Season 14 nightstand

[warmcanofcoke]

A Time Lord is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.  

[warmcanofcoke]

so.... I was searching for this 93" x 50" sheet of black acrylic ... saw it around somewhere ..... turns out it was left outside behind the garage in all types of weather .... - not to worry - I will cut it into thirds and bring it inside.


I plan to have the black control panels made from this stuff.

turns out - not so much black as smoky translucent. I'll put some hardboard behind it - maybe even paint it.



I'm just going to have to pick up some goo-gone to get rid of the paper covering stuck to the plastic.


Hardboard, light reading and a Tackor Time Crystal.

I have plenty of white plastic to make the white panels with grey stripes.


also got some hinges for the project.


Getting excited, and ready to start the project.


* the handles came in today. The first day of spring (It snowed.   )

[warmcanofcoke]

So - I spent some time figuring out the orientation of controls I want to have for my console.

I have slightly altered both Scarfwearer's and Rassilonsrod's art from this thread http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=3050.0





As I was thinking about this, I started daydreaming about going to a convention and meeting Louise Jameson and having her sign my console. I think the circle on top of the console will be removable and I have her sign the underside. Maybe I'll be lucky, and Tom Baker will do a convention and I can get him to autograph it as well. I understand he doesn't do as many cons as he used to.

[galacticprobe]

I see you've added an extra control panel. I remember that celation figured out that the only way to reconcile the panel layout as we saw it in the episodes was in his drawing here: http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=3050.msg33322#msg33322 (bottom image) as there appeared to be two writing desks: one facing the main entryway, and one that faced off-side to us (the viewer) as seen in the images throughout that thread.

So are you going for a customized version, or an exact repro?

Dino.
P. S. I think that's a fantastic idea you've got for getting Louise Jameson to sign the console! Tom Baker's autograph might be a little harder to get simply because he is 80 years old and doesn't travel to the US for cons as much as he used to. Now, if you could take that small part of the top to a Con in the UK where Tom Baker was appearing, with photos of your completed console in hand, I'm sure he would gladly sign the top of your console, especially when he hears that you've traveled across the pond with part of the console just to have him sign it.

[warmcanofcoke]

Looking through the screen grabs I have collected. I'm sure that only 1 writing desk and two panels of buttons were made (not counting the cardboard/fabric panel with the painted on dots seen in Hand of Fear and Robots of Death.)  If there were two writing desks, why does Tom go to the back of the console looking for a desk, before moving to the other side in Deadly Assassin?
Given that the panels move around a bit, I'm sure the panels with the switches were just popped out and placed in a different position depending on the episode. I think the two desk theory is a result of the props department making an error when erecting the set.   (*Remember, arrow "A" should always point towards the front.)

Is this going to be a customized version? ... I always felt that a six sided Tardis console should have buttons. All the other consoles have six sides of controls. It isn't this consoles fault that the communication system panel is a paper and pen sort of affair.  

Though, if I were to make a customized version I would want to throw a T-Bar lever in there for good measure.   .......hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm....... could I?

[galacticprobe]

Well, actually, not counting that odd "dot" panel, there were three button panels in this console:

One with those odd push buttons on top, with three of them covered with an orange dot, and the rectangular buttons with an orange dot on them (first button in each row, down the left side);


Another panel with no buttons across the top, and the rectangular buttons' color changed around;

(seen here with another panel and a desk between)

And a third panel with a different kind of round button (seven, I think) across the top - and no orange dots on any buttons;


And then the "bogus" panel (probably done with colored paper or plain old paint);

(This image is from the beginning of "Robots of Death".) You'll notice in this image that panel with the round buttons across the top is the one with the three to the left that have the orange circle stickers on them - the same panel that also has those orange stickers on the first rectangular button in each row. And on the other side of that "bogus" panel is a writing desk.

