Bonhams auction -TARDIS key unsold!

Yesterdays auction at Bonhams had more than a few surprises.

Of all the Who-related items on offer, the star item for me - the McCoy TARDIS key - failed to find a buyer and went unsold. It’s estimate of £3,000 - 4,000 was maybe a bit high after all.
We will have to see if it shows up in the next entertainment sale in December.

Elsewhere in the sale there were a couple of choice items on offer.

The cover lot was a painted portrait of Roger Moore, which had been allegedly painted for The Man With The Golden Gun film poster, and reused numbers times since.
Discussing the item with the porters at the viewing, I gather the only problem with it was it's lack of signature and the attributed artist not specifically remembering if he actually painted this version. As a result it had to be sold as a replica rather than original.
That didn’t stop someone paying £5,400 for it, nearly double the £2,000 - £3,000 estimate.

Bonhams auction - 29th June 2011 -the viewing

This week is the bonhams entertainment sale, so I popped along to the viewing to see the Who-related items for myself.

The highlight of the viewing for me was to see first-hand the Sylvester McCoy TARDIS key, and to put my replica against it and see how it fared.

The key was presented to me on a small navy blue velvet cushion (see right), awarding it the iconic place it now occupies!

The most obvious difference between the original and the replica I have is the size! The replica is way bigger (see left).

I’m not sure what the screen-used key was made from, but it was very lightweight, but quite rigid. It looks like metal, but I’m sure it’s not.

My replica is really just a novelty key-fob, so is the same on both sides, whereas the original has a astronomical map on the reverse (see right).

Bonhams auction - 29th June 2011

Being June, it’s time for the next bi-annual Entertainment Memorabilia sale at Bonhams.

As usual there are a scant few Doctor Who items on offer, some more interesting that others.

Sale 19036
(29th June 2011)
Entertainment Memorabilia

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

Lot 113
1st Doctor (1963-1966)

Lots 111 & 111a
3rd Doctor (1970-1974) - plus 2nd Doctor (1966-1969)

Lot 114
4th Doctor (1975-1981)

Lots 116 & 117
5th Doctor (1982-1984)

Here are just the lots relating to the Seventh Doctor era

Lot 112
Doctor Who: A Tardis key
Originally constructed in plastic board, moulded in silicon and finally cast in grey-coloured resin, with central symbol of the Pydonian seal, with chain, together with a statement of authenticity from The Model Unit, confirming this was one of several made for the 1988 season, starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor, key 6.5cm (2½in) long

Estimate: £2,500 - 3,000
Unsold!

Lot 115
A miniature TARDIS model, created for exhibition purposes, of painted board, with plastic paper-backed windows, and plastic casing to light, having internal electrical workings (plug removed), height 5ft, width 15 inches.

Estimate: £150 - 200
Sold for £900

Screen-used McCoy hat and scarf -FOR SALE!

FOR SALE!

This hat is now SOLD!!

I am putting on offer an ORIGINAL screen-used panama hat worn by Sylvester McCoy in Doctor Who!

Originally sold as Lot 91 at the big Doctor Who auction held on February 24th 2010,  it consists of the Hat, a Red Hanky, a very rare Brown Hanky and part of the Purple/Burgundy Scarf briefly worn by Sylvester during his Costume Transition Scene in Time And The Rani.

Even Dafter Who

Earlier this month saw the release by Forbidden Planet of a couple of comical t-shirts based on the costumes of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors.

Well, they seem to have been popular as next month they are issuing two more – one of the Sixth Doctor and one of the Seventh! (see left).

I’m not quite sure how they produced the shirts, but they seem to have been imaged from either original photographs or from access to the original costumes, and are very screen accurate!

The other shirts are still available (see below) and they make for quite an amusing collection.

Doctor Who Experience -Seventh Doctor incarnation

This weekend (Sunday 20th February) sees the official opening of the Doctor Who Experience exhibition at London’s Olympia.

Amongst the displays is a definitive collection of costumes worn by The Doctor through his regeneration (see left and right). Some out of necessity are replicas, but many are original and screen-used.

On Thursday I went to the first of the paid previews, following on from a couple of weeks of tester days to iron out teething troubles. While I was there I took a good set of photographs of all the costumes on show.

I have already written a Full Review of the exhibition itself, but here is a more targeted write-up focusing on the items of interest to a Seventh Doctor fan and giving them a more detailed look.

As I don’t run a blog for the Eighth Doctor, I’m including him here - after all, he picked up the baton from the Seventh.

Radio Times - Who’s longer than Who?

It’s been a bit quite in the Radio Times of late regarding classic Doctor Who features.

Today though there was a small article relating to an episode of The Million Pound Drop from last year that caused some controversy at the time.
I won’t go into the details as you can read it for yourself below.

