Sonic Srewdriver

Got to start with a confession ,the Sonic Screwdriver i didn’t grow up with on TV ,In the 80s Who there was no sonic anything
i did eventually later see a repeat and Collin with a sonic lance.
On my VHS tho the doctor had this wonderful tool he used from time to time mainly locks to escape being gassed in a locked room or other machinery “Deactivating a generator loop without the correct key is like repairing a watch with a hammer and chisel. One false move and you’ll never know the time again.” or detecting floors that are charged with high voltage , so i new of it just wasn’t on the show when i watched it

 

On a recent trip to Liverpool where there are no less than 2 Forbidden planet stores both companies .CO.uk and .COM  and both shops have a vastly superior stock to mine in Manchester i saw the sonic wave two collection and not owning one classic sonic ( i know a shame to the colors) and choice of a few odd color ecclestone tennant version and smith capaldi variant i went with the fourth fifth doctors variant although on the label it has a pic of season 21 fifth who had no sonic, and only says fifth doctor sonic ,
it was £11 so a bargain these came out at originally £25 and i passed we were being a tad ripped off , there’s two sounds and occasionally a third a soft rubber head and designed well looks the part
It s about right size and I have had a good play test of it
Well designed not lathed turned aluminum but a nice piece looks like the pics of the prop , battery compartment is a bit of a pain on the front its intrusive a better idea would be to have all that internally

I will set the scene for you ,after a long period of nearly 7 years in the role and the huge presence of Tom Baker and some 4 years of Romana as time lady companion and 5 years of k9 and same titles,music  things had got a little stale ,1980 and time for changes

I think the Sonic  first sported this look in Season 18 (I could be wrong could of been sooner ) when the program got a whole new look and overhaul and the producer John Nathan Turner disliking how clever self important the program had become made radical changes and that meant less use of the Sonic Screwdriver unless absolutely necessary ,like locks ,a lesson the new series would do well to listen to it is a tool not a magic wand that can take reading’s
Yes it can be used to speed a story along and the doctor instead of building a flumix machine to do something etc he can and could use the Sonic, but its been a little to much in new who also its not a weapon

new look

you see my sonic screwdriver its a tad bent here

here it is in “The Leisure hive”  first story of the new look who and new season 18 with new everything, music, producer, titles, new costumes new TARDIS box prop (that went on for the next ten years until the end of the classic series) even the console room got a spruce up and a service done to the old sonic resulting in its new livery to with the magnet and halo both light red and a white band around the middle

ch ch ch changes…….

the new dr getting to grips with the new Fiberglass box

larger spruced up console room and for first time detail shots of the interior rooms

We got a zero room a sports area a lot of corridors companions had a room a space of there own you could see there world in the TARDIS a library and for me the one of the best was the laboratory

she missed the sonic screwdriver

here it is at the press call photo for new companion Janet Fielding 1981 you  can see how exacting this role play plastic toy is ,as i really like the season 18/19  look and remember it in magazines (both the police boxes used the interior ,costumes etc)  and it being one of my earliest memories you can see why i chose it

in Season 18 its used and season 19
S18 was a time of massive changes and  ideas the  like of which had not been seen since 1970 and switch to color and new grounded  pertwee era

 

The sonic makes a good battery in Kinda

 

new simpler TARDIS key

It went on to dr 5 along with the TARDIS key( Now a simple yale key most likely the actual prop key itself) he gave it Nyssa in Castrovalva and she used it to unscrew some doors and  make the doctor a cabinet , she used it in four to doomsday (Reasonable as she was a scientist herself)  and so did the doctor and it was used to help Nyssa get a nap in “kinda”

Four to Doomsday

Then four stories in to this new of new look shows Bidmead who hated the thing had since vacated the script editors chair but JNT had enough of it wanted it to go the way of K9 ( this was a time of massive change) and did the unthinkable

since its debut in 1973 with Dr 3 to its trademark use with Dr 4 to now literally passing the baton on to the new Dr 5 and after four uses” the visitation” saw the last use of the sonic screwdriver in the classic series

used to get past a holographic wall in a cellar and then while trying to escape the tereiliptil catches the doctor and ………

“I feel as though you’ve just killed an old friend.”

