Brachacki Phone Panel

[mordrogyn]

That I'm not sure, would be more cost effective to have a font sheet than the full sign but you never know....

Given that official plans for other boxes show that a sign writer did the signs on the boxes it would be simple to have it changed by whatever professional they were using.

[hb88banzai]

My impression is that it is the same sign.

The first is likely covered by thin perspex (aka acrylic/lucite/plexiglass, etc.) which is both very shiny and attracts dust and dirt like crazy due to it's static charge. The frames are also dirty, so I think what strikes you as looking like wood is in fact streaked dirt on top of the perspex, which, combined with optical effects, dulls the white slightly as well. When they weathered the TARDIS they just took off the Perspex (or dulled it as you suggest, which coating also would have changed it's static-cling and optical properties) and voila, it's more obviously white and easier to read.

Almost certainly not acetate, btw, as it is much more flexible and very difficult to get a nice flat reflection off of (it tends to go a bit wavy). I know this because I actually hand-painted my first Phone Door Sign in reverse on the back of clear acetate. Good enough for long shots, but not so good when you got up close.

As to stencils, you couldn't get stencils to work well with this type of font. It would have to have either been painted (by a VERY good sign painter considering how much type there is and how thin the characters are) or printed - screen printing would be the easiest if they did it directly onto the wood, but it's always possible they printed it onto paper via press or photographically, glued it on and then coated it and/or covered it to preserve it.

EDIT: Close examination of the before and after pics leads me to believe that there is a covering on the newer shots as well, but without the hot reflective glare. There still appears to be a slight, much more diffuse reflection characteristic to the surface and what appears to my eye to be a slight separation between the paint/weathering and the surface with the lettering. However, there is also a very striking change in the coloration of the medium of the covering between the two periods (assuming it's not a photographic or video artifact caused by contrast adjustments). My theory is that they originally covered the sign in glass as it was fast and cheap, but when they "finished" the TARDIS for production they came to the obvious conclusion that it was both too fragile and too reflective, so they replaced it with Perspex that either had an anti-reflective coating manufactured into it (which does and did exist) or they matted it down themselves with a spray they keep around for just such purposes. Reason I believe this a strong possibility is that the darkening, slight distortion and glare seen in the early shots is typical of glass (in this case very dirty), but Perspex is optically much, much clearer than glass such that once the glare is eliminated it can almost seem to disappear entirely in this kind of application - hence the clearer and whiter appearance of the underlying sign later on. Just a theory.

[Rassilons Rod]

I like this, you seem to know your stuff

[hb88banzai]

The initial data set was a bit limited so the theory could be quite wrong.

On looking again at the post-weathering Hartnell publicity stills that were shot in color, there is still quite a difference between the white of the paint on the windows and the off-white of the sign. It's quite possible that whatever material they initially used to glaze the sign with was retained during the matte-down and weathering process, with the apparent color-shifts and change in clarity between the B&W pics being simply due to the glare reduction of the matting spray and/or from video or telecine contrast stretching, perhaps coupled with a change in focus and shooting angle.

The color pics could be either material, just well matted down - without knowing the original color of the sign material (whether paper or paint) it's almost impossible to tell for sure. The fact it wasn't broken over the years argues against glass, but Perspex is prone to scratching and scuffing so it must have been relatively well taken care of regardless.

Perhaps the sign finally getting broken or defaced is as much the reason it was replaced as any color changes to the windows during the Troughton years - I mean, weren't the windows changed well before the sign was?

[galacticprobe]

Taking another look at Rassilonrod's images of the Pilot and Production versions, I'm not so sure they are the same sign. In the Pilot version the PUBLIC and PULL TO OPEN are decidedly bolder than they are in the production version, and I don't think it's just because the viewing angle is slightly different.

In fact, most of the lettering in the Pilot version looks bolder, but the aforementioned parts are definitely bolder. So at some point between Pilot and Production a new phone panel was either made and installed, or repainted.

Dino.

[Rassilons Rod]

Well spotted, I will update the sign I made for the other thread when we decide that we have discovered everything

[hb88banzai]

Taking another look at Rassilonrod's images of the Pilot and Production versions, I'm not so sure they are the same sign. In the Pilot version the PUBLIC and PULL TO OPEN are decidedly bolder than they are in the production version, and I don't think it's just because the viewing angle is slightly different.

