Tardis Force Field Generator

[galacticprobe]

Greetings, All,

Here are some ref pics of the Tardis force field generator (affectionately referred to as a "genny", as many generators are). I grabbed these from my "The Three Doctors" DVD.


  For my best guesstimate of its size I used the parts of it that I'm familiar with thanks to my electronics background. In this pic of its 'control' panel side the ivory-colored dial knob is about 1.5 inches in diameter. I've worked on some older equipment and seen enough of these types of dials to be reasonably sure that 1.5" is about right. (Hunting through second-hand shops and such could yield good finds for these.) And from the dial, the "sleeve" to its left where the toggle switch is appears about the same size; a small piece of pvc plumbing pipe would work for that. The toggle switch is any electrical/electronic store special, and the sleeve length should be enough to extend over the switch.
  The small red indicator just below that looks to be about 3/8" in comparison and ones like this can be found on most odd pieces of electrical items, usually as "power on" indicators. Some model railroad controllers have them. The same size goes for those small silver "plugs" on the right side of the housing (not sure what they're supposed to be, other than hole plugs). The six slightly darker-looking red round 'things' between the plugs and the dial are anyone's guess as to what they were (possibly plain holes, with some vented covering to provide some ventilation for the circuits inside) since the lamps used to light it and the power for them probably generated a bit of heat.
  The small flat silver discs on the top, near the edges, look to be about an inch in diameter, as they're a little smaller than the dial, and they look like larger versions of the plugs. The metal handle/bracket bar across the top is probably 1/16th inch aluminum.
  (Note the background inside the console; the sides look like empty plastic tubes and the back looks like a hastily wrapped gift. What fantastic improv... I love it!)


  Here's a slightly better shot of that control panel side. You can see the second dial near the bottom right corner, and that there are a total of four of those small silver plugs. (I probably should have mentioned it before, but I refer to them as plugs because many times plugs like that - with spring-like feet - are used to cover holes in equipment cases if controls are modified and a switch or indicator is removed. These should be found in any store where you can find the aforementioned toggle switches.)
  Gauging the size of Patrick Troughton's thumb against the dial, with the average thumb being just over one inch at that first joint from the tip, strengthens the argument of the dial being 1.5". Guesstimating from that the height of the main genny housing looks to be close to four inches, and that side is about twice that wide putting it at about eight inches.
  The two dark circles with what look like red centers in the cruck of Troughton's thumb and forefinger look to be about a half-inch in diameter, and at a guess I'd say those are red LEDs in black bezel mountings (seen many of those on that equipment I've worked on, and I think you can still find then at Radio Shack-type places). I'm not sure what they were for, so if anyone has other thoughts on what they were please jump in.
  Whatever else may be under the rest of Troughton's hand is anyone's guess, so perhaps we'll just call that blank space, again unless someone has more knowledge of that prop and what might have been there. (Purple?)


  I know this pic is small, but rather than post one of a wide shot with the prop being lost among the actors and the rest of the set I cropped it down. Still, with it being a nearly straight-on perspective it looks like those three silver tubes rising from the top are just shorter than the height of the housing - figure three inches tall for the silver parts, that is. Add about another inch for the black portion to bring them to four inches tall total. These could also be plumbing store specials, or maybe even available in a local craft shop. (Don't worry about that little bit of red and yellow you see on those tubes above that; I'll get to it in a bit.) Also in this shot you can see the metal bracket near the control panel end starts about an inch up from the bottom, and rises a little over an inch above the top.


  Next, a shot of the small end, which looks to be square (4" x 4"). This guess is based on the four-inch height assumption, and comparing it to Troughton's hand (and guessing at the size of that as well).


