Showing posts with label Doctor Who Models. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doctor Who Models. Show all posts

Thursday, 25 April 2013

Charity Project

On a Dr Who  forum someone posted about a set of head casts for custom projects, for charity
The charity provides food packages for struggling families.so food banks and the like so for a donation you can purchase some casts of doctor who heads unavailable in the CO toy range in 13 scale 
not a opportunity to be overlooked ,Malcolm aka baby jelly was the sculptor Mark aka peladon the caster 
There was naturally a long list and i waited a few months for mine and because of delay got a bonus surprise added,now there is customer service for you free en gratis to boot
There was a Large Candyman figure for £25 but somehow didnt grip me ,still thinking about it 
But i opted for the Haemovore head  
Candy Man 


REFERENCE


the cast heads
there was few to choose from ,Primored from Inferno and female Haemovore as well as Male 


Still unsure about purchasing candy man  its money i don't have and room that docent exist so will think on
So as due to CO neglecting the 80's ,realy go count how many 80s baddies you have besides Daleks and Cybermen ,and it being my era i really would like to build some stuff from it and if this is only way to go,so be it 

Its a shame as so many great monsters and designs came out of the 80s from the Deamon in Battlefield the Heamavore ,Robot clowns that kill phycotic robot of a bus conductor the Rani and Tetraps , and the Terilitples to name a few 
i doubt we will ever see much 
Heamovore,phil
so in period costume my heamovre,i sculpted hands did the paint, made a mess dirty down  and really cool thing glows in the dark a eerie blue and the eyes to
It is a cheapo vampire boy couple of quid and my new head ,look i went for was just old.centuries old  so skull exploded showing brain all mottled under it ,swollen head puffy face ,yes im sick i know 

so what about my extras?



Zoe head and Auton head ,
Auton Spearhead from Space 1970 and Terror of the Autons 1971 ,the figure available in a ridiculous overpriced box set with stuff i don't want, so this is a bit of a god send ,so the body for the Auton is a lazlo,yes i must be actually the only one person who found a use for this figure got for a pound from forbidden planet 
problem didn't realize is he is short like 5 foot tall short ,my excuse is the factory was running out of plastic ,head and body was a full repaint and sculpted a scarf and the head was painted and done with various shades and glossed over

Zoe 1968/69 the second doctor companion not one i would buy personally ,given to me free, ill model the heck out of it ,
this was a hard one to paint and as black and white stories tad difficult to find color reference and i need a body ,could not find a cat suit so used the "Invasion" Pictures i found and a Star Trek body and sculpted a dress /pinafore and all that was needed like blouse collars etc was sculpted on and  a lot of paint done over a week 
All the usual suspects washes shading i don't want to do half a job 

so there you go my latest creative output and im very pleased with what i have 

Monday, 23 April 2012

CYBERSYSTEMS




One by one, their limbs became diseased - they were replaced by plastic and steel!
Little by little, their brains tired - computers worked just as well!
With metal limbs, they had the strength of ten men. They could live in the airless vacuum of space. They had no heart, no feelings, no emotions, and only one goal - Survive !    





Cybermen, got to be up there as one of my favorite villains from Doctor Who
these silver soldiers i remember well .....for being just so cool,loved em,still do 80's variant 5drs/attack anything but them moon boots (there is a another constant theme,don't look at there feet), brilliant design the sleek suit exoskeleton pipes and texture a kind of space /future chain mail, the big helmets booming voices and cool gun 80s cybers are cool
the Revenge suit has always been up there as well  for me as a good design ,still is big solid tank like,ala Robocop a solid suit the dull silver looking steel the built in weapon was meh but a nice design.
Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas, the element of tragedy innate in the Cybermen: they are like this only because their world was dying, and replacing their organic matter was the only way to survive. that's all they want. This is what makes the buzzing, monotone implications of 'You belong to us. You will be like us.' all the more chilling. 
Placed in this near-certain-death situation,they chose to survive, alas there planet exploded still leaving these dangerous refuges loose on the cosmos scattered (did the Doctor win or make things worse for the galaxy?)
with their haunting electronic bleat of the mantra 'We will survive.'
 to survive means conquest of planets and people to ensure there survival cyber-conversion us into them a horrifying thought 


