Wednesday 21 April 2010

I can see clearly now

Hello dear readers welcome welcome
Bit of a quickie im afraid (Oooooooh er mrs) 
Obviously i cant expand to many details, but I have had a rather pleasing parcel of Mr postman today, my Death to Daleks arrived which is great but this parcel ,this is something else


say hello to my new friend ............................




aint he nice ?
One incubating or Transmat dalek


Clear resin copy of the Character Options Dalek,  totally see through with ................................wait for it ...........................Mutant green yellow frothing bubbling blob of hate 
5 inches of gorgeous see through Dalek ,this is one seriously unique work of art ladies and gentlemen this is a rare piece indeed its hand made (Further hand crafted by yours truly) and looks stunning on display 


as seen in "Revelation of the Daleks "
Geek hat on,there was in the story, but due to budget,lack there of ,one glass Dalek in the very first Dalek story "The Mutants"


so thats it for now


Currently polishing it with Dremmel buffer and toothpaste and looking for clear floor polish might have to see if re-brandied, trick here is it contained ammonia which used to make your clear parts Really clear on your kits came highly recommended should smooth the lines etc from the mould make it like glass


so more pics when job is done for now clean polish 


what happened to that break ?


Saturday 17 April 2010

I hate being right

Well its daft o'clock on a Sunday morning or Saturday night ,why up now , well are we sitting comfy ?
Its because i am being proven right ,yet again
Arrogance ? cocky ?, no none of the above honest just time will tell ,it always does and invariable I am right when i make a judgement call i hit nail on head and i am right 
We will leave for a brief moment reason to being up tho i will return to the subject


If you go back read older posts entry's off me you will see i as a individual have made decision's on certain things i am going to take 2 and 2 only here
Ed Thomas Chief Designer of the BBC Dr Who, cant design for toffee ,why?, he has not got a clue about the subject the basics of design or the thing he is designing for that has its own history and truth to it ,
look at the state of the TARDIS console look at the strange design of the Police Box measurements right out five years ago i saw that and said is that a fan build ? why? because that's what it looks like, I was derided and shouted down oh old fashioned just want it how it was in the past you cant get with the new design or you don't like change


no just pointed out what a bad design statement of fact but we got to lump it now it is even more passable very solid sounding tho unsure how much this owes to BBC sound department and just went well "Timewar TARDIS"


Then here we are all new 2010 and what do we get lick of paint (Nice effect very wood) and nice console room, but oh dear look we got a type writer and gramophone horn and telephone stuck to the TARDIS and a bottle for car brake fluid reservoir .......great  ,guess whose been doodling


Again people say "You just want it back to how it was"" etc etc then tonight new Daleks and what a mess the basic design of a Dalek forgotten about the concept idea and point gone 
over bright  cheap plastic looking toys, (Factor almost all model makers let alone designers are aware of that's why when using primary colours on a kit etc you must be careful of the shade) with a seriously weird design to them there's bears no resemblance to a Dalek (Has more in common with yuppie flats and over priced kitchenware)  ,so now its stopped looking like a Dalek, like the Console stopped being the console  


Now there's uproar again like a previous entry i said there are Dr Who fans and then there are Dalek fans and these people are passionate about them
 And there not happy at all now the blame is at the door of Mr Thomas , now what i said is slowly getting these nay sayers to agree, now there saying exactly what i was saying some five years ago


I hate  being right 


Reason i am up this ungodly time?
I am in agony ,no seriously i cant sleep 
Feels like i got a number 3 Phillips screwdriver rammed in my gum meeting my jaw line, 
my good ol wisdom tooth kicking off


 one has been no trouble, this five years of grief 
Now i am not nor pretend to be a Dentist but I know Wisdom tooth translated means pull it out, ,did they no ,did they listen to my repeated calls after dozen abscess and other pain problems no ,its partial rupture and impacted basically pressing against one in front 
It has got to go 
but no ,so here i am in agony last 40 hrs constant unending pain ,appointment (Funny how people go "Made a dentist appointment ?,Like its not going to occur to you) ten day wait so i got to get thinking in the mean time as no sleep water and cold soup is no fun i can tell you 