  No doubt that by now you've noticed what looks like clear acrylic rods, one each at the wide and narrow end, which have two uprights with a cross piece connecting them (see pic above and below). These look to be about 1/4 inch rods; in fact depending on the image it looks like this "component" could be made either from three sections of rod bonded together, or from one long section that was heated and bent to form the corners. Best guess on how far it is between the uprights, where they enter the housing, is between 3 and 3.5 inches. These also appear to be about 1.25 inches tall, as with the one under the metal bracket at the wide end it comes just short of touching it, and that bracket doesn't appear to be much more than that above the housing.
  Also visible in the above pic is another small silver "plug" similar to the four on the right side of the control panel side. (Look between where the two red wires enter the top of the housing and you'll see it.) You can also see one of these plugs in the image above where the genny is still in the console. These plugs look to be about a half inch in diameter (they're bigger than the four on the control panel, but smaller than the two under the bracket).
 Notice in the center of where the recorder is sticking out there is a clear(ish) piece about a half inch or so high. We're about to come to that piece in the next few grabs.



  Now for the top of the genny. (Here's where the images get a bit fuzzy because the action happens so quickly that it's not easy to get a good grab, even advancing frame by frame.)
  First notice a third silver plug next to where this red wire enters the housing. Putting this with the other two already mentioned and it should be a safe guess to say that they're arranged in a triangular pattern (equilateral?).
  Now for that clear(ish) piece. I'm not sure what that was made from, but it looks like it could have been bodged together from two different sized covers from some containers, or even the bottoms of clear containers themselves that were cut down to get the right(?) size. Inside the perimiter of that you can see the lamp sockets for the blinking lights. These are quite common even today and usually fit into half-inch mounting holes. Add about 1/16th inch all around for the bezel.
  It's difficult to count, but it looks like there might be 12 lamps inside that circular area, and given the size of the sockets and the clearances between them and the [plastic] cover around them I guesstimated things at about 3.25 inches in diameter, with about 1.5 inches of a hole in the center. (This hole would go all the way through the genny housing otherwise the recorder wouldn't fit into it like it does. Keep in mind that in these pics the recorder is falling out, but in the pics previous you can see that it's pretty well in there.)
  Now... Those black "vanes" attached to the silver tubes, once again, are anyone's guess as to what they are. If anyone has seen such things please enlighten me. Otherwise I think they could be sufficiently made from any source of plastic, regardless of color, and painted black if the plastic isn't already. (Sizewise I'm guessing about 1/8th inch thich? So some plexi might work here.) The vanes rest right up against the tubes and appear integral to the black collar around the tops of the tubes, either by design or bonded/glued. The vanes' feet look like they rest right up against the circular "lights" component. This foot area looks somewhere between 1 3/8 to 1.5 inches long, and the vane narrows some as it nears the top, before it curves into its "pointy" tip.
  That pointy end at the top of the vanes, if you look closely, you'll see that each one has a small hole through it. (Look back through the other images and you'll see what I mean.) This leads me to believe that these came from "something" and were used "as is", considering the budget at the time, rather than having to put out extra money to not only cut the vanes out, but then to also bore a hole into a place on the vane where it would seem to serve no useful purpose. (Again if anyone knows better, please speak up. To quote lieutennant commander Dodge near the final scenes of "Down Periscope"... "I'm guessing here!")


  Moving on (using this image so I don't overcrowd the other one with info). Those red wires coming out of (or going into) the housing appear to be standard "test lead" wires used with most electrical meters. The yellow tube-like things the wires go into (see... I told you I'd get to this) are also used with meters and are commonly(?) referred to as banana plugs. The plug itself has spring-like sides, and once the lead wire is connected to it, the plug threads (screws) into the plastic sleeve (after threading the wire through it like a needle). These sleeves can be red, black, or yellow (at least those are the only colors I've ever seen them come in). You can almost see the plug portion on the top left tube where the plug has become dislodged from its socket...
  Which brings me to that red portion on top of the tubes. Those are the sockets into which banana plugs fit and come in the same colors. Again any electronics supply store should have these on hand, or at least be able to order them. (In fact, now that I think about it, whenever my shops needed such things we always referred to a company called "DigiKey". I make no endorsements, but I'm sure a few of you may have heard of them. At any road, a Google search for electronics supplies should yield - dare I say it - googols of places to find them!
  Also, in the last two pics, you can see that two screws (each side) hold the metal bracket to the genny housing, and that the bracket is about 1/4 inch in from the control panel end. It's not easy to determine the size of the screws used, or whether they're slotted or Phillips; leave that to how it pleases the eyes.