It is accompanied by a photo of Sylvester McCoy in Colin Baker’s costume – not the best picture to use!

McCoy Hat Bandana -Limited Edition and screen-accurate!

These hankies are now
SOLD OUT!

Please refer to the replicas I have made
if you require a red hanky

Over the past year or so I have been striving to make as good a replica of the McCoy Hatband Hanky as I possibly can using Spoonflower.
I’ve gone through three versions to date, each getting better than the previous.

But what would be the ultimate would be to track down a supply just like the originals that were bought for the series by costume design Ken Trew.

Well, it just so happens I had a tip-off from a client of mine who pointed me towards a stockist who had them for sale!!!!!

I contacted them and found that although they had it in stock, they only had a limited number and would not be restocking as they no longer dealt with that supplier.

Not wanting to waste an opportunity, I snapped up their entire stock – well, the few they had – and can now offer them for sale!

Seventh Doctor costume transition

This week I’ve been taking a little look at an area of The Doctor’s costume that sometimes gets overlooked: The Costume Transition Scene!
I’m taking about that moment in the first episode of a new Doctor where the old skin is finally shaken off and a re-designed costume helps define the start of a new era in Doctor Who history.

When William Hartnell became Patrick Troughton, it wasn’t just his face that changed – his costume miraculously regenerated at the same time.

Later, when Jon Pertwee took over, his new clothes were more realistically introduced by having The Doctor lift them from the changing room of the hospital where he is taken at the start of Spearhead From Space.

But it was Tom Baker’s transition scene that was the first to make some play on the anticipation of what The Doctor would be wearing.

Looking through the list of regenerations, I have realised there seems to be two dominant scenarios for these scenes:

The Hospital Changing Room scenario

The Third Doctor steals the clothes of a hospital consultant before stealing his car as well; after the Eighth Doctor emerges from the morgue, he takes the clothes of a surgeon, who is going to a fancy dress party; the latest regeneration sees the Eleventh Doctor lifting a the parts of his costume from the hospital locker room as he strides through.

The TARDIS Dressing-up Room scenario

Although we don’t see the dressing-up room, the Fourth Doctor keep popping out of the TARDIS dressed in unsuitable costumes; the Fifth Doctor finds his new clothes in the TARDIS, almost as if he was supposed to; the Sixth Doctor is the first to be seen in the dressing-up room to choose his new clothes; followed by the Seventh Doctor who goes through a similar selection; finally the Tenth Doctor makes his choice from a re-imagined dressing-up room, courtesy of The Mill’s special effects gurus!

Merry Christmas to all my readers!

I can’t believe a year has flown by since I last wished everyone a Happy Christmas.

Looking back though, a lot has happened and I’ve completed or started a number of amazing projects.

From updating my Tennant Coat; making a Five Coat or two; starting a replica Tennant suit jacket using original GAP Trousers; making a couple of Inverness Capes (must get round to writing that up!); as well as some smaller item such as Five Hatbands, Six Cravats and Seven Hankies.
However, I think the most exciting has been starting work on a replica Six Frock Coat, which I am so looking forward to getting done next year.

I hope you’ll join me in the following months as it starts to come together.

Bonhams costume sales - previous auctions

As well as the auctions I have been to over the past couple of years, I have done a little digging back and found some further Seventh Doctor items from three sales from 2005 to 2007.

Bonhams Sale 11808
(16th & 17th Nov 2005)
Rock n' Roll & Film Memorabilia including James Bond

Lot 611

'Dr. Who': The Master's 'tissue compression eliminator' (miniaturising gun), the prop in black-painted brass with electric wiring, as used by Anthony Ainley throughout the 1980s in his portrayal of The Doctor's nemesis, 23cm (9in) long.

Sold for £1,440

Lot 613
'Dr. Who': a prop scanning device,
battery-operated, as used in the 1987 episode 'Time And The Rani' by both Sylvester McCoy and Kate O'Mara, 17cm (6½in) long

Sold for £120

Lot 621
'Dr. Who': a model of The Rani's Tardis,
of painted foam, as made for the 1993 Children In Need episode, 'Dimensions In Time', 30.5cm (12in) high

Sold for £240

Lot 622
'Dr. Who': a Tardis roundel,
fibreglass, with traces of black and grey paint, indicating use in the Tardis of both The Doctor and The Master, believed to be the last surviving example from the original Tardis, 55cm (21½in) diameter

Estimate: £500 - 700
Unsold

Lot 623
'Dr. Who': a Haemovore concept model,
painted plaster, as made for 'The Curse Of Fenric', 1989, 41cm (16in) high

Estimate: £400 - 500
Unsold

Revenge of the Invasion of the Aussies

Had a great day today, meeting up with a couple of forum members who were in the UK from Australia.

