K9 Ears

[flaming cog]

Just a quick question. Does the Mark II K9 have 3 circles on his ears, for 2 circles and a bead? I have been looking all over but found no solid evidence.

Thank you
Luke

[galacticprobe]

Unless I'm wrong - which is highly possible - I think the only difference between K9 Mk I And K9 MkII (and maybe even K9 Mk III) was a new paint job, and maybe the addition of a handle to make it easier to carry (or toss him) as needed.

Dino.

[flaming cog]

I was unsure... as every time I have seen the prop, the detail has already fallen off. So it 3 circles on his ears?

thanks again
Luke

[galacticprobe]

OK. You got me on this one. I don't have many photos of K9, and the few I do have don't have that close of details on his ears so I can't tell. What I mentioned about the paint job being the only thing different between the models is what I heard in an interview (I think on BBC America not long ago) where the person being interviewed said there has only ever been one K9 prop, and to represent the "new" models all the prop was ever given was a "respray."

Of course, at the end of "School Reunion" when the Doctor leaves behind the new K9 Mark IV, and in "The Sarah Jane Adventures" it is obvious to see that (besides yet another respray) this time he's got some new detailing to his "eyes", and his ears are missing all of the small circles and appear to be simple elliptical meshes. So beyond those minor details we need input from those in the group who have done the K9 research for their builds.

Dino.

[eddyc]

Most of the photos I have show three rings like this....

[quigonj]

Here is a screen cap directly from my DVD of the Ribos Operation.



It appears that the Mark II dog has the three rings.

[flaming cog]

Thank you everyone I have now put the three rings on my K9 ears. Build diary:http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=1128.msg9704#msg9704

Luke

[welshorals]

Does anyone have any dimensions for k9's ears??
Many thanks

[exleo]

The Original series built two K9 props, the full working hero prop, and a light weight dummy stunt prop (this had a slightly different head shape) These were used for all the various K9s and mostly just had a colour change, though occasionally small details such as the bars for his eye changed but that was due to wear and tear....the ears always remained the same though with the 3 ring configuration.
Later after the series had finished being made, K9s ears changed for a BBC science program (Search Out Science) in which he appeared with the Doctor and Ace. For this the prop was painted a slight dark greenish colour and the ears were rebuilt minus the rings, just the empty mesh ones seen at the end of 'school reunion' on the Mk IV prop.
By the time of 'School Reunion' the main prop was back to being blue again after being used for appearances in such programs as 'Queer as Folk', but, it was the original Dummy Prop that was refitted, with a new hero matching head (actually a better and more even shaped head than the hero one) and fitted with electronics and RC to become the rusty battered version that was 'blown up'. We then reverted to the Original hero prop at the end as the Mk IV with no ear loops to be given to sarah jane.
This original prop is now the one used in 'The Sarah Jane Adventures, and with it's regular return in series 3, the 3 earloops reappeared too.......incredible to think this prop is now 33 years old, not bad considering it was built to last only 4 episodes

[flaming cog]

I met the original K9 a few years back (about 5) with Mat Irvine. As far as I know the prop used in "School Reunion" and "SJA" is a new build, and the 70's/80's prop is still kept in Mat Irvine's shed. (If you look at the tracks on the new k9 they spread over the whole base, rather unlike the original that has two smaller tank tracks located at the front)

[exleo]

The internal workings are a new build, but  it is still the same casing, if you look closely you can see all the filler holes and additional screws etc that have been added and painted over......that is unless they have built a new casing for the 4th series of SJA....he could do with it..lol
I did wonder if they had used the Dummy body for SJA as it has a bit lest wear and tear.....I need to watch the recent episodes again methinks

[exleo]

the School reunion Mk IV prop is definately the original, see the pictures in the angled head post, it is a mess if you look closely, it was the dummy prop being refitted and the new build part was the head of that
a Comprehensive Prop History  acn be found on the WhoProps board in the K9 section

[flaming cog]

Copy that. I have just been checking out the picture I took of the old boy, he still has the leafs on him from "School Reunion":


Still unsure about the SJA one tho....

Luke

[exleo]

OOooo dirty K9, not getting rid of dead leaves after filming, he'll go rusty...lol
I would be intrigued myself to know what has been done, I'll have to wait until SJA seson 3 comes out on DVD and then have a good look in zoom mode

Meanwhile to go with the original thread, here is a close up picture of K9s ears as they were from his first appearance up until search out scence circa 1988ish

[slugworth118]

I was gonna post my own entry about this, but I thought I might as well slip it in here.

What are K-9's ears? I can't imagine typing "tiny sattellite dishes" into google would yield any results.