 

That’s it until the TV Movie 14 years later with its return with drs 7 and 8 and slight minor changes cosmetically again this time it telescoped down rather than being spring loaded and the magnet was again absent as it was for pertwee  , i wish this had gone on to the new series personally, it was seen rightly for the fiftieth anniversary again in the hands of Dr 8, and with its most radical redesign with dr 9 war doctor minus its emitter head (The prop being itself a commercially available forth Dr toy)  which was the journey full circle as it started out life as a prop without the head that was added later by the bbc for Dr Who

original prop in thunderbirds

war doctor and sonic

So in all i will say a nice addition to the collection from a good era ,and a must have classic as this is the last one used in the classic series as well as used by drs 4 and 5

i will get another and do a custom third forth sonic ,and pertwees for the collection would be good i will see

this maybe one day

 

overall a very  nice toy i would of loved as a kid,a fare price tag  and the  fx  sounds as usual with Character Options a poor affair as always, hit and miss, but looks neat on my shelf on display

Console done

It’s a funny program Doctor Who,12 month one season program that took off thanks to the Daleks and the Doctor was a legend so they had a hit program and no idea what to do with it ,major long term headaches and changes include change of lead actor ,major design problem of the TARDIS console room set that designers had been gradually trying to ameliorate since the overly complex large Peter Brachaki set so consistency from the start was a problem and rarely existed

it was throw away TV never mean to be syndicated ala USA TV just made put out like soaps
 then along came home Video Market first VHS then DVD now Blue ray and  watch the episodes again and again freeze frame screen grab ala infinity ,it was never made for this or with this in mind so the sets props even some acting is truly poor and shoddy plus its times it is made in and resources or lack there of available to it  
plus even with some clean up work done to old story’s it was shot in 60s on 252 line tv standard cant enhance what it was filmed on short of owning a actual TARDIS to re shoot it , certainly never meant for Hi Def  

No committee of writers and head writer/producer and a team of other producers and unlike in USA no permanent sets built for season duration  it was a set of studios for entire BBC output constantly in use so sets were up down constantly resulting in discrepancies and breakages and everything was made cheaply quickly in house and on zero resources from music to fx
so never made for it ,just a quick cheap show
 and now look back on it you can see just how cheap it was the cheapness of the sets the wobbly furniture and walls and sometimes wobbly acting ,it is a miracle they made what they did or such a legend was born whole world knows what a Dalek or TARDIS / stripey scarf is, its a cheap show this detracts nothing
 a lot of stories are superb  (the era of Holmes and Hintchcliffe being a stunning highlight  of the programs years,combined with previous Letts and Dicks years made for what is called the golden age of the program and the 70s a memorable time with definitive portrayals by Jon Pertwee’s 3rd Dr  and iconic Tom Bakers fourth Dr ,and why it is so noticeable at end of the era why it was so poor ) a lot of cast generally are superb ,and the inventive brilliance of some is off the chart young kids breaking out with fevered imaginations,like what propelled Star Wars to its FX heights ,indeed there are some who went on to win many film awards  for there work in costume (James Acheson) and FX (Malcolm Thornton, Mike Kelt )  that worked on Dr Who originally and for many years went on to films
even in the 80s there is some bright moments the TARDIS best it ever was as a prop in and out (The TARDIS became definitive in its look and design , the whole set became very easy to assemble, since the console could only occupy one spot relative to the walls,the look and design ) the fifth Doctor being young casting and family feel to companions  Ace 7th Dr set up, the new look Cybermen,the FX new crew like Mike Tucker Andrew Cartmall  etc
it was for ages 6 to 60 it captured all and never pandered to or talked down to younger viewers it was grown up telly for teens that younger viewers were scared of older viewers enjoyed as a family and be moaned the horror  
it will always be a show close to my heart and my liking ,even with all the bells and whistles of the new who  oddly it lacks the quality of the original its warmth and certainly memorable parts lines monsters props etc

 
well i did it one scrap built console complete and looks just right tatty old prop and it lights up some small minor parts to do but for the main,done 
I do like this console ,i like the whole 80s vibe,which i layered  on with a trowl so there’s really bright primary colour buttons and there is very basic 80s style graphics in meters  ,inspiration old 80s classic cartoons like Thundercats He Man, 
the main computer being a BBC Micro Computer type monitor affair i used a opening screen grab of the TARDIS from the Dalek Attack Game all pixelated graphics and then layer on text using the old P.C fonts of the such games as Amstrad Atari donky kong etc and Put words TARDIS TECHNICAL MANUAL, as a nod to the Doctor Who Technical manual i built this out of 
also on here is a set of three lights on the tom panel the one with white round controls and there Red Green Yellow as a nod to H G Wells the Time Machine it also as made in photoshop has a old style frame round it to give it the whole CRT Monitor vibe

