At the moment, the one component for this project I have handy is the toy tricorder itself.

This is the Geological Tricorder variant, based on one seen in the Star Trek TOS episode "That Which Survives." I have two of these toys, so if I destroy one in my quest to defictionalize it I'll have a backup.

The head unit of the toy flips open; this activates the lights and enables the sound effect buttons.

The three buttons activate different preset light patterns and sound clips.

The doors on the front open to reveal inner components. The upper one reveals a "data tape" greeble on the left and a light panel on the right. In the episode this big light glowed when the tricoder was set to transmit a distress signal, a scene recreated in one of the toy's light and sound effect patterns.

The lower door reveals more "data tapes" on the left (in reality, the battery pack resides behind this) and a rack on the right which holds two test tubes; on-screen, the geological tricorder could analyze samples inserted thusly.

A catch prevents the door from opening fully, but this is easily bypassable. All in all, it's already obvious that this will have plenty of room inside for what I want to do.

I have the RPi and some other stuff on order, but before that gets here I can at least start taking this baby apart. See you next update for the teardown!