MK2/3 Cybermen


there a technical genius ,engineering and technology from over the countless years the races they have cyberdised makes them a force to be reckoned with ,there experts in explosives having developed bombs capable of destroying whole planets (long before there was a death star),
they constantly evolve adapt that's why there look changes, there equipment and weapons change,all so they can survive 

the original Cybermen Tenth Planet MK1

"Care?, no ,why should we care ?",Feelings? I do not understand that word.

 (This type mk1 has been built and developed upon since 1966 in the Big Finish CDs and in comics and books ),the last story for Hartnell the first Doctor and not a bad story to exit on,
The Cybermen have a beam weapon located in the lamp on their helmet and in there chest unit microwaves i think ?,prety nasty end results,surprise the small science team  in the North Pole and appear unfazed by bullets,all part of devious plan to drain Earth for Mondas to survive even disguising themselves at one point in the story, very clever.
Cybermen are the brain child of  Kitt Pedler and Gerry Davis


The Mondas originals are a nightmare creature, akin to Frankenstein made in a electronics factory ,the hands still human the face visible through the  covering wrapping it like a surgical stocking ,the crude tubes and clunky chest piece,all evidence of early primitive technology the cyber conversion process yet to be refined the hideousness of something clearly once human a Monster human with bits grafted on ,
i know this is scary i scared my friends and girlfriend with these, creeped them out
to see these done faithfully in today's Who by someone like Moffat or Mark Platt and today's budget and technology you could have a episode of Who that would surpass Holmes for the Macabre horror and leave children and adults firmly behind there sofa better yet establish there true origins

As a cold ,dead hand reaches for you......


What about the different looks fashion victims?. Apparently different names for different types, i prefer the more mechanical Mark prefix,Mk 1/2 3/ etc, a good example  Cyberman painted mat black in Attack of the Cybermen for tunnel camouflage very Cyberman like Adapt and survive ,scheme and plot to achieve there mission the same story involved the Cyber tombs on Telos ala Tomb of the Cybermen ( and return of the Cyber controller the one mind of the Cyber race) ,there adoptive planet and main factory base (Not somewhere you land if you wish to be seen again) first time seeing cyber conversion process part men part cyber form 
"you will be like us "

Cyber conversion

Mk 2 Cybermen and tomb on Telos and Cybercontroller
 
and hiding in sewers ala the invasion hidden out of view plotting scheming killing
Cyberneomorph or MK 5




 They sometimes aren't emotionless or logical despite purging there feelings to run off a microchip brain .there not Daleks,vast swaths of armies a Empire,im sure a part of the galaxy really is "Cyber  Space"  They skulk. They plot. They bide their time Cybermen are fairly consistently portrayed: they will hide somewhere while using subterfuge (traitors, mind control, Cybermats, Tobias Vaughn, Professor Kellman,etc.) to gain access to their target Cybermen view all other races as lesser beings, and aim to control it by weakening the population so as to reduce the amount of combat necessary.
poster i had on my wardrobe side

We had first some classic 60s stories mainly with Pat Troughton, the stories were often monster of the week type
 the stories were all BIG 6/ 7 parters epic in scale and have a quality to them in story and the representation of the Cybermen (even dieing falling off a roof in Invasion after being attacked the clang on landing all done well ,sadly Cybermen stoped having sound effects after the 60s  until 2006 ),then not seen for 7 years before appearing again on screen with Tom Baker for revenge there only 70s story and then not seen for another 7 years before Earthshock with peter Davison   so not as many stories as Daleks but still classic Villain and enduring Villain number 2 in the Doctors enemies of all time despite this