I hate being right 



Friday 16 April 2010

Renovation of the Daleks pt2

well im done with the Dalek, Davros his skirt will have to be repainted another time, 
here's some pic's hope you like took  time getting there but worth it in the end 
been hard ,56 Hemis are a nightmare freehand ,and inserting neck rods stripped paint off them ,cue hectic eleventh hour rush to fine brush and repaint 
but im pleased with the results 
this is the finished Sevans Dalek and Davros renovated and ready to rule supreme ,on my display shelf :)


Not to shabby huh ?, certainly a mix of bits ,Warning gets geeky here on in,
The original skirt AARU movie shoulders BBC neck and standard dome for a generic 70's Dalek ,What more could you ask ?


It has lights working on the dome (need a 4/4 timer circuit for flashing ) and it has either a 2 or four part arm extension, ala AARU Daleks for the complete fascist salute 
The eye disks are medium small medium ala Pertwee and T Baker 
the eye ball is standard later variant rather than defined toffe apple of the 60s  it's Black parts are mix of gloss and satin including the gun rods 








Dr Frankenstein and his monster
well there he is, Davros "Lord and creator of the Dalek race" 
This to me screams "Genesis of the Daleks" mk3 travel machine ,or ultimate battle tank ,with mutated alien with only hate for a emotion logic to think with ? you decide 




Davros skirt needs re doing acrylics or gouache haven't decided ,but i do know i need a break 
they look good if old and surprising how well they all fitted back together 
testament to there age Davros white parts yellowing significantly ,plastic getting a little thin 
so in this renovation it was braced and reinforced as and where possible with scrap plastic, board card and p38 car filla ,best paints that you can buy ,and actually used on the full sized props (Davros hemis are done with a silver car touch up pen) so here is hoping they last another 25 years 





Thursday 15 April 2010

you have no rights



this is true witty and scarily accurate watch listen learn,most of all pay attention


and if you want some serious entertainment look up and follow all these ,the man is genius

a hero of mine and the world is a much sadder place without him ,no one speaks the truth about the world we live in like him
He inspires me and made me look even harder at this thing called life


Games we play

I think from my blogs it is very clear and plain what interests me ,But it seems looking at forums on the subject matter opinion is divisive as to what classes as a "Adult hobby"


All my life i have heard it from narrow minded small minded talentless wonders with the imagination of a plank of wood,Some even in my Family


Real men play sports , OK, so did i,,I also do Martial arts AI KI DO and did like to box, am i less of a man i do this also ?
lets break it down intellectuality


I have a home based hobby ,Ok I collect display Kitsch ,pop art, memorabilia ,choose your own term
ashamed ?,No , Embarrassed,No proud , completely  took years to build this up to any decent level and damn looks good there's pieces dating back some years and modern pieces relating to old stuff


Is a Art gallery childish for having paintings or a pile of bricks on display ?


I don't care what anyone thinks it is mine it is personal and it in no way effects me or my judgement as a adult or human being


as for being not what REAL men do OK so is it less childish than kicking a inflated pigs balder round a field with 22 other men like you do when your 5 or 6 ?
You been into it since as far back as you can remember well same for me 


"Its Gay" , you hear this a lot as well,Really Gay is it so im homosexual because i have a creative imagination and into something different ?


Hang on im going to collectamania and other events surrounded by girls in cos play outfits,
 I hang out with girls more than happy to dress as princess leia's slave girl outfit ,Superhero anime costumes or have other such outfits in there wardrobe etc ,and you lot 21 men  just took a shower/Bath  together
Yeah right, what's more  gay ?


so gay


I wear my T shirts with pride im happy and bothering no one,you know what i say don't like it ? "Get a life" and leave mine the heck alone


wannabe wandering about in his replica football shirt .


