Friday 25 September 2015

The Witch’s Familiar -
Daleks from The Dead Planet

This years opening adventure for Perter Capaldi’s Doctor has been a feast for fans of all generations of Doctor Who.

As well as brining back Davros from the Tenth Doctor era, several Daleks hailing from as far back as 1963 have been gracing our television screens on a Saturday early evening - just as they did over 50 years ago.

As is usual for the BBC they have issued a collection of publicity images to promote the episode, but one in particular is a stand out favourite for me.

Peter Capalai is a big fan of the series, so for him  getting face to face with Daleks of a certain generation is a great thrill, and you can see it in this picture.


this is a guy who LOES his job!

Friday 4 September 2015

Prop Store London auction -
23rd September 2015

So, after a number of lack-lustre auctions, it finally looks like Bonhams has a genuine challenger to their Entertainment Memorabilia sales.

PropStore.com have been selling high-end props and costumes for sometime now, including the occasional Doctor Who piece.

But this month they are holding a live auction at the BFI IMAX cinema in Waterloo - for all intents and purposes a Bonhams style auction.

there‘s some amazing stuff on offer, from Mr Spock’s costume from classic Star Trek, to costumes from Back To The Future, the Alien and Star Wars films.

And unlike the last couple of years of Bonhams auctions, there are is a good spread of quality items on offer to attract the interest of the dedicated Doctor Who fans out there.


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

Here are just the lots relating to
the First Doctor

Lot 112
Dalek and Production-Used Shooting Script
A Dalek and production-used shooting script from Doctor Who: An Adventure in Space and Time. Nicknamed “Paul,” this creature was one of four used for the recreation of their first appearance on Doctor Who.

The Dalek is made of wood with metal skirt components and features interior seating for the operator and an array of wood, metal and resin dress-up components for the operable gun stick, plunger arm and the dome assembly. Lights in the dome, powered by a 12v battery, light up when the operator speaks. The monster is finished in grey, blue and faux-silver paint.

It is accompanied by a production-used shooting script and an “owner's workshop manual” detailing the use of the Dalek on the production. Displaying wear to the fender, skirt and paint finish from use and time spent in storage. The piece remains in very good condition. Dimensions: 160 cm x 85 cm x 160 cm (63” x 33 ½” x 63”)

As this item contains electronic components, every effort has been made to describe them accurately; however no guarantee or warranty is made as to functionality, lifespan or safety of those components. It is entirely incumbent on the new owner to satisfy themselves as to their safe use and maintenance.

Estimate £4,000-6,000
Sold for £4,000

Lot 113
Dalek
A Dalek from Doctor Who: An Adventure in Space and Time. Nicknamed “Dave” on set, this creature was one of four used for the recreation of their first appearance on Doctor Who.

The Dalek is made of wood with metal skirt components and features interior seating for the operator and an array of wood, metal and resin dress-up components for the operable gun stick, plunger arm and the dome assembly. Lights in the dome and the eye stalk are powered by a 12v battery. Full controls for the creature are situated throughout the interior “cabin.” The creature is finished in grey, blue and faux-silver paint.

Displaying some wear to the fender, skirt and paint finish from use and time spent in storage. The Dalek remains in very good condition. Dimensions: 160 cm x 85 cm x 160 cm (63” x 33 ½” x 63”)

As this item contains electronic components, every effort has been made to describe them accurately; however no guarantee or warranty is made as to functionality, lifespan or safety of those components. It is entirely incumbent on the new owner to satisfy themselves as to their safe use and maintenance.

Estimate £4,000-6,000
Sold for £4,500




You can see my photos from when I
visited the auction preview here

Thursday 3 September 2015

Original 1st Doctor item on eBay -
September 2015

I spotted this super item on eBay this month. It hails from the glory days of Dalekmania and is now super rare to find, especially in this complete form.

The listing has some great accompanying photos.

Chad Valley Doctor Who Give-a-Show Projector set
One of the hardest items of Doctor Who merchandise to get hold of.

Produced in 1965. It is NOT immaculate but it is in very good condition, particularly when you consider it's a child's toy that's now 50 years old.

The box lid is not tatty at all, but very good. Some minor scuffing and one upright (the corner bit) has been repaired. Very little creasing. Impressive!


The base of the box is less good: some warping and discolouration, and the uprights on the corners have all been repaired.


Projector is in good condition. I don't know if it still works; as it's just a glorified torch, it should be easy enough to get going.

The tray for the slides and projector is very good.

THE SLIDES ARE COMPLETE. Each strip tells a story. They're good, but they're not mint: some creasing and wear to the card that holds the transparencies.

You will be pleased to hear that the Daleks have perfected a machine called the Earthman Detector, and that it malfunctions because a cat gets in the way. Also, the Zomites are intelligent insects from the planet Skaro, which attack Dr Who and his chums.

The stories, alas, are execrable.

Please note: this has been described in full and in good faith. Buyers of high value items can sometimes be disappointed that their items are not in mint condition. It is in the condition described: no better, no worse.

Sunday 9 August 2015

The Tenth Planet recycled space suits

For the nerds out there, this is an amusing tale of being keen-eyed and spotting costumes when they get reused from one production to another.

I also intend this to be a baton I have taken on, and happily pass on to others to see where it goes from here.

A couple of years back I read an observation online regarding a costume that appears in the Star Wars sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. During a brief scene on the Darth Vader’s Imperial cruiser, one of the bounty hunters, known as Bossk is seen wearing a yellow space suit. It was presumed that the costume had been custom made - after all, this was Star Wars!


But someone had spotted that Earl Cameron wears an identical suit in William Hartnell’s swan song, The Tenth Planet.
Could this be the same one?
His co-pilot also wears a similar suit, but in a darker colour.