a good classic Cyber plot

 Revenge of the Cybermen a good example,and good story
as the Doctor says " You're just a pathetic bunch of tin soldiers skulking about the Galaxy in an ancient spaceship." there all that's left of the Cyber army after a failed attack and war on  humans In the aftermath of their failure, the Cybermen were reduced to scattered remnants, one group relentlessly hounding the remaining fragment of Voga,
so here they are desperate to survive but logic dictates the planet of gold has to go its there one weakness it clogs there breathing (although not breathing as we know it more a ventilation system think pc and blocked cooling fan )and thus kills them, this isn't done by a outward full frontal attack (That's illogical and costly in resources) rather by devious scheming means of killing the stations population (with kellman and Cybermats )  until only a handful remain ,then attack and take over  It's indicative of their methods that their most iconic moments involve hiding or walking around slowly with no-one to oppose them, emerging as a small Army a frightening force that wants to take over and assimilate you or just kill you for no reason other than to survive, they cant be reasoned with talked to bargained or threatened there a unstopping moving force 

BIG cybership with missile tubes in the nose cone

Mk 4 Cyberleader and Mk 3 Cybermat
So Revenge of the Cybermen is a good solid story nothing overly specially and sadly not quite as epic as should be coming after Genesis of the Daleks anything will pale in comparison and after 7 long years you do yearn for more in the story ,but a good a typical cyberman story and a nice design in suit and tweak on the invasion helmet and chest piece

They  have been killed by their own weapons, radiation , electricity, enhanced humans, insanity, shiny jumping robots, bullets (point blank through mouth slit), chessboards, gold dust, glitter gun (the mind boggles) ,gold arrows, gold coins these last two are tad ridiculous , “A Cyberman killed with an arrow? That’s ludicrous!”  You said it, Doctor, there bullet proof ,blunt force object like a bullet is not penetrating them ,how does a arrow or old coin ?
Cybermen affected by the Cerebration Mentor, an emotion enhancing device, went "mad", although this could be because they either put too much fear into it, or simply because the fear caused the robotic parts to malfunction.  its a gun so not being killed by love its a gun so 'science-fictiony'.
 They are not fighters, although they are capable of doing so against small numbers. Think of the classic Cyberman kill: they sneak up on someone before delivering a powerful, spine-shattering blow. It isn't really until The Invasion that we see them attacking an opposing force, and that force outnumbers and defeats them. 
 UNIT manage to successfully attack and destroy an alien threat for the first time,Baptism by fire and now packing gold tipped and Teflon bullets

Why us?, Mondas was Earths twin are planet us humans there twin were perfect genetic material and resources for them the perfect Cyber fodder
possibly their best story is a Big Finish audio-play called Spare Parts that was an influence on the 2006 storyline Rise of the Cybermen. the origin story of the race and had the perfect Doctor for the story in the fifth Doctor 

we have yet to dig really deeply into the inherent tragedy of the Cybermen. We've seen that Steve Moffat can use them well, turning them into nightmarish creatures with metallic tentacles and endless backup systems which is completely in-keeping with their overwhelming instinct to survive. and the fact the head alone is all that's needed to take you and make you like them was frightening
Brilliant as that scene was it was not a whole story, and that is something that fans have been craving for years on screen. 


It did get a bit silly and loose there meaning in the 80s, 
Earthshock is a good story and outing for them ,5 Drs there little more than cannon foder but so cool to watch you never tire of that scene with the raston robot for a kid it is beyond awesome ,robots battling killing one another it has even found its way to pop art and canvas prints in select clubs restaurants shops etc stills from that
and Attack of the Cybermen  is a replay of the old classic 60s Cyber stories Invasion and tomb, minus the style and quality  the originals had , nice visuals tho but really poor quality low low budget tired ,and the mash up of the suits showing age and wear not looking quite as good as they did first time (result from off the cuff resprays in Wales during five Dr's shoot so clear parts became painted)

the one special mention here is ,"what the feck is Silver Nemesis about "? ,Indiana Jones Recycling?, Nazis looking for a magical artifact which will give them ultimate power, juvenile sidekick , 
A meteorite crashes with a huge explosion, three policemen are killed, two skinheads are mugged, criminal damage is done to a tearoom, and a pitched battle is fought between neo-Nazis and Cybermen right next door to one of Britain’s premier tourist attractions (Windsor Castle) and the part-time residence of the Head of State and Commonwealth. Why hasn’t the army been called in? ? or very least U.N.I.T who's job it is for alien incursions
 A bunch of Cybermen a whole fleet thousands of ships up in space (now with cloaking technology) and they want a powerful metal statue so they can conquer the Galaxy ? eh not very Cyber is it?,  