  For the (next to) last piece of the force field genny we see a glowy yellow "plate" thingy across the top which connects the three silver tubes together, and is slotted so the black vanes slip right in. I'm sure we've all seen dozens of these things used as shelves in department store displays, and even as clipboards. This sort of plastic should be available at a craft store, and depending on the price there, you can always check out any office supply store for a glowy yellow clipboard.
  This stuff is amazing as it takes very little light to make its edges glow as if it had its own internal power source. Notice, however, that in the above image the shape is rather odd, and there are at least three places where there is a very (almost frighteningly) thin area. This almost looks like it could snap if you sneezed on it the wrong way. The center opening would need to have a pilot hole drilled and then cut with a scroll saw (or a coping saw if you have an exceptionally steady hand). Laser cut is always an option if you've got the funds.
  I'm not sure how this plate was affixed to the genny, whether bonded with some sort of adhesive or just held in place via friction thanks to the angle of the silver tubes and the vanes (which, by the way, I guesstimated to be roughly 10 degrees for the tubes).

  Now for the LAST part of the genny - the housing itself. I have no idea where this came from, or where to find anything like it. All craft or project boxes are either too small or too big, they're all squarish, and whether they come in metal or plastic the only colors seem to be silver, shades of dark blue, or black. Of course some clever airbrushing with red paint will take care of the color, but it's that shape that is the problem. I suppose one could be built of sheets of some sort of plastic, but I'd be concerned with the strength of the joints. And of course there's always finding someone with a vacuum-forming gizmo to mould one, again depending on available funds. So this part I haven't worked out yet and I'm open to suggestions.

  A note on the location/placement of the components on the genny housing: all conjecture based on everything I've said thus far. And as with everything else Tardis related, it's all how it looks to the eye when compared to what the eye sees on the screen. (And I've said it before: EVERYTHING Tardis is based on Relative Dimensions, so if something is off a bit here and there, it could simply be the way the Old Girl was feeling that day.)

 I think I'll stop here for now. Actually, maybe "stop" isn't a good word... let's go with "pause". I've got some basic graphics I've drafted for five straight-on views of the genny: all four sides and the top, complete with scale. Once I've converted them to jpegs I'll post them in the apropriate section. (Right now they're in DSF, which is Micrografx Designer... not the best, but it works for me, and it was a gift.) Maybe once I get the jpegs up someone with the 3-D knowhow can render some better images for us to work with. I'm designing it so the jpegs can be printed on 11" x 17" paper for a 1:1 scale (although I might have said that someplace already... it's hell getting old).

  I haven't started the construction phase yet. I need to get the jpegs printed out first so I have plans (and quasi-patterns) to go with. Rest assured that once I get started on the build there will be images posted, along with the usual "this worked" and "that didn't" (and "that REALLY didn't!") tidbits.

Dino

[Scarfwearer]

Thanks for the detailed analysis! This looks like a great start to the project.

I would imagine the genny housing could be made from MDF. People sometimes clad a base material with a thin plastic, hardboard or card to get a smoother finish.

Crispin

[galacticprobe]

That's something I hadn't thought of. Not sure about using MDF (cost mainly, two kids in college with one of them being grad school), but I should be able to scavenge some scraps of marine grade plywood from my buddies at the Boat Shop, where they cut replacements for the dayboards marking the channels that are too shallow for buoys. That won't cost me anything. That would also definitely solve the issue of the main housing's sturdiness.

That ply has a paper covering which provides for a very smooth surface on its own, and is about half inch thick, which I think might be at the limit of the lamp sockets, and toggle switch locking nuts. But that could be taken care of by carving out a bit of the ply from the inside of the housing where those components need to go <he says as the light bulb goes on in his head>; only you - meaning whoever builds theirs - would ever see that part of it, and only when you opened it for maintenance (and you'd better be the only one opening your genny for said maintenance).

