doctorish
Member
Well that might work. But the problem is with 8's screwdriver the base is really quite different from 4's and they accurately depicted that with the co McGann sonic
8th Doctor CO screwdriver mod question
- Thread starter doctorish
- Start date
Well that might work. But the problem is with 8's screwdriver the base is really quite different from 4's and they accurately depicted that with the co McGann sonic
JamesRiot
New Member
Yeah, you're right. I noticed it as well when I was about to start on this. Everything I'm thinking of trying now seems too complicated to be worth it for me. I may just have two 4 sonics, and save my pennies to get a metal replica, and start the metal replica obsession I've been staving off for a while now.
ZeroRoom
Member
Unfortunately you can't do this because the 8th Doctors Sonic telescopes at a completely different point. I'm actually doing this mod next week so I will post in this thread how to do it and maintain both sound and spring function. The key is that the 8th Dr's Sonic doesn't telescope sprung like the other classics - it actually lowers and locks and raises and locks.
Pic of locked up position:
Pic of locked down position:
This is where the TV Movie sonic retracts as opposed to the Pertwee/Baker model:
The rest is just a tiny amount of modding and painting. Stay tuned for pics!
doctorish
Member
So I did it. I attempted the mod. First I cut the screwdriver right around where it would telescope and drilled out the remaining plastic parts inside the base. But I had a problem. No matter how much I drilled out of the center, the head WOULD. NOT. FIT. So I had to grind down the shaft below the top of the screwdriver, and finally got it to fit, to keep the screwdriver from coming out of the base, I think I'm going to cut a groove and add a small screw, it won't look the best but after I repaint it it won't be too bad.
DoctorEight
Active Member
Quite true, but Russ's prices are very reasonable. To address your initial question, and to keep this on topic:
Before any modification to the toy can be attempted we need to know where the electronics are situated. If the part that slides cannot retract because the circuit board and components are in the way, then the toy was wasted.
once that's determined, I'd cut it at the join, and use a pvc pipe to lengthen the sliding part. Then a locking mechanism will need to be devised in order to keep it closed.
ZeroRoom
Member
So I started this mod myself tonight and now I can see some of what Doctorish is talking about. It will also answer DoctorEight's question above.
First i cut the screwdriver in half making sure to use one of those wire thin jewellery saws so as to remove as little material as possible from the length of the upper shaft that will retract.
This demonstrates clearly that the electronics in the toy don't come anywhere near the shaft and are located solely in the base below the bottom.
Whats surprising, however is how incredibly thick the inside wall of the screwdriver appears to be once cut:
However this apparent wall thickness is deceiving as it is in fact two tubes one smaller located within the main body with a minuscule tolerance that makes them appear as one.
You can see the inner tube sticking out of the bottom of the removed emitter piece here:
In this portion it's actually loose and slides up and down like this:
But has a "lock" position that makes me wonder if this toy wasn't originally intended to contract like the others, or at least uses the same inner moulding.
With a great deal of poking and prying with a variety of awls and pliers I was able to slowly begin twisting and mangling this inner tube away from the outer wall and basically ripping it out bit by bit like a monkey. (unfortunately I couldn't use power tools because the wife is sick and asleep so it had to be all old fashioned hand work.
Eventually I was able to remove enough of it to easily accommodate the depth the top shaft needs to drop:
Now measuring it with callipers slightly less than 1mm needs to filed down on the inside wall of the bottom part to accommodate the upper shaft in the down position. It also happens the nub left over from the rough removal of the inside tube will make a nice base for the spring!
Unfortunately that part will have to wait as it will definitely require the dremel and as I said I'm on noise lock down at the moment....
First i cut the screwdriver in half making sure to use one of those wire thin jewellery saws so as to remove as little material as possible from the length of the upper shaft that will retract.
This demonstrates clearly that the electronics in the toy don't come anywhere near the shaft and are located solely in the base below the bottom.
Whats surprising, however is how incredibly thick the inside wall of the screwdriver appears to be once cut:
However this apparent wall thickness is deceiving as it is in fact two tubes one smaller located within the main body with a minuscule tolerance that makes them appear as one.
You can see the inner tube sticking out of the bottom of the removed emitter piece here:
In this portion it's actually loose and slides up and down like this:
But has a "lock" position that makes me wonder if this toy wasn't originally intended to contract like the others, or at least uses the same inner moulding.
With a great deal of poking and prying with a variety of awls and pliers I was able to slowly begin twisting and mangling this inner tube away from the outer wall and basically ripping it out bit by bit like a monkey. (unfortunately I couldn't use power tools because the wife is sick and asleep so it had to be all old fashioned hand work.
Eventually I was able to remove enough of it to easily accommodate the depth the top shaft needs to drop:
Now measuring it with callipers slightly less than 1mm needs to filed down on the inside wall of the bottom part to accommodate the upper shaft in the down position. It also happens the nub left over from the rough removal of the inside tube will make a nice base for the spring!
Unfortunately that part will have to wait as it will definitely require the dremel and as I said I'm on noise lock down at the moment....
