VOY Combadge

The VOY Combadge (Also known as the DS9 Combadge, or TNG Movies Combadge) is a piece of equipment worn by all Starfleet officers, starting from Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Season 3 onward. The follow-up to the TNG Combadge, this combadge was worn in Star Trek: Generations and all subsequent TNG-era films, as well as Seasons 3-7 of Star Trek: Deep Space 9, and Star Trek: Voyager. Even though Star Trek: Voyager was the last show it appeared in, the badge is most commonly referred to as a VOY combadge due to it's prevalence in that show, however, some also tend to refer to it as a DS9 combadge.

History and Design
In series such as Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Discovery, Starfleet officers generally wore pins or patches designating them as Starfleet, or to a particular ship. The VOY Combadge was created to improve on the design of the TNG Combadge, which blends the insignia with a communicator, another device from TOS. In universe, they are utilized as a way of communicating with other Starfleet officers serving on board the ship/within range, and also with the ships computer. The latter effect is most commonly used when trying to maneuver a runabout or activate an emergency function. The Combadges function by either tapping on the delta, which generates a "chirp" sound, or by just speaking out loud in some cases, depending on circumstances.

The VOY Combadge was designed by John Eaves and sculpted by Max Cervantes in 1994, during production of GEN and season 3 of DS9. The design takes hints from the TNG Combadge, but creates a much slimmer, more squared-off oval for the delta to sit upon. The design is also two-tone, rather than tri-tone, as they removed the black outline and instead raised the outline of the delta and turned it gold.

90s Variations
The VOY Combadge didn't have many variations.

TODO: Document Opening Combadge.

TODO: Document Oversized VOY Combadge; made by Michael Moore (Pictured Below.)

Star Trek: Picard Reproduction
For the production of Star Trek: Picard, property master Jeffery Lombardi produced new versions of the VOY Combadge as well as the TNG Combadge for flashback scenes involving Jean-Luc Picard. In one flashback, Picard wears this badge with a brand-new 2380s uniform. In two dream sequences, Commander Data is seen wearing his DS9 Uniform, and he's seen wearing the appropriate combadge. This combadge is mostly accurate, although they feature a thicker, more prominent gold ridge around the delta. Picard also takes one of these combadges out of a metal Combadge Cannister in his collection.

This same combadge was also briefly spotted in Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, however melted and destroyed.

It's believed that these combadges were resin 3D printed, much like the majority of the props made for Star Trek: Picard. This may explain the larger ridge, as an artifact of the manufacturing process, or it might've been a deliberate choice. Otherwise, it appears to be fairly identical to the original, in terms of depth and curve.

Production
VOY Combadges were produced by the Prop Department at Paramount Studios. They were produced by pouring resin into a mold, and then spraypainting them. The paints used are believed to be Krylon Bright Gold 1701 and Krylon Dull Aluminum 1403, similar to the TNG Combadge. The mold featured a crude triangular hole dremeled out by the original modeler, and then a small piece of 3M Velcro was placed inside the badge. Inside of the triangular hole, a small "M" was placed, denoting the original sculptor, Max Cervantes. This M was presumably apart of the original mold, so all The costumes worn by actors would have a matching square of Velcro for the combadge to rest on. For scenes where combadges had to be taken off, it's believed that magnets or pins were used instead, and a variant of the costumes without a Velcro square were used in these instances.

Modern prop makers have tried variations on which paints to use, and as with most spray paints, no two cans will be alike, especially if there's 30+ years difference between the original production of the paint and now. Some alternatives include: Krylon Chrome Aluminum, and Dupli-Color Instant Gold.

Commercially Available Reproductions
Combadges are some of the most widely re-produced props in the Star Trek fandom, due to their low cost and ease to produce.

In the 90s, Lincoln Enterprises, a small pin manufacturer run by the Roddenberry family, sold a few variations of the combadge pin. These aren't accurate to the original at all, but were designed using the original combadge as a base, and geometrically have some linage to the original. The most common of these is a Cloisonné silver and gold pin, which is now commonly duplicated. The easiest way to identify a Lincoln Enterprises badge is to look for the Paramount copyright on the back of the badge. There was also an oversized toy combadge sold by Playmates Toys in the 90s.

