Mr_Creepy
Sr Member
One of my first serious prop building attempts was made during the late fall/early winter of 1982/83.
We'd just moved into a new house, and I found a few doo-dads scattered around the place that looked "neat", as well as a few bits of junk I had stashed away (also because they looked "neat"
)
The best thing about this new place (to me at least) was that my mom had cable hooked up, so I was finally able to check out some shows that I'd heard/read about, but that were simply unavailable on the "big 3" networks... :rolleyes
One of these was DR WHO. The PBS station we had was showing WHO 6 days a week--a complete story on Sunday afternoons, and single episodes every weekday. It was heaven, especially since they were all Tom Baker eps. :lol
A prop in several episodes really caught my eye, and I somehow managed to fabricate a decent (to me, at least) replica. I was very proud of it--made almost entirely of metal, with parts actually screwed together instead of taped.
Unfortunately, I was only able to catch small, quick glimpses on TV, so I simply couldn't get a decent "look" at it--this was before the days of VCRs (at least in most homes), let alone screencaps. Now, of course, I know how far off I was in the design, but I've always had a fondness for it, even though it's long since vanished....
Although I know it's not even close to accurate, a while back I decided to remake it using the same (or as close to the same) materials, and (hopefully) better craftsmanship.
So here it is, the good Doctor's most faithful sidekick, the Sonic Screwdriver---as originally envisioned & brought to life by a 13 year old with a worn-out faucet cartridge, a broken radio antenna, a few washers, and a dream....... :lol
The colors in the top image have been altered to show what the original replica looked liked--the faucet cartridge I used at the time was chrome-plated brass, and the crossbar/head piece was "natural" brass. I couldn't find any "silver" ones in my price range so I can live with brass. The middle pic is the actual reproduction of my original replica.
Thanks to Fried Mon Calamari for pic hosting
One of these days I'd like to modify the design into something a little more..."polished"--my original had an exposed spring and the activator was a thin, whitish plastic "cap" I found while in the trash somewhere. I've since found out it's from a diabetic syringe, which makes me glad I don't dumpster dive anymore. (well, not as much anyway.... )
The new parts---I didn't even know what the main piece (a sink faucet cartridge) was until about 4 years ago. :lol
We'd just moved into a new house, and I found a few doo-dads scattered around the place that looked "neat", as well as a few bits of junk I had stashed away (also because they looked "neat"
)The best thing about this new place (to me at least) was that my mom had cable hooked up, so I was finally able to check out some shows that I'd heard/read about, but that were simply unavailable on the "big 3" networks... :rolleyes
One of these was DR WHO. The PBS station we had was showing WHO 6 days a week--a complete story on Sunday afternoons, and single episodes every weekday. It was heaven, especially since they were all Tom Baker eps. :lol
A prop in several episodes really caught my eye, and I somehow managed to fabricate a decent (to me, at least) replica. I was very proud of it--made almost entirely of metal, with parts actually screwed together instead of taped.
Unfortunately, I was only able to catch small, quick glimpses on TV, so I simply couldn't get a decent "look" at it--this was before the days of VCRs (at least in most homes), let alone screencaps. Now, of course, I know how far off I was in the design, but I've always had a fondness for it, even though it's long since vanished....
Although I know it's not even close to accurate, a while back I decided to remake it using the same (or as close to the same) materials, and (hopefully) better craftsmanship.
So here it is, the good Doctor's most faithful sidekick, the Sonic Screwdriver---as originally envisioned & brought to life by a 13 year old with a worn-out faucet cartridge, a broken radio antenna, a few washers, and a dream....... :lol
The colors in the top image have been altered to show what the original replica looked liked--the faucet cartridge I used at the time was chrome-plated brass, and the crossbar/head piece was "natural" brass. I couldn't find any "silver" ones in my price range so I can live with brass. The middle pic is the actual reproduction of my original replica.
Thanks to Fried Mon Calamari for pic hosting
One of these days I'd like to modify the design into something a little more..."polished"--my original had an exposed spring and the activator was a thin, whitish plastic "cap" I found while in the trash somewhere. I've since found out it's from a diabetic syringe, which makes me glad I don't dumpster dive anymore. (well, not as much anyway....
)The new parts---I didn't even know what the main piece (a sink faucet cartridge) was until about 4 years ago. :lol
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