I was browsing through Rubbertoe's today, when I came across two of their latest products. Both products are the Eleventh Doctor's sonic, but with an interesting twist.

The first is the RT Mk.1:
I love the combination of the silver and black casing with the blue core, and the Gallifreyan writing on the cage is a nice addition.
http://www.rubbertoereplicas.com/_p/prd1/4571388831/product/rt-mk1




The second new design is the Mk.2 (Rubbertoe Redwood):
The walnut wood and brass casing contrasts really nicely with the red core, and the etched Gallifreyan writing lends a cool Victorian/steampunk aesthetic.
http://www.rubbertoereplicas.com/_p/prd1/4570835311/product/the-mk2-(rubbertoe-redwood)

Sorry, I was talking to Nick about these recently so can't help but offer some interesting factoids about these sonics:

- The black and silver version bears am uncanny resemblance to the one the 12th Doctor uses in his Panini comic line. Whilst you'd want to think one inspired the other, the two actually got unveiled in the same week! Both Robatto and Panini decided Capaldi needed a darker sonic variety and simultaneously revealed identical concepts!
- The black and silver was developed first as a little hobby-project by Robatto. He posted it online and after a positive reception decided to release it along with the other, as he did with variants on his sci-fi watches.
- These could be considered, in the prop-makers eye, the definitive sonics right now. Smith's is a little outdated, but Nick has expressed disappointment that the new blue model is receiving such a push, when really the prior models have far more history behind them.

I really love these things and would jump at the chance to own one! I was lucky enough to be able to inspect a prototype black one a few days ago, actually, and really enjoyed it! I was a big surprised at just how much lighter than the Smith one it is, and the flicking action is very different. It doesn't so much flick open as slide up. It does suffer from the same cage-detaching issues as earlier Smith sonics, however, as the morning after the night before I played with it I received a message from its owner saying the top had come off! Oh well...



Sorry for the slight hijak and thanks for bringing this to the forum!

Quote from: superrichi1a on Dec 03, 2016, 03:11 pm
Sorry, I was talking to Nick about these recently so can't help but offer some interesting factoids about these sonics:

No need to apologise, superrichi1a, I find any and all information about Doctor Who props very interesting, so hijack away!

Quote from: superrichi1a on Dec 03, 2016, 03:11 pm
Both Robatto and Panini decided Capaldi needed a darker sonic variety and simultaneously revealed identical concepts!

Agreed. It would be much better if Capaldi had used this sonic in series 8 (rather than reusing Matt Smith's old copper sonic). The black and silver colour scheme would have matched the Twelfth Doctor's darker persona and console room. After all, since the show returned in 2005, the sonic has always matched the TARDIS's interior in some way.

Quote from: superrichi1a on Dec 03, 2016, 03:11 pm
I really love these things and would jump at the chance to own one! I was lucky enough to be able to inspect a prototype black one a few days ago, actually, and really enjoyed it!

So jealous! I'd love to see one of these in the flesh, but at the moment the £500 price tag is a little out of my price range.
I may try my hand at modifying one of my old CO sonics to match the black and silver colour scheme, but I have a few other projects to finish up first.

Thanks again for posting this, it was a very interesting read.
Kind regards, The14thDr

If you modify a toy do let us know how it goes! I've seen one done before but it was a very quick rush job, and the comics variant as opposed to the Robatto one (almost same color scheme but no symbols etc).

I have an older converted 11th Doctor remote that is now broken. I keep meaning to take it apart and turn it into an approximation of this but I haven't found the time yet!

Seeing that brass and wood version really makes me wish someone could get the rights for CO to put out the wood and brass version of the 8th Doctor's sonic screwdriver. (Funny: I was never keen on that until I started watching people building replicas, especially Oblivion's. Then that version grew on me like Jungle Rot and I'd love to get my hands on one!)

With the black and silver version of this Smith sonic, I think it would have been a better "upgrade" for Capaldi to use. The new blue one he's got is pretty cool, and surprisingly comfortable to hold in the hand (and CO did a great job on their replica), but the black and silver with the blue emitter really looks more the part. (Just MHO.)

Dino.

Somehow it hadn't occurred to me before that first silver and black one with the blue emitter, the similarity to Anthony Ainley Master's Tissue Compression Eliminator.  I mean, they don't look alike, but they share traits.  Did they ever do a nuWho TCE? 

They didn't make a new version of the TCE nor did they have a TCE in the new series if that was what your asking.

Quote from: volpone on Dec 05, 2016, 05:34 am
Did they ever do a nuWho TCE?

Chris is right; they didn't have a TCE in the New Series when they had the all-too-few Master episodes. In "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords" the Master (who really should have grown that evil goatee back once he'd been elected Prime Minister) used a "laser" screwdriver. (As he said: "Laser screwdriver. Who'd have sonic?")

In "The End of Time Parts 1 & 2", the Master didn't have anything other than his beam-shooting hands for weapons. (Well, those, and his carnivorous cannibalistic appetite!)

Dino.

Quote from: The14thDr on Dec 03, 2016, 01:40 pm

Wow!

No joke, I actually had an idea of a sonic design close to the Mk1 (minus the Gallifreyan writing, which would actually just make it a reskin or recolor -- not sure how to put it correctly; cannot make do words right and stuff lol). Anyway...

Man I wish I could have something like that; if only I had an income THAT disposable....

- Hunter

Quote from: ThePuzzledBoy on Dec 06, 2016, 10:22 am
Man I wish I could have something like that; if only I had an income THAT disposable....

Join the club, mate. Quoting the Face of Boe: "You Are Not Alone."

Dino.