Doctor Who partwork figurines

So New Partwork being trialed in Buckinhamshire and Oxfordshire andit is FINALLY a Doctor Who one,ill say this for the new Who, it has put Who  on the map again and due to this show and its  weakness old who has been made popular by new fans

So first off another partwork and Doctor Who gets a often missed out look in.
I own several of the Batmobiles which in the main are excellent and Marvel and DC Comics figurines which for the main are good ,now  with fashion and comic story of the day the new 52 and not so much the classics sadly, but there a good company Eaglemoss doing a good service although i have heard of subscription issues i myself never had a problem all these long years .only slight fault is the woefully inaccurate information detailed as fact’s in the magazine,just because it is official docent mean it is factually correct and i have notice some errors sure others noticed more,so this new partwork
It is all new Who so far 
And thusly a very easy pass for me 
not just because of the subject Matter

Giving his enemies the finger

Oh dear Adrian Brody appears to be playing the Doctor ,No1 issue and it is even wrong to costume as it is well known there is a new one and from a awful episode 3 years back about a pandorica in matts first year in 2010 ,So out of date ,this is no collection for the kids these are around a ten pound each mark

It is a collectors collection

errrrrrrrrr 
No thanks ill pass ,these look awful

upgrade one pound more for each issue and get these spread out of the life of the magazine well if they do all fifty years long and expensive subscription number one 
Number two again look at movie dalek claw not sucker and what color lights and black gold Dalek new series eh ? there inaccurate and sloppy and just plain poor combined with new series centric, its such a easy pass 
And how sad and what a waste and shame waited years for things like this and let down when it is finalized 

Fifty shades of Dalek Grey

1972

original daleks in storage

I wanted to use that title for a teeny blog for a while

Making a Remembrance Grey  Dalek, based on the two old style props in the episode (radcliffe office/ yard is one such key scene )

So some extensive research into the Daleks well a bit, some i new already not familiar with these Props tho ,

So 1972/ 3 nice original 60’s Dalek props ,silver blue are painted up for new story one gold 2 grey

 So Two props and now the show in color so make them dull dark grey , why i dont know,
and one Gold Leader even if leader was always black aka supreme Dalek

Ta da,Gunmetal Dalek as seen in 1972 Day of the Daleks ,Frontier in Space and Planet of the Daleks1973, so pertwee Dr 3 Dalek ,early 70s whatever you call it , it is gunmetal

Then In Planet of the Daleksthis happened ,A load of new Daleks (goons ) Made by the BBC to fill up the previous ranks of just three Daleks they added 7 more ,

gun metal and dark grey

due to a lack of space at the BBC a company called Westbury Design and Optical Limited was contracted by the BBC to store and renovate the TARDIS console as well as deal with Dalek requirements. This company belonged to Clifford Culley who became the man primarily responsible for the visual effects work on Planet of the Daleks.the new goons would act as static room fillers and where needed FX Daleks

 They were made fully poseable 

Look at one on right the paint is coming off it especially the dome ,this is a prop well into ten years old and it was starting to show, so far i have found one prop that was flat grey every other Dalek was Gunmetal,must of run out of paint 

Fast Forward to 1975 and Genesis of the Daleks  

The dark  grey is now dominate shade on all props the same, and now there is in this story 4 goons and the three 60s Daleks 

goons being made as just stand in and FX Daleks never intended to be hero props , 

 After being loaned out for everything and anything by BBC and lack of care with the BBC the props soon looked tatty and the new dull paint job was helping to hide some of it 

This dull grey is available at Halfords or any car paint store, it is called “Rover tempest Grey”

This colour is used most by Dalek builders and the Genesis style is a variant you will see the most, as is most recognizable and known and to people who don‘t know, is the color of a Dalek not realizing theres been other shades 

so Rover grey gloss black hemis and job done

onto 1979 and what has to be worst showing for the Daleks ,Destiny of the Daleks 

The props in this are now down to four (loaned out beaten to death or just plain mix and match or missing 

mixes of original 60s parts and goon intermixed and a goon top half and the Tussards “Pyramid” exhibition skirt,

