Ah the Racal Minilite: the favorite headset of Captain Solo, Captain Dallas, Corporal Hicks, and the bad guys in Moonraker.
I love the look, but I couldn't really justify the price. So I decided to try to make my own! Here then is a quick tutorial on how I'm going about it.
To start, here's a thread with photos of the actual headset for reference:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6433&p=101298&hilit=racal#p101298I dug out an old children's walkie-talkie headset to scrounge for a few bits:
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Then I looked for some items that had similar shapes to the Minilite's main body and microphone:
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This refill cartige gave me the basic shape for the body, and a combination of pen caps and a bit from an old light make up the microphone connection.
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A small drawer pull and a length of pen tubing make the ear piece. The wire and microphone from the walkie-talkie are in place, and the refill cartridge has been cut down to size (some sticky tac is temporarily holding it all together here).
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Once I was happy with the placement I got out the Steelstik (metal infused plumbing repair putty) and filled it all in.
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A coat of primer unifies the whole thing. I've temporarily attached it to a headband to make sure it fits; obviously the black electrical tape isn't permanent!
The metal clip is from an old tape measure and it just resting on it at the moment. I want to get a coat of paint on it before I attach it for real.