So, with all but one panel actually accounted for (which would be that writing desk that faces the camera), going by how this console appears on screen - in the Whoniverse, leaving reality behind us for now - celation's panel layout for this console is the only one that really makes sense when the panel locations are pieced together:

1 - Bogus Panel (visible);
2 - Orange circle on buttons Panel (visible);
3 - Panel with no round buttons on top, and rectangular buttons' row colors changed (flap closed);
4 - Writing Desk Panel (#1, from camera POV, flap closed);
5 - Panel with different round buttons across the top, and no orange circles on any buttons (flap closed);
6 - Writing Desk Panel (#2, facing the entryway, visible)

Now, jumping back onto reality (which sucks) we do have three panels with buttons on them, a panel with a writing desk, and a bogus panel, which again leaves that one panel unaccounted for, so who knows what was behind that panel cover.

Dino.

[warmcanofcoke]

The orange dots are just stickers that you can buy at any office supply store. I think the first and third picture is of the same panel.

[warmcanofcoke]

As I look at the old screen captures, I am reminded it is always a good idea to go back to the source material and watch the episodes over again. There is a lot of room for interpretation as to what we think we are seeing. As I wait for various parts through mail order, I find I have to maintain a sense of patience.
I have just ordered some potentiometers

and some push buttons to add to the realism of what I hope will be a conceivably faithful recreation of this console.


I think I'll see if I can find some wooden drawer pulls, some sewing buttons, or some wooden toy wheels from a craft store to place on the end of the black buttons to hopefull make them look like the ones from the show.

[galacticprobe]

I think I'll see if I can find some wooden drawer pulls, some sewing buttons, or some wooden toy wheels from a craft store to place on the end of the black buttons to hopefull make them look like the ones from the show.

Again, up for interpretation, but I don't think those buttons are made from toy wheels. They look like cylindrical black buttons with concave tops, and what we think are the "axles" or hubs on those - making them look like wheels - are actually reflections of the studio lights being focused in the bottom of the concave tops.

The buttons with the round orange stickers on them have flat tops, so are different buttons. If they were the same, then we would see come crinkling of the stickers as they sank into the concave button tops, but there is no crinkling.

Dino.

[warmcanofcoke]

After careful consideration I have decided the canonical console lay out is more like this.
[/URL]

http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=3050.msg72837;topicseen#msg72837

The Panel Layout updated by the fresh information.


The Combined layout if there are two desks- updated.

*edit

Therefore, the only configuration which makes the two pictures work together, is:

Looks like Someone has thought of this before.  

[warmcanofcoke]

Give me a day or two, and I'll have a pdf of the plans with a little more detail. I'll give it priority because I'd love to see this build.

I've given you 12 ......... lol. In all seriousness my man, I hope you are well.

[expendable]

There's a drawer that pulls out to support the writing flaps - it's mentioned here http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=1027.60, you can see the drawer in Scarfwearer's post.

Structurally, it would make sense for the writing desks to be on opposite sides as you don't have to angle the drawers to get them work together (and you need a drawer for each writing flap). That leaves two control panels on either side.

[warmcanofcoke]

I thought about that .... I'm not sure if I want to make all the drawers in the world, especially as we've only seen the one in the series. It is a lot of work.  

I'm going to make the one seen in The Masque of Mandragora, and then the drawer in the first writing desk, but the other "desk" was never seen on the show - so that might become a charging station for my phone, maybe a CD/MP3 player so I can listen to Big Finish audios in bed.

[expendable]

Certainly we've seen the Tardis consoles charging other devices including cell phones, not that big of a stretch.

[galacticprobe]

There's a drawer that pulls out to support the writing flaps...

Structurally, it would make sense for the writing desks to be on opposite sides as you don't have to angle the drawers to get them work together...

Actually, when you consider the width of the console's belt-line, where those drawers are, and the deepness of the drawers, even at the angle in celation's drawing the drawers wouldn't be deep enough to interfere with each other as even when completely pushed in, the back probably wouldn't go in any farther than the hexagon at the top (see Nate's drawing). Even if they went as far back as the removable round disc on top of the console the drawers still wouldn't interfere with each other, and I doubt they'd go back that far, and certainly no farther than that.

Dino.