Original 7th Doctor items - on eBay!

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

Here’s what’s been on offer.

Seventh Doctor
TARDIS Key

SOLD FOR £1,650

Original Tardis key used by Sylvester McCoy as the seventh Doctor during the 1988 season of Doctor Who.

Originally constructed in plastic board, moulded in silicon and finally cast in grey-coloured resin, with central symbol of the Pydonian seal, with chain,

Provenance : comes with a statement of authenticity from Mike Tucker "Miniature Effects Supervisor", confirming he made this original prop during the 1988 season of Doctor Who, was one of several made all were used at different times by the production.

Lot 112 Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia (Wednesday 29 June 2011).

key 6.5cm (2½in) long.

Seventh Doctor
Red Hatband Hanky

SOLD FOR £256.38

This is one of the hatbands worn by Seventh Doctor, Syvlester McCoy during his tenure as the Time Lord.

It was obtained at a Longleat auction hosted by John Nathan Turner on Sunday 1st August (I’d love to tell you which year but the accompanying sheet doesn’t say it!) where it was item number 4 to be sold.

Time And The Rani
Tetrap Prop

SOLD FOR £819

Here we have an original screen used prop from the 1987 Doctor Who story Time and the Rani, the 1st story to feature Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. This particular prop is a miniature Tetrap, the bat-like creatures seen throughout the story. This Tetrap was used in the scenes where Tetraps were seen hanging from the ceiling of the Tetrap cave, and can also be seen on the cover of the novel of Time and the Rani. This prop is in absolutely fantastic condition, and is now over 25 years old. The Tetrap Is made from sturdy foam latex, and is covered in faux fur. The latex is in absolutely superb condition with no cracks whatsoever.
The Tetrap is about 20 inches tall, and is a perfect size for a display prop. I bought the prop directly from the owner of www.doctorwhoprops.com, the best buyer and seller of original Doctor Who props known to man, who will confirm that this prop is 100% original and 100% screen used. This is an absolutely excellent example of a typical 1980's Doctor Who prop. The Tetrap also comes with its own professionally made custom display case. I had the case made shortly after purchasing the prop, by a company called Widdowsons, and cost over £100 on its own. The case measures roughly 22 inches tall, 8 inches wide and 7 inches deep. It is made of ultra-violet resistant perspex which protects the contents of the case, and the base is wooden with a soft finish on the inside.

Costume Station Zero - go for immediate launch!

My good friend Bob Mitsch in the US has announced Costume Station Zero - a free podcast dedicated to all things cosplay - launching today,  thirteen years to the day since the moon was torn out of Earth orbit in the classic 1960s series Space: 1999!

Although not strictly limited to Doctor Who, with Bob’s fascination for the series it will inevitably have a heavy Who orientation.

Already a couple of episodes have been posted, and the current download has some Doctor Who content.

EPISODE 2

13th September 2012

This is a chat with Seventh Doctor mega-fan Andy Teal, founder of www.prydoacademy.com and organizer for the Doctor Who Cosplayers at Dragon Con. He and Bob talk about the Dragon Con event and get into the details of the 7th Doctor’s costume.

Episode 2 - Dragon Con and the 7th Doctor (part 1 of 2)

Episode 2 - Dragon Con andthe 7th Doctor (part 2 of 2)

Imperial Dalek – SEEK! LOCATION! DISPLAY!

Over the past few years there have been a number of auctions at Bonhams where items from Doctor Who have been sold, some for very high prices.
I have done my best to cover as many of these as possible and bring you news of what has been on offer and the final sale prices they sold for.

But what happens to all the items once the sale is over? Where do they go? And can we ever get to see them again?

Well today I found the answer to one lot sold at the 2010 Doctor Who auction.

An Imperial Dalek, which was built for the 1988 adventure Remembrance Of The Daleks, was lot number 80 in the infamous Bonhams auction.

Like many Daleks from around that time, it was in a pretty sorry state, with part of its neck structure missing; the exterminator gun lacking some struts, and what remained were bent; the skirt missing at least one bump; and its cream paintwork looking a bit tatty and scuffed around the edges.

Despite this it sold for £15,600. (A vastly altered identical Dalek sold for £20,400 in the same sale.)

I went along to the viewing for the sale and got to see the dale for myself, and it almost looked worse in real life, compared to the photograph.

The neck was particularly sorry to see, with several pieces of the gold mesh missing, revealing the fibreglass structure underneath.

Anyway, fast forward to this month, and a new exhibition has opened at the EMP museum in Seattle.

And Who was on the ticket for the opening launch party? (see what I did there?) None other than the Imperial Dalek himself!

Many other films and tv are represented at the exhibition, from Kirk’s command chair in Star Trek; Neo’s coat from the Matrix films; a Terminator head; and Superman’s space capsule.

I do not know the story behind his travel from the UK to Seattle, but from the museum’s Facebook page, there has been some level of restoration involved, but this appears to have been limited to cleaning the paintwork and patching over the structural losses around the neck.

The museum have then created an iconic image of the Dalek looking pristine and bright as a button. You would be forgiven for thinking it had been lovely restored to its former glory.

Photo by Jessica Trimble

This, however, is a little misleading as the Dalek on display still shows signs of its age, with that skirt bump still missing and the neck half lost.

Me thinks a Photoshop wizard had a hand in the publicity photo above . . ..

