To be honest I hadn't even noticed the buttons on the side! (That's the problem with building the 60s props - the reference images are often too blurry to make out the smaller details such as that) And by the metal disc, I presume you mean the one used to attach the device to that massive door in the episode?

Quote from: troughtonstrousers on Jun 27, 2017, 08:17 am
and the metal disc on the back.

Quote from: The14thDr on Jun 27, 2017, 08:32 am
I presume you mean the one used to attach the device to that massive door in the episode?

Yes,that would be a round magnet. 

Chris.

Quote from: troughtonstrousers on Jun 27, 2017, 08:17 am
Excellent work don't forget ... the metal disc on the back

Quote from: The14thDr on Jun 27, 2017, 08:32 am
... I presume you mean the one used to attach the device to that massive door in the episode?

Quote from: Davros Skaro on Jun 27, 2017, 09:06 am
Yes,that would be a round magnet.  

Chris.

Before I got any further with this build I carefully removed the back again and glued a small magnet to the inside. Although it's completely hidden, the device can now be attached to any magnetic surface.

Then, thanks to a suggestion from troughtonstrousers, I added two buttons to the side of the detector (I didn't even know they were there until you pointed it out )



As you can see I've also painted the main body black - all that remains to be done now is to paint the buttons.



More updates soon.
Kind regards, The14thDr

I realize this is a bit late and that you are the cardboard king (or Lord?) but I found mosaic tiles good for the buttons when I did mine. I'm sure the buttons will look great as they are.

Cardboard King/Lord, it's all the same.

That's a good idea. Unfortunately I've already painted the buttons, and daren't remove them for fear of damaging the black part, but I'll definitely bear that in mind for any future versions of this prop (I'm currently on the lookout for any cheap voltage/EMF/similar detectors so I can make a second, "functioning" replica )

All finished now!
I painted the buttons red and silver then gave the whole thing a coating of PVA glue to seal the paint and give it a shinier gloss effect.






Let me know what you think - I'm quite proud of how this one turned out if I do say so myself.

Kind regards, The14thDr

Wow, that looks great, but I think your missing the red light that goes at the bottom right where there is a "blank" (no "button") to make the 3x3, if you know what I mean.
You've done a great job on it though. 

Chris.

Thanks Davros Skaro! I have noticed that detail on all the other builds of this prop, but when I looked at the reference photos, I couldn't actually see anything where the LED is supposed to be, which is why I left it off.

Excellent build tho you have forgotten the led and the buttons are in the wrong place

Personally I find comments such as that rather rude.

I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything, I can’t see an LED in any of the screenshots from the episode so how can we say for sure that there is one? There isn't much to go on for this prop, and what we do have is rather blurry, so I think it’s impossible for anyone to say for sure what may or may not be the correct arrangement for those buttons.

I've edited my finished photo with the images I used as a reference point, as well as my annotations to show what I see as the placement of the buttons.



As for the LED, see my above comment to Davros Skaro. If you also check out Oblivion's comment on another build (http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=6188) you'll see I'm not the only one who doesn't see an LED on the original prop.

I've never seen any "light" in that blank spot either when trying to scrutinize this prop. Back in the late 1960s, that would have been a small incandescent bulb - like from a torch/flashlight, and set in one of those sockets with the domed lens covering - if there was one there. LEDs, if they were even created back then, wouldn't have been readily available to the general public, and would have been on the expensive side.

Today we take LEDs for granted, but in the 1960s they would have been like gold.

As for the placement of the red and white/silver squares, we now have three different arrangements of them: 14th's as we see here, TT's seen just above, and Oblivion's (from his revised "accurate" version) in the thread linked to above. Knowing just how focused Oblivion was when it came to the details on the replicas he made, it's possible that his placement of those squares is the correct one. (That's not to say it is the correct placement, only that is it possible owing to Oblivion's obsession with accuracy.)

Dino.

How do you coat with PVA without getting brush marks and blobs on the surface? Is it a trick or is it perseverance and patience?

Thin the PVA down with water about 1/4 water 3/4 PVA or there about.

Chris.

Quote from: Davros Skaro on Jun 29, 2017, 04:34 am
Thin the PVC down with water...

Chris, did you mean "PVA"? (And I've been wondering, exactly what is "PVA glue"? I've seen it mentioned a lot in Build Diaries, but I've never been sure of what it was? And what is the US equivalent, if there is one?)

Dino.

Yes I meant PVA, corrected, thanks Dino. PVA is just white wood glue, stands for "Polyvinyl acetate" here's a link to it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_acetate
Don't know the American equivalent though sorry.

Chris.