Monday 29 August 2016



Replica 'Baby Orac' from Gambit.
After seeing the original prop from Blakes 7, it was the next thing I had to make.
The box is laser cut to the dimensions of the original, each tube inside are also the correct length and size to match the original prop.
Inside are 5 bulbs, these are the same flashing type as used on the original one, and wired the same way to make the whole lot flash on and off randomly.
The centre 'Brain' on the original one is also a bulb, but with it being inside the ball, I used the same type but only in led form to save power.
The colour on the tubes has an interesting story.
I was informed of the company the BBC used to get their supplies from in the 70's (I think they still use them today).
I located the shop and phoned to see if they had the French Varnish they used on the tubes.
Luck would have it, back in the 70's before the internet, the easiest way to get the colour chart to match was to paint the varnish on squares of acrylic (2 sets) one was posted to the BBC and the other kept by the company, then when they needed a colour they could phone them and read the colour name off the card with the coloured acrylic stuck to it and the company could match it and post them the correct bottle of varnish.
They still had their colour sheet in a draw, and with it fading over 40 years the same as the original prop has, they scanned and emailed me a copy of their sheet, which then all I had to do was to match the colour to the original prop and order the right colours...  
The colour on my replica is the same as the original one would have looked when made in the 70's

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