Original 4th Doctor items - on eBay!

Over the past couple of weeks there has been a small flurry of original Doctor Who Props and costumes for sale on eBay. It’s been like a mini Bonhams auction!

Here’s what’s been on offer for Fourth Doctor fans.

Robots Of Death
Robot Mask

SOLD FOR £900

This prop may well have been used as a ‘stunt’ mask in the classic 1977 Doctor Who story Robots of Death but I have been able to confirm this. I believe it was made to be blown up during the course of the story but, whatever its origins, it is a magnificent display piece in excellent condition. It is made from thick fibreglass and has been primed then sprayed green, although this hasn’t been finished off and the back section remains grey.

Androids Of Tara (and Battlefield)
Knight’s Helmet

SOLD FOR £625

This is a Knight’s Helmet from the classic 1978 Doctor Who story, Androids of Tara. It was later brought out of mothballs and utilised in the 1989 Sylvester McCoy tale Battlefield. This is two props for the price of one folks! It’s made of fibreglass with a leather chin strap, bolted visor and horsehair detail. It has aged remarkably well, with no scuffs or scratches except some faint track marks where the visor has been lifted up and down. Don’t miss this chance to own an authentic piece of Doctor Who history!

Shada
Ancient and Worshipful Law of Gallifrey Book

SOLD FOR £920

This is an original prop from the legendary uncompleted Doctor Who adventure, Shada from 1979. It is the infamous Ancient and Worshipful Law of Gallifrey, the book around which the entire story revolves. This really is a unique piece of Doctor Who folklore – not only is in pivotal to the story, it is from a story which has achieved cult status owing to it never being finished!
The prop is a perfect bound leather book filled with cartridge paper pages. Most are blank but a section at the front and a dozen or so in the centre contain Gallifreyan text. This gives the illusion that every page is written on when the book is flicked through on camera.

In response to several people asking about the authenticity of this item, I acquired it from the private collection of Ian Levine, Doctor Who Programme Consultant in the 80s and 90s, who acquired it from the Production Office.

There were also eBay listings
relating to other Doctors

3rd Doctor Costumes on eBay!

5th Doctor Costumes on eBay!

6th Doctor Costumes on eBay!

7th Doctor Costumes on eBay!

Fourth Doctor Cuff boots

One part of my Tom Baker Costume that’s been gathering compliments are my boots!

A lot of people commented on they at NorCon a couple of weeks back, and several readers have remarked on them to me as well.

They are closely based on a pair of boots occasionally worn by Tom Baker during season 16 and 17.

There aren’t that many good shots showing them, as photographs are often cropped off, of the scarf covers the boots.

The two shots I used as reference were from The Armageddon Factor (see right) and Destiny Of The Daleks (see below).

So where did I get them from?
The same boot makers that make Matt Smith’s footwear!

When I was there collecting some boots for a client, I took the chance to show them the photos above and ask if they could make them for me. The answer was a big yes!

They are custom-made to my foot sizing, and are SO comfortable to wear, I can’t tell you!

The guys did such a great job matching what I showed them, and they seemed to instinctively fill in the details they couldn’t quite make out in the photos.
I wondered if they got the design over the ankle right, but checking a close-up in Destiny Of The Daleks put my mind to rest!

I’m so pleased with these boots – they really make the outfit!

Four Frock Coat - photoshoot

Following my photos of the finished Four Frock Coat, here are some fun pictures of me wearing it!

First, the full outfit – coat, scarf, hat and cuff boots.

Now being pursued by my Dalek (he’s nicknamed Derek by the way).

Now a bit of sonic action . . .

Finally – jelly baby, anyone?

Four Frock Coat - finished!

My trip to NorCon earlier this month gave me the chance to wear my full Fourth Doctor costume for the very first time.

The boots had only been finished a couple of days before-hand, as was the hat.

