From my research, it appears that in The War Machines, the roof section was replaced. The original was a 43 inch square, while The War Machines roof was a 43x45inch rectangle (to account for the now shorter sides). In 1971 another new roof was made, as its clear by Season 8 that the roof almost overhangs several of the corner posts, which it previously did not, so my estimate for the new roof is around 45x47inch (based on the almost-overhang).

Yes, agreed! I've always been fond of it, also cos I love old wood and brass things 😁

The steps in situ, waiting for Tegan to blunder in through the doors.


I also tried out a different effect for the roundels, but I think it makes them look metallic, rather than lights now.

Quote from: Rassilons Rod on Sep 02, 2024, 06:36 am

Quote from: MttElby on Sep 02, 2024, 03:35 amA comparison with the actual prop:

Oh that's really nice!

Thanks. For me it's an iconic part of Logopolis, so I wanted to include it, even though where it comes from and where it disappears to, is never revealed.

Tony was quite exhaustive in his measurements and I'm not sure I've seen DW1200's plans.

But in either case, it was so long ago, that I'm not sure anyone can say for sure if it was modified or fully replaced, at any point in it's career. I think the best we can do is obtain the measurements.

I don't believe there are any documents (not public anyway) that say what was planned to be done on it.

I suspect the team at Shawcraft(?) were probably just told, "FIX HER UP!" and left to get on with it.

While reading over various plans and writings on the Altered Brachacki box, I've noticed some differing interpretations of its roofs, and was hoping someone could potentially shed some light on it.

Tony Farrell's prop history and plans from 2013 state that the roof was initially retained from the original Brachacki, and it was only replaced in 1971; The original being square, and the replacement being rectangular to better fit the box's odd shape.

However, the writing and history are of course outdated, and his later collaborative plans with DW1200 that I don't think were completed have the altered box's roof as rectangular from the off.

Paul Smith's Tardis Chronicles book says the original roof was retained, and curiously says that the 1971 replacement was wider, but still square! I don't think I've seen any other source repeat this, but I'm not necessarily inclined to distrust it, given how accurate a resource it is.

So my questions are:
1) Was the roof replaced during the War Machines refit/soon after? It's at the very least visibly taller with a new, very thin section at the bottom, but this doesn't necessarily mean that it was entirely replaced.
2) If so, was this replacement rectangular?
3) Was the 1971 replacement roof rectangular?

I've glanced over various images, but with how rarely we see the box from above, and the increasing oddness of her geometry to compare against it's hard for me to say anything confidently. If only Tony and DW1200 had gotten to photogrammetry work on it..

Quote from: MttElby on Sep 02, 2024, 03:35 amA comparison with the actual prop:

Oh that's really nice!

A comparison with the actual prop:

One set of spiral steps:

I was asked to build a Laser Screwdriver out of PVC from a YouTube commenter. And now, I need some help with a Screwdriver Blueprint. There are some details that escape me.