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