the 11th Doctor's Sonic - my conversion & build

Propsjonnyb

Well-Known Member
The 11th Doctor's Sonic.


http://www.therpf.com/asset.php?fid=219200&uid=8861&d=1378310113
Objective
I was challenged to produce a working accurate copy of the Nick Robbato 11th Doctor Sonic Screwdriver
Goals
To achieve at least 95%or more accuracy
To use the CO toy soundboard and power supply to provide lights and sound effects and to use the Wand Companies static Sonic Remote control as donors to facilitate the project


Solution
There were three main challenges , although the first was really was split into two, one to convert the static unit into a working replica, and two to remove the 'innards" of the static and replace them with a 'working' core and fixing the head to allow the replica to extend and deploy the claws, that were fixed on the remote, three was - what could be done to improve the toys poor sound and also could improvements be made to the core.
Before I started, I reviewed all the postings regarding the 11th Doctor's Sonic throughout the Replica Prop Forum, many of which offer extremely good and helpful advice on how to approach a conversion , I publicly acknowledge that I have used a number of these to save 're-inventing the Wheel'.


Firstly the remote was deconstructed into its component parts , to do this the piece was separated into its respective half's. The bottom half comes as one piece, the components are removed in this order , the copper end cap is normally spot glued on , a sharp bladed knife, inserted and rocked will loosen the cap, next is the handle and copper washer , then the black leather effect handle , the outer core was separated and kept , the inner 'core' was removed and discarded. The top half is disassembled , slightly differently as it comes as one solid piece with a copper locking ring to join the two half's together. Remove and retain the ring, the claws are fixed to the main assembly and are removed one at a time by removing the lower pivot pin, this can be done using a fine centre punch and a hammer, as each pin is removed the claw can be prized away, each claw needs to be filed down at each end where the pivot point was, until smooth.
http://www.therpf.com/asset.php?fid=219202&uid=8861&d=1378310178
Now the claws are removed you can see the nut & screw that hold the head together' remove and keep the nut and screw , the head splits into two, 'arm" pieces leaving a copper core cylinder and a black inner core.
http://www.therpf.com/asset.php?fid=219207&uid=8861&d=1378310356
The black core end piece is cut off and retained - discard the remainder, the cylinder and arms need to be cut and filed down , to allow free movement , so the 'arms' that will hold the emitter head and core , can freely extend up and down. There is a lot of cutting and filing to be done and care must be taken to get this right or your sonic will not extend and retract properly , allow at least two days to this task alone ( it is that important to get right) the black end piece that was removed is glued to the bottom of the copper cylinder after adding an inner acrylic tube liner . The claws can be re-fitted to the head using the 'bracket' method outlined on the forum pages , you can see that the hollow claws have been filled with epoxy, but be careful not to cover the pivot point or they will not work , I preferred to use the claw holder available on Shapeways site and a custom set of tension springs , the effect is the same (you can use small cut down (steel only) safety pins - they do work! ) just make sure that everything in the head is secure.


http://www.therpf.com/asset.php?fid=219206&uid=8861&d=1378310330


I now turned my attention to the CO toy and carefully removed the soundboard, power supply and led. Since the speaker on the toy is so small, I devised an additional fix and 'soundbox' made out of acryllic tube which effectually doubled the output sound . I also added an additional connector to the board and battery pack , making the power pack replaceable.


http://www.therpf.com/asset.php?fid=219208&uid=8861&d=1378310388


http://www.therpf.com/asset.php?fid=219205&uid=8861&d=1378310302


To the outer 'inner core' piece I re-fitted the bottom switch and the copper button . A further micro button switch was fitted to add to the inner core, these two switches were connected together and then connected to the switch position on the sound board and tested. The battery pack & sound board were the fitted in place inside the outer handle . I also added a high power 3mm green led replacing the CO toys original.




