Sonic Screwdriver
v4
v4 - final video
v1 - ... I wont say it was bad, but... Though, in all honesty, I was goofing around and basically doodling when watching TV. I didn't even have the thought to try and be screen arcuate at this point; it just seemed like a good "simple" project to toy with
v2 - here you can see that I woke up and really started paying attention. Between v2 and v3 the structure is rebuilt, but much of the shape stayed the same. The big upgrade in V4 is the textures. I went from placeholder to fully baked.
v4 final with background (Compressed 4K)
v4 final without background (Compressed 4K)
v4 final without background and without composite post processing (Compressed 4K)
I somewhat lost track of where this one falls in the development, I think this is early in the v4 process, but it's hard to tell as late in the v3 process a lot of the v4 structure had been developed.
v4 up close epic shot
v4 up close epic shot without composite post processing.
final with background (small)
v4 final without background (small)
v4 final without background and without composite post processing (small)
I gave a lot of thought into how this could have been machined and opted to make it look more welded/soldered together. However, in most of the props you can see that this hole is rounded and was cut out - but that also changes prop to prop.
v4 - hilt. I always noticed the gear like design where the hilt meets the glass tube, but for some reason I never clued into the fact that it interlocks with the top. v1 and I think v2 originally did not attempt this, but then I opened my eyes.
v4 - emitter light test. It is hard to see in any of my renders, but I spent some time making the emitter show a swirling pattern as it lights up. The effect likely cost me a lot of render time in the final video and is not really to visible, but worth it
v4 - Tube. I went through many versions of this and did not even notice the practical wires back when watching the show. I went through many colors and options here, but I ended up just leaving them simple yellow matching set.
v4 - all of the dirt and part of the scratches and smutches is procedural. There are two scratch textures and one smudge texture which are fed into my material that uses noise and a bunch of other masks to procedurally apply and overlay them with the dirt
Pivot - While mine is not currently animated, I read that this was meant to be a folding pivot and there was even a set prop created to this effect.
As best as I can tell, none of the versions of the prop have a fully brass switch with a rivet, but that's what I laned on as what felt right. I imagine it was a repair done with parts on hand.
This was a huge blessing on this project - https://www.kasterborous.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/ebooks/rtd-sonic-history-november-2021.pdf
Figuring out which emitter construction to use was really challenging. I wish I was a machinist so I'd know which would be the "better" design. In the end the geometry was simpler with blocks and boolean cuts.
In my model I never joined the ball to the upper and lower parts of the assembly - so I could easily animate this function, but it was not something that jumped out at me as something I loved about the prop.
Turns out this is what the "original" 2005 looked like and everything else was just how my memory changed things.
My prop is clearly not accurate to this replica form The Wand Company, but if you add it all up, this is the one mine is closet to.
This is the the 10th doctors screen used prop - and this was one of the references used for v2 and 3.
I have long been a Doctor Who fan. While Tom Baker (#4) will always be my number 1, the 2005 revival series holds a very special place in my heart. There are many great iconic props from the series and I intend to make many more, but if I could have only one prop from the show it would be a series 1 sonic screwdriver - or so I thought. You see, I have a clear memory of what the early sonic looks like, but it seems my memory is a composite of many different versions that changed over and over. I started with one reference, found another, and another, and progressively got more and more confused. I went back to rewatch the series and tried to get a screengrab, but while the the screwdriver is a common plot device, it is not given many good shots on screen. Still, I persisted and eventually lucked out when I found a PDF titled "rtd-sonic-history-november-2021.pdf" (https://www.kasterborous.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/ebooks/rtd-sonic-history-november-2021.pdf) and things set straight. I was aiming, in my head, for Christopher Eccleston (#9) but in the end my model looked more like a later David Tennant (#10) prop while actually ending up like none of them.
When I think back, the things I like most are the emitter, the (what I thought was) cracked porcelain, and the mechanical switch. I saw all this, in my memory, as being in episode 1 back in 2005 - which I must have watched 20 times by now. So, in the end I gave up on accuracy and just made a prop as I would would like to have it should I ever buy one (I don't think I'd be allowed to buy a Tardis...). As it turns out, mine looks a lot like one of the replicas you can buy. I was somewhat disappointed by the cracked paint job on the props from the images I found - I swore I remember cracked porcelain, like some pseudo medical device from an epic Victorian steampunk set.
I worked on this as a side project for several months used this as a test render across several laptop repairs.
As for textures, I used a Poliigon texture for the brass as well as I think 2 scratch and one fingerprint texture from Poliigon as well. However, aside from the brass texture was custom with the three detail textures used in a procedural noise system to generate all of the dirt and damage.
In total, I went through 4 versions of the screwdriver. If I thought there a "true" version of the series 1 screwdriver, I might try for a 5th, but for now I think I'm done with this one.
I've always wanted to do the 2005 Tardis interior and even have a blend with the layout already set up. However, the console looks to be a massive pain. While I've been able to collect amazing reference photos, I just don't know if I want to bother. Besides, the more I really look at it the less cool and impressive it seems; maybe it's best to let that book stay closed. For now...
