Quote from: warmcanofcoke on Aug 26, 2011, 02:23 pm
Planet of Desire Planet of Fire components

Nate, is this a screen grab or a photo? If it is a screen-grab, can you remember where you got it from? Thanks.

T

And whilst I'm waiting for Warmcanokcoke to reply to my previous post, a couple more reference photos for you!

The first three are from The Five Doctors:




And this from Planet of Fire ((I think) - note the drop-down panel and additional box fitted under the fascia):


T

Quote from: Tony Farrell on Apr 15, 2017, 09:32 pm

Quote from: warmcanofcoke on Aug 26, 2011, 02:23 pm
Planet of Desire Planet of Fire components

Nate, is this a screen grab or a photo? If it is a screen-grab, can you remember where you got it from? Thanks.

T

I think it is just a screen cap from Planet of Fire. It could be from the Photo Gallery on the DVD.

By way of thanks to Nate for replying, a nice close-up shot of the internal door fitted for The Five Doctors - the handle appears to be two smaller ones butted directly up to each other:



(Open the image in a separate tab and use the magnifying glass to see it at full size.)

T

And since it's Easter, a few more for you - again from The Five Doctors:












With the exception of a couple of the colour photos, the majority are best viewed full-size in a separate tab. Enjoy!

I know that this is a long shot, but on the one in cardiff has a piece of wood nailed over the blank monitor. Is it possible that they did put in a monitor for a particular few shots and then blacked off?

I know these are posted on here somewhere (which, as it goes, I can't find because I'm looking for them), so to save time and grief, here are two decent screen grabs showing that "blank monitor" on the Kelt Console:


Notice that the circular "indicator" indent is also just plain blank, whereas on the other two panels that have this one is the pointy diffuser formerly known as the Gallifrey Recall Indicator (as seen in "Arc Of Infinity"), and the other has a flat diffuser with blinky lights behind it. This would indicate the panel with that third, unseen, monitor was intended to always face the back - away from the camera - never to be seen beyond its monitor's housing.


Then there is this angle, showing a closer look at the face of that blank monitor housing, and it looks pretty solid - a one-piece faceplate and housing with no covered opening for a monitor to be inserted.

Both of those screen grabs are from "Attack Of The Cybermen", and apparently the person calling for these camera angles either didn't take into account that the blanks would be in full shot, or thought that with all the action going on no one would notice the blanks... thinking back then this would be a one-off and then never seen again: never thinking that 30-odd years later thanks to DVD and BluRay releases of this episode people like us would be scrutinizing every detail of any clear frame we could capture, in an endeavour to build as faithful a replica of this (or any) console of our own.

So if the console that was at the DWE did have its third monitor's housing with its faceplate blanked off with a removable cover, it's most likely someone had opened that housing to insert a third monitor during the console's restoration, and someone else told them to put that cover over the opening because they wanted the restoration to be as true to its original appearance as possible, or since the console was used on other productions (one being "Dimensions In Time"; others being in comedic spoofs of the series), during one of those other productions, someone did open that housing with the belief that once they were done with that console, it would find itself back in storage for an unknown period of time. (Remember, no one thought 'Doctor Who' would ever return to TV, at least as a "current, running" series.)

Does any of this make sense?

Dino.

Dino,

You can also see a red rectangle outline on the top of the blank monitor that isn't present on the DWE restoration, and the recessed section at the back of the "monitor" is blanked off in the various screen grabs in the thread.

Here's a comparison shot I took from the DWE a while back. as you say, the blank actually looks like a insert rather than a single piece "face"



I've heard talk before of a rehearsal version of this console, which I seem to remember Purple Blancmange had at least a couple of panels from and was working on (I recall years back him putting pictures up on his now defunct blog) and I've also heard that some of the panels for the console were stolen after a Panopticon event a number of years back (I'm thinking 1993, but I'm probably just guessing that - the whole story could just be a rumour, but I seem to recall reading it as a one liner comment in an old DWM years back).