http://www.therpf.com/asset.php?fid=219204&uid=8861&d=1378310258






I wanted to add an additional feature to the core that's never been done before, since the Dr Who story line was/is that the TARDIS 'grows' the sonic, and the TARDIS console glows an emerald green, I tried to replicate this effect - after many failed attempts I ended up using two UV LEDs and a UV reactive fluorescent acrylic which makes the inner core and emitter head glow the same as the TARDIS core and the filming props head , I have developed this much, much further now , which means I can offer a core that is now very organic looking, adding a unique effect to an almost perfect prop replica.


http://www.therpf.com/asset.php?fid=210484&uid=8861&d=1375980446


The emitter core is then connected to the led to go in the emitter head and also connected to the sound board led connections and tested , the new core is fitted to the head with the emitter in place , and slid over the copper cylinder, the top and bottom pieces are re-connected, making sure the top half has it connection ring in place , the retained screws are reconnected securing the two halves together and the retaining rings screwed down and the sonic replica is finished.




Since the switch on the handle is never seen on screen , it was decided to hide this behind the faux leather handle in the same position , it is still easy useable and completely functional .
Since the inner core of the copper cylinder is fitted within the colored acrylic tube , this allows the emitter core to slide easily up and down, the connecting wires are secured to the inner black core with hot glue, this stops the core flying out if you flick it very hard also the copper core also has retaining lugs to 'lock' it in place .


The copper core was weathered to resemble the filming prop with the addition of faux rivet heads drilled out on the sonic remotes copper cure arms. A final addition was to add a grub screw to the emitter tip
A simple flick of the wrist will cause the head and inner core to extend and to " lock" and the claws to spring open , all the sound effects of the CO toy work by multiple presses of either the" hidden" button or the button on the base .
To close the remote - clasp the claws and apply gentle pressure - the emitter core will slide back into the handle and the claws will " lock" closed with a final gentle push.
The final result is vey close to the filming prop , it is only the limitation of the original manufacturing process that lets it down slightly , my intention is to remake the copper cylinder and the two part head and arms as per Nick Robatto's prop, meaning I will cast them as separate pewter castings , electroplate them and assemble them to finally replicate Nick' construction .
 

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Very nice job!

I am interested in more detail to how you made it easialy flickable! I am re-working mine and would like a smoother function than the one I have now.
 
To ensure a smooth transition of movement , the cage and the arms must be cut and sanded a lot !! , if you look at the photos, especially on the arms and the copper cage -the inner ridge - this is ground or sanded down fairly smoothly - the lugs at the end of the arms are also reduced , this is so they 'jump' the bottom clip in the copper cage ,and 'lock' at the top when flicked open , the cage lower bars must also be cut out. Mostly, it is sand - test fit, sand -test fit, etc., etc, until you get a smooth trasition - I took two days of sanding and testing to get this right , I also used an inner guide, a tube of acryllic that holds the emmiter core straight and stable , you can see it attached to the black end cap in the photos. Once you get this right - inertia , when you flick it will send the heavy head up the inner fixed shaft and the head will 'lock' open and will stay open until you apply gentle pressure ,the lugs will slip over the set at the top of the cage and further gentle pressure will close the claws and the sonic will remain closed until you flick it open again.
I do have a detailed set of photos available showing the complete build,if you want anything specific, just let me know.
 
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Pictures of what you just described would be fantastic. Thanks.

To ensure a smooth transition of movement , the cage and the arms must be cut and sanded a lot !! , if you look at the photos, especially on the arms and the copper cage -the inner ridge - this is ground or sanded down fairly smoothly - the lugs at the end of the arms are also reduced , this is so they 'jump' the bottom clip in the copper cage ,and 'lock' at the top when flicked open , the cage lower bars must also be cut out. Mostly, it is sand - test fit, sand -test fit, etc., etc, until you get a smooth trasition - I took two days of sanding and testing to get this right , I also used an inner guide, a tube of acryllic that holds the emmiter core straight and stable , you can see it attached to the black end cap in the photos. Once you get this right - inertia , when you flick it will send the heavy head up the inner fixed shaft and the head will 'lock' open and will stay open until you apply gentle pressure ,the lugs will slip over the set at the top of the cage and further gentle pressure will close the claws and the sonic will remain closed until you flick it open again.
I do have a detailed set of photos available showing the complete build,if you want anything specific, just let me know.
 
