and I'll send you a sculpture of it free of charge" rather than "give me $600 just because"
pkdpic
Absolutely, that would probably be more fun too in terms of dialogue too ;)

Upon further reflection it might be even cooler to donate it to a computer museum.

sincerely
Maybe offer to give the TRS-80 back to whoever bought it once you finish the sculpture?
pkdpic
Heck yeah, plus a concrete cast of the sculpture!
aksss
What about using some 3D models as your reference?

I’m sure you’re after a model 100 but here’s a link as an example. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/trs-80-color-computer-2-865e...

pkdpic
Omg yes, those are the best resources when people have gone full tilt on accuracy. Unfortunately I found several that ended up not being very accurate when I tried to confirm with relative photo measurements. But yeah if you know of any more good 3D models send em my way!
HeyLaughingBoy
Oh, if you knew the memories that brings back. At my first job, we had shelves of these things that we used for hardware testing. The owner had bought about 20 of them at auction dirt cheap. If one blew up, we just tossed it in the dumpster and pulled another off the shelf.

Unfortunately, I can't help you with dimensions.

pkdpic
As someone who didn't get to live through that era I'm always inspired by stories like this.

Would love to send you one when Im done!

HeyLaughingBoy
Thank you for your very generous offer. However, I'm not much of a collector, so it should probably go to someone who would appreciate it more.
pkdpic
No worries, but seriously once theyre sculpted I can crank out the concrete casts by the dozens. And theyre 1:6 (Barbie) scale so no insane space cost. In any case I really want them to go to folks workin in tech but no pressure : )
potta_coffee
TRS-80 was my first computer and I've been looking for one for years. Anyone want to give me one so I can code on it?

Is the sculpting process destructive to the machine in question?