I was also able as lighting it to make one of the Black panels on the column base to open via hinge place the switch in it for lighting it lights via under-lighting a warm LED aka yellow giving a soft glow nothing harsh

so one radar screen made and amongst others had some fun adding them as printed on acetate clear it need to be painted on back with white as well off a ink jet printer it just isnt a strong enough ink and was watery washed out i also added a time digi counter to scanner screen panel as something is there so payed homage to the 80s in a really digi clock read out and Back to the future films 
the Hatchway has the dematerialisation circuit in housing some meters and main switch it has been a learning curve much experimentation and cost well only the cover for the  time rotor and incorporates such rubbish as straws match sticks and cornflake packet and toy packets cut up

so let me introduce you to Console S20

What else has been going on well officially broke unemployed for more years than want to admit to and not getting easier how hard is it to get a two bit job stacking shelves really and financially has to cover expenditure bills etc so finding job for right money i am starting to believe got more chance of finding a ostrich wandering around with a plum up its arse 
Mrs aint working so were hard up and belts so tight were on rope 
Enrolled on another collage course in design learn how to use this program and update CV i aint giving up on being a graphic or just designer and emigration loooks good but i need a job 
i need money and it is damned hard
weather dont help and my depression going in big swings im ok then tired and just meh an hard to get anything done 
well i shall struggle on im looking to see if can get frelance work in but god thats hard to 
there is no work  period and it is not funny
also what happened to summer ???

Back to the 80s

Well been a while ,been busy time what with the Mrs going to have to go home for her Fathers Funeral and me having interviews to no avail then having flu
so had a tidy out and found a large biscuit tin of essentially crap, remembered it was bits of old train sets and models (sevens Dalek parts and fasa citadel to)
It is not madness but stuff i added for use of improving and building things like models and modding (modifying or as i like to say improving ,why else you think im doing it ?) stuff 

So in a flash of total insanity i decided i would address a issue i had been having
Classic Doctor Who console,where is it Co ??
13 scale for there toy range which is huge and for me perfect as i dont live in a TARDIS so space is at a premium and if it is gonna get big i have to be very selective (damn you cod stakes) 

So vowing a oath to spend not one penny and use all this crap up i made a console 

and now here’s dilemma not that simple you know 

Ok lightening fast potted history theres the 60s console roughly 63 70 (inferno yes that is the 60s console also ambassadors of death) MK1 ,
then pertwee got his own i suspect it was all new base top time rotor mechanics etc  and 70%ish of 60s controls laid out same way new bits added and lots of stripes giving it a air of futuristic yet not that different look
 from above  it looked a bit like a circuit board of some sort MK 2 ,
then for some unknown reason noting wrong with pertwee prop other than still green they take it all apart new panels all new parts
  obviously base is reused this i think is original piece from pertwee to peter there’s some changes to panels just , maybe a exact copy but see no reason to change it the 60s stem looked thinner to me, also interior column time rotor tho stripped simplified for tom /peter is obviously pertwees in 74 you can make out some of the green pertwee gels still in it, tho this got new mechanics for peter as it was being manually operated the mechanism was so broken by this point
 ,why change pertwees ?, i would love to know seen 2 stories in 74 then shelved for yet another all together redesign MK3 then, 
so onto wood tiny bureau type MK  4 ( done as the console room set was difficult to put up and took a lot of studio space and couldn’t be taken down until story filming end )and susspect newbury like his box prop designed this as tv working prop in mind the fact its small tiny row of buttons no column nothing to break simple

 now gets weird ,in comes ( in invisible enemy ) the old previous MK 3,(various reasons wood variant  is dropped,tho looked stunning revamped for McCoy and McGann)  this time repainted and bits broken off so now grey not off white (what pertwees should of been) new design room of columns grp roundels huge scanner screen etc and this is how it stayed from 77 to 83 
just with to use my mates parlance , cosmetic tart overs , and even more broken off and then bits added like a printer as per script for one panel then along came 82 and peter ,this prop is messed around due to transmission order being different to broadcast this console gos back and forth between changes on a story basis most notable the computer panel from tom big screen flat to peter angled monitor BBC micro computer
then 83 this is half past dead even though it has been cleaned up finally for peter (also used in the 2 Drs story 86 by the second Dr to represent a older console more akin to his and once again messed around with new bits added and parts moved about ) ,and changed colour to a lighter grey and new bits added broken stuff removed, and in comes the GRP Five DRs console MK  5, how appropriate 