Now there LIGHT Battleship grey,  with every prop different in its black highlights ,some on band collers some on ovals and one original prop was still dark grey livery from Genesis a original 60s Prop,
rightly these props are known as the raggedy Daleks if new to building a model or a Dalek build one of these there so bad you cant go wrong

due to three years at the hands of the public and other TV productions teams.there was little Daleks left going from 7 Daleks four years previously, to the bits left of four Dalek props

so thats the 70s onto the 80’s

No seriously this happened

 the 1980s Daleks

 

So first to be seen in 83 is the Five Doctors Dalek ,back to Rover grey made up of any parts of the shelf a tatty mess or as it is professionally known ,a Lash up,this can be seen throughout all three 80s Dalek story’s

then first proper Dalek story ,and it gets all samey name wise Resurrection and then collin dr 6 Revelation of the Daleks

 The tussards pyramid skirt Dalek also served as a grey drone and as the Black supreme Dalek (second supreme on the program)

And once again same prop from five doctors,Dalek  1/7 ,one being the top shoulders and neck off a goon and seventh skirt made in 65 by Shawcraft for the chase a real mix of bits noticeable with its mesh cut down to the top collar band ,Collins story,exactly same props dug out of storage as Peters,

This is last time we will see the original props, parts of which date back to the 60s 

the Tussards pyramid skirt Dalek is left to rot outside the Blackpool exhibition until taken back repainted repaired and sold at auction 

 

After 20 plus years the props were really looking tatty and worse for wear ,so BBC world wide could afford new Daleks for exhibitions but BBC couldent for the program ,answer get hold of these new Exhibition Daleks

Different shape to originals and a all molded on style for ease of making and reduced cost Ironically Made by martin wilkie son of Bernard former Fx man and Designer on Doctor Who

So now got 2 depleted props your down to 2 originals and a Dalek story coming for 25th anniversery 

the new molds are taken from last story (Revelation Collin Baker they were white Davros new Builds as per story)  and redressed and repainted and a whole new set of Daleks based of these newer style molds taller chunkier Daleks are made

 Back to Battleship grey like in Destiny

and have to take into account with all these pictures as i have said many times research use your eyes ,stop look properly give it time to go round  in your head ,color lights from the studio reflections off strong color surfaces,outside is it overcast bright day dull day what time of day all effect the shades of colors,

Off to Auction

You can make out the original white Necors Dalek paint under the grey on this Dalek in a real sorry state 
Grey i found here to use is Tamiya acrlyic TS 67,also a really good match and large can can be found in Hobby Store and Wilkinsons (if uk based) of Plasti Kote matte grey spray paint even has that tiny tinge of blue to it

 One last thing to add there were 2 original props, redressed to look like the more molded design, in the last story on TV Remembrance of the Daleks
 mostly seen in the Radclyffe builders yard and office guarding the hand of Omega
This after the end of the episode was cut in half and sent to Longleat exhibition as a walk in Dalek ,
this is a  original prop with parts dating back to 1965 ,just chopped up 
This is statement enough of what the BBC thought of and attitude towards these props so little wonder they looked so rough in some storys

back together original parts

 

I hope this is of some use to folk ,found a little help regarding paint

 well there is Dalek greys for you

all to enjoy so there you go Fifty Shades of Grey indeed  

for more fun and info head here

http://www.dalek6388.co.uk/index.htm

Dalek Fashion

This is a warning this is a rant ,ish post 
On the forums of Dr Who namely the  toy gally base ones,
 i will not get into debates,futile stupid and redundant, if i can ill help, but its info getting only forum for me not much point in that,lets say it has its uses
I did get into a grey shades debate, wish i hadn’t some people are stupid an cant convince them either way ,yes i know stupid thing for me to get involved in ,i have since slapped myself

this in particular rant involves as per thread title Daleks, now there is in fact been three looks in all for the classic series 63 89 

