Hat Bandana - detailed review

Having finished the first round of McCoy Bat Bandanas, I gathered some reviews and comments from my buyers, which you can read in the Customer Review entry.

Most were short comments and thanks, but by Nathan King stood out, being a more full review of the whole experience of buying the Hanky.

Here it is reproduced in full.

Steve Ricks Seven Hat Hanky
I recently ordered Steve Ricks’ Seven Hat Hanky, after reading his INTEREST THREAD on the forums.

Steve Ricks has a fantastic attention for detail.

On Thursday I received a stiff envelope – the kind you send photos in – the kind that has a resistance for bending in transit in the post. A high class envelope came in the mail with my address on it and a business card very snazzy =D.
Inside carefully folded in tissue paper was the Seven hat hanky – I tore through this tissue paper like a kid tears through his present wrappings on Christmas.

The material is light but strong. The pattern is expertly pieced together. It is a single side print handkerchief, but it works great for the costume. I compared the Bandanna to images of Sylvester McCoy on the BBC classic Doctor Who website and after experimenting with folding the Bandanna, discovered it matched with the original prop / hanky.

My costume needed the Seven Hat Hanky for that extra level of detail. Steve Ricks has expertly made a fine reproduction of the now out of print Smoker’s Handkerchief used back in 1987. Steve himself keeps you informed when your item ships out and keeps in touch to make sure your item arrives in a timely manner. (of course international mail takes longer  =P )

Attached to the hanky is a manufacturers label with the seal of Rassilon and washing instructions. I am quite pleased with my purchase. I am convinced that all well to do Time Lords make arrangements with Steve Ricks for their adventure apparel.

here are some preliminary photos:

some of you may remember my Lucky Seven costume

Above: cat approved!

Above: printed on fine cloth with stitched edges.

Left: great for cosplay!

Check this out – it really makes the costume!!
Compare with the link of my previous costume at the top!




Yes I look like a goof but it is clear that I'm having a good time. I may not have the right coat but it really completes the illusion! (Master beard not withstanding.)

Above: Measuring my hat so I can get a 5th Doctor hatband - steve has plans to make a 5th Doctor hat band I'm really looking forward to it.

This really is well made and a necessary addition to your Seventh Doctor Costume!!!

With thanks to Nathan for the fantastic review, and permission to reproduce it here with the pictures he took.
If you want to get on the next run of Seven Hat Banbana Hankies, drop me a line to tennantcoat@me.com

Hat Bandana - customer reviews

As the first batch of Hat Bandana Hankies start arriving at their new owners around the world, I have been getting a lot of positive comments about them.

Here is a selection.

The hanky is great. They look fabulous.

I also noticed in my post I had a sample of the Davison hat band.
It looks great.
The red looks good, and the fabric is fine.
George Chase - SeventhDoctorFan - seventhdoctorfan.blogspot.com

Well, my hankies arrived yesterday!
Can I say how cool it is that your mailing label has the Seal of Rassilon on it?

Anyway, they arrived and they look spectacular. Thank you for doing all the work on these and getting the project done for all the Seventh Doctor fans out there.

Anyway, once again, they look incredible and I can't wait to get mine affixed to my hat. Thank you once again for doing it, we'd never have had these if you hadn't taken on the project, and the fan community owes you a debt of thanks!
Andy - Founding Administrator - Prydon Academy

I thought I would let you know that I got my hankies today and I am very pleased.
Cecil McDonald

I wanted to let you know that my 7th doctors hankie arrived in the post on Friday and I was so excited to open the envelope to see how it looked.

May I just say thank you, this item is fantastic and looks amazing both as just a hankie and when it is put around my panama, I have shown it to several of my friends and they are all very impressed by it. You truly are a credit to costume replicaters around the world, I wish there were more people like you who took the time and effort to replicate such items to such a high quality.
Thank you again Steve
Edward Miller

The hankies are amazing. Very well done and a credit to you. I am eager to purchase your 5 & 6 trousers. Plus the 5th Dr Hatband swatch was lovely...looking forward to that too. Again, amazing results on the hanky and thanks for the prompt delivery.
Michael Davoren
www.michaeldavoren.com

I live in France so it is really hard for a Who fans, because of the lack of Doctor Who merchandise. Anything you want needs to be purchased via the internet. So for a fan who want to have all the Doctors costume, it’s nearly impossible – but now it’s possible. Thanks to our friend Steve, all Doctor Who fans can now have access to what was reserved for UK or America.

I wasn’t in Paris when the package arrive, but when a arrived in Paris, I put my luggage on my bed, and directly opened the package like a monkey with a packet of peanuts (or Banana for those who are allergic to peanuts), and when I saw the bandana perfectly reproduced, it was magical.
I can said that it’s a really, really, really good work! It’s like having the original in your hand – and for a French fan it’s practically “Le Saint Graal”! We’ve never have a Doctor Who exibition in Paris, so we never get to see the props from the series. Having the bandana gets me a little bit near the series.
Thanks again Steve, and I will certainly buy the brown one, and also other replicas.
Jonathan - Webmaster - gallifrance.free.fr

Mine arrived today and I am very very happy thanks.
Ian Kubiak

Mine arrived today and it looks lovely. The colour has come out much better than the early pictures I saw, I take back all my comments.
Looks pretty damn accurate with the design finely spaced, the red is wonderful (as too is the 5th hat band sample) and the choice of fabric is what I expected any good handkerchief to be.
As for the blurry comment, it is a little but I guess thats a Spoonflower issue and nothing to do with Steve’s original artwork.
I love it. I look forward to adding it to a Seven hat one day or a Two jacket!
David Nagel

Hi Steve
I've had the hanky thank you and I am delighted with it.
Jonathan Miles

Steve’s hat bands are the most accurate 7th Doctor replica hat bands available. The effort Steve puts into the product is highly commendable and the price is very fair.
Mark Ferris - LinxTheSontaran

I just wanted to thank you so much for the great 7th Dr hanky I received through the post today. I am so impressed with the quality of the hanky, the packaging and the Rassalon contact card I just remain lost for words. Your talent is amazing and I would buy without question so many more of your pieces of work if my money was not so tied up in the boring stuff in life.
I just wanted you to know that having something that is so sentimental to me is a reminder of all that excitement I had when I was watching DW in the late 80s as a boy. For me it is like you grabed it out the Tv and sent it to me. Thank you for making fantasy reality.
Kind regards
Paul - timelordinhumanbody

If you want to get on the next run of Seven Hat Banbana Hankies, drop me a line to tennantcoat@me.com

With thank to everyone above for letting me use their quotes.