I’ve previosuly met up with Bob Mitsch, Ian Cummins, Jonathan from Paris. This time it was the turn of Mark Ferris, who last year did a run of replica five and Six Shirts, and is known as linxthesontaran. He has also made a SUPERB replica Dalek ala The Chase (see below).

He is currently half-way through a one-year trip to the UK, and has been living and working in Harrogate in Yorkshire. We had been hoping to meet up sooner, but travelling costs down to london and back can be prohibitive, especially on a tight budget.

A little (big) experiment

While working on the new brown hanky, something occurred to me.

The screen-used ones were actually cut from a much larger scarf, and only represented a quarter of their full size (see right).

I wonder what it would be like to have a full, uncut version?

Well, since I had a Spoonflower order going through, I thought I’d have a go at making one - just to see how big it really was.

It was actually an easy job to create the un-cropped version, as the Photoshop file I created actual had the entire artwork (see left), since I needed to crop it just over a quarter area. It simply had been on a reduced canvas area.

The full area is almost a yard square, so the order covered a yard, just for the single scarf.

Anyway, the order arrived this week, and now I have trimmed and hemmed the edges, here is the result (see below).
I’ve photographed it with my panama hat so you can get an idea of how big it really is!

If you’re interested in getting one of these, drop me a line. I’m happy to make them to order as one-offs.

What a waste of time

Well, today was the first Bonhams Entertainment Sale at Goodwood, and I’m sorta pleased I didn’t bother to go down to see how the precious four Doctor Who items got on.

Both the two Daleks had been withdrawn from sale before the day; the Dalek statuettes (which weren’t even labelled as Daleks in the catalogue) went unsold; and the only item that did sell was a Tom baker doll and TARDIS from the late 1970s! (see below)

So all in all a bit of a waste of time :(

Bonham: 15th August 2010 - Auction Of The Daleks

When I went to the recent Bonhams Auction, they made mention of an addition to their calendar of memorabilia sales, by including Goodwood!

Their plan is to have the viewing at their Bond Street showroom, which I will go along to, but I doubt I will go to the sale itself, as now they have released the catalogue I can’t see anything I want to bid for.

Here are the few Doctor Who items on offer.

Bonhams sale 18524
15th August 2010
Pioneers of Popular Culture

Lot No: 111W
This lot has been withdrawn
Part believed to be from Revelation of the Daleks, 1985 to Remembrance Of The Daleks, 1988, A Dalek, refurbished and re-used throughout 1980’s and 1990’s, all parts made by the BBC Visual Effects Department, during the series, of wood, metal, fibreglass and plastic construction, painted grey with black details including; hemispheres, slats, plunger and gun, the dome lifting to reveal interior mechanism and seat, on wheeled base, height 66 inches, width 25 inches and depth 44 inches

Footnote:

The vendor states that this Dalek has been altered and parts refurbished, reused and replaced throughout its existence. The eye stalk was used in Rembrance of The Daleks, 1988. The dome piece of this lot was used during the 1970s/ early 1980s.

Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000

Lot No: 112W

This lot has been withdrawn

Part believed to be from the 1970’s to Remembrance Of The Daleks, 1988, A Dalek, repainted, re-furbished and reused on numerous occasions, of fibreglass, wood, metal and plastic construction, painted black with gold hemispheres, slats (7 slats missing), plunger arm and eye-stalk, dome lifting to reveal interior with wiring, mechanism and seat, on wheeled base, height 65 inches, width 25 inches and length 44 inches.

Footnote:

The vendor states that: “The top of the dome from Resurrection of the Daleks filmed September 1983 and transmitted 1984. Present owner worked in workshop, on location and in studio during production of this episode.

The replacement eye stalk and shoulder section from Remembrance of the Daleks filmed and transmitted 1988. Present owner also in attendance on film location for this storyline.”

This particular Dalek has also featured in many Doctor Who exhibitions and books, with a final major refurbishment for an on-screen appearance at The Children's Royal Variety Show 1994 in front of Princess Margaret, in aid of NSPCC.

Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000

Lot No: 265AR
Clive Barker (British, born 1940) ‘The Emperor and His Wife’, 1999 stamped and numbered 9/9, polished aluminium and polished bronze 21.5cm.

Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000
Unsold

I love the way theis item makes no reference in the text to it being a pair of Daleks!

Earlier on in the sale is one item of Doctor Who toys.

Lot No: 68
Tom Baker Doctor Who Doll and TARDIS
Boxed Dr Who doll complete with sonic screwdriver, scarf and hat, made by Harbert of Italy 1979, 23.5cm (9 1/4in) tall, boxed Tardis with opening doors and rotating inner to make the Doctor disappear and reappear, made by Dennis Fisher 1976, 34cm (13 1/2in) high (very good condition and in very good condition boxes) (2)

Estimate: £200 - 300
Sold for £240