The Cybermen’s operatives are run by cassette tape, like an old Commodore 64. There’s something pleasing about that big 80s earphones as well
 “He’s God. Obviously he’s God but he messes it up. That’s why he can travel through space and time. That’s why he comes among us trying to put it right.”
 Writer Kevin Clarke’s interpretation of the character of the Doctor, anticipating Russell T. Davies by some 17 years.
Hence, presumably, the Nemesis being named for, and linked to, the Greek goddess of retribution. 
“This is no madness, ‘tis England!” Credit where it’s due, that’s a great line.
 Although  the Doctor wears a fez, beating Matt Smith to the punch by twenty-one years 
Cybermen cant go near toch gold ,going just a little to far with this gimick here and point a Geiger counter device at it "Gold" they wail and step back in fear
there is the  irony of the fact that the no-Nazis are all armed with Uzis ,that makes me smile 


 Here is a bunch of emotionless logical machine creatures, true cyborgs driven by there computer brains and logic ,and here we have the Cyberleader played by David Banks giving it all he's got head to foot in a Cyber suit, so uses his voice and hand gestures and body language to express himself,one thing Cybermen would never do but it is fun to watch, if a little cheesy, but you can't deny that the designs of Earthshock (1982) still hold up well today

'When the tower is in our hands, he will be...' *Slow Fist Clench* 'dramatic pause ,...destroyed.'
NEMESIS cybership


The Cybermen, “Cybusmen” returned on a parallel Earth this time, we assume the Mondasian Cyber race is out there in cosmos somewhere ( cool to have the old ones and these so nothing to judge against and really don't have to like as your cybers are still out there somewhere), but the parallel Cybers are much the same taking over people to become more like them a new race some story's struggling to survive
And a new look little to Robocop with huge clunking suit flares and huge cuffs ,again don't look at there feet , but a nice helmet design ,At their best, the Cybermen designs reflect the subconscious body-horror fears of whatever era they’re in. The first Cybermen, with their clunky half-fabric half-metal suits, reflect fears of  the new limb and organ replacement ; late-Sixties Cybermen, with their helmets mindless autonomy leg braces and space travel fears, and the Eighties Cybermen, with their rugged Apple Mac acorn BBC computer atari style early PC look the total control of IT,
 What the hell are the cybusmen body suits ?, a mishmash of Iron Man, the Terminator, Robocop and a Pet Shop Boys video,what there meant to reflect, is a total mystery.




Massively overused early-21st-century sci-fi cliches, zeppelins as normal mode of transport, evil corporate tycoons, omniscient surveillance society extending everywhere, the dangers of mobile telephony. etc run through the New Cyber stories so kinda redeeming the 80s Cheese
How can you have a “maximum deletion”? Either you’re deleted or not, make up your mind


But i do like Cybermen  ,so much so i got one of these to do ,its  full size and I'm sure ill blog as i do it its a great piece visually impacting on the wall and very intimidating and been commented on several times usually a "Cool" or a "Whats that its horrible" gets worse when i explain briefly what it is or what its for ,to see this helmet is to to see death as this is your destiny to be like them
This now i think is a timeless design the 80s helmet and suit, it has been seen everywhere and used endlessly for them in design and pictures models toys etc so now i think has gotten to be timeless classic this is one design you can show anyone and they know what it is ,at the time inspired by other SCI FI (Imaginearing prop company working on such things as Alien etc) but in a way took the design and made it Who

