Doctor Who (Troughton) recorder
- Thread starter Starkiller
- Start date
Dollar Store win! Not too shabby for $4. 
if you look at the pictures of him with his recorder, there are two silver rings around the endof the recorder, which i'm 99% sure are what the tassels are attatched to. What I did, on mine, was cut the tassels to the right length, and then took a needle and thread, and went through the top of the cord repeatedly, fixing it all together. Then i wrapped this thread around the recorder, matching where the rings on his recorder are (Convieninently, there are ridges on mine already in those spots, making it easy to match) and putting the needle through the cord upon each wrapping. Once both of these were attatched like this, i put a very light layer of hot glue on top of each, whiping it flush to the tops of the ridges. It dried clear, with a slight shine, like the metal rings.
on the gold/word debate, I simply didnt sand the top of it, so when I used the acrylic paints on it, they coated it without fully bonding to it. then, when they were dry, i put pieces of tape strategically on top of it, rubbing it in tight, and then pulling it off quickly. it flaked the paint, giving a pretty good worn look IMO
on the gold/word debate, I simply didnt sand the top of it, so when I used the acrylic paints on it, they coated it without fully bonding to it. then, when they were dry, i put pieces of tape strategically on top of it, rubbing it in tight, and then pulling it off quickly. it flaked the paint, giving a pretty good worn look IMO
The last pic there with your GF really sells it. When I saw the first two it just looks like a bad paint job but when you see it from the "proper" distance it matches the original pretty well I think. :thumbsup
Cyber
Active Member
OK, here they are:
sorry it took so long to respond. My yahoo email was spamming the message alerts despite having the RPF mail in my address book.
Anyway, as you can see the spiral design is broken by the ringed sections where the recorder can be broken down for cleaning. I know there are pictures of the recorder with the spiral going over those but I liked this look a little better. I still have to tidy up the paint a little and add the tassels to it. I am looking for green ones. I plan to use a couple of the grooves in te bottom piece to string the tassels to the recorder and some metal beads for spacers.
I know this thread is bit old, but having decided I might look at attempting to recreate a second Doctor style recorder I found this thread after a short search.
Some interesting ideas and some great source material.
Couple of quick questions come to mind...
Firstly some of the screen shots look like the recorder is plastic, and a cream type base colour, is this what people think?
Secondly, what is the best paint to use on a plastic recorder, and any tips for applying would be gratefully received.
Finally, how do people temporarily block holes whilst painting to ensure recorder stays usable?
Straker
Sr Member
Well, I dunno what exactly they used in the show. Some recorders I had seen used in the show looked plastic to me but not all of them during Troughton's run and his was so colored with paint that who knows. It could have been ivory.XD I used plastic because I found that cream colored one looked the right color and was literally a few dollars. I picked out a Rustolium blue paint that I thought looked nice and masked off the recorder with black electricians tape after a thorough cleaning to remove oils since i was priming it. To keep paint from going inside I rolled a piece of paper up and put it inside the recorder and let it expand to fill it. Since every other hole was taped over I only had to worry about a few of them.I didn't add any gold nor did I try for straight out accuracy but I was pleased enough with the results. I found a tassel for it that was green but I never did post the finished recorder here:
It's there in that group shot. I MIGHT still add the gold to it at least but I might not. XD
Organic Mechanic
Sr Member
From what I can tell, the "The Three Doctors" recorder is wooden with a plastic mouth piece and blue electrical tape for the stripe.
Made myself a close enough version with a $$$ Store recorder to put in my Time Cabinet this weekend, but my camera is out on loan. :/
Made myself a close enough version with a $$$ Store recorder to put in my Time Cabinet this weekend, but my camera is out on loan. :/
Cyber
Active Member
Well, I dunno what exactly they used in the show. Some recorders I had seen used in the show looked plastic to me but not all of them during Troughton's run and his was so colored with paint that who knows. It could have been ivory.XD I used plastic because I found that cream colored one looked the right color and was literally a few dollars. I picked out a Rustolium blue paint that I thought looked nice and masked off the recorder with black electricians tape after a thorough cleaning to remove oils since i was priming it. To keep paint from going inside I rolled a piece of paper up and put it inside the recorder and let it expand to fill it. Since every other hole was taped over I only had to worry about a few of them.I didn't add any gold nor did I try for straight out accuracy but I was pleased enough with the results. I found a tassel for it that was green but I never did post the finished recorder here:
It's there in that group shot. I MIGHT still add the gold to it at least but I might not. XD
Thanks for the info, I shall be keeping a look out for a cheap recorder to try it out on.
For now I am thinking just the simpler 'Three Doctors' style. Mainly because I have not seen enough detail on the other variants to give me confidence in a design, but also because I prefer the simpler look from 'The Three Doctors'.
Straker
Sr Member
I meant to say I didn't prime under the paint XD But yeah it is pretty easy. I figured I could still run a spiral of gold and add some gold dots and trim to it if I wanted to. I think mine is sort of a happy medium of a Three Doctors and classic variant. I may see if there's another style of recorder to try again sometime.