Hartenell Dalek

Making it simple see it has two bands mid section

For story reasons (as the program was a surprise hit and Daleks were only intended for one episode) the props got slats and  mesh on the mid / shoulder section, to enable them to have power outside of there facilities, originally they just drew power from the floor of there city’s

Now here we are in 70s you can see the bands mesh clearer here

 Now cue the 88 story “Rememberence of the Daleks” and the need to make props
 they take props made from previous story ,actually exhibition props, and make them TV props ,had to two originals left and there in bad shape, no way can make a episode without new props

Here is a pic of the Necros renegade new style , thicker chunky shoulders as now all molded on NOT separate parts,lots of rubber used to make them
 cheaper, easier to make and safer to use ,everything done in the mold besides there Mesh and slats now rubberised and brand new for the new white props all molded on nothing separate

And totally different skirt less angled than previous straighter can see original necros white showing under the grey

 Not nicest pic i admit but does show you the skirt ,how strait it is these white gold props specifically made for this story and grey are also taller than normal Daleks in the neck and space above below hemis balls on skirt

how this former prop now looks in Seattle  from Blackpool

this props home http://www.empmuseum.org/

so you  get the gist here i hope 

For prop story details info i refer to this nice little site 

http://www.dalek6388.co.uk/remembrance-of-the-daleks.htm

So FF to 2011 and first Imperial Dalek to be made arrives with aptly Dr7 in cream Jacket

ok spot the problem

Right off the bat, in pack i new was a standard Dalek
 This is not a Imperial Dalek the new Mold Made in 88 specifically for these props ,so if Remembrance is your fave story you are screwed here ,to be honest threw everyone as well you can see angled skirt short standard Dalekits not the imperial Dalek

Paninaro Customs

what we should of gotten ,is this wonderful custom by a bloke i cant remember,but has done this and renegades he was on the forums not so long ago now and as you can see his is right  ‘

And to be fare all Character Options got wrong really is the shape and throw some chrome gold on it job done
the plunger is still a standard,well sink plunger,as you can see for these props its cone shaped

If making a new sucker to represent the indents in it for this prop ,why not make it cone shaped as well ? ,your already changing the mold 

And personally NEVER liked the bottom collar band on the CO Daleks any of them to thin 

off to 2012   and voila ,a Remembrance set of toys in a box arrives with the Davros ones ,sans Davros ,the mystery is thickening a bit here 

errrrrrrrrrrrrr

separate Davros release

Different Daleks

toy on left accurate variant on right

Now looking at this ,it is all standard Daleks, ok new front piece for the white imperial to hexagonal instead of oval no circles round gun boxes so again ,i ask IF your making a mid section specifically for this Dalek then why not add the circles get it right? 

Nice Gunner but again wrong skirt white Dalek is exactly the  same as previous release  and nice silver black dalek but again wrong shape 

a strait chunky prop

No all wrong again and as can be seen,the  black prop was a actual exhibition prop borrowed and you can see, molded bands strait skirt etc this in fact is nothing like the old Daleks, which yes there was 2 of in the story ,
And  another question why is there imperial slats and band on the grey toy Dalek? should be mesh, this is a collectors range of figures isnt it ? why this so badly wrong ?

Exhibition Dalek prior to TV appearance

Money ? surely cost involved is taken on by Underground Toys and Forbidden planet who ordered / purchased these sets as exclusives to them ,Number one, Number two reap cost back from your sales ?,please if i am wrong someone explain it to me please

why this suddenly oh to expensive for them CO to do ?

my frustration is from being spoiled or having to high a expectation a bar they themselves raised 

This is first Dalek set and Classic Daleks made available 

Look at that how nice Hartnell Dead planet first Dalek the silver and blue one  ,a Genesis 70s grey ,bit blue but meh let it slide spot on even the crimp in the gun and planet supreme black gold ,look at neck the flat rings just for this prop no neck rods so a special neck accurate made specifically for this toy ,cant be used again just on this

 there is two Dalek molds as Bands and slats is different
 Bands dalek ( silver) is banded at top, for slats and mesh it requires plugs at the top for the mesh  so 2 bodys of Dalek are 2 different ,so two molds,so why not three?
 