When these Real men have the guts to do something on there own as a individual, and not follow like lost sheep every one else  and have the courage of there own convictions, ill listen to them ,im sure it will make for interesting listening






Wednesday 14 April 2010

Thank you for the days

I want to sit a minute right here and tell you about one of my first loves,


DAPOL
The 1980s were largely devoid of any Doctor Who toys until 1987 model makers Dapol (Dapol was formed by Dave and Pauline Boyle hence the name Dapol) launched their range of Doctor Who toys.
In 1994, while the company was moving to its  location at Llangolen in North Wales, a huge fire destroyed the old site at Winsford  Manchester , and large quantities of products were destroyed. including moulds for there TARDIS console, Llangolan  also hosted the 'BBC Doctor Who Experience' exhibition until 2003,Dave Boyle went on to run the Doctor Who exhibition in Blackpool until its closure in 2010
Dapol were particularly good at making inaccurate toys, and these included an infamous five-sided TARDIS console, a two-handed Davros and a green K9.








But that's not the important bit that is just company stat's,no what's important is these were Doctor Who toys ,no more using Star Wars figures as a substitute (although the bespin Luke as Dr 5 did make a return i recall) actual Dr Who figures the nearest i had ever come was to my Dennis Fisher Dr 4
Now here in "3 1/2  glory were ACTION FIGURES of my favorite show on TV ,Over the planet zog bet your sweet pippy i was 
I played for hours and hours in the Garden up a mountain in Wales (5 Dr s never seemed so real) my imagination ran riot    
 well this move I have come cross a rather special box that caused my eyes to well up and my stomach to not, my beloved Dapol who figures 

These to me are what the original Star Wars figures are to Star Wars fans ,
Yes we have the all singing all dancing shiny bells and whistles variety from Character Options but these are the originals you might say 

And like the aforementioned figures of that other franchise these are special ,stiff limited movement likeness is ropey but there kids toys there fun   that's exactly what they were made to be and they do it with aplomb,Retro ? certainly now they have the "Kitsch" value.

I look back as a jaded bitter adult and say inaccurate rubbish,  but hang on the last Dalek story for Dapol as the program went off air in 89 was remembrance and look there copying THAT style not bad considering  (and have looked at the all new Imperial from CO and thought it looks like a Dapol Dalek) and only time, so far you can get a classic console (officially )

This Puppy right here Dr Who 25th anniversary set ,this was a Birthday present my Dad went to the factory in winsford to collect and saw a "12 Dr 7 that never happened , and i went to see "Doctor Who "The Ultimate adventure" at Manchester Opera house staring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor (a Man i would meet a good few times like a respect a great deal ,and to think it all started with a VHS of "Death to the Daleks") 
Love i adored it TARDIS inside and out,Dr Mel and K9 wasn't to sure who K9 was only read about him in books (ah the innocent world of the none digital age where you went to the library and actually got out and read a book )

Dr 7 has a pet dog ? cool i was up for that it was green ,? Like i cared ,pull it back it go's forward so this was me set for many a happy hour and my Parents well deserved quiet 
actually now i think about it i remember pulling the K9 back and forward to wind the mechanism ,fine,but scored my mums mahogany table in the dining room in the process (Hard plastic front wheel) ,I remember  one of my Daleks melting as i t was to near my nan's coal fire (my first exterminated Dalek)  oh happy innocent days 


I remember baiting my poor mother further by using her nail varnish to help make a Dr 5 one of my earliest who memories is a wall with a face and Dr 5 so had to have one cue Dr7 and some paints ,now where's dads humbrols ????