The thickness of the ply would also help hold those angled silver tubes steady; by drilling the holes for them at the appropriate angle and then just sliding the tubes in, they could be secured from inside with something as simple as gobs of hot glue, where no one would see that either. <Thinking process grows - details to be worked out>

I could then cover the outside with some red plastic sheet for a nice finishing touch, and I'm sure I could find some out there somewhere among my contacts (it pays to have friends with access to old storage areas).

Many of the parts I intend to use on at least this first build will be coming from scavenged items (sort of like the original, you might say?).

Dino

[Darksyde]

In reguard to the glowy yellow "plate" thingys.

It look to my eye that they may be 3 seperate parts that nearly touch at the thin points. This would be much easyer to build and work with.

I have also ordered some custom plastic work from http://www.litkoaero.com and have been happy with the result. I can't promise they'd be cheep but if you do 3 identical parts their rates arn't terrible.

[galacticprobe]

In reguard to the glowy yellow "plate" thingys.

It look to my eye that they may be 3 seperate parts that nearly touch at the thin points. This would be much easyer to build and work with.

I have also ordered some custom plastic work from http://www.litkoaero.com and have been happy with the result. I can't promise they'd be cheep but if you do 3 identical parts their rates arn't terrible.

Interesting thought on that. It does look like they could be separate pieces in a few of those pics. Something I'll definitely have to look into a little deeper. (This could possibly end up in one of those "This worked"; "That didn't", or "that REALLY didn't" work categories I mentioned.)

This separate-piece look could also be a trick of the light because those sections are so frighteningly thin. The resolution of the images doesn't help with this either. One thing that strikes me is that in the images of the genny where that piece is nearly edge-on, if it was made of three pieces then they were almost perfectly lined up. Then they would have had to be bonded together to hold them steady as the prop was handled (not to mention when it was tossed/shoved across the floor in those last scenes), unless that prop was sturdier than expected.

It may come down to experimentation to see which works best.

Dino

[eddyc]

Hope you don't mind but I thought I could be of some help....

First go to you local hardware Depot and buy three shelf brackets.



If you can find three of the little plastic clips that were used as the stand for little plastic picture frames years ago...

or have them made up. 




You"ll see when you put three together they look right.





Then get three 1/2" test tubes with rubber stoppers, some wire, old radio dials etc.

Put it all together with a red box and you've got a genny!

[galacticprobe]

Wow! Shelf brackets... never would have thought of that, and they are just about the perfect shape. So are those picture frame things; hopefully I can fine them in different sizes because it looks like there is a little asymmetry between the two near the wide end and the one near the narrow end of the genny (again, this could be an optical illusion due to many factors already mentioned). I'm sure even if there actually is some asymmetry a little shaving here and there can work that. (Looks like it's another circuit around the second-hand shops!)

Excellent job on the 3-D image as well. I'll have to finish converting my (quite primitive) 2-D .dsf images into jpegs and post them so maybe you can work more 3-D miracles with those details. I'll see if I can't get them up over the weekend.

And no, I don't mind the help or advice. After all, that's what this forum is for.

Dino

[galacticprobe]

Okay, everyone... here comes my go at some image drafts of the genny. Most of them are a little over 100k, with the exception being the top view at a little over 200k (more details). I may have mentioned this before, but I intended for these to be printed on 11" x 17" paper to get a 1:1 scale. Save, print, and experiment as you see fit (I know I will be!).

(Note 1: The 1:1 scale will depend on your printer. I had to use a printer at work - the only one I have access to that can print on that size paper - and had to set the print size to 107% to get the inches scale to match up with an actual ruler. I had to test a page about three times before I got it right on, and then printed a set.)

(Note 2: You'll no doubt notice in the Top view that I've got the yellow plate covering the genny a little thicker in those narrow spots [about 1/8th inch] than they sometimes look in the vidcaps. This was for sturdiness when I intended to make that part out of one piece of the "glow" plastic, and that was before Eddyc mentioned those picture frame clips in his reply. I'm still on the lookout for the clips and designs may change.)