 

As can be seen this one i stripped to make into a remembrance renegade grey  ,remember i said was 2 original shape ones in the story ?

as can be seen the plugs for the slats and mesh ,so two molds exist of basically the Dalek body one from the first 2 storys and one from all other later versions up to Remembrance in 88 ,fantastic,

So looking at a dalek stripped down you can see it is all reusable,only that the body needs to be different like for Hartnell 60s original one 

So my questions is,” why not make a third body”? ,one for straighter skirt space above below hemis? if you can make neck parts make them for these as well,you have it so right for two different Dalek types so make a third

I tell you my theory

there making Daleks, well needs 60s one and standard one but what about third ?, lets make these two ,i don’t think people will be noticing difference(Before were exclusive and general retail availability so burden directly on CO)  ,even tho this is aimed at collectors cost keep it down make two, use them 

They got scared,simple,no we make two use them be fine ,then they got greedy oo big success Money quick bang out more ,no thought given to accuracy

it was a simple error i suppose to start ,now if just 2 stories in 60s  we get bands variant and one story Planet supreme specially made, they make new molds and parts ,really ?,
you not gona make a Skirt shape thats got uses from ….

Necros sixth doctor story right through to sylv and remembrance  and all variants like SWD ,Davros and exterminated etc, etc ,etc 
theres more to be made form this mold than any other excluding the standard shape with mesh, and what about  re releases ?,army building ?, FX Daleks?,bizarre but them  are choices were stuck with it

But i stand by my opinion could of been done and money could / would  of been made

If only by looking at whats been released so far and if you think if that was a new mold money would be back 
 

A Box by any other name

Done it ! ,finished “MY” 80s box aka TARDIS 
Yes sir mine  remnants of the store bought version stripped and total rebuild and custom lengthy paint job and weathering unique to the model ,kinda like you do with some props
I really enjoyed this ,sometimes,painful other times not
took a LOT of figuring out and trial error and a ton of research 

For me i like to know how a object works ins and outs of the cats bum way i am
If its clothes its nice to know where seams are and stitching fasteners etc and so on your model or replica or miniature you can replicate this ,
How was it built ? material ? techniques ? , if you know this you can apply it and get a even more realistic looking model and really ramp it up 
that bit is  wood so make yours look like it was made out of wood they used a sponge to paint it so ,use a sponge to paint it  
weathering conditions if any that may effect the object ,The props useual home is a Muddy sandy dusty coal slate quarry of some kind,
the TARDIS is exposed to lots of inclement weather and soaking wet muddy ground or partly buried mostly to hide the wheels and knackered base ,so this needs to be taken in account   
a prop doing a ten year long duty used again and again flat packed and assembled constantly
by people who realy do not care about the prop ,and have neither the money or time to spend on it looking after it ,it traveled abroad,importantly its been broken repaired a lot ,from changes in sign graphics new doors swapping parts with its sister build later on 
It was around for a decade saw four lead actors play the Doctor , 8 companions a robot dog numerous guest stars crammed in her and went on many numerous photographic and advertising promotion  skits being treated with little to no care 

On location rumour is abound of the mistreatment of the prop from a rubbish bin to other uses  
Constantly retouched with paint dont forget and it is fiberglass and that can split crack and wear it is not the strongest of materials 
It at one point was abused by having squibs explode on her and was even shot with a arrow ,all in a days work ,these things must be taken in consideration the realism depends on this 
more you can play with and get in ,better the end result 

Best example here i can give you is this
The police box signs on the prop there perspex you know like you see on shop signs just plastic maybe hand painted lettering ,so to recreate this look knowing what that looks like ,printed on acetate then back painted by hand and then cut applied done now as light bounces off and the blues change color just like  the prop did ,i can match shots and screen grabs off the DVD 

Exception is if it is gonna look real naff eg Daleks brush painting (I kid you not and a roller in emulsion) a Dalek not good especially in mini form 
something people forget a lot and i did to, is ,yes common place to have 47/60  inch TV plus size in living room Hi Def pictures can see stitching in the actors buttons on his shirt the works ,erm no such thing when this was out and on,
TVs were 18 inch 24 i think was one in our lounge it certainly was big and not flat screen either,
its shot on videotape by a camera that’s used for outside broadcasting or at best in studio a camera used for recording the news , so your not going to notice a huge amount of things, like a hand brush painted Dalek do that in real world and people will be asking you “what did you paint your Dalek with?,a Fox tail?