Any one remember the Star Bird space ship toy ? the one you switch on point up made a acceleration noise point down deceleration noise light up firing lasers on the front removable front?







say hello to my Dalek and Cyberman war machines  oh yes the Starbird and the Big Trak (Programmable roving robot no less and firing proton cannon ) these carried my armies into battle fuelled with the offerings of the Americana marvel comics (Loved the werewolf one,and my summer special the iron legion) and the books Target in particular sort to fuel my fevered imaginings 
These served as my fleet ,Frontier in space novel done with ? want to relive the Draconian police ship and the earth and draconian battles no problem 
I remember taping my figures to the Big Trak never seen a Cyber army go into battle like it the trailer with Daleks tipped out on the patio rolling around deployed to destroy
George Lucas and episode one, battle tanks and droids ,small fry doing it as a kid 

so i present to you the grand offerings of my once mighty Dapol army (Master, K9 grey & Black are somewhere else tucked away) (The soldier is from another set i collected Action Force who served well as my UNIT force and there vehicles ) and hope dear reader somewhere you to have fond memories of golden summers and rainy afternoons 






                               

Sunday 11 April 2010

Affirmitive

ok so making my Dalek ,watching paint dry literally,
but as i mentioned in a previous entry i am making the inner council of Timelords this includes Romana and her faithful hound
CO have made several faithful K9 variations from rusty to clean problem both are blue esque base color which the actual show prop is now but i need it to be Romanas version so classic colors
 so i have a nice K9 model with opening sides and bit of imagination got a good backstory to
What i need now is to show this advanced scanning aka his eye probe and some difference to his look
So i chose to do it the right grey, rover (Made me laugh) tempest Grey
now i know it wasn't but i decided to black the frame round the Monitor and acrylic black the black parts bumper tail gator neck hose etc
and then i decided to extend the eye probe thin piece of metal and cut off the eye small hole with scalpel point and superglue later
It is so fragile i need to look into ways of making it stronger
i will touch up with red the empty part of the eye that frosted with the superglue
otherwise its done and on the Timelord stand awaiting his Mistress

Renovation of the Daleks pt1

Well this weekend was busy one for me,
moment of financial madness not got the money for it but sod it had shopping spree in halfords ,how exciting well it was for a 8 yr project as in 8 yrs waiting and this recent move (mentioned in a previous log entry) was found my old Sevans Dalek and it was frankly a mess the skirt was good (I take pride in my seam work, and good seam work demands a high degree of stability between neighboring parts. Without that, a little bit of flexi can introduce cracks in your carefully-sanded putty paint etc . So I’ve reinforced each panel with styrene strips so skirt is solid  ) the dome fine the neck ok but the rods were snapped or missing and the shoulders woooooooooooooooo
Bad Bad Bad the boxes holding appendages was bust crumpled generally completely knackered so new everything slats mesh the lot BIG job would barely make a exterminated version as it looks now


Tool Time :) Love that show


Although the Sevans range of self-assembly model kits originally emerged in 1984  mine is from 1991 and is a bit of Hybrid of kit parts ,some older 80's bits and newer bits i also have Davros MK1 Micheal Wisher version,
The original models were nigh-on impossible to assemble and took the average model maker several weeks or even months to put together. The 1990s models were simplified and made easier to assemble.   But barely not a lot changed still vac formed plastic of various thickness and you had a lot of assembly including each skirt panel and part to individually cut and glue while carefully removing it from the sheet of other parts in the plastic, and usually this involved a Stanly knife gaffer tape and a large bottle of plastic weld  
 these are 12" high and 1/5 scale
 The Dalek kit retailed for around £16 (with inflation that'll be the equivalent of around 30 quid now).
 


  so i went shopping new Car mesh some plasticard thin flexible type and oooooooo look here "Rover tempest Grey" i heard about this on Dalek forums and these guys n gals are Legion about Daleks i have often believed there are Doctor Who fans and then there are Dalek fans and this they go on about being right for the Genesis aka 70s Dalek and i read somewhere used on K9 to (The latter bit of  information would come back to Haunt )
As i looked and decided to work out what it was i was doing i noticed the skirt now removed on its own and remembered making it ,There appears to be a problem with the four panels that sit right at the front of the skirt: basically, the top contour of the frame for these panels doesn’t match the bottom contour, so to install the panels you need to  twist em ,which i didnt know at the time is actually how a original shawcraft skirt was so its a 60s skirt that made my mind up, movie shoulders ,The BBC props were by the 70s a mixed affair part original part Movie Dalek(Given to the BBC were movie Daleks for use with there TV counterparts) and BBC touch ups well there is one plain gun eye and sucker for BBC bits so why not a bit of the movie to ? que research into movie shoulders and i deided BIG big shoulder bands as the props were bigger and have the full length mesh slats










