Second Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver

Straker said:
I did. I didn't get any information from him after I got that picture.
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So typical of some people in the prop replica collecting community. They find an item that people have been scouring the globe for, and then they Bogart the info, keep it a "secret" to, I don't know, make themselves feel special? To reduce the number of people bidding against them in auctions for the item? Just to be d!¢ks? I'm not going to name any names, but I still remember the RPF member that claimed the Sonic Screwdriver used by Doctors 3-5 began its life as a chiropractic activator device, and knew which model, but would not provide that info, that proof, until he had located one for himself... which, of course, he never HAS, because he was WRONG! :facepalm
As far as I know this penlight was only available in the UK is all I know. eBay searches have been difficult and that includes finding them on the .co.uk version as how they list it can be a bit different. Might not be a penlight but a pentorch, pocket torch, or any number of variations. Just hasn't been easy to find. From what I hear it's easier to find them at car boot sales rather than the internet.
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Which does those of us in the US absolutely NO good, as we can't GO to the car boot sales! :angry:thumbsdown

Good thing I have a couple friends in the UK. I might be able to enlist one of them in the search, if I'm lucky. I'll have to see what I can work out on that end, now that I have a couple pics to share.
I've also heard rumors that someone in the prop community has one and plans to make straight duplicate in the same way Parksabers makes duplicates of the camera flashguns but I haven't seen anything materialize yet.
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That would be good, as long as any patents have expired. :ninja
 
Jack T Chance said:
So typical of some people in the prop replica collecting community. They find an item that people have been scouring the globe for, and then they Bogart the info, keep it a "secret" to, I don't know, make themselves feel special? To reduce the number of people bidding against them in auctions for the item? Just to be d!¢ks? I'm not going to name any names, but I still remember the RPF member that claimed the Sonic Screwdriver used by Doctors 3-5 began its life as a chiropractic activator device, and knew which model, but would not provide that info, that proof, until he had located one for himself... which, of course, he never HAS, because he was WRONG! :facepalm

Which does those of us in the US absolutely NO good, as we can't GO to the car boot sales! :angry:thumbsdown

Good thing I have a couple friends in the UK. I might be able to enlist one of them in the search, if I'm lucky. I'll have to see what I can work out on that end, now that I have a couple pics to share.

That would be good, as long as any patents have expired. :ninja
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Lol, I remember that thread, just visited it the other day. Still was a good thread because after all, I used a lot of the info there to make some serious improvements on my Russ Replicas sonics.

Well as far as I can GUESS, I've found that Varta, Ever Ready aaaand...another brand I can't recall used to share the patent on their penlights before the 1960's. I've found several lights from the 30's -50's that were the exact same between them so if they still did that then you may be able to find it by cross-referencing brands. See if your friends can find one somehow.

Patent expired regardless, I'd want one. I'm going to guess though that the patent has expired though. I doubt they would still be kept with NO manufacture since the 70's.
 
After my own searches on eBay yesterday and today, the earliest Eveready model I can find seems to be a successor to the one used by the BBC, looks like it dates to the '70s or '80s... and the current model being sold in Target stores under the Energizer brand name has very few changes made to it since then, mostly minor cosmetic changes. I can't seem to find anything older than about the 1970s that looks even remotely like the one used.

I'm also wondering was it really patent sharing, or just one company doing business under different names in different regions of the world? The reason I'm wondering about this is that even today, I can go into a Wal*Mart or Target and find a modern penlight under the Dorcy brand name. I've now seen that same exact model of penlight on ebay.co.uk being sold under the Varta name. Patent sharing, or one company doing business with multiple brand names? Something to ponder...

While I've been researching this today, this image was just posted on Facebook by the Doctor Who and the T.A.R.D.I.S. page.

SonicScrewdriverComparisonPoster_zps08222a50.jpg


The inaccuracies in their renderings jumped off the page immediately, LOL! Their rendering of the "penlight" model is especially bad now that we know what the actual penlight looked like! :p
 
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Jack T Chance said:
After my own searches on eBay yesterday and today, the earliest Eveready model I can find seems to be a successor to the one used by the BBC, looks like it dates to the '70s or '80s... and the current model being sold in Target stores under the Energizer brand name has very few changes made to it since then, mostly minor cosmetic changes. I can't seem to find anything older than about the 1970s that looks even remotely like the one used.

I'm also wondering was it really patent sharing, or just one company doing business under different names in different regions of the world? The reason I'm wondering about this is that even today, I can go into a Wal*Mart or Target and find a modern penlight under the Dorcy brand name. I've now seen that same exact model of penlight on ebay.co.uk being sold under the Varta name. Patent sharing, or one company doing business with multiple brand names? Something to ponder...

While I've been researching this today, this image was just posted on Facebook by the Doctor Who and the T.A.R.D.I.S. page.

SonicScrewdriverComparisonPoster_zps08222a50.jpg


The inaccuracies in their renderings jumped off the page immediately, LOL! Their rendering of the "penlight" model is especially bad now that we know what the actual penlight looked like! :p
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Closest I've found was a penlight I'm using for now. It at least looks neat and has a built in pocket clip, lol.

As for that picture, yeah it's pretty bad and it's still pretty bad even with all the additions he's made recently:
Doctor Who Item Collection by ~WillZMarler on deviantART

Like the shaping and coloring on his classic sonics are still way off and scale is a mess and his 2nd Doctor's sonic is way off even now.
 
