Thanks guys, was beginning to think I'd imagined it!

Quote from: kiwidoc on Jul 20, 2016, 02:24 am
Great pic, always fascinates me.  Weird thing is, I NEVER had any sense of the red bits being lit in the show - it wasn't until Jarrod built his replica that I discovered it was a thing (and I thought it was his own choice initially).  I guess the studio lights just washed out the glow - unless anyone can point out a show where the lit-up streaks was obvious?   

If you look at the positioning of the fluorescents they appear to be tucked away from the red sections. I'm guessing this is why they didn't shine through as much as they could if they were positioned directly behind the red strips.

Great minds think alike, Steve! I posted the same guess a few posts earlier. It's nice to see I'm not the only one who thought that way.

Dino.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree, Dino. I don't think they used Perspex at the back of the slots. I think the backs of the slots are simply thinner fibreglass, covered in red paint. You can see in my close-ups that the corners are too soft for them to be joining to a separate piece of anything. Also, Perspex would be allowing a lot more light through.

Looking at that picture you posted, specifically looking carefully at the slots on the right-hand panel, you can clearly see that the redness goes partly up the side of the slot, just as in the close-ups I posted. If it was just red Perspex then it would be confined to the back of the slot.

It's even possible they originally thought that the slots would be illuminated by the central column alone, and had to add the lights when it became obvious that wasn't sufficient.

A wee bit of trivia comes to mind. Carole Ann Ford is the only actor to have recorded scenes with both the first and last version of the classic series consoles.

Quote from: timewomble on Jul 20, 2016, 07:50 pm
It's even possible they originally thought that the slots would be illuminated by the central column alone, and had to add the lights when it became obvious that wasn't sufficient.

I think that the six 'internal' fluorescent tubes were fitted as much to help illuminate the central column as to light the red recesses - i.e., to emphasise the crystalline structure of the 'time rotor' as it rises and falls.

T

Quote from: Tony Farrell on Jul 20, 2016, 11:18 pm
I think that the six 'internal' fluorescent tubes were fitted as much to help illuminate the central column as to light the red recesses - i.e., to emphasise the crystalline structure of the 'time rotor' as it rises and falls.

I'd agree with that. If they were just intended for the red recesses then I think they'd have had a reflector to boost what is, as it stands, a fairly subtle effect.

I suppose it's even possible that the tubes were only intended to help illuminate the 'time rotor', and any light bleed through the red recesses was a happy accident.

- Peter

Photos from the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff...

And a short video...

Talk about attention to (some) detail: I love how they actually left the one circular indent and the blank (dummy) monitor as both blanks, just as they were in the series. The "some" detail I refer to is the missing red tubes in the column's lighting, and the light tubes around the perimeter of the console's collar - the ones used to help light the column and also throw light through the red perspex in the collar's slots.

Other than that, they did a magnificent job on this console.

Great photos, Dale! Thanks again for sharing!

Dino.

A few more reference pictures:

Great photos Tony, thanks for sharing.

I've just re-read your comments Dino and they intimate that you think this is a replica console, but I'm fairly sure this is the original.

You're welcome Mark!

Just to confirm - the Kelt version of the Console at the DWE in Cardiff is indeed the original - TV used - Console! 

T

Quote from: Mark on Apr 14, 2017, 02:01 pm
I've just re-read your comments Dino and they intimate that you think this is a replica console...

Yeah. It looked quite pristine for a console that had been in storage for 20-some-odd years, so I thought it was a combo of part original and part repro to complete the console for display. (Some places don't take that great of care when it comes to storing props from shows that stopped production over 20 years earlier.)

Quote from: Tony Farrell on Apr 14, 2017, 02:49 pm
Just to confirm - the Kelt version of the Console at the DWE in Cardiff is indeed the original - TV used - Console!  

And I guess this shows why the detail on that console is so amazing! I guess they just had to clean it up a little, and maybe just do a little refurb on it to make it pristine again.

I've got it straight now.

Dino.

Like a lot of the items on display at the DWE, the Kelt Console is privately owned, and has been for many years... so this perhaps partly explains its reasonably good condition.

TF.