 OK so stripped Sanded and prepped luckily i still have all original sevans paper work so was able to use the template for shoulders mesh and bands and old slat as template for the slats


then i sprayed and oh WOW what a grey perfection ! i can see why they rave on and on about it great stuff looks brilliant dark and just ,Grey < no added colours the CO version has blue in it this is just Grey

also i have now re-clad remade the boxes out of a cigarette packet card was perfect thickness and some deft scalpel work 2 new boxes done and ready   


one time later i am now at the wait let cure and start affixing appendages i picked the gun up and it promptly fell in half  ,whats that saying that rhymes with cat ?
so dremmel out drill it and somehow the ball joint ,insert rod and use aroldyte and now im at the waiting praying and curing stage next is acrylic black for neck (Nice and matt) and enamel black (just enough of a sheen) for hemis fender and sucker and eye



Saturday 10 April 2010

Walk like an Egyptian

One Pyramids of Mars Mummy  arrived this morning and it got put with ,as i said in a previous post my story specific stand as one of my three favorite Dr Who stories ,Death to the Daleks has er the Dalek some ways to go there and Revenge of the Cyberman has .....er.......the 4th Doctor with customised smiling hatless head ,
I have the time tunnel sarcophagus, Professor Marcus Scarman possessed by the Evil Sutekh some Egyptian paraphernalia and now the Mummy
The mummy came with Jar and flask that formed the force field barrier at compass points around the estate ,
Instead i have the flask in its conopic jars form (Jakal Head Duamatef ) and the inner flask i gave Scarman to hold as per story when he picks up the smouldering hot instructions from Sutekh



Tuesday 6 April 2010

Titles



Well new Doctor new titles and cant say i was impressed
We have the time vortex as traditionally done,  a mass of clouds, OK fare enough bit weird and lightening buffeting the TARDIS ,Why there would be lightening in the vortex i don't know 
and then you have the different colours for a i guess forward and backward shift 
Did not seem very time vortex to me 
and i still much prefer a more realistic TARDIS model to a virtual CGI version 

Theme tune ,oh dear well lots of drum beats for first half of the title sequence and then eventually we get the theme tune that's a bit mixed up and cobbled together like someone has badly edited the them tune from various sources like the graphics bit of a jumbled mess sadly sounds like a tape playing slow or chewed 

The theme tune is missing and that's the shows signature, so i hope they redo it at some point hopefully they will return to the original delia derbyshire variation 


The title Graphics of Doctor who are a mess and also confused don't seem to know what there saying, dosent emphasise the Doctor who name or brand ,and why is there a obviously separate Tardis DW Graphic in it ?, comes across as to much and its not needed and the emphasis should be large "WHO" small "Doctor font 


Raggedy Doctor

New figure,one day after the episode and its a twin pack,Doctor 11 and raggedy Dr 11,
Well here's a improvement no more months of waiting for the figures long after the series has finished this is like the rest of the big toy making boys in time of the episode and season,


Eleventh Hour crash set, Toys R us,retail for this is £14.99,and the new sonic for the same price, got best of the bunch from Toys R us,There is two variants blue tie and shirt and red tie,shirt  version,The retail price is good for these and affordable if you consider one figure now retails at £8.99 you getting these at £7.50 each

