Eccleston/ Tennant Console at Doctor Who Experience

[davidnagel]

Come on Wayne - admit it, you built this console!!

[wayne venomous]

Oh I wish! I'd love to make props for a living! I've just worked on LOTS of old (mostly German) cars over the years.

Actually, the most interesting car part sci-fi prop use I've ever helped identify was from Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back. The side panels of the Han Solo in Carbonite turned out to be Volvo 343/345 dash panels! I can't really take full credit for that though as it was a combined effort between myself and several people on two classic car forums.

[wayne venomous]

Guess what? I've just spotted another car part!
The ball thing with holes in it:


It's a Halfords Ripspeed gear knob:

Link:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_154624_langId_-1_categoryId_165732

Also, looking at Halfords "Ripspeed" range, the wheel spacers they sell seem to be more like the ones used on the TARDIS console:


Hmm....

[celation]

If you're good at spotting classic car parts, Wayne, can you nip over to my console thread, and identify the switch that should be above the radiation meter, please? 

I've got a Lucas trafficator switch there at the moment, but it's not right. Tearing my hair out over this one.

Loving this thread, by the way. Is someone actually putting a build together?

[wayne venomous]

If you've got a good close-up picture I'll see what I can do. Couldn't find the section in your thread 

[davidnagel]

celation I keep telling myself I'll build this one one day, just need to source the texture spray used on the console - cheaply

[wayne venomous]

Textured wallpaper?

B&Q do something called Opera Icon which might look a bit convincing if you paint it a few times.

[galacticprobe]

I'm surprised at the amount of car parts on this console - I never realised before! I've spotted tonnes!!

I'm not surprised at this anymore. I've been reading through "The Inside Story" and the main guy who developed the TARDIS interior was Dan Walker, an automotive concept designer. Is there any wonder why there are so many car bits on this intriguing beauty? (Although I must admit my favorite bits are the glowing panels. Glowy and shiny! )

...I keep telling myself I'll build this one one day, just need to source the texture spray used on the console - cheaply

It almost looks like they used a spray foam insulation on the wooden framework. (In the States it comes in various brands, one of which is something referred to as "mountains in minutes". That one is a two-part mix. Not sure how you'd work that as it expands very quickly, hence its name.) I'd try sticking to the stuff in the spray can, which is not very expensive. Try it on a piece of test lumber using a sweeping motion like you were applying paint to a car with a spray gun. I know it swells to fill cracks really well, and when it's set, it has the same surface texture-look as the console. So if you use a light "coat" of the spray foam you might get the desired results, and if so one can will go a long way. (This is guesswork on my part. That's one affect they didn't mention in the book when they talked about the console.)

Dino.

[davidnagel]

Thanks Dino - I'll have to see how it goes.

I'm told the console arms are wooden frames with bendy MDF to cover the curvy faces then covered in the texture spray (as does the buttresses/interior struts)

I did think about covering in artex and re-artexing until my hands fall off...

[galacticprobe]

We have that bendy wood-like stuff here in the States. Not sure what it's called, but it's white and has a wood grain to it. It bends almost like plastic and is still nearly as strong as wood. I'll have to look into that if I can ever move about easily enough to try building this console. (I know that bendy stuff worked well on the skiff I was working on; it followed that curve right to the prow easily and without so much as a crack.)

Dino.

[galacticprobe]

Wheel spacers: Besides hanging from those cables in the Eccleston/Tennant console room, thanks to several of Kingpin's magnificent photos of this console I spotted at least one on the console itself - with one of those crystal pointy things in the middle of it. I'll have to scour those photos again to see how many other panels these spacers are on.

And does anyone know what that long, boxy piece with "TOUGHENED" written on it in white letters is? It almost looks like the central piece of one of my kid's karate trophies. (And since he's planning to "ditch the small ones" - his words - I may snag them for the purpose if I can't find out what that part really is.)

Now I really can't wait to get the full-res versions from Megaupload! (Excited? Oh yeah.)

Thanks again, Kingpin, for all of these great shots!

Dino.

[wayne venomous]

Yeah, we've got the TARDIS playset of this console and it quite clearly has a scale wheel spacer around the cone/pyramid thing!

Those things with "toughened" on look like hydraulic rams to me. I'll see if I can find a pic of one.

[Organic Mechanic]

And does anyone know what that long, boxy piece with "TOUGHENED" written on it in white letters is?

That, my friend, is a hydraulic ram. No question. I don't know the make & model, but maybe some of our cross-the-pond associates are familiar with it?

[wayne venomous]

This type of hydraulic ram:


You often see them on diggers or smaller cranes.

[Kingpin]

This type of hydraulic ram:

I'm not completely convinced, the items with "toughened" on them feature a large glass rectangular prism (or at least, prism-like, it doesn't appear to be completely solid).

My brother informs me that this is a variable resistor:

Yeah, we've got the TARDIS playset of this console and it quite clearly has a scale wheel spacer around the cone/pyramid thing!

The Character Option toy of the Tennant Console is a pretty good replication, you can compare the panels on the toy to the ones on-screen and see the more recognisable elements of the architecture.


A couple more parts, from looking at my photos (not trying to rub it in that I haven't posted the full-res ones yet):

The compass:

A P10 compass most commonly seen on a Lancaster Bomber.

Above the red paperweight on the "purple slider" panel is a Hella foglight, I've seen some similar models, but not quite identical to the one on the console.