Eleventh Doctor Sonic

Ok, it's official. The Wow Stuff sonic is not going to be much cop. The official word from Wow is:

• It will be a static prop: the emitter does not extend, and the prongs will not pop out.
• The sound will be activated using the screwdriver 'bits' and will not have a separate switch as per the prop.

What this means is as of now I am statrting work on a high quality, screen accurate Matt Smith sonic for release in 2011.

You heard it here first.

Sha'mone.

The age old debate again...

I wasn't going to say anything but one of my customers has stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest over on the RPF.

Basically, despite me having proven that the MFX is an inaccurate piece of shit, the MFX apologists are still in denial.

@Simon/Birdie: Every single external dimension on my replica is as is on the Season 1 prop with the exception of a narrower slider slot which was incorporated from the Season 2 prop. If you can't perceive the obvious you're either blind or in denial or both as the differences are blatant and immediately perceptible to even a three year old child (seriously).

@Fettster: Like Birdie, you've got fucking dead eyes if you think the MFX is accurate. The MFX is utterly inaccurate in practically every single dimension. They have been nowhere near a prop - FACT.  I have found out that their 'prototypes' were stock reference pics taken by the props department of brand new Robatto-made props built prior to Season 3. Kind of explains why no further pics of these prototypes ever surfaced or why the final product differed so wildly, right? Or why Gorton has never answered any direct questions on this point.

@Phez: Are you some kind of simpleton? The colour of the MFX head is a dead giveaway.  Also they have not sprayed on any kind of coating. Are you thick or something???? The dullness of the MFX head is down to a different kind of aluminium used because it flows better in the die mould. They then rumbled it to get rid of imperfections. If you scratch it, of course you will get a different colour: it's called oxide, you fool. You are not scraping off a paint coating. A virginal CNCed emitter head would look just like mine. It needs minimal (if any finishing).

A respected member of the RPF board emailed me privately to state the following: "It is definately die cast as a couple that I had have exactly the same marks on the emitter. Whether NG knew this is a moot point, as it is obvious now after a few months that the head is discolouring ata different rate to the other aluminium parts.". If the MFX head is coated, as you say it is, why is it changing colour? Surely the coating will prevent oxidation? Fucking moron.

You wrote: "The only thing on the MFX that looks different to the hero Sonic that I am used to seeing in photos is that the openings in the head look sort of rectangle instead of square (they extend farther up towards the the tip) ant the corner radius look different. That being said, those few photos are all I am comparing against. We know there were multiple hand made Sonics and that MFX could have used any one of them as reference. It is not fair to use a photo of one prop out of many and say it proves inaccuracy. "


Well actually bub, it does. Your claim that there were several props, all different, is also an argument I shat on a long time ago if you can be bothered to read as it was also an argument Gorton used. Gorton claims he based his prop on a SINGLE hero prop. Despite him changing his story several times. We even got a pic of it. How come the final product looks NOTHING like the prop he has claimed he based it on? Answer me that, Einstein.

@ Clutch. You wrote "Just by looking at the MFX you can tell it is machined." . Yeah, like you would know. Your lack of knowledge is laughable.  Ok, how do you explain the corrosion and the fact that the diameters differ from top to bottom? If the MFX was rotated around a central axis on a CNC the diameter of the head will be consistent top to bottom. It isn't. It's been die cast then finished on a mill or the original blank was machined then used for the die mould with the machining marks having made it to the final die mould.

@Primrodo:  You wrote: "They are persisting its Die Cast because Celestial Toystore says it is repeatedly on his blog, despite Neill coming in on here stating a few times its not. Its a circle argument as you basically have to decide whose word is more viable, a prop maker that has made the replica stating how it was made, or someones personal assessment that is technically competition and has an axe to grind against the prop makers."  Yeah, I'll believe a SFX makeup artist (NOT a propmaker) who has a history of consistently lying to save face (note my sarcasm) and not just my personal assessment, but the assessment of many experts in the industry including some of Gorton's chums. Oh, and the small fact I managed to track down the company that made the components for the MFX. Justin, face it, the MFX is no more accurate to the screen used prop than the CO toy is. You've even been told this in private by several highly respected experts besides myself. Besides you wouldn't know screen accurate even if kicked you in your gonads. Ok, name which dimension on my sonic is inaccurate? You're a stupid fucking cunt if you think that there is anything inaccurate about mine. Come on you stupid dozy fuck nugget, put up or shut the fuck up. I challenged you before and you backed down. Grow some balls and man up or just fuck off.