Raggedy Doctor  ,this is the Dr 10 legs (so no trouser tears) new body sculpt ,superb tears and wear open necked tie askew details ,the paint on this is good but varied some tie red was on the shirt ,blue on the neck,same head sculpt as the regeneration and bow tie variant

the stand out piece is defiantly the raggedy Dr for the detail and exactness of the opening scenes of the episode and stood with a TARDIS looks brilliant 
sadly they don't include the Sonic screwdriver  one for the raggedy Doctor which is a shame 


The two doctors are a great set and the bow tie version is good the bow tie variant was blemish free on the majority ,with exact costume chosen from the lockers of the Hospital (like Drs 3 and 8) the red pinstripes are clean and the red on the bow tie is spot but strangely under the jacket no braces on included for this Doctor is the new sonic screwdriver nicely painted and detailed

 There is good articulation in neck,biceps, thigh ,wrist and hip and shoulders ,the two figures are different scales slightly with the bow tie Dr being taller (Most likely due to the use of the Dr10 legs on the raggedy Dr ) and this figure is significantly taller than most of the previous Dr releases ,so seems scale varies slightly on the figures but not enough that is glaring, and obvious if you stand them both back to back only
 The sculpt and likeness is very good generic enough to be Matt Smith its a skinny sculpt and has lots of detail not just painted but part of the sculpt like the texture of the jacket

What's odd is the shiny boots and lack of braces and lack of old sonic in this pack otherwise great figures ,and look forward to seeing the others that are due out in a couple of months in July ,Amy is defiantly needed here to complete the set

Return of the Mack






And he is back, Saturday saw the return of Doctor Who with just about everything renewed ,so with a open mind i sat on the sofa and with a cup of coffee relaxed and watched 
The scene opened with a high end CGI stunt of the Doctor's struggle to control the burning TARDIS (as left from the Xmas episode regeneration and the explosion of the old console room ) and this was mad caped rather than heroic, ok different and had my attention 
this was not focused strait on and solely upon the companion we have opened up with the Doctor and its zany and he hasn't spoken a word yet 
In the tatty remains of Dr 10s suit he looked great and wild,
He promptly crashes in a Garden of some country cottage and meets a young girl what ensued was funny clever and completely in tone of Doctor Who and what it is about ,I laughed at the im still cooking,and i landed in the library and the swimming pool the swimming pool is in the library ? ,it is now. "Hell of a climb up"  and nearly spilt my coffee when he hit the tree (Steering is off still) brilliant !,
the whole post regeneration and food (New mouth) and zany running around was perfect, this guy looks right different, none conventional certainly not the pretty boy ,
And despite what Mr Moffet thinks not all Drs got the chance to sleep off the regeneration this is shades of Colin Baker right into the thick of it 
first 10 minutes and i was hooked like i haven't been previously i was glued to the box and my seat 

Well i wont lay out the whole plot other than to say i was surprised by what i saw i really liked it ,it felt right the tone the feeling of it the choice of Doctor, I wont talk here about the TARDIS i did that several posts back as i have a post on that back "right said bob"
Matt Smith is like some of his predecessors' got a unique personality that's pitch perfect for the Doctor and comes out brilliantly,  He looks great and that unusual costume is growing on me and would defiantly say is more traditional than anything previously seen so far for a long time, he was witty ,serious ,clever  and just doctorish he had the doctor factor for sure
 i look forward to seeing him settle in and where this gos as this is his first season and by episode 13 and season two he should be really into the part 

The companion Karen Gillian ,"wow" spot on "Nail on the head" its been a great many years since a companion like this feisty own person shes here to enjoy and explore, she sparks off the Dr well and the two personalities work cleverly and the chemistry is good "I'm a stripagram" funny and her life effected by the Doctor, still made her own life and portrayed well ,tone right and thankfully a orphan
 heres hoping this ends the soap opera, sort of boyfriend ,and was getting married so there's a great  deal of story to go in this season
 small setting focus on two characters

  this looks good no boy friend the doctor off galaxy traveling first story in good please dont bring the boy friend back and lets just Carry on how we started  .............