I'm going to eventually, the next main improvement is to separate the copper cage into it's component parts and then do the same with the head and arms - this then will almost replicate Nick's build - unfortunately I don't have a CNC machine so I can't duplicate the head exactly as Nicks , but I can cast the parts in pewter - assemble and then copper plate them - the next major step, it should them be appx 98 " accurate to the filming prop. And to answer NMR's request ,I shall be posting some more specific shots for him shortly .
 
I'm going to eventually, the next main improvement is to separate the copper cage into it's component parts and then do the same with the head and arms - this then will almost replicate Nick's build - unfortunately I don't have a CNC machine so I can't duplicate the head exactly as Nicks , but I can cast the parts in pewter - assemble and then copper plate them - the next major step, it should them be appx 98 " accurate to the filming prop. And to answer NMR's request ,I shall be posting some more specific shots for him shortly .
 
Here are a couple more shots of the core and the arms

ImageUploadedByTapatalk HD1378655040.932024.jpg

Here you should be able to see the areas that need grinding/sanding down , the bottom clip needs trimming back and the ridge up the centre of each arm need smoothing back , also lastly on the arms at the top near the head inside you will find little guide ridges , these also need sanding down , how much depends on how well you remove the pieces from the copper cage

ImageUploadedByTapatalk HD1378655332.604246.jpg
Here's the cage , you need to remove the solid bars at the base , cut or grind them back to about what you see here, I took two full days grinding, sanding and test fitting these parts together , do not forget to add an inner acryllic tube liner

ImageUploadedByTapatalk HD1378655530.558240.jpg

This piece keeps the emitter core straight and level epoxy or glue in place into the copper cylinder taking care to keep it all level .

By following these steps , you get a smoother faster, extension and retraction , it will work almost by inertia itself, by trimming the clips at the base of each arm , the arms should 'jump' the base clip at the cylinder , slide up and ' click and lock' into place - so it shouldn't slip back - gentle pressure will retract the core and the claw ends should 'lock' at the top of the cylinder by friction joint and hold , until the sonic I'd 'flicked' open again .


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
I have been asked to do a small run of these by several members here , so there is a for sale post on the Junkyard forum, one is also available on E-bay but I would prefer to sell them direct to members , there are two versions available now ,the basic as you see in the first half of the video is priced exactly the same as other's available here ,the upgraded version as seen in the second half , has a hand-built grown organic emitter core and has the addition of electroluminescent sheet in the stand and costs slightly more - for full details PM me directly . I haven't worked out yet costings for the final version ,which will be all metal build (pewter in my case) and will then match almost identically the Nick Robatto filming prop, as I'm just creating the molds for the copper cage, emitter head and arms all the copper items will be pewter hot-metal cast and electroplated.
 
I don't think I'll be doing any further upgrades to the current two versions , it would be too expensive to make the additional pieces to accurize the prop completely for one , and since I offered the conversion very few takers, so the limited run is exactly that .


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Jonny - With regards to the sonic I bought. You've ignored all my messages via eBay, your last message was "I will issue a paypal refund of £250 in full and final settlement ASAP" on 30th December. Are you planning on refunding the £250 agreed? You have the returned item and my money now. Please contact me asap.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I bought one of his from eBay. It broke the first day of having it (I flicked it open). Attempted to contact regarding how to fix it myself, didn't even ask for a refund. He hasn't replied to messages sent on eBay, and on here. I'm not trying to smear a guy, but c'mon man, I didn't know this was happening to other people as well.
 
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