Marfa's Classic Doctor Who 1/6 customs

[bcm77]

I used to help run Tom Bakers fan club and had to go and give him copies of the club newsletter now and again. One time I met up with him he was dressed in all his 'Sherlock' finery and striding down the BBC corridor at full pelt, with various costume assistants trying to catch various items clothing as he flung it off himself as he strode towards his dressing room.


I also ended up seeing them recoding another part of the story (when the giant comedy rat was in the tunnels trying to bite Lela) because we had a friend who worked at the Beeb at that time, and you used to be able to bring a few friends in to watch them recording in one of the observation gallery's. I saw quite a few Who's that way, until I (would you believe) won a "design a Monster for Dr Who" competition and ended up visiting the set of 'The Face of Evil' and having dinner with the cast. God Tom was a scary bastard! Still is really.

Christ that was a loooong time ago.

All a bit ironic really considering I ended up working on the show during the Sylvester era.

Happy days. *sigh* Thats why I love what you've done here. It's rare to see fans recreating 'old Who' characters, let alone done with such care and accuracy.

Oh and in answer to your question, yes, I am bloody old. :

Awesome story, if I could go back in time and see any Who stories being recorded "Talons" would be my top choice after "Genesis of the Daleks".

The hacks that write for Who today ought to be locked in a room, possibly without food and made to watch the stories Robert Holmes wrote over & over until it sinks in what good storytelling is because not one of them has come close to Holmes on his worst day, let alone his best.

 

[vikkitx]

Android sarah was a failed project i actually made a full "android sarah" in pink sailor suit from a brunette Barbie (ill dig out a pic if ive got one) which i sliced the face of and replaced with different coloured beads and odds and ends silver wire tubing ect.... i also find it handy to print out irises and glue them on beads for eyes...

My failures all should look that good! That's a great re-use for Barbie heads. I'd love to see the sailor suit you made if you find a pic. I eventually want to make lots more of Sarah Jane's costumes (including that pink sailor suit), since she and Leela are my two favorite companions. I found a website with tons of screen captures of Sarah's various fashions/faux pas. Unfortunately, the site seems to have vanished. Luckily I right-clicked-saved almost every image I could find. Lemme know if you need/want any of those images via e-mail.

Cool idea for making eyes! Have you seen the eyes made for Obitsu, Volks, and other Japanese dolls? For example, https://www.volksusa.com/eyes-micro-eyes.html. Or else go to https://junkyspot.com/obindex.html, go to the menu on the left side of the screen, click on "Eyes," then check out some of the 6mm acrylic eyes. (Or there's always eBay....) I used some of these eyes in the Not Quite Nikolai figure on my website. (You'll have to scroll down the webpage past the cloak project.)

 

[vikkitx]

The time cabinet was constructed like my Tardis foamcore and pladsicard however im a wizz in Photoshop so and use a form of 3d maping instead of painting its highly detailed works for all textures

I love the "Missing Girls Mystery" poster from the episode! Great touch!

Have you used Photoshop to create your own fabrics yet? I've done some very basic fabric printing, like the yellow & black striped trousers for my Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) figure. (I included links to tutorial sites on that same webpage.) Theoretically the same techniques could create 1:6 versions of the fabric from Sarah's "Masque of Mandragora" or "Planet of Evil" or other outfits. The only limiting factor is the skill of the Photoshop duplication of the fabric design.

im using the same process for my latest project Deadly Assassin Masters Tardis

I don't know if you'd get any use from the grandfather clock in one of the Gloria furniture sets. If you haven't seen Gloria furniture before, it's hot-pink cheap-o off-brand Barbie furniture. However, it can look really good after repainting it or otherwise modifying it. For example, a friend created this diorama using the Gloria grandfather clock, bed, nightstand, mantel clock, candelabra, picture frames, and fireplace (all of which originally were a hideous hot pink).

Example of an eBad listing for Gloria furniture

 

[sueworld]

vikkitx The info regarding printing on cloth was very interesting. I'd love to try that one day.

Marfa Thats a wonderful Masters Clock Tardis you've got going on there. Also I wondered where you got that incredible lab equipment from. What a clever use of a model kit! It works beautifully, doesn't it.

I've met Tom several times, and funny enough hes signing Hornets Nest next Friday at HMV... there one of my clients (I'm a packaging n product designer)

Blimey, that must be a difficult/time consuming job, isn't it? No wonder you've got such a great eye for detail then.

I got a BA in graphic design when I was young, and gave up trying to make a living in those circles. I think it was probaly due to me being crap at it though.

Did you enjoy your various celeb meetings? I haven't seen Tom in quite a few years now.

Talking of which here's a photo I took when on the set of 'The Face of Evil' back in the day...

 

[Darren Carnall]

damn.... those are some impressive customs. Absolutely wonderful stuff!

 

[morethanatimelord]

A friend of mine gave me this Grandfather clock to use....its a tiny bit bigger but works just the same...it has the added bonus of having `Tempus fugit` written on the clock face

I also had a go at making the Column that the Masters TARDIS often took the form of

 

[William Shatners Toupee]

[/IMG]

I just wanted to comment again, because my first post was a generic one covering all your pics, just how awesome I think your Kraal is. The sculpt is great but that costume work is just sick, man! For such a minor, one time only race, I always really liked the Kraal and had concidered customizing him at one point but never did. It's awesome to see Styggron ("Stygg" to his friends) done so nicely done! great job!
-Rick

 

[Tyler]

I know very little about Dr Who, but loving your work.