It drew a lot of complements and I’ve been asked to post some better pictures of it. I took a load of photos, which I’ll post soon, but for now here are some choice shots showing the coat to its best.

Do let me know what you think.

Nor Con 2012

Today was the Nor Con (short for Norwich Convention). It’s a small, one-day affair held to raise money for charity.

I stayed overnight with family in the local area so I can get over without too much travelling.
It’s held at the Holiday Inn hotel on the outskirts of Norwich International Airport, reminding me in a way of Gallifrey One which is similarly occupies an airport hotel site. This is much smaller though.

It’s a general science fiction convention, but as with a lot of these gatherings, there’s a strong bias towards Doctor Who, and not being a big mainstream event, it means there is as much emphasis on the classic series as new.

I knew a number of cosplayers attending, and there was a Tenth Doctor, Fourth Doctor, Romana, Seventh Doctor and Sixth Doctor (above).

Later I saw a couple of Fifth Doctors, a Cyberman, another Seventh Doctor as well as a UNIT soldier.

Cosplaying in the UK isn’t as popular as it is in the states, but there was a good contingent in attendance today, including a good range of sci-fi and comic book costumes.

I found a Power Ranger; a cute female Stormtrooper; a chunky Iron Man; both Superman and Supergirl; and something I wasn’t really sure of its source.

Later I found some Ghostbusters; some Batman cosplayers including The Bane; and curiously a Predator Jedi Knight (no, I don’t know why either!)

Dacorum College - 50th Anniversary

You may know that once a week I attend college in Hemel Hempstead, where I have been learning hand-tailoring as well as improving my all-round sewing skills.

The college has been going for many years now, and I recently discovered it is celebrating its own 50th anniversary, one year before The Doctor celebrates his.












As part of the look back over the past 50 years, some has put together a series of boards, covering the past five decades.
Each includes some genre series and films, and two of them feature the intrepid Time Lord.

The 1960s

Listed here are: The Avengers, Barbarella, Star Trek, the moon landing, pop art, Berlin wall built, The Monkees, Psycho, Vietnam war protests, Twiggy, The Prisoner, Mods, Rockers, Batman TV show, The Sound Of Music, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kennedy assassination, Charles Manson, Bob Dylan, Woodstock, The Profumo affair, The Graduate, Civil rights movement, Motown, Mary Quant

Tom Baker scarf - the OFFICIAL replica!

This posting has now been

CENSORED

Bonhams FLASHBACK: 11th May 1991 Doctor Who - The Auction

Over the past couple of years, as well as keeping up to date with the latest costume auctions, I’ve done my best to track back over the various sales held at Bonhams over the years.

Their online records only go back seven years, but one sale I’ve been wanting to find out about was a dedicated Doctor Who sale from 1991.

This week I managed to pick up a copy of the sale catalogue on eBay, and it makes interesting reading.

The catalogue is a very different beast to what we see now.
There are no photographs of the items on sale, and no estimates are indicated.

It is divided into roughly one episode per page, on which all the lots relating to it are listed. One or two publicity stills from the episode are included, which may or may not show the items being listed!

As usual I have separated the items by Doctor era, and you can see the rest of the items here:

Lot 7-59
5th Doctor (1982-1984)

Lots 60-115
6th Doctor (1984-1986)

Lots 116-155
7th Doctor (1987-1989)

Here are just the lots relating to the Fourth Doctor era

Robots Of Death
The Invasion Of Time

The Androids Of Tara
The Creature From The Pit

The Horns Of Nimon - Full Circle

Click here to download a PDF of the catalogue

Romana Frock Coat (blue version) - a special visitor

If you follow my Tennant Suit Blog you will have seen I recently had a very special visitor - Doctor Who costume designer Louise Page.

She came to see me so we could chat all things Tennant about the iconic suit and coat she designed for the Tenth Doctor.

Well while she was here, and before the Romana coat was sent off to the client, I showed it to her.
The coat it is based on was a personal favourite of hers from the classic series, so she instantly recognised the inspiration behind it.

