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Grackle's Comprehensive Guide to Every Classic Console

Grackle

Grackle

Active member
Hello there, my name is Grackle and very soon I'm going to be posting a ZIP file with graphics I made for every console and TARDIS Interior seen in the classic era.
Here is a sneak peak, but as this is a hefty project, it might be a good month before I get to posting them. I have to make sure it's all correct and as accurate as I can.
1755648173578.png
 
Grackle said:
Ok, the 1963 console project is done, 99%
Take a read, a gander if you will.
The TARDIS console project.docx
I'm sure there's something I've forgotten or mistyped.
Enjoy.
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Excellent work in charting the changes (major & minor) which befell the original Console throughout its six years in use. A great resource and a testament to your observational skills.

You refer to the black strips dotted around the various panels which gradually disappeared as being made from tape (and therefore peeling off). This isn't correct - these strips were made of black (or dark grey) plastic and can be seen to be approximately 1/8th thick in several close-up shots of the Console. It is correct to say that these strips were made from Dymo Tape on the reproduction console made for 2013's "An Adventure in Space & Time" as these strips had various production staff names (e.g., Bernard Wilkie) embossed on them.

But that's carping criticism. Again, this is excellent work. Thank you.
 
AKF1961 said:
Excellent work in charting the changes (major & minor) which befell the original Console throughout its six years in use. A great resource and a testament to your observational skills.

You refer to the black strips dotted around the various panels which gradually disappeared as being made from tape (and therefore peeling off). This isn't correct - these strips were made of black (or dark grey) plastic and can be seen to be approximately 1/8th thick in several close-up shots of the Console. It is correct to say that these strips were made from Dymo Tape on the reproduction console made for 2013's "An Adventure in Space & Time" as these strips had various production staff names (e.g., Bernard Wilkie) embossed on them.

But that's carping criticism. Again, this is excellent work. Thank you.
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Do you happen to have any good references for them? Everything I've seen points to them being very thin. I'd be grateful for some evidence.
 
Grackle said:
Do you happen to have any good references for them? Everything I've seen points to them being very thin. I'd be grateful for some evidence.
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"Strangers In Space" (Episode 1 of The Sensorites) gives a clear shot of some of these strips. As can be seen, they cast shadows and therefore must have a depth/thickness to them. Another (not quite-so-clear) shot from "An Unearthly child", again shows that these strips are casting shadows - something which tape wouldn't do.
 

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AKF1961 said:
"Strangers In Space" (Episode 1 of The Sensorites) gives a clear shot of some of these strips. As can be seen, they cast shadows and therefore must have a depth/thickness to them. Another (not quite-so-clear) shot from "An Unearthly child", again shows that these strips are casting shadows - something which tape wouldn't do.
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It still looks like tape to me, but I think I wasn't clear in my document. I should have said magnetic tape, which is what I believe it to be. You can see in the "Sensorites" image that the large bar seems to have a bend to it, very slightly. Plus magnetic tape is around 3mm thick, 0.125 inches. What do you think?
 
Grackle said:
It still looks like tape to me, but I think I wasn't clear in my document. I should have said magnetic tape, which is what I believe it to be. You can see in the "Sensorites" image that the large bar seems to have a bend to it, very slightly. Plus magnetic tape is around 3mm thick, 0.125 inches. What do you think?
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I'm also sure there are other shots which show it to be blocks of acrylic.

When you say magnetic tape, I assume you mean like reel to reel magnetic tape? Im which case, 3mm is way more than that would be.
 

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Grackle said:
It still looks like tape to me, but I think I wasn't clear in my document. I should have said magnetic tape, which is what I believe it to be. You can see in the "Sensorites" image that the large bar seems to have a bend to it, very slightly. Plus magnetic tape is around 3mm thick, 0.125 inches. What do you think?
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Well, we agree that the little strips are approximately 1/8th inch thick!

Strips of self-adhesive magnetic tape are a perfectly possible alternative; the people who dressed the Console would have had access to a wide variety of things. I simply think that - given they used dark grey and black Perspex elsewhere on the Console, it would make sense to use this for the strip detailing as well.

I guess, after sixty-something years, this is a tiny detail & we'll probably never be able to state definitively either way.
 
In this case, I think thickness equates to height- and that's why I don't think 1/8" audio tape would cover it. Width of the tape, sure.

Sorry, I hope that doesn't sound snippy 🙈

I just think we need to know that we're all using the terminology the same.
 
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rassilonsrod said:
In this case, I think thickness equates to height- and that's why I don't think 1/8" audio tape would cover it. Width of the tape, sure.

Sorry, I hope that doesn't sound snippy 🙈

I just think we need to know that we're all using the terminology the same.
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I've always assumed the tape is .125inches thick/tall, and 0.5inches wide/long. Plus based on the images with a slight bend, it makes most sense to me to be magnetic tape/strip or, as AKF says, possibly strips of acrylic.
 
Please allow me to confuse things a little again. Some pictures from later episodes (like this one from "The Daleks' Master Plan") reveal varying thickness of these strips. That one long strip above the main conrol lever still clearly has thickness to it, however two shorter strips below look like duct tape replacements.

silver lever detail.jpg

Nevertheless, I too believe they were all originally blocks of acrylic or perspex. Bending might actually be just an optical illusion caused by the camera lens, like here you can see the console fin is bent like crazy!

_Robs DVD rippapolza-0-01-02-885.jpg
 
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Ok. So just to try and reduce confusion. I found an image from Google. It's not magnetic tape, but it'll do as a representation. Excuse the crudity of the labels, I did this on my phone 😁

So x is what l"ve been calling widrh.
Which makes z length and y is height.

In 0.125" (1/8") tape. That's x.

Magnetic tape is very thin. Y =0.0118" (0.3mm)

Cut that to length and there's no way it's casting shadows.
 

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rassilonsrod said:
Ok. So just to try and reduce confusion. I found an image from Google. It's not magnetic tape, but it'll do as a representation. Excuse the crudity of the labels, I did this on my phone 😁

So x is what l"ve been calling widrh.
Which makes z length and y is height.

In 0.125" (1/8") tape. That's x.

Magnetic tape is very thin. Y =0.0118" (0.3mm)

Cut that to length and there's no way it's casting shadows.
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so the magnetic tape i used on my console has an X of 0.5inches, a Z of 0.125inches, and a Y of indefinite amount, since you can trim it down.
 
vtalanov98 said:
Please allow me to confuse things a little again. Some pictures from later episodes (like this one from "The Daleks' Master Plan") reveal varying thickness of these strips. That one long strip above the main conrol lever still clearly has thickness to it, however two shorter strips below look like duct tape replacements.

View attachment 777153

Nevertheless, I too believe they were all originally blocks of acrylic or perspex. Bending might actually be just an optical illusion caused by the camera lens, like here you can see the console fin is bent like crazy!
...
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Makes sense. Look at all the other overspray and dings and touch-up paint in that picture. "Oh crap, these little strips came off. Hand me some gaffer's tape, we've got to start shooting in 5 minutes."
 
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