So the baton of the costume had been passed from Star Wars to Doctor Who - but had it really been made for Doctor Who? I always doubted that was the case as the suit was somewhat well designed for that period of production - no offence intended to the 1960s designers at the BBC.

Costume making in the 1960s was dominated by a number of big player companies. Bermans was very well known, run by cutter Morris Berman and his son, TV producer Monty Berman.

They later merged with Nathan's, which had been established in 1790, to form one of the largest costumiers in London, Bermans & Nathan's.

Also in the market were Angels, which since it engulfed Berman & Nathan's in 1992, has dominated UK costume making and supplying.

Dependant on individual deals, it was common practice to custom make for a big budget productions, and the leftover costumes would go into stock to be hired out to other productions with more modest budgets.
Thus Sid James wore Richard Burton's costume from Cleopatra in Carry On Cleo.

For some reason, Moon Zero Two, Hammer's only attempt at futuristic science fiction, was the source of endless space suits during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The helmets worn in Ambassadors Of Death were from this production.

Well I was watching an old Ray Harryhausen film called First Men In The Moon. It's not the best of his films, but I was interested in watching it again as it had been several years since I saw it last.

Made in 1964, it pre-dates The Tenth Planet by two years.

The film opens with a (as of 1964) fictional maned landing on the moon.


As the astronauts start exploring the lunar surface, something suddenly dawned on me.


Two of the astronauts are wearing yellow suits - just like the one Bossk wears!


The third astronaut os wearing a navy blue suit - this I’m guessing is quite probably the darker suit worn by Alan White in The Tenth Planet.


Since this was in the high budget bracket, I'm thinking this could well be the production for which the suit had been custom made.

If you have seen another production that uses these very same space suit, especially one pre-dating 1964, I’d love to hear from you. Maybe you know what these suits were in real life. Were they fighter pilot suits like the 1980s Cybermen?

Take the baton from me - I want to see where you take it.

Wednesday 15 July 2015

DALEKMANIA! Clockwork Daleks on eBay

Last week I had a look at some beautiful period Dalek toys on eBay.

Those were all battery operated. This week I found some clockwork Daleks!

Marx 1965 Friction Silver Dalek
in Portal Box
SOLD FOR £194.99




This one is the same design, but in a black colour way.

Marx 1965 Black Friction Dalek
in Portal Box
SOLD FOR £600




This listing is just for the box, but it is such a classic 1960s piece of graphic design I thought it worth sharing.

Codeg Clockwork Dalek (box only)
SOLD FOR £129.99

Saturday 11 July 2015

Cameo auction archive - 23rd May 2010

Over the past month or so I have been brining you up to date on William Hartnell era costumes and props that have been sold at Bonhams auctioneers.

There are other auctioneers around, and back in 2010 a small regional one did a brief tie-up with Angels to sell some of their surplus items.

Here was their First Doctor offerings.

Cameo Auctioneers
(9th March 2010)
Film Memorabilia

Lot 239
Doctor Who, The Crusade 1964
The First Doctor. A Crusading Knight's cape and leather belt from the BBC Wardrobe.

Estimate: £400-500

Lot 240 - A Leather Belt used in the Second Season of Doctor Who (the First Doctor), from the episode The Crusade, used by William Russell who played Ian Chesterton

Estimate: £200-250

Cameo Auctioneers
(23rd May 2010)
The Angels Film Costume Auction

Lot 147
The Crusade, 1964. 
The First Doctor. A Crusading Knight’s cape.

Estimate:
£400 - 500

Friday 10 July 2015

Costume index - appendix

Post regeneration, the First Doctor also made a couple of cameo returns to the series for the tenth and twentieth anniversary specials.
I am not going to cover the 50th anniversary appearances as these were colourised archive clips or just walk-on wearing replica costumes


The Three Doctors

Due to William Hartnell’s ill health, he only appears in a brief black and white filmed insert and via a video-link on the TARDIS view screen. 

This makes it is near impossible to accurately confirm the costume he wore, so I am therefore using the publicity stills taken at the time as sole reference

Coat Black jacket with notched collar, edging piped with black silk braid

Waistcoat Cream checked design, with four pockets

Shirt White wing-collar design

Tie Black blue silk cravat, tied in a large bow

Trousers Unknown

Shoes Unknown

NB. The Doctor wears a monocle on a chain around his neck


The Five Doctors
Now played by Richard Hurndall, the First Doctor appears in a somewhat idealised costume, which in reality is quite far from William Hartnell’s version - the gloves are unique to this interpretation of his attire

Coat Black morning coat with knee-length tails and notched collar

Waistcoat Cream in diamond shaped jacquard design with rounded points

Shirt White wing-collar design

Tie Black silk cravat, tied in a large bow

Trousers High waisted, dark charcoal grey wool

Shoes Black spats shoes

NB. The Doctor carries his walking stick, has a monocle around his neck on a chain and wears fingerless grey wooden gloves


Wednesday 8 July 2015

DALEKMANIA! Marx toy Daleks on eBay

When I report on items I find on eBay I limit myself to production used costumes and props, or behind the scenes stuff like scripts.

But I came across these beautiful Dalek toys dating from mid 1960s, each with their original boxes and meticulously photographed, so I thought it good reference material post. Especially for the boxes, which are often lost.

This batch of Daleks I found are all the battery operated variety.
Enjoy.


I imagine this black example is a bit unusual, as personally I have only seen the silver versions.

Marx 1965 Black Dalek
SOLD FOR £37.55





This second example is silver, with a black bumper.

Marx 1965 Silver and Black Dalek




This version is also silver, but with a blue bumper.

Marx 1965 Silver and Blue Dalek
SOLD FOR £76.99