11th Doctor Sonic Screwdriver

Many people have emailed me about the 11th Doctor Sonic and asked whether I will be producing a high quality version.

Ok, here's the answer:

I DON'T KNOW!!!!!!

The reason for this is twofold.

1. An official licensee, Wow Stuff,  has announced plans to make a die cast metal version of this sonic with an RRP of £19.99/$27. This will be released in October.

2. I have yet to get my hands on one of the props and until I do, I cannot be sure my item is as good as could be.

Wow Stuff have claimed to me at January's London Toy Fair that they provided about 50 of their prototypes to the BBC so the prop that Matt Smith uses is a Wow Stuff made Sonic. I find this an extremely bold claim and something tells me that it may not be strictly true.

The other thing that bothers me is the pricing. Confucious once say "if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is".  The Wow Stuff sonic is said to feature light, sound and integrated screwdrivers, as well as being made from metal and screen accurate.

To bring it in at an RRP of £19.99 you will need to seriously cut corners. I shit you not, I have priced this up and also spoken to several major factories here in China. Most told me 'fuck off', some laughed in my ear, and the rest walked away mumbling something about crack pipes. The small handful that were willing to bring this in for a unit cost of under £5 told me I would need to order something like 450,000 to 500,000 units.

Something tells me that no way will they ever sell half a million sonics - even 50,000 would be more than a triumph.

So something has to give. I am more than willing to bet that the Wow sonic will feel cheap and be made from thin die stamped alloy strips and painted.

That sort of RRP goes against all principles of manufacture, even here in China.

If I was to make a Matt Smith sonic, it will be done without compromise:

Machined aluminium and stainless steel

Anodised copper look metal

ABS or resin handle

Leather mid section

Dimensions taken directly from a filming prop

The only thing I can do is wait for the Wow version. If I can improve upon it, I will. Until such time, let's just wait.