Top


Right


Left


Control Panel


Narrow end


I didn't create a drawing for the bottom, but that's where I intend to put the access panel. One screw in each corner I think, unless it needs an extra in the middle of the long sides (which I doubt). I might even use small rubber feet on the corners where the screws hold the access panel in place. This way when it's sitting out on a table or such it won't leave any possible marks. I'm not sure what might have been on the bottom of the original prop, but in some of the vidcaps you can almost see something there, which could very well be small feet of some sort.

Eddyc, I don't know if you can use any of these images to get more 3-D renders, but if you think you can by all means have at it.

Dino

[celation]

Lovin' this thread, Dino!

Looking forward to seeing the build.

C.

[eddyc]

Thanks,

Here's my new 3d render based on your drawings.

Hope you like.

[galacticprobe]

Thanks,

Here's my new 3d render based on your drawings.

Hope you like.

OH YES! That looks fabulous! It's what I'm hoping the actual article looks like when I'm done with it. At the moment I'm still in the gathering of supplies phase (calling in favors from all my buddies scattered around the Coastie ET Shops for the right-ish lead wires - they have huge selections in various gauges - and they also have those silver blank plugs, not to mention those banana plugs, or at least they used to). They didn't have any scraps of that great marine grade ply when I checked with the Boat Shop, but since they know me (not that I've scrounged wood scraps from them before, but they've nicknamed me Termite) they said to check back in a week or so and they'd have some set aside. Then I can start cutting rough pieces for the housing - the test fitting phase will begin, and I expect I'll be making adjustments to my ideas as to how it "should" go together. (One thing is for sure; using that ply for the main structure will make it rather sturdy!)

However, in the end, if my finished product looks anything like your render, Eddy, I may end up having to regenerate because I think I'll be thrilled to death!

Dino

[davidnagel]

Looks like someone will beat me to another prop I've had on my list of things to do for a long time :p

fantastic research and a wealth of information as always, this forum

well done - looking forward to your completed physical prop

[elkad]

I have a couple thoughts.
First, the silver buttons on the right side of the front. I think there like, I don't' know the specific name for it, like those one click buttons. Press one button & it stays depressed until you press the next button in the set. I think I seen the same button set up on the mini-scope on the episode "Carnival Of Monsters".


The second thought, I've bin looking around for the dial used in this prop. I've got good search results on "Timer Dial Knobs". Some are close but not accurate. You could modify some to look like the one in the pic, or you could vacuum form one.

[galacticprobe]

Yeah... this is the project that I've had to put on the way back burner. I've lost all my contacts that could have gotten me the most tricky parts: the plastics for the shell, and the ability to shape it into that trapezoid; they either all transferred or retired. Now with my limited income, I'm rethinking my options on this one.

Rob49152 was kind enough to send me a full-around render of the version that's in his 2002 TARDIS console, and I'm thinking of incorporating bits of the force field genny from "The Three Doctors" into the one Rob designed. I figured since after the incident with Omega, with the Doctor having to build a new genny for the TARDIS, that maybe it would look like a hybrid of the original and the one in Rob's console. One of these days I'll get one of them built. Until then, I hope the details I've provided on the original will help others that may be thinking of building one.

As to those four little silver "things" down the side... I'm not all that sure they're actual buttons. This was a one-off prop for one story, and it got minimal screen time. Even then there was never a full view of that "control" side of the genny. So I doubt the BBC would have put out funds for working, interlocking buttons (I relate them to the "Power", "Norm", "Auto", "Pursuit" buttons on K.I.T.T.'s control panels) for this prop. I could be wrong, but I think budget-wise, those silver "caps" are nothing more than bits of prop dressing - greebles, if you will.

Dino.

[oslm]

Hi Dino,

I hope you do get around to making this prop as it is very elegant in it's design -- The scaled drawings are very well done and they came in handy when I tried to do a 3D model of it today --



when I get a chance, I will try to post a top view image, but first I need to finish the wires and connectors for the unit -- I don't think I will do the recorder --

Enjoy

Oslm