 

[Mr Barlow]

it keeps getting better, I love your skills !!!!

 

[Marfa Isaman]

Hey Guys ive been away all weekend, am back at work now so ill reply to your posts bit later thanks Mx

 

[Marfa Isaman]

That's all amazing! I think that Sarah android head looks just fine! Thanks for sharing the additional pictures and recipes! GREAT Romana costume!

So those prop textures were photoshopped? Awesome! I've expirimented with doing photoshoped deco for a space station dio I've been doing but the problem I found with it doesn't photograph well. It catches the flash all the time and then looks phoney. Have you had those problems or do you recommend any tricks?

Flash!!! lol i dont know anything about photography however one rule dont use the flash lol
to get a more even tone and slightly matt feel i use a desk lamp covered with some white paper (however dont leave unattended or u might have fire!) this helps to diffuse the light but directs enough so u dont have to use a flash if u want to get really clever u can use a second lamp to "spotlight"
i did this on Mr sin i lit him from below to make it more sinister and shadowy... u can also use transparent gels to add dramatic colour tones to whatever your shooting
hope that helps

 

[Marfa Isaman]

Awesome story, if I could go back in time and see any Who stories being recorded "Talons" would be my top choice after "Genesis of the Daleks".

The hacks that write for Who today ought to be locked in a room, possibly without food and made to watch the stories Robert Holmes wrote over & over until it sinks in what good storytelling is because not one of them has come close to Holmes on his worst day, let alone his best.

I couldnt agree more.... Hinchcliffe and Holmes it should be the title of a story!

 

[Marfa Isaman]

My failures all should look that good! That's a great re-use for Barbie heads. I'd love to see the sailor suit you made if you find a pic. I eventually want to make lots more of Sarah Jane's costumes (including that pink sailor suit), since she and Leela are my two favorite companions. I found a website with tons of screen captures of Sarah's various fashions/faux pas. Unfortunately, the site seems to have vanished. Luckily I right-clicked-saved almost every image I could find. Lemme know if you need/want any of those images via e-mail.

Cool idea for making eyes! Have you seen the eyes made for Obitsu, Volks, and other Japanese dolls? For example, https://www.volksusa.com/eyes-micro-eyes.html. Or else go to https://junkyspot.com/obindex.html, go to the menu on the left side of the screen, click on "Eyes," then check out some of the 6mm acrylic eyes. (Or there's always eBay....) I used some of these eyes in the Not Quite Nikolai figure on my website. (You'll have to scroll down the webpage past the cloak project.)

To be honest your a much better seamstress than me wen it comes to proper clothes making, your period costumes are so detailed and properly stitched ; ) ill let u into a secret i usually end up supergluing some of the outfits together as a cheat!

Here is a pic of the aborted Android Sarah.... i just use the head for comedy effect now as u can see the doll wasnt a great choice and i think just looked a bit odd... also hair wasnt quite right .... vikki, In the words of Mother Doomfinger.... "I have the Doll!" lol ive found the SJ body in the sailor suit let me know if u want it i have no use for it, maybe u could help me out on somthin in the future x

ps will check out the eyes! plus we need to chat about "rerooting" and how u manage to recreate hairstyles

 

[Marfa Isaman]

A friend of mine gave me this Grandfather clock to use....its a tiny bit bigger but works just the same...it has the added bonus of having `Tempus fugit` written on the clock face

I also had a go at making the Column that the Masters TARDIS often took the form of

Hey Morthan x nice to see u again x Nice Clock!!!! lol

 

[Marfa Isaman]

Did you enjoy your various celeb meetings? I haven't seen Tom in quite a few years now.

Talking of which here's a photo I took when on the set of 'The Face of Evil' back in the day...

that pic is a real treasure x
ill give him your regards on friday x

 

[Jessica]

Hiya Marfa. I love your work. I am not a Dr. Who fan (haven't seen it)...but I have seen other Dr. Who customs. Yours and Vikki's are the best ones I have seen--and there is another fellow with a great police box...but I can't place his name at the moment. I love looking at other people's work. Very inspirational.

 

[Marfa Isaman]

I just wanted to comment again, because my first post was a generic one covering all your pics, just how awesome I think your Kraal is. The sculpt is great but that costume work is just sick, man! For such a minor, one time only race, I always really liked the Kraal and had concidered customizing him at one point but never did. It's awesome to see Styggron ("Stygg" to his friends) done so nicely done! great job!
-Rick

ANDROID INVASION is one of my favourite stories as luv that its set in a sleepy country village so sinister hope they do somthing similar in season 5

my nickname for Sarah is Queen of the slight incline... and she does it so well in this story! its also a magic moment wen her face falls off! plus Styggrons piggy eyes really s**t me up as a kid!

 

[Marfa Isaman]

here is an update on my Deadly Assassin Dio ive finished the Grandfather clock Tardis ill probably start work on the figure at the weekend as i need to get some more super sculpy ive got some great fabric for his cloak x

 

[William Shatners Toupee]

here is an update on my Deadly Assassin Dio ive finished the Grandfather clock Tardis ill probably start work on the figure at the weekend as i need to get some more super sculpy ive got some great fabric for his cloak x

NICE! Love the cobwebs! Thanks for the tips on the lighting, too!

 

[sueworld]

That clock looks marvelous! The cobwebs set the whole thing off beautifully.