Their starting position is always one of weakness,but there not to be underestimated or trifled with 
If in the corner of your eye you see something small ,silver dart in a dark corner ,be afraid




Wednesday, 28 March 2012

scale model TARDIS 3

Well as i left you in antici...........pation

onto

 dusting /buffing

1988 mk 1 with added blocks to hold walls in place


I now decided to turn my attention to creating a dusty look on the Tardis 


This involves pastels (another technique i picked up ) scraping with a scalpel the grey pastel i got a powder in a small pile on my pallet,with this like in the video i applied it in a dusting top to bottom motion using a old soft brush and did small amounts and layered it up( observe the results under different lights including outside in daylight which i forgot to do so it was originally to much ) making sure i got all recesses and step and nooks on the roof in the detail anywhere dust could fall and form (personally think this really ads realism to the model of the prop) it had a added bonus of evening out my paint work ,i worked access off with a really stiff brush

I repeated this on the windows and as well as grey i used Gold Ochre 
end result has been a nice weathered natural dusty look from storage out on filming basically in use as a active prop


ok little over exposed here, we have had some really bright sunny days but you should get the idea and see all techniques used thus far
hopefully can see the preshading still with added shadows recess discolours  from the various washes  and the  grey dust cover (all been done really subtle as I'm working in 13 scale and didn't want to drown it nor detract from the overall look effect of the box ) and colour pastel brush
Also should see the windows now done i like how the pastel wash pooled in the corners ,looks like its dirt gathered over the years very nicely to me
yellow was chosen ,due to various colours the windows were again a pain with this prop theres so many looks from purple panes to clear to grey ,but theres pretty much always been a yellow tinge and in research i found this is due to the cobex it was made from it is like GRP inherently yellow that and added fact of dirt and filth i thought a combo of grey yellow would work although it sounds wrong

Wet Pastels

I moved on to the wet pastels technique. This technique calls for the mixing of black and brown pastels with Tamiya thinner and applying this mix around locks handles , bolts, along seams, crevices and some shadow areas. This is a favourite technique used by Japanese modellers and is highly effective in accentuating shadow areas.
I did this with charcoal and brown pastel
I dipped my '00' brush into Tamiya thinner (and some water)  then into the pastels. I mixed the pastels until they diluted in the thinner and then I drew the brush along cracks, seams and around door handles and locks 
 
This has started to now bring the model to life for me 
now I'm onto  paint chipping flaking to show the layer or a  layer of paint under the original (Will be lighter shade) like seen on the prop after much use and between touch ups and a lot on the base with grey to realy show the wear on the base having been the main area in contact with the ground, actors boots, being buried in the ground on location etc
I will also add this to the corner posts mainly to show where it has been handled on location filming etc,
oh and use reference photos to death

 

Tuesday, 20 March 2012

Scale model Tardis 2

I remember drawing colouring in this box many times, i liked how it was blue and dirty "Like my bike" 
Now a cynical Adult i see it as the best prop ever ,Details abound from 3 step roof to steps above the doors to the quadrants on the posts etc  , colours (Even when almost black with filth) , shape size geometry ,being GRP Fiberglass so easy to transport , its look  in general and profile  its the business s far as a TARDIS in the guise of a Police Box go's


so you can guess i wanted /want one 
then here comes CO and half attempt then i got stuck in 


I went for less TARDIS on TV and more prop so even did the S18 19 back doors also seen in ghost light 


She is generic based on look of S18/19S25 /26 overall look of the TARDIS  as this is basically what she did look like with moments in between of extreme dirt or overly bright flat finishes so with a decade of looks i chose something just TARDIS with the flat small lamp

construction and begining



so now my kit has been take apart and i have added details like the top of the wall devide going above the sign boxes and now added a new lamp and shorter base for the lamp and shorter base for the box 
Next i added detail to simulate 22o angle on the panels and windows and sanded all moulded texture off 
I also then took to the lintels (Police box signs) and extended them the correct length after measuring and marking them out adding some plasticard to the length for support and backing and then this was filled in and using tools for detail shaped the frame
i then liberally covered it in model filler like squadron putty and with a technique i leaned added thinners to allow it to run sooth and into cracks this was sanded several times then all imperfections dealt with until end result was a flat smooth grp (fiberglass) looking box 