If you want to go and see the Imperial Dalek at the EMP Museum, you can read details below

empmuseum.org
Icons of Science Fiction

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:

Lots 1-6
4th Doctor (1975-1981)

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

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

Here are just the lots relating to the Seventh Doctor era

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 . . .

Bonhams auction - 15th December 2011 viewing and results

Today was the Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia sale, where some 39 Doctor Who items went under the hammer.
All bar two were from the new series, with a vast majority from Tennant’s era.

But the main point of note were the first ever items of Matt Smith era items to come up at a Bonhams auction, after the spectacular sale of Matt’s Doctor costume on eBay in aid of Children In Need. 

This will be interesting.

One item I particularly liked was a 1964 sketch for the cover of The Dalek Book. The original final artwork sold 18 months ago for £3,600, and this preliminary sketch didn’t disappoint, getting £1,500, over double its estimate.

The one item of classic series, a model spaceship from Battlefield, was nicely presented on a stand with the Doctor Who logo on the base.
This comfortably realised its £5,000 estimate.

The display stand has a curious circular mirror mounted in the base, which once you see the model, is so you can view the highly detailed underside (see left).

Eight-tee

Forbidden Planet’s release of Doctor costume t-shirts nears its completion with the latest wave of shirts.

So far One, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Ten and Eleven have been released.

Now the gaps are starting to be filled with the Eight Doctor.

This is clearly based on the costume on display at The Doctor Who Experience as the positioning of the buttons matches this rather than the screen used coat.
The waistcoat fabric also is the same as the display.

Also released is the Second Doctor.

I’m not over convinced by this shirt – the lapels are too light and the breast pocket too visible.
maybe it will look better on a printed shirt.

With the Cyberman shirt, and ten of the eleven Doctors available, it’s almost two weeks of wear without any washing!!

Bonhams auction - 15th December 2011

Doesn’t time fly!
It doesn’t seem that long since the last Bonhams auction, and the next in December is soon upon us.

The online catalogue has been posted and there 23 Doctor Who items, mainly from the Tennant era, but there are a few from Matt’s first season as The Doctor.

Bonhams sale 19073
(15th December 2011)
Entertainment Memorabilia

Lots 154
1st Doctor (1963-1966)

Lots 155 - 156
Ninth Doctor (2005)

Lots 157 - 184
Tenth Doctor (2005-2010)

Lots 185 − 191
Eleventh Doctor (2010-2013)

Here is the only lot relating to the Seventh Doctor

Lot 154a
Dr. Who: an original spaceship model from ‘Battlefield’, broadcast 13th September 1989,well-detailed, removable top section with internal electric wiring, on stand, with certificate of authenticity approximately 51cm (20in) diameter

Estimate: £4,500 − 5,000
Sold for £5,000
Footnote:
The ship is classed as an ‘Organic Spaceship’ in this episode. It lies on the bottom of Lake Vortigern containing the body of King Arthur, apparently in suspended animation, and his sword Excalibur. The ship is made from different materials including metal, resin and fibreglass. The ship was used for underwater shots - the ‘blow hole’ where a stream of bubbles emanates at one point is clearly visible. This can be operated by a switch. This was one of two models made, the other model was blown up.

EXCELLENT!

Over the past months Forbidden Planet have been progressively releasing t-shirts of The Doctor’s iconic costumes.

So far Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven and Ten have been released.

This month not only sees the First Doctor join the gang, but the first to depict an enemy of The Doctor - the Cybermen!

The t-shirt shows the version seen during their triumphal return in Earthshock after an absence of many years, and also seen in Silver Nemesis.

EXCELLENT!

Sylvester hits the headlines

Matt Smith may be the current Doctor, but it’s Sylvester who has been getting a lot of press lately for a variety of stories.

I mean, is it me, or is he getting a disproportionate amount of coverage for a classic series Doctor, compared say to Tom Baker or Peter Davison?
Good for Sylvester, I say!

Here’s a little round-up of the stories that have been doing the rounds.

Express.co.uk - Who’s the real mccoy for Peter Jackson?

BBC News - Sylvester McCoy stays silent over upcoming Hobbit role

Doctor Who Experience - in 3D!!!

I have got an absolute TREAT for you today!

This week I had the opportunity to revisit the Doctor Who Experience in Olympia, and thought rather than just get some more endless photographs of the displays, I would do something EXTRA special.

I know a lot of my readers are in the US, so are unlikely to get the chance to see the exhibition at first-hand.

So what I’ve got for you is the near next-best thing - a walk through the displays - in 3D!!!! Well, one of those panoramic views you can interact with.

Below are the panoramas relating directly to the Seventh Doctor.
You can see all the panoramas
I took by clicking this link

Doctor Who Experience - in 3D

First up is the line-up of The Doctor’s costumes, giving you a real sense of how they are presented.

The Ten Doctors

Lord of The Costumes

There’s a great little story doing the rounds, following an interview Frances Barber gave to the US Doctor Who Insider magazine.

Apparently she is personal friends with both Sylvester McCoy and Peter Jackson, who is currently directing the new Hobbit film in which Sylvester has a starring role.
She and Sylvester were both at Peter’s house, when he revealed hidden in a cabinet, was McCoy’s original Seventh Doctor costume he had purchased off eBay!

How weird is that!

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