ZeroRoom
Member
I'm with you doctorish - TV Movie version for sure!
So I managed to use a small sanding drum on my dremel to get the wall thickness to allow the sonic to retract smoothly and easily. I finished the inside with hand sanding with softer and softer sand paper to really get a smooth finish that won't scratch the repaint on the upper shaft when the sliding action is employed. Luckily I didn't need to thin the upper shaft at all to get this to work:
Unfortunately I slipped and chipped a small piece of the top of the base shaft as you can see here:
Which is fine - nothing a little Apoxy sculpt won't fix. However it raised my eyebrows somewhat while looking at the details. This very bit that surrounds the thinnest (and the retracting) portion) of the shaft seems to be a different proportion on the toy than it does in the movie prop. I've tried to highlight that here: (May need to click to enlarge to see exactly what I mean.)
The thing is this: because I have to apoxy-sculpt anyway this gives me the option of enlarging this bit to make it slightly more accurate, but that would make the finished screwdriver taller over all possibly making it once more less accurate! Further more, the 800 Trekker Sonic that the movie prop is known to be based on is closer to the toy:
Any thoughts on what I should do?
The other thing I'm scratching my head on now is the catch to keep it in the "up" mode when needed. To make room for the top telescoping tube I had to grind the inside wall so thin that light was practically coming through in some parts. I thought I'd at least have enough wall thickness to make a small indent for a catch but now I'm back to the drawing board...
Have you got your catch system sorted doctorish?
So I managed to use a small sanding drum on my dremel to get the wall thickness to allow the sonic to retract smoothly and easily. I finished the inside with hand sanding with softer and softer sand paper to really get a smooth finish that won't scratch the repaint on the upper shaft when the sliding action is employed. Luckily I didn't need to thin the upper shaft at all to get this to work:
Unfortunately I slipped and chipped a small piece of the top of the base shaft as you can see here:
Which is fine - nothing a little Apoxy sculpt won't fix. However it raised my eyebrows somewhat while looking at the details. This very bit that surrounds the thinnest (and the retracting) portion) of the shaft seems to be a different proportion on the toy than it does in the movie prop. I've tried to highlight that here: (May need to click to enlarge to see exactly what I mean.)
The thing is this: because I have to apoxy-sculpt anyway this gives me the option of enlarging this bit to make it slightly more accurate, but that would make the finished screwdriver taller over all possibly making it once more less accurate! Further more, the 800 Trekker Sonic that the movie prop is known to be based on is closer to the toy:
Any thoughts on what I should do?
The other thing I'm scratching my head on now is the catch to keep it in the "up" mode when needed. To make room for the top telescoping tube I had to grind the inside wall so thin that light was practically coming through in some parts. I thought I'd at least have enough wall thickness to make a small indent for a catch but now I'm back to the drawing board...
Have you got your catch system sorted doctorish?
DoctorEight
Active Member
This post answers the questions I had. I am glad it is easy to work with for those who chose to go this route. I just got my Russrep today, and it is exquisite. Though I have several CO toy sonics and like them just fine.
doctorish
Member
Well, what I'm probably gonna do is use a small screw and a cut notch track on the inner shaft. It'll be inaccurate yeah, but I plan on attempting this with another one later. Kind of a for now thing as I don't have the money to pay for any metal replicas right now. What I would like to do someday is buy a Rusrep and put the toy electronics in it.
ZeroRoom
Member
I had a feeling you'd say that. That was my original plan but the wall thickness is just way to thin now for any kind of groove. It's looking like a thin central shaft might provide a better locking mechanism. This is just a prop for me as I don't cosplay, so it doesn't need to withstand heavy handling but you know.... I want it to be decent just for the sake of being anal...
doctorish
Member
Well what I meant was a set screw with a groove down the center shaft. Mainly to keep it from falling out since mine is in there pretty tightly as is
doctorish
Member
Okay I have to ask how you got a russrep in the first place. every link I've clicked is dead and it's not in the junkyard. also for some reason anytime i try to go to his site and look at the merchandise the page just crashes :/
DoctorEight
Active Member
We had a signup thread in the junkyard for over a month. Last I checked (before the junkyard got nuked) he still had six open slots.
i would recommend sending a private message to him.
i would recommend sending a private message to him.
DoctorEight
Active Member
I recommend it. It's an incredible piece.
ZeroRoom
Member
doctorish
Not much I'm afraid. I finally got the top collar finished but I've had precious little time to fiddle with it as we've had house guests and a con and and a whole lot of work on... Plus I had to restart the damn collar four times as careless sanding broke it thrice what with it being so damn thin. The tolerances are still tight enough for it to be positionable without any inside catches etc but for full sturdiness what I've decided to do is fix a portion of car aerial inside the tube at the right length to contract but only extend as far as the top without being removable. I just need to get the aerial part.
Meanwhile I could be giving it it's recoat of chrome silver paint but the damn weather has been against me and it has not stopped raining for two straight weeks!
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DoctorEight
Active Member
Awesome solution!
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