i base coat with Halfords grey primer ,sanded it and resprayed several times with windows and phone  panel masked off (i wanted to retain current sign as was manufactured and was relatively accurate for the box i was doing also liked the look of it ) 



preshadeing 


pre-shade the entire box in black. Generally, I would apply my base paint right to plastic. However, this step is a means of making the tone of the surface colour uniform all-over. I used Tamiya Black TS14 out of an aerosol can. It is important to paint lightly and make certain to reach all of the little nooks and crannies. Let it dry and repeat with another light coat of same and essentially, you are left with a kit which has been completely obliterated with thin layers of black paint and not one bit of the grey primer is showing through. 
Once this had completely dried, I painted in Dulux wild water thinned down with water and done with a almost dry brush  each layer was applied lightly, once the previous coat had dried. 
This essentially produces a definitive blue colour on flat surfaces whilst leaving corners and shadows with an almost black dark blue tone. 
This is the result of less base paint reaching those hard to get areas, and is a very desirable effect. Hence, the pre-shade of black paint with blue applied, on top, in light coats created a visual tonal contrast between highlights and shadows. When this was completely dry, I turned my attention to  'filter' techniques described in several  Military Modelling articles. 



I covered select areas in thinners (testors) to break the surface tension  and then set about painting it (very diluted in thinners.) Humbrol enamel matt blue 26  making sure to evenly cover the entire kit. Once the filter had dried, it left a nice overall darker tone to the surface ready for weathering 

Pin Wash 

After dry brushing entire model in my chosen shade of wild water prussian blue and white i decided to start to pin wash the lighter Tardis colour
It's another thing i read on various military and scale modelling web sites and forums this addressed a issue i had of not wanting to spoil my kit by drowning it n a wet wash all over but get the shadows and dirt in there that i wanted
essentially a games workshop acrylic black and flat earth brown mixed and thinned with water restricting this to all of the nooks and crannies and seam lines with an '00' brush. 
The kit was beginning to take on a nice weathered look. In fact, the filter combined with the pin wash  greatly enhanced the look of the finish and dry brush on top finished it off nicely

 I then took my acrylic art paint set in tubes and I re-applied yet another pin wash around some of the locks handles and  bolts with Burnt Sienna mixed with water to further accentuate the details
I let this dry for about two days in a dust-free  box for a few days as it was very wet that cold feel thats damp and takes ages to dry

and then did nothing for longer than i planned and xmas came went and got on with life and now im back at the kit again 

and researching again (see never stops) and came across on the modelling forums a man gos by the name of scale model medic and a video on you tube and watched his techniques and one really struck me 

Buff Dust Treatment 

I now decided to turn my attention to creating a dusty look on the Box from being in those dark dusty corners of prop storage, and left in dusty locations and warehouses/ deserts fields /quarys/road sides etc .

This was a return to art school and lots of chalk charcoal and pastels and the death of a lot brushes  

 

for now enjoy this informative video

 

 


 










Saturday, 21 August 2010

The Third Doctor

Enjoyed reviewing the 7th Doctor so i thought after watching "The Carnival of Monsters" (to catch up ,get up to speed with CO latest toy releases,just got seeds of doom and others to cover ) id cover another Dr
One i remember as a child at 9 or 10 in his video "Death to the Daleks" i liked him he was different his style was unique even as a child this Doctor stood out as something all together different he was as i remember exciting and still is,and i loved his console room i remember finding it erie, it has become my favorite console if not favorite room that belonging to the 4th and 5th Dr's version
A protector is how id some him up, and he will take physical action if necessary not in a crude way ,unlike the sixth Dr thugishly beating up opponents or killing them while smiling and with quip remarks but with class and style. Venusion aikido, that looks like real world  ju jitsu and judo (Probably something Jon himself practiced at sometime in his numerous activities )