Resin Badges (Screen-Accurate Replicas)
Roddenberry.com used to sell combadges, produced by Xscapes Sci-Fi Originals. However, Roddenberry.com closed it's shop and sent the remaining stock to Entertainment Earth, where it is now sold out. Xscapes continued to sell these combadges until 2022, when all Star Trek props sold by them were removed from the site during a rebranding. Badges like these are widely regarded as the best replica of the VOY Combadge, as it was reproduced using a re-cast of a screen-used combadge and approved by the Roddenberry family.

Some manufacturers of badges like to use resin 3d printing for production, and many examples can be found on Etsy and eBay. One of these is FamousPropTreasures, an independent builder from the UK. Their badges are extremely clean and sharp, but this does detract from the accuracy to the original combadges. In general, production-made combadges are a bit more "worn" since they were cast from resin and hand-painted. However, FamousPropTreasures seem to be the most color accurate combadge produced in the manor of 3D printing, as of writing.

Metal Badges (QMX and Fansets)
Two companies, Fansets and QMX, currently sell the only officially approved combadges, both of which happen to be metal. While metal is a less desireable material for accuracy, it can be desirable for casual collectors and cosplayers.

QMX sells a combadge made entirely of metal. Because of this, they're heavy in weight, and are magnetically clasped to the costume, which makes it easy to adhere to surfaces without leaving damage from a pin-back. However, they are bright and shiny, a questionable design decision made by QMX during production. The VOY Combadge in particular has a much wider hole in the wings, and a much sharper outline than the production-made badge. This makes them obvious to not be accurate to the original, and are therefore considered less of a replica and more of a premium product. However, repainting them with the duller, more accurate colors can produce some nice results. The QMX combadge is also cloned by companies like Cosermart, so be cautious when buying them as it can be easy to fall for a fake.

Fansets' badge adheres closely to the original shape, and is made entirely out of metal, but uses duller colors compared to the QMX badges. These are available in either pin-backed or magnet-backed forms. They are apart of their "Deltas Done Right" program which seeks to create accurate replicas to the original badges. However, some notable inaccuracies include the flat surfaced badge, rather than curving over the body of the badge, and a sharp ridge around the delta, vs the softer ridge seen on production made badges. Plus, with them being metal, they are significantly heavier than the resin copies. In their words: "This was not created to be a cosplay piece." However, among less scrutinous eyes, it might appeal to a casual cosplayer more than the QMX badge, for it's more accurate colors.

QMX did at one point sell a set of combadges cast in resin, including the TNG Combadge and Bajoran Combadge. These are much more accurate than the metal combadges, as they were created directly from the master molds for the VOY badge. These are no longer sold and can be highly sought after.

Trivia

 * Generally, after the late-2000s auctions in which CBS sold most of it's Star Trek props and costumes, combadges were mostly sold with their uniforms, with only distressed and unique combadges sold on their own. Nowadays, it's more likely that a combadge will be sold on it's own for almost the price of a costume itself.
 * Combadges were commonly stolen from set due to their size. Due to the lack of evidence regarding stolen material, and the difficulty of screen-matching such a small device, it's very difficult to verify the identity of a combadge. It's best to verify the provenance of a combadge if you're purchasing one under the guise of it being "screen-used," even when purchasing from a trustworthy seller.
 * However, the VOY Combadge, sculpted by Max Cervantes, uniquely has an "M" molded into the back of the badge. It seems that this M was usually placed under the velcro. While it's not known if every combadge produced for the shows had this mark underneath, it can be useful in determining the provenance of a screen-used badge.
 * During the production of DS9 Season 5, the uniforms changed from their VOY variant to the DS9/FC/NEM variant. Production hadn't finished on the new outfits, so Captain Sisko wears a variant of the DS9 uniform, where the combadge is placed above the chest-line of the yoke, and the cuffs of the uniform don't feature a division band. This can be seen in the gallery above. It's not known if this "variant" of the uniform is considered canon.