You gotta love Walmart,

One $2 penlight and a piece of cut off from another project and I've got the start of a Second Doctor's Sonic.

I sanded the paint off of the penlight, and removed the rounded tip.

Made my own and attached it to the penlight.

attachment.php


I still have to fix the other end but I know what the part are so I just have to find them.....

attachment.php


I had one of these in my toolkit back in the 80's. Wish I still had it.


Edward
 
I found the correct shaped light bulb for the sonic. Of course I'm going to replace it with a LED cut to the right shape...

attachment.php


The end has a foucusing lens built-in witch gives it that odd shape.


Edward
 
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You know I hate to say it, but the more I look at the Sonic used in Dominators the more I'm convinced its a totally different prop used from the Whistle or. torch. The end is too wide to be the torch, and is that handle/trigger fixed or does Pat slide it on?*thoughts guys?
 
So I picked up a promotional auto penlight similar to the one Straker posted (though mine was Cadillac branded)-- it was part of a pen/penlight set. The blue printing came off easily after about 10 minutes with Q-tips and rubbing alcohol:




It really looks the part! Great tip, Straker :D




Oh, and I had to get a couple other neat old penlights that felt rather sonic-screwdriver-ish too :p


If only they glowed blue... then they'd really feel like the missing links between the 2nd and 9th versions :lol
 
E Williams said:
So I picked up a promotional auto penlight similar to the one Straker posted (though mine was Cadillac branded)-- it was part of a pen/penlight set. The blue printing came off easily after about 10 minutes with Q-tips and rubbing alcohol:




It really looks the part! Great tip, Straker :D




Oh, and I had to get a couple other neat old penlights that felt rather sonic-screwdriver-ish too :p


If only they glowed blue... then they'd really feel like the missing links between the 2nd and 9th versions :lol
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Oh neat! I was looking for another one of those. Didn't realize they had them for other companies. Good find. I don't mind the white light myself, personally. It just makes it seem a bit more like an older model but i believe you can get LED replacement bulbs that will fit that with colored lights.

I also used acetone to strip mine clean. Worked faster that way, lol. Didn't change the finish on the body either.
 
Oh, yeah, I like the white light on the 2nd doctor's version. I was thinking more in my head-canon that the other two might have blue :)

I was worried about the acetone eating away or hazing the weird clear plastic-y coating on the penlight so I started with the less harsh alcohol. Wasn't sure if yours had it too but looking more closely it seems like it might? So, unwarranted concern! But it worked in the end.

When searching, I used variations on terms like promotional penlight and pen/penlight set and eventually stumbled across it :)
 
Dropped by the local Walmart today so I picked up few penlights... $2 a piece.:cool

IMG_0587.JPG


30 minutes after I got home I had the first one stripped and the pointly end cut flat.

IMG_0589.JPG


Another 45 mins and I got 4 of the kurled rings for the end made.

IMG_0590.JPG


I did try making a cap but it slipped in the mill and got chewed up.:cry
I will try again, using metal next time.

IMG_0591.JPG

Edward
 
NTBBCPD said:
Dropped by the local Walmart today so I picked up few penlights... $2 a piece.:cool

View attachment 177249


30 minutes after I got home I had the first one stripped and the pointly end cut flat.

View attachment 177250


Another 45 mins and I got 4 of the kurled rings for the end made.

View attachment 177251


I did try making a cap but it slipped in the mill and got chewed up.:cry
I will try again, using metal next time.

View attachment 177252

Edward
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So, let me ask you this...

Are you EVER going to give credit where credit's due, and acknowledge whose research led to you being able to make your replicas? Or are you just going to keep dissing them because you feel like it's your gods-given right to copy something you see online without acknowledging the source of the info?!? :p

Speaking only for myself, and I am unanimous in this, I know of 2 people that are directly responsible for providing this information to the fans: Straker who shared a picture of one New In Package in this very thread, and someone elsewhere on the interwebz. Considering the importance of this find, they deserve credit where credit's due.
 
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Ummm...what?

I mean, credit where credit's due, but there is nothing in NTBBCPD's attempt so far that shows any more knowledge about this than is generally known by the group. In fact, the pics in this thread pretty much sum up all of the available info on the prop. Where exactly should this finder's credit go that it isn't already by virtue of being posted in this thread?
 
Organic Mechanic said:
Ummm...what?

I mean, credit where credit's due, but there is nothing in NTBBCPD's attempt so far that shows any more knowledge about this than is generally known by the group. In fact, the pics in this thread pretty much sum up all of the available info on the prop. Where exactly should this finder's credit go that it isn't already by virtue of being posted in this thread?
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Well, for starters, the party elsewhere on the interwebz not only has an original penlight, same as was used by Patrick Troughton, but they also have the means and possibly the intent to produce a run of duplicates for those that wish to purchase one. The gentlemanly thing to do would have been to contact said individual to make sure they were okay with someone else producing a run, as NTBBCPD is clearly doing. I see no reason why he would need to make so many of the things just for personal use!

But never mind, it's an ethical question, the point of which is clearly not understood by everyone. :unsure
 
Did anybody TELL him where the pic you posted came from? I imagine, barring unforeseen personal issues between them, that he'd be more than happy to thank this third party for such a clear photo of this elusive prop item.

As for a run...man, I see 5 penlights. @ $2 a pop I'd have gotten that many as well.
 
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