 

so you got a box of crap ” what you gona do “?


i opted for peters variant of the MK 3
why?, simple its bust its broken repainted with a badgers tail falling apart simple eh ? not a lot to do, and how can you go wrong ?,this is the Brachaki refit prop of the console world nigh on 9 years old at this point you cant get it wrong and simple to do as it is simple controls geometric shapes etc
WRONG !!!!!!!!

Be easier to do toms s 18 not a lot on there, all broken parts at this point
this had tons added ,looks to me like they did  in 74 in 83 it got a refit ,albeit on a far cheaper smaller scale and involving paint rather than new parts ,this was finally taken away all broke parts removed and new bits added with what was lying around the workshop,new parts were added as per script like the new radar green thing near door lever and the tangerine etc rest just tarted up, there’s two original 70s panels right up to the end ,it is if you know your consoles and TARDIS  a real history on here dating right back to the  60s if you look, what i like  is this and the fact its so strange looking and i like the cheapness 

a prop workshop either on drugs or overly fond of liquid lunches going off the colors and suspect parts stuck on this console ,now rather randomly ,look at buttons hap hazard say the least and retina destroying color scheme,yes it was the 80s but woa how do you come up with that palette?,oh see above

It was UBER fiddly a nightmare of proportions i can not begin to describe for i do not have the words 
it is so rich in detail ,texture, layers,etc and changed so little 

 EG in season 18 2 BIG changes in its history happened namely one the console got a secret compartment under a row of buttons and lights above the door lever big red one ( Levers being only surviving 60s parts)  ,this used a new mechanism to allow it to extend ( I think it was used a couple of more times in 5th drs time) this had a huge triangle sticking out of the base which was covered  cover fell of got lost so ended up big gaping hole in console base for rest of its time.
And the printer panel was added then left to look odd and frankly crap with a couple of random plastic shapes stuck there
and the computer panel became practical 
these changes is only really significant change since 77 or 74 as first seen before more fragile clear perspex parts came off 

 

1974 to 1983

1974

1977

1983

I have three faves Pertwees, five drs console  and key to time variant  ,or had ,this now replaces key to time 
i am loving this console its richness and a fore mentioned texture and detail and frankly mad crazy colors,it rocks it is very 80s so took this as my brief and went for the whole graphic design and feel screaming 80s design console 
banged it out no TLC or even much care more dodgy looking happier ill be it was not a perfect prop and in fantasy a very very broken down old control console (A fact mentioned several times by 4th and fifth Drs)  from a old broken time machine  

my highly sophisticated state of the art gluing machine

Slowly it is getting there,and because in no way is this a challenge enough being a alchemist turning nothing to something and dealing with buttons at 1mm or gluing myself to such a small set of parts, loosing more parts than i can count and having no measurements what soever so making this all add hock oh and blessed be the doctor who technical manual I will be lighting it as well ,kind of so thats all for part two

i think its in scale

i also as add on got one of those talk daleks ,nice to army build expensive so all others on future present lists but well worth to fatten the ranks the talking bit is nice but fan done or by some bloke on the staff failing to understand the BBC product licensed and not used actual voice clips,how cool would that have been?, bizarre and one missed opportunity 
I got from one of my top stories a Death to variant,science corps Daleks love that finish 
Character Options are still making it up as they go along surely they now how to use google ? so colour paint schemes are way off this Death to variant has a silver gun which NEVER appeared on said prop ,having spoke to head honcho he is convinced mr dewer he is correct and like wise with grey Planet of the Daleks Grey variant with grey appendages and dull grey finish not gun metal 
ah well customising to the rescue

Dalek science corps welcomes you

dalek plant mutation success