Tony's Console Room Measurements

[tony farrell]

Yes, the larger image definitely helps. I can see the raised edge now. Amazing that they would go through the trouble to add the detail and then never put a light in it.

I'm looking forward to your examination of the fault locator area.
[/quote]

Cheers Cobalt - I guess the intention was to light it at some point but that a lack of time/money prevented it from being utilised in the way it was conceived. Bit of a pity as I think the shadows the diffusers cast are quite atmospheric especially when the rest of the Control Room is dimly lit.

Tony

P.S., more details on the fault locator are on their way - I promise!

[tony farrell]

Cobalt's comments prompted me to recheck whether the rear down-lighter did, indeed, have the diffuser/concentric circle detailing and whether it had ever been lit. In the course of looking, I looked at this picture again (from 'The Pilot Episode') and it had been staring me in the face all the time -





Tony

[tony farrell]

Earlier in this thread I said that I'd considered the idea that the scanner scaffolding recess acted as a counter-weight to the TV set which formed the scanner but had dismissed this idea because the TV set would weigh too much and the whole thing might topple forward. I also said that I thought what I've called 'scaffolding' didn't do that much in the way of acting as scaffolding because it didn't support anything. Well, this picture prompted me to have a re-think...



The front section of the Space Time Visualiser is probably made out of hardboard and must weigh a considerable amount and yet, it is obviously fixed to a mobile table. It appears to be quite stable.

This set me off on a little journey looking at how TV sets are supported and I thought I'd share these








It's clear that studio flats are - at least in part - held in place by wires from the studio ceiling and further stabilised at the bottom by the addition of weights.


The scanner in the Pilot Episode at first sight appears to hang from wires from the studio ceiling. But then I thought what is the point of the scaffolding recess and why have it on wheels?



The following screen grabs show what I think is happening (the first picture has been flipped so that you can compare it to the one from The Pilot Episode:

[tony farrell]

I think that the wires visible in the Pilot Episode are still there but are now effectively hidden inside the scanner housing/outer TV box.

The following picture shows a just how far back inside the housing the TV set is actually mounted (look at the depth of the TV screen and how far back it is in relation to the outer black surround):



With the TV set so far back, the centre of gravity is also further back and this mitigates against any risk of the assembly toppling forward it also explains why there is no perspex panel immediately to the rear of the TV set as the space is needed for the bottom of the scanner surrounding to be tilted slightly backwards (thus allowing the cast a better view of the scanner and also avoiding reflections on the TV screen from the studio lights).



So, this is how I now think the scanner is mounted on the scaffolding to its rear:



Tony

[tony farrell]

Lastly, here are my measurements for the recess in the scaffolding.

Regards

Tony

[warmcanofcoke]

Tony you are the master of dimensions 

[markofrani]

Tony, this is FANTASTIC! You really are the guv'nor when it comes to extrapolating measurements from the poorest of photo references! AMAZING! Can't wait for the fault locator wall!

[tony farrell]

Tony you are the master of dimensions 

Thanks Warmcanofcoke. (Do you realise just how hard 'warmcanofcoke' is to type without the spacing, warm_can_of_coke?) 

"Master of Measurements" would make a good forum name. I just might steal that one from you!

Seriously, thanks for the compliment. I hope that I've managed not just to provide measurements but, also, to show how I've arrived at those figures.

Kind Regards

Tony

[Rassilons Rod]

Given the half downlighter rings that appear underneath the scanner (and just in front of it) I wonder if it was meant to look as if it could recede into the ceiling and come out when needed...

[tony farrell]

Tony, this is FANTASTIC! You really are the guv'nor when it comes to extrapolating measurements from the poorest of photo references! AMAZING! Can't wait for the fault locator wall!

Thanks Jonathan, coming from someone who has built 1:6 scale models of not only the original console but Pertwee's version and a set of roundelled (is there such a word a 'roundelled'?  ) internal walls complete with bucket moldings, I take that as a real compliment - cheers!

I hope that I've been able to show how I've arrived at my figures/observations and that there is a certain logic in how I've gone about this.... I've been helped along the way by the other threads in this forum and by hours of 'trawling the interweb' for photos, etc.

It is true that the screen references can be poor at times - after all, the BBC was (and is) making a family drama not a programme about the internal measurements of a studio set. That said, the inconsistency with which the various elements of the Tardis set were assembled has actually been a tremendous help in that it is possible to compare how the different elements compare/relate to each other from different angles. So, once you know one measurement (like the height of the Police Box prop's doors), a lot of the rest can be worked out from that.

It's also nice to have other people contribute to this thread as well - to get their thoughts and to increase all our knowledge. Also, that way I don't think that I'm just talking to myself - though, I do do that as well!  

The Fault Locator is on its way but, before that, I want to make a final few comments on the down-lighter/scanner section - hopefully, these will how this relates to the Fault Locator Wall and give support to my measurements for the Fault Locator.

Kind Regards

Tony  

[tony farrell]

Given the half downlighter rings that appear underneath the scanner (and just in front of it) I wonder if it was meant to look as if it could recede into the ceiling and come out when needed...

Yes, Rasillonsrod - I think that was exactly the intention. If you have the 'Beginnings' DVD, watch the small documentary about the Tardis (Warris Hussein is a bit disparaging about Brachaki's design as is Richard Martin who directed "The Edge of Destruction"). However Richard does reveal that the intention was for the scanner to descend from the down-lighter when in use, though this idea was never realised on screen because it took too much time to put this part of the Tardis set together.
A shame really!
Tony   

[tony farrell]

Thanks to Kert Gantry, I was prompted to have a look at The Celestial Toymaker and was able to take these screen grabs which show the scanner (minus the half roundel underneath) still in its scaffolding support but minus the Perspex panels to either side.



I don't think this drawing is very far out!



Regards
Tony

[tony farrell]

I mentioned that I'd like to make a few more comments/observations regarding the Scanner Scaffolding and to show how this section relates to the Fault Locator Wall.

The first screen grab is from episode one of "The Daleks" and shows the rear upright of the scaffolding and how it is weighted to provide additional stability (note how narrow the gap between the rear of the scaffolding and the Fault Locator Wall is):



This makes the scaffolding look something like this:



The next screen grab is from "The Brink of Disaster" and shows how much the gap between the rear of the scaffolding and the Fault Locator Wall has grown!



Tony

[tony farrell]

I've already shown that the Scanner down-lighter/scaffolding measures 240" across. From this and from the size of the console it is possible to begin the establish the width of the Fault Locator Wall itself:

My favourite layout of the original Control Room is as it was shown in "The Edge of Destruction/The Brink of Disaster". Not only are all the elements of the Tardis set present, but they are arranged (with only slight differences to the Fault Locator Wall) in the same order across both episodes.

Let's take this screen grab as our starting point:



In this picture, I've added some measurements




In this screen grab, I've high-lighted the principal elements of the set in the colours I'll use for this part of the discussion:



From this photograph - using perspective lines - it is possible to extrapolate additional measurements (note, there is only one hexagonal floor plate (immediately under the console) - the two hexagonal plates shown underneath the scanner down-lighters and immediately in front of the Fault Locator Wall do not exist but have been superimposed on the photos for measuring purposes only):





Kind Regards
Tony

[galacticprobe]

Judging from some of the screen grabs in this thread, it looks like the set builders used a truckload of those small tube lights. (They're in the column of the console, they're in those light towers, they're all over that perspex wall in the above photo with the green text denoting the "triangular support section and weight"... They're everywhere!)

And those are some serious calculations you're making, Tony. Bravo on that!

Dino.