It is basically a rudimentary deceit played by MFX that they thought would never be found out as MFX did not reckon on anybody else actually having measured or documented these props. I have though, and the moment I laid eyes on an MFX production sonic, I knew that they had fucked up badly. This is not just my opinion either. It is a widely held opinion in the INDUSTRY and one of the prime reasons why Gorton had his licence taken from him.

My sonic is the most accurate Doctor Who prop replica ever made. Period. But those of you who actually own one already know this, don't you? ;-)

Yet another satisfied customer

Received the following rather lovely email this morning:

"Subject: A jaw dropping note of thanks

Hi there,

Arrived home from work today to find a note saying a neighbour had taken in a delivery for me. Couldn't remember if I was expecting anything so when I picked it up and read the company name on the shipping label I almost ran back to my place to open it. When I did I could only gasp and utter two words: Holy Crap!

This sonic screwdriver, the one that I can't stop looking at and picking up just to hold, is absolutely fantastic. Utterly, utterly brilliant (to use a few Doctorisms). I've seen lots of prop replicas in my time and bar a scant few they've all had to make compromises either in their build quality, their colouring, their accuracy... However you have done it, this is without doubt the finest reproduction I've seen for many a year. Not only does it look precisely the part it also has a weight I wasn't expecting making it oh-so-satisfying to simply wave around acting like a giggling arse shouting Allons-y. Unlike the 11th Doctor's sonic which, from watching the Angels episodes, looks like a a hulking lead pipe with a bulb on the end yours is elegant, understated and perfect.

You now have another fully paid up member of your fan club (the sneaky way you smuggled the batteries inside the packaging just increases my respect) and having a look at some of your upcoming projects I can see I'm going to have to start saving again. Strangely before I came across your store I was tinkering with the idea of getting a cheap River Song screwdriver and trying to strip down and fit a uni-remote into it as it's bigger with more buttons, I thought it'd be a perfect candidate. Now I will very happily wait until I see what you come up with.

A million times, thank you!"

Yet another satisfied customer. Thank you again for your continued support!

On slider buttons

I have said this before but I'll say it again. Some people out there have expressed doubt as to whether the Eccleston props had such a large slider button. To these people I would like to draw their attention to the following pictures of the Eccleston era static props:

Looks familiar doesn't it? This larger button was also seen on the sliding prop also albeit sitting in a slot the width of the button itself. CO slightly tidied up the edges of this button for their toy, both protoype and production version,  but it remained virtually unchanged in dimensions and shape.

Hope this clears this up.

The reason why siblings shouldn't breed...

....feast your eyes on this fuckstick:

Yes, a cocksucker we all know and love: 'Risu' aka 'Ninja' Risu aka Daniel Pawlik. Not satisfied with being repeatedly bitchslapped by yours truly, this inbred and retarded example of unbridled specialness has the temerity to make the following comment re my sonic screwdrivers:

"From what I've seen of his product it's not all its cracked up to be."

Fair comment, it would appear prima facie. However, one should also bear in mind that the said commentator lacks something compulsory to his comment being taken with any credibility: the ability to see.

Yes folks, Daniel Pawlik lacks any ability to see.

This should immediately be obvious from the pic above: the fact that he willingly chose to walk out into the world looking like that, the 90% accurate Tom Baker neckerchief he 'designed', the Pete Sampras haircut, the gormless slackjawed expression and the vacant glazed eyes all point to a cunt with the visual capacity of Ray Charles. This is a man who looks so genetically and evolutionarily challenged the first question a car salesman would ask him is what flavor he wants his windows.

Here's a challenge for you Daniel-san: why isn't my sonic all it's cracked up to be?

You have no critical skills so why should anything you say be treated in any fashion other than how you would treat raw sewage?

I have dozens of reviews from people a lot better qualified than you who say otherwise. These are people who are off loading MFX's en masse on Ebay because they have bought mine. This is not fiction. This is FACT. Something that tiny mind of yours has trouble comprehending. So why don't you fuck off back to your little corner of the Internet and never take my name in vain nor darken my doorway ever again with your incessant drool soaked scribblings? Hmmmmm?