This was a Five year era that gave us the Barry  Letts /Terrance .Dicks team (with Bob Holmes writing stories and creating many iconic villains) ,that was iconic and fundamental to shaping the program to be succeeded by Phillip Hinchcliffe /Bob Holmes team,  to form a truly golden era for Doctor who

John Devon Roland Pertwee (Pertwee is a modification of the original French Huguenot family name Perthuis de Laillevault), was born 7 July 1919 in Chelsea, London. His parents, Roland and Avice, divorced shortly after Jon's birth; they had been living apart for some time and Jon was conceived on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, when they had met up again by chance during the celebrations.
Jon and his older brother Michael remained with their father, who was a distinguished playwright, actor and novelist. Jon and Michael lived for a time with their Grandmother and their Uncle Guy at Caterham in Surrey, and then returned to live with their father in South Kensington after Roland remarried in 1927.


Jon was sent to Aldro boarding school in Eastborne at the age of seven, but was expelled for swinging on the lavatory chains Tarzan-style. Between schools, Jon visited a friend of his father's, A.A. Milne, and met his son Christopher Robin Milne, who introduced him to his toys, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo and Winnie the Pooh.
http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv48/jonpertweealife.html


His Doctor seems to be a great big Grey area of haters and lovers, But there is a lot to like here, personal opinion aside you either personally do or don't like a Doctor
The over use of CSO and poor effects. As far as the effects go, yes they were ropey ,but for a shoe string budget and the early 70's id expect no less ,if anything the effects were pushed to there limits , but lets not forget Tom Baker and Peter Davisons era had their share of tacky effects - Underworld , Horns of Nimon, Warriors of the Deep, and the worse effects were seen in the late 80s that made theses effects look like high art ,and maybe CSO was slightly over used but then so now is CGI
A establishment figure hmmm ,Really ? he is stuck on Earth one planet in one time and he makes the most of it, you see many examples of him arguing with the the Brigadier or politicians, and frustrated at the establishment to go ahead and do it any way
He is a touch mysoginistic and chauvanistic. But that is as much a reflection of the age as it is the actor or the show and to be fare is perfectly acceptable ,this is no limp wristed jessie
They dared to change a formula by then 6 years old,

A show on the brink of cancellation as viewing figures had dropped and it was felt 6 years was long enough
gone was Dottie old man absent minded clown and something completely new  comes in
In a lot of ways was a program that was a sign of the times with carnaby street look  James Bond in films Adam adamant and other such shows as the Avengers on TV  and it changed as the time went on to being vastly different in its last two years
Much the same way as Peter Davison's Dr was a sign of his times with the public school boy preppy style and the  era of the Yuppie that was around, and films like chariots of fire and on TV in brides head revisited etc

The surprise was with discussion with the new producer Barry Letts , he was to play it strait as he later recalled "I was asked to play the part as Jon Pertwee ,and i had no idea who he was "
 And it worked Pertwees love of Gadgets vehicles and action was a perfect mix ,and the Man loved his clothes as can be seen again in his role all frills,silk ,satin and velvet & bow ties and cravats (This was 1969 to 1974), it was a totally bold new stroke for the character
He had an identity in the role ,that was as was asked for totally Jon Pertwee and the viewing figures and appreciation for Doctor Who grew under his tenure in the TARDIS,
 Pertwee is definitely one of the best Doctors  ,why ?