In fact, most of the lettering in the Pilot version looks bolder, but the aforementioned parts are definitely bolder. So at some point between Pilot and Production a new phone panel was either made and installed, or repainted.

Dino.

Yes, I saw that, but I also noticed that the first picture is more than a bit out of focus, which would have the effect of enlarging the apparent line weight of the characters, while the second picture is quite sharp. I seemed to be validated in this by the picture from the next post by rassionsrod where he showed this picture of the pilot sign in a little sharper focus that seems to show a line weight a bit closer to that of the later sign (though still bolder it is also still a bit out of focus):



In short, I put it down to differences in focus, but at these resolutions and with the intervening processes involved it's difficult to be certain either way.

EDIT:
If it was a screen print, it is always possible another print was made during which they might have used a bit lighter inking or less pressure for a dryer, cleaner print. Screen printing is subject to such vagaries. If it was a second sign, I'm pretty sure it would have to be something like a lighter inking off the same screen (or plate if offset printed), however, because the letter spacing looks identical. If it was a different type weight in the same family the relative spacing would be different - between characters, between lines and on the page - while all these examples seem to have exactly the same spacing and relative positions and shapes of characters. Unless it really was hand painted - twice, and to exactly the same outline/stencil (I forgot about the type of stencils used for hand painted signs - those would work, but only as the guide marks for hand painting, not as finished letters).

[Teletran]

The TNG windows were removed because they had become badly scratched.

[hb88banzai]

Ah, here we go.



Looks pretty thin to me. Very dark and clear, but doesn't look as bold as the fuzzier shots, while looking very close to the later, weathered version. My impression, anyway.

[galacticprobe]

Hmmm... you might have something there. Comparing your image of the Pilot where the Doctor has his hand on the lock...

...with this one from "The Sensorites" where they're removing the lock...

...the angle of the "OPEN" is almost the same, and the lettering does look very similar in weight.

Now if we could only find a clear picture of the whole panel, in focus, from both Pilot and Production, from roughly the same angle and distance (that's not asking for much, is it? ), then we'd know for sure.

Dino.

[Rassilons Rod]

The interesting thing about that shot is that its after the toning down of the weathering. You can even see the edges of the frame and the mitre joint!

[geminitimelord]

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOCK THIS IS ON THE BRACHACKI

Hmmm... you might have something there. Comparing your image of the Pilot where the Doctor has his hand on the lock...

...with this one from "The Sensorites" where they're removing the lock...

...the angle of the "OPEN" is almost the same, and the lettering does look very similar in weight.

Now if we could only find a clear picture of the whole panel, in focus, from both Pilot and Production, from roughly the same angle and distance (that's not asking for much, is it? ), then we'd know for sure.

Dino.

[hb88banzai]

That's a mortise lock (or at least the cylinder of one) and it's extension ring, most likely Yale. There was a whole discussion on this on the old TARDIS Rebuilders site, but can't find it at the moment.

EDIT:  Found it -    Topic: Hartnell Tardis Deadbolt Lock
http://tardisboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=faqhandles&action=display&thread=1245

[geminitimelord]

Thanks, I coudlnt find this til now

That's a mortise lock (or at least the cylinder of one) and it's extension ring, most likely Yale. There was a whole discussion on this on the old TARDIS Rebuilders site, but can't find it at the moment.

EDIT:  Found it -    Topic: Hartnell Tardis Deadbolt Lock
http://tardisboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=faqhandles&action=display&thread=1245

[Scarfwearer]

That's a mortise lock (or at least the cylinder of one) and it's extension ring, most likely Yale. There was a whole discussion on this on the old TARDIS Rebuilders site, but can't find it at the moment.

EDIT:  Found it -    Topic: Hartnell Tardis Deadbolt Lock
http://tardisboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=faqhandles&action=display&thread=1245

I've been gradually transferring all the old topics from TR2 to this forum - at this point I'm about 90% done. So that topic is actually also on this board in its entirety:
[ref topic=610]Hartnell Tardis Deadbolt Lock[/ref], in the [ref board=87]Handles and Locks[/ref] sub-board of the [ref board=29]Tardis Workshop[/ref] board.

Crispin