To complete a faux Fourth Doctor look I threw my old scarf - hand-knitted by my mother back in the late 1970s. It nowhere near screen accurate, but of immense personal sentimentality.

The Twelve REGENERATIONS Of Christmas

If you regularly follow my blogs, you may have seen The Twelve Regenerations Of Christmas strand that I have been running on the Eleventh Doctor blog.

I have been sharing a mixture of fun things you might have missed; stuff from my archive; and a few new revelations.

As well as new series stuff, I have touched on some classic Who.

Here are the entries of Forth Doctor interest worth look over.

Day four

Since a lot of people would not have seen my original posting here, I shared my childhood scrapbooks.

These were assembled towards the end of the Pertwee era and into the early part of Tom’s.

Amongst the gems on show was my treasured signed copy of the Doctor Who And The Loch Ness Monster Target novel (see right).

Day eight

I took a trip back through all the surviving costume designs I could find for the Doctor.









I found two for Tom – one by james Acheson,; the other by legendary June Hudson.

Day nine

I took a look back at the 1970s BBC vt Christmas tapes that were assembled for the infamous Xmas parties.
One contained a specially shoot skit with Tom Baker and Mary Tamm; another featured a dalek.

Happy Christmas to all my readers!

Wow - another year has flown past - and what a year it’s been!

Photo by Scott Sebring

It started back in January with a once in a lifetime opportunity when I made the Ultimate Tennant Suit. To have the chance to put into practice the actual way the suit was made was an amazing experience. The timing was perfect, as I had a couple of months before started learning traditional hand-tailoring techniques, which I put to great use in making the suit.

Photo by Scott Sebring

I had to follow the suit, and with three days notice ended up going to Gallifrey One in LA!
There I met up with a number of my online friends and many of my readers who had no idea I was going. I also had the privilege of arranging a group photograph with four of my Tennant Coat clients, which was the highlight of the trip.

By the end of April news broke that THE Series Six Shetland Tweed fabric had been found, as well as the Series Five Donegal.

It was like the Tennant Suit all over again: making an iconic jacket in the exact fabric. I was lucky to find the correct buttons and elbow patches to finish it off.

In August the culmination of many month work came to fruition when I took delivery of  my rewoven Tennant Coat lining. I had been searching for years to find a suitable alternative, but finally took the plunge and commissioned my own recreation of it.

The past few months of the year have been taken up with making a popular new garment in my repertoire - the Green Greatcoat.

I spent a while carefully researching the pattern, fabric and construction until I got it just right.

Then in late November I attended Chicago TARDIS, where I entered the masquerade competition wearing a test version of the Colin Baker Six Frock Coat. I won Best In Show: Workmanship for my tailoring – for which I am very proud.

This was one of three coats I had made, the other two were for the wedding of some close friends which is due to take place just before Christmas.

Looking back it has been an exciting year, with more projects than I could have thought to have taken on.

And as the year comes to a close, an even more exciting development is breaking.

More on that in the New Year, but trust me, it’s gonna be worth the wait . . .

Romana Frock Coat (blue version) finished!

I’ve been working so hard on this Romana Fock Coat, I clean forgot to take anymore pictures of it being made! Sorry.

But what I have for you today is the finished thing, all sewn and ready to wear!

The lapel buttonholes are for show only, and are not cut though. This is how the original coat was.

The buttons were specially made using the same velvet as the collar and trim.

The coat is designed to be double breasted and it has been cut to work properly in that regard.

The outer pockets are as the original coat, with one in the waist-seam on each side, and a larger pocket below.

What I have done though is make the waist-seam pocket real! On the original coat the flap is just for show - it has no practical pocket underneath it.

I couldn’t make it too deep as the opening is quite narrow. It would serve well as somewhere to keep a mobile phone!

Finally, here is the lucky recipient of the finished coat!