 ,so think common sense, research research research DVDs remastered espcially now on these big super TVs really do show the old props up ,having recently watched Death to Daleks on the new remastered DVD ,It was like watching a episode id never seen ,despite owning VHS and watched a million times half the TARDIS Control room set is missing its so dark before i never realized and thats not exactly fine detail ,every crack lump dent crinkle wrinkle brush stroke on the Dalek props there to see ,and i can zoom in on it !

for me this is beyond model it is a miniature good enough to be filmed really I’m that proud

filled sanded smoothed

 This shows lengths i went to completely stripped and the doors like walls filled for the fiberglass smooth finish texture later from paint and ever so slight texture that is evident in the fiberglass,here
 removed the phone panel cubby hole ,rebuilt the phone, new plastic in the windows left frosted ones on the doors new base, re clad first step add wall divides to roof rebuild roof top ,remove lamp ,base and top of roof to access wires ,add new base ,lamp,struts,cap  total re wire this thing is not made very well at all in fact very cheap make wires like cotton so my advice
rip it all out start again 
using a proper fresnal from a money box on and on we go sort the covering of speaker grill change battery cover to be less conspicuous 

built now first coat

it was filler primer yellow, industrial ,then grey primer than black now a nice rich dark blue this gos on and on layer brushed stippled dry stroked and cloth rubbing and rub off on and on and on

under coats and pre shading

Now were at washes stage and on they went black blue /black /blue .brush paint to blend on and on
then i got to tidy up with a wild water shade of paint on top dry brush layer on layer pre shadowing under making sure thats visible
then pastels then charcoal and chalk to make dust , some mistakes so start again ,on what i was doing removing stuff gently with paint thinners ,ever tried removing charcoal mistake?,Nightmare

 I love weathering! Weathering does not just add realism to a model, but is very much a personal statement of the modeler; it is arguably the most personally interpretive and creative process of model making. It is the aspect of model making I look forward to the most!,
so damn good job to here ,weathering is fun and creative ,gets the juices going i even used indian ink for running in crevices and did some rust runs under handles and locks with burnt umber

  Take some .0000 steel wool and rub down the entire model ,trust me ,rub weathering away from high areas and vary the hue of the paint from raised panels.
 You can vary the subtlety with the amount of rubbing.be gentle go very slow i took a entire wet sunday and most of monday,
 This also where that primer/ under painting comes in very handy, scrubbing will expose the undercoat  as an ,well, a undercoat. the steel wool also smooths the overall surface so be careful NOT for the faint harted ,i also take my scalpel and scrape pieces away exposing many layers of paint finish it off finalise it
 and then quick spray of semi laqour and matt finish aptly called top coat ……….you get  

80s Tardis

THIS

The Season 18-20 front or back doors

Tardis planet land

A five minete play in Photoshop came up with this to illustrate my point 
a gem if not the crown jewel in my collection,i made it
it is as accurate as can be and not that is seen by others a lot ,everyone who has seen it has genuinely been impressed and liked it 
Including Sophie Aldred who played Ace the seventh Dr’s companion and Nicola Bryant who played Peri the sixth Dr’s companion ,so they used the actual prop this is based on copy from
it is also on the base signed by them and a tough crowd while in que to meet them of die hard who fans and some prop builders
and best of all one my best friends a dedicated prop builder TARDIS enthusiast likes it that for me is the seal of approval he dont know it yet ,but he is signing it to