 The man himself is the first factor. Jon Pertwee is an obvious choice to play the Time Lord.
 Jon Pertwee was a man of considerable talents prior to working for the BBC, he had been a circus performer doing stunts on the wall of death with a motorbike , stunt driver (raced anything that had a engine) loved diving swimming skiing anything physical  and served in the Royal Navy
 Tall with a young old handsome face , with a shock of white gray hair he looked the part
So to cast a comedic Actor who was well known in the industry and had done a wide variety of parts , from Shakespeare,repertoire west end plays  to comedy on the radio films such as Hammer Horror ,Carry on films and much more , it came as no surprise that he was chosen to play the Doctor

I am fortunate to have met Jon several times and found him the consummate performer and entertainer a true showman ,he was polite friendly and always made time for the fans
He stopped to take time to talk to me  when he didn't have to, and as i got older and met him again i found him genuine sincere and approachable

To start with .His era had a bold new Idea of having the Doctor stranded on Earth that was a fresh  look with the occasional visit on behalf of the Timelord's to outer space, (although he spent less time on Earth that the Doctor has since his return in 2005 ),but then the 3rd Dr's last 2 years were copied by the first two years of Doctor who with Drs 9 & 10 out to space or in time then back to U.NI.T, HQ or jackies flat with both Dr's a trip to parallel Earth

U.N.I.T ,Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart ,one of the best characters in the program,
it was a good idea, the Dr is stranded and uses his knowledge to get a place to live and work on his TARDIS, to have Earth defended by a arm of the British military purpose set up for the unexplained ,pre-dating x files and such like ,so more action and thrills for the kids to cheer to and enjoy the adventures of a Dr that was, is instantly more identifiable
There was also the 'Mystery' element the puzzle the Doctor had to work out  searching out clues and putting it together to form the bigger picture
This gave the program a whole new life not seen before or since totally new fresh look like starting over
 the fact it is more scary to see Monsters on earth coming out of the wood work so to speak,
you thought it was safe to go in the sea then out pops a race of creatures who live under it and want to kill you, (This years before Jaws) under the Earth is a race of Creatures that see us as the invaders, the infestation to be wiped out ,and these are not even alien invaders ,the mundane bent towards death and destruction like daffodils or dolls or gargoyles or shop dummies coming to life to kill you, this has been often tried many times in Dr Who and other programs and films since
(This era was a perfect spring board for yet another completely different change of direction in the cosmos striding fourth doctor )
His era built on the mythos of the Doctor introducing Omega one of the founding fathers ,the planets name Gallifrey the Timelords the president  the first multi Doctor story
 The fact that his era had a majority of the best monsters and  introduced new legendary ones , Auton's,Sea Devils, Silurians, Ogrons, Draconians, Sontarans....... the Master, Single greatest Villain for the Doctor ever, played here believable and scary and sinister and very smooth by Roger Delgado
Only regret he never faced the Cybermen i feel this is a really missed opportunity, what he, his Dr could of done with a good U.N.I.T story against the silver giants from Mondas

The small, but important, fact that he regularly changed his outfit for a new look , he had some of the best title sequences and season 11 titles is still one of my favorites
,Liz Shaw the boffin scientist in his first season, Jo Grant is easily one of the best companions, and introducing the legend that has become  Sarah Jane Smith in his final year on the program
His era is worth watching and not dismissing to quickly, theres something to be enjoyed here.



Jon Pertwee returned to the role of the Third Doctor several times in the eighties and nineties. In 1983, he appeared in the twentieth anniversary television special The Five Doctors, and in 1989 again played the Doctor, this time on stage in Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure. In 1993 he appeared on screen once more as the Third Doctor in the two part charity skit Dimensions in Time, and also played the Doctor on radio for the five-part audio Doctor Who story The Paradise of Death. The success of that production led to a sequel, the six part The Ghosts of N-Space, made in November 1994 but not transmitted until early 1996. Jon made appearances at numerous Doctor Who conventions, invariably appearing in a version of the Third Doctor's costume which he'd had made especially for such occasions.




Saturday, 10 July 2010

Doctor who -Toy Stories

 thought i would use this as my personal repository and toy box and some what catalogue ,while having fun along the way


so this post will be pics of settings and scenes of my Who toy's enjoy ill update as new stuff comes in and a brief sentence of what's what 
The Tardis 05



Like the Character Options Box i enhanced modified and improved the console room play-set and finished it off it is now in situation of the "Who Store" Blackpool permanently on display 

The TVM 7th/8th Doctors Tardis 

Brachaki refit 66/76





Death to the Daleks