The Console room Light Box

[silverfox]

I'm rather interested in the construction of the cabinet-like light box in the original TARDIS console room. (I may build a scale version to go with my console.)

My first question - how many were there?
I always assumed there was just the one, but on re-watching Edge of Destruction there appear to be be two - one on either side of the console room.
Either there was one prop and it was moved around during breaks in recording or there were actually two of them in existence.
There are least meant to be two in the show. As we look from the doors, past the console to the fault locator wall, there is one on the left and later we see one near the internal doors to the right.

From what I can understand of the construction it appears to be an empty box with rows of strip lights attached to the inside back wall. The front of the cabinet is an extremely dark tinted plexi-glass type material. This cuts out most of the light but allows us to see the layout of the internal lights.
The sides of the box appear to be white frosted material which lets out most of the diffused light.

Does anyone have anymore details of the construction?
If they dont already exist I may draw up rough plans

[DoctorWho8]

Ask some of the 3D modeled who have done the Hartnell TARDIS to see what they come up with.
Bill "the Doctor" Rudloff

[rob49152]

ok.. I can tell you exact dimensions.. Don't ask how as I've been sworn to an NDA All this should hopefully be clear some day.

The full tower is 10.0 feet high exactly with the base being 1.0 foot high (so just the top box is 9.0 "high). The base is inset 4 inches on all sides. The top box is 3.0 feet deep from front to back and is 4.0 feet wide. Turns out the glowing white sides are not straight. They form a V shape to the bar that runs up the middle. From the looks only the one side had any detail (if glowing white panel is detail??)

Hope that helps

[galacticprobe]

Interesting facts, Rob. Thanks for the insight. In the first photo above it looks like that lighted panel with the center bar is flat (see its bottom). But in the third photo its bottom does indeed look V-shaped (angling inward). Is it possible they made it with two different sides (so they could turn it around and make one box look like it was two)? Or did they actually make two boxes with only one lighted side each, and have one flat and the other V-shaped?

Dino.

[Rassilons Rod]

I think it might be a case of something like this (for one side).



     
     
     


     
     
     


     
     
     

	BACK           plain
LEFT           plain		RIGHT           Tube lamps under tinted panel
	FRONT           Illuminated Panels

And the other side was a mirror image, if I'm not mistaken.


The plain sides would be at the back or towards the walls so as not to be seen, in principle - though as we all know these sorts of plans weren't always stuck to.

[silverfox]

Some very interesting information - thanks!

I thought that the inner sides may have been curved judging by some of the photos, but a V shape makes more sense for construction.
It also looks like there is a clear plexi glass on the outside edge if you look at the reflections in the second image.

Here are some more photos - the last one seems to show the undetailed side that was mentioned.

[Rassilons Rod]

Ohh... That is interesting, I might have to tweak the model I just rebuilt!

[rob49152]

according to the plans only one side had the V shaped light panels. The other side was flat with an indented groove running along the whole length. You can see it in the last image above where they've obviously positioned the prop backwards (silly stange hands).

[galacticprobe]

Plans? Would you please post a copy of them so we could all get a look at them? They'd also make an excellent addition to the Reference section where other plans are. (Since this is prior to 2005 those plans are safe to post here.)

I, for one, would be very curious to see how this was drawn out.

Dino.

[Rassilons Rod]

Right, well a couple of hours work and a bit of rendering later....

I still need to add the panel lights in the front, and fix the back geometry.

If the embedding doesn't work, click here.

[Scarfwearer]

The embedding wasn't working because the forum software didn't know about the new "youtu.be" format links. It does now.

Crispin

[Rassilons Rod]

Thanks

[galacticprobe]

Looking at the above photos where the lights are on, and you can see through the tinted Plexi/Perspex, it almost looks like those light tube segments are the same ones they used for the lights in the console's central column (especially in the photo with William Hartnell by the console and out of costume). These would be the same ones also used in the Pertwee/early Tom Baker column.

Does anyone else think that's the case with the lighting inside the box?

Dino.

[Rassilons Rod]

I made the same assumption. After the research made in the other thread about the lamps, I made some in 3D.

I nicked them from my console set for this model

[DoctorWho8]

Don't you love it when you can steal items from yourself?
Bill "the Doctor" Rudloff