McCoy's Umbrella and other new products

Last week I had some rather good fortune. I managed to get hold of an original mid-eighties umbrella body of the same type and vintage used for Sylvester McCoy's famous question mark umbrella.

The umbrella has been a project that I've not really had the heart to tackle and finish mainly because of the difficulty in sourcing an umbrella that was 'just right'. This means the umbrella had to be to same vintage and model from the same maker as the original base umbrella used for the prop. Having an umbrella that was close just doesn't cut it and would put me in the same league as those idiot cosplayers out there. If I was to do it, it would be done right or not at all.

The actual question mark handle shape and dimensions were not actually that difficult to find or work out and the dims would actually surprise you.  Hence why past attempts to replicate this iconic piece have fallen woefully short. The Who Shop's version was just a cheap approximation designed to cash in on a moment and the current group run organised by, who else, our window licking cosplay wunderkind Bob Mitsch, is so seriously inaccurate on many different levels, one wonders if the designer actually possessed an optic nerve.

Enough about the riff-raff, let's discuss what I've got planned.

So I managed to get, through my contacts in the UK, the last remaining umbrella body of the same model and vintage used for McCoy's prop. This was very exciting as the manufacturer of the original umbrella, whilst still in business, has drastically changed the designed and materials used in their umbrellas. In particular, the vintage nylon used has been superceded by the cheaper and entirely different polyester and the overall construction has been tweaked to make the manufacture more efficient. For me, this was a deal breaker and meant any replica that used the modern model was compromised. Don't get me wrong, the umbrella is still in a league of its own. The manufacturer is a fine old traditional maker of handmade umbrellas that start from about £120 and upwards. However, it wouldn't be the same and I want perfection.

So here's the brolly:

Having got the umbrella I am going to be making the handle using the same materials, techniques and dimensions as the original prop. Once I've installed it and finsihed it, I fully intend to replicate every single mm of this umbrella for you, even down to the original manufacturer's label. This will not be a replica so much as a straight 1:1 facsimile of the original prop.

Speaking of 1:1 facsimiles, I am also working on the most accurate recreations of Peter Davison and Colin Baker's shirts ever made. They will be exact repros even down to the Dometakis and Harvie & Hudson labels. I am very excited about these and once you see them, you will too. Remember I promised you museum quality replicas? I'm delivering, so watch this space!!!

New Paint

I am a stickler for accuracy when it comes to props and will often try to use screen used materials, techniques and construction methods if I can and it doesn't compromise the final product. In fact, I often try and improve upon the original provided the changes are invisible and genuinely add value whilst compromising nothing of the original product. A case in point has been my sonic screwdrivers.

One issue that has bugged me since the beginning has been the paint on the sonics. The screen used sonics used commercially available (in the UK, at least) Crackle Touch paint from Plasti-Kote. The two colours used are unique and cannot be approximated using other paints of this nature. To my mind, there was simply no getting away from it, I had to use it on my replicas. So, through various means, I obtained some.

The only problem is that, durability wise, it was shit. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I had expected but it could be improved but still fell some way short of the durability levels I demanded.

By adding a quality primer and several layers of automotive clearcoat lacquer, you can achieve something that approaches an everyday durable finish. But I wanted more.

To my mind the only way I could get what I wanted was to develop it myself. So after consulting with an industrial paint maker, we set about creating a two stage baked crackle powdercoat that achieves a level of hardness and durability that is comparable to a car finish. I shit you not, I have rumbled the test pieces with coins, keys and various bits of crap one finds in the average pocket, to negiligible damage. Colours have been Pantone matched to the original samples and only deviate one or two shades and the crackle is slightly more pronounced. (It is worth noting that the original Crackle Touch has inconsistant colour and crackling that varies depending on thickness of base coat, thickness of top coat and the clearcoat tends to dull the colour too, rendering the colony cream colour grey).

Here's the results:

All sonics ordered in the past month have been stripped of the old paint and the new powder coat has been implemented, hence the delay in getting orders out this month but all pending orders are shipping out today and tomorrow. Enjoy the new paint job!