Straker
Sr Member
Oh and I think you may be right about the wood Cyber. Anyone who is interested, I think you want a Hohner recorder: http://www.kurtjacob.com.au/images/HohnerMelody9514Recorder.jpg It even has a gold band part way down the neck before the holes for your fingers and the very bottom hole is off center for your pinkie and the end had a similar shape and well, it's the best match. Not a very expensive recorder either. Spotted a few places that had them for $50-ish.
Cyber
Active Member
I think you are right with that recorder type. From the website it's a model 9514.
http://www.hohner.eu/index.php5?2042
Looking at the pictures in post #6 and indeed post #1 the recorder seems much smoother along the length. As opposed to the 'Three Doctors' style one which has the more recognisable/standard recorder shape with the bulge near the mouth piece end. (apologies to any musicians for my lack of knowledge on the proper names for the parts!)
I have ordered a cheap recorder from eBay, looks like now I need to find a cheap Hohner recorder as well!
Straker
Sr Member
I think you are right with that recorder type. From the website it's a model 9514.
Enjoy Music Play Hohner - Descant c´´; wood-plastic; baroque
Looking at the pictures in post #6 and indeed post #1 the recorder seems much smoother along the length. As opposed to the 'Three Doctors' style one which has the more recognisable/standard recorder shape with the bulge near the mouth piece end. (apologies to any musicians for my lack of knowledge on the proper names for the parts!)
I have ordered a cheap recorder from eBay, looks like now I need to find a cheap Hohner recorder as well!
Yes, it's not a deal on match but it's pretty damn close to it.
Cyber
Active Member
Straker, hope you don't mind me asking a few more question as I now have a basic plastic recorder and plan to do a 'Three Doctors' style recorder in the near future.
My queries are this...
1. Did you key the surface or prepare it in any way other than cleaning it?
2. To clean and remove the oils what did you use? I want to avoid using anything that will damage the plastic.
3. If I understand correctly you painted directly onto the recorder without using a primer first, did this work ok or if you did it again would you use a primer first?
I was in our local Hobby Craft store earlier and saw the PlastiKote range of paints...
http://www.plasti-kote.co.uk/search/5488.html
I reckon something from this range is what I'll use.
(The recorders were only a couple of pounds so I bought two so I do have a second chance if it goes badly!)
If this goes ok, I'll maybe try the more complicated recorder pattern if I can get hold of the correct recorder.
Straker
Sr Member
No it's no problem at all.
Really just cleaned it. I used a good grease fighting dish detergent and a toothbrush to get into the tight areas to remove any excess oil from manufacture. That's important or the paint won't stick. You can use a light scouring powder and a soft toothbrush too if you like. Even if you damage SOME of the plastic that's OK because you''re going to be covering nearly half the surface area with paint.
No, I didn't use any primer. I wanted to keep the thickness low. If I were going to do another though I'd try for either a dark blue or light blue primer and cover the whole recorder body with it first. Let it dry and paint the other stripe on it in which ever color the primer wasn't. Failing to find a primer in the shades of blue i wanted I would just go straight to paint. You don't always need to prime a surface and if you use the Rustolium I mentioned you hardly ever will. That paint sticks to aluminum straight without primer. I'm not a fan of Plastikote honestly. I never find their paint drys to a hard enough finish. As long as you aren't trying to paint rubber with an enamel paint Rustolium works great with everything I do.
director89
New Member
i want this lol
Cyber
Active Member
So I have a plastic recorder and some Rust-oleum blue spray paint, so I can start on my 'Three Doctors' recorder when I get chance, hopefully this weekend.
But I also had a result as I saw a second hand Hohner b9514 recorder on eBay here in the UK and got it for a very reasonable price.
So now I can look at planning my 'early years' recorder.
But I also had a result as I saw a second hand Hohner b9514 recorder on eBay here in the UK and got it for a very reasonable price.
So now I can look at planning my 'early years' recorder.
Straker
Sr Member
So I have a plastic recorder and some Rust-oleum blue spray paint, so I can start on my 'Three Doctors' recorder when I get chance, hopefully this weekend.
But I also had a result as I saw a second hand Hohner b9514 recorder on eBay here in the UK and got it for a very reasonable price.
So now I can look at planning my 'early years' recorder.
Yup! Just remember I avoided the more irregular sections of the recorders body and stuck to the relatively smoother sections so I could keep the paint from getting messy XD That's why the spiral doesn't go over the bulb like section on mine. Also remember to remove the tape you use to mask the recorder off after a few hours so it pulls away from the paint cleanly...well more cleanly than if you let it completely dry hard anyway. THEN let it dry for a full week before you handle it otherwise you can damage the paint.
I found some great Rustolium satin blue paint that is nice and light that I will try using for a basecoat for a Hohner recorder like that one. I'll do the light blue first then after a week mask it and paint the dark blue stripe over it, MAYBE in gloss for a nice contrast in colors. The gold stripe and dots I may do using a gold pinstriping tape they use on cars for detailing. They have some that would look very much like the gold colored band on the Hohner.
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