But if the theft story is true, i've been wondering for years if the version on display could be an amalgamation of the rehearsal and the screen prop..?

If it is, then that particular panel could well have had space for a monitor, but they blocked it off. It would also explain the begged edges of the circle. You would have thought they'd have done more than a piece of card.

There's no doubt that this panel had space for a monitor since this blank monitor housing is the same size as the other two monitor housings on the other panels, however as seen in the episode screen grabs that blank housing never had its "face" cut open for one. The face and rest of the housing is one solid piece (hollow, but with no openings cut into it).

As Steve points out in his photos of the console at the DWE, this blank housing now had a covering over the face, and there is also something covering that circular depression next to it (which, again shown in the screen grabs from the episodes, this circle was never cut open for anything to go into it).

Steve also refreshes memory about the rehearsal console. This could have been the console used for the "Dimensions In Time" Children In Need special (1993) since that console was markedly different than the console seen in the series - not just the paint job, but every control on it was red (http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=1962.0). That console did have a monitor in the housing (at least one; I don't remember if there was ever an angle that showed two monitors at once), and some red insert in the circular depression.

So, if Steve is correct (first about some panels being stolen after an event) and about the restored console at the DWE being an amalgamation of the screen-used series console and the rehearsal (possible "Dimensions") console, then it is feasible the monitor panel from the rehearsal console found its way onto the restored console. Then to make the console look as close as possible to its series appearance, the restorers put that blank covering over the opening where a monitor once was (and something to cover the circular depression to make it look blank as well), which is how the console appeared from "The Five Doctors" until its last series appearance in (I think) "Greatest Show In The Galaxy". (If I'm wrong about the last appearance story title, please correct me.)

As to what they covered those openings with (a piece of card?), only those who restored the console know that. Considering how close people were actually allowed to get to the console (from the roped off photos I've seen - telephoto camera lenses not withstanding), I would think for expediency and cost-saving, a good piece of card and the right paint would have been enough to capture the spirit of the console for visitors to see.

(Am I making any sense with all of this babbling? Also, anyone with more knowledge on this console, please correct any misconceptions I've stated; I don't want to pass on incorrect info that could end up in the "perpetuated rumor" category.)

Dino.
P. S. Note on Purple's blog: It's actually not "defunct" by definition. I speak to him now and them just to keep in touch, and he had told me his blog is still running, but is now private for his family members only. He said it became necessary when cyber-bullying reached a threatening level. He was not only being viciously attacked for things he'd posted about 'Doctor Who' (among other projects) to let fans know some info about the shows, but those bullies began attacking his family members on the blog, and at that point he took his blog private - seriously private. He only allows family members access to it.

The only snap the Wayback Machine Internet Archive has of the link Steve posted is here: Wayback Machine Archive of Purpleblancmange Blog. The photos are sadly gone (as with many of the Wayback Machine's archived sites), but the text is there and should make for a good read, not only for 'Doctor Who' but also for other productions, such as 'Red Dwarf'.

I agree completely with what you are saying. In terms of the form it's in now, it makes perfect sense with what evidence we have. Obviously if there was someone who knew then we would have exact locations. I'll E-mail around to see what I can find. 

I'm pretty certain that Purple posted pictures of the panels from the Rani's TARDIS circa Dimensions in Time and they are in fact new panels.

That would mean there are the originals, the rehearsal and the Dimensions in time set out there.

I also notice that the pedestal has a blank part. There are pictures from (possibly) Panopticon which just show an empty space and in its DWE guise that same panel just has a piece of board over it. No 3d hexagon on it.

So even if they had a panel from the rani console it would still be labelled as "screen used". It may also explain what I can see as a darker paint job. It was like that when I went but could just be the light. But even then, given the amount of reference we do have, its impossible not to get the amalgamation of panels back to their original and intended state.