I spent this Saturday over at Cromford Mills, a picturesque World Heritage site in Derbyshire, which was hosting a Sci-Fi Model exhibition organised by Gerry & Sylvia Anderson fan and scale modeller, David Sisson, who I should add was ably assisted by several other fellow enthusiasts and members of the Cromford Mills staff.
In-spite of
its relatively small size, all packed into a large marquee, there was a lot to
see, and plenty of old and new friends to meet up with thanks to the recent
relaxing of many Covid 19 restrictions.
There was,
of course no shortage of scale models, original props and costumes all courtesy
of David Sisson, Simon Rhodes, Richard Ashton, Bob Bailey, James Burgess, Gary
Holland and Scott Goodman.
The
Fanderson table was manned by Stephen Brown and his wife, who were giving away
Fanderson goodie bags, and there was even a dealers’ table selling some very
nice pieces of affordable vintage merchandise thanks to Tony Freeman.
Artist,
Graham Bleathman and his wife, Katie were also there, signing and selling
prints.
His Fireball XL5 model was made by Martin Bower.
Bob’s scratch-built Robert the Robert, with his scratch-built Venus in the background.
David Sisson brought along plenty of models including Thunderbird 2, Fab 1 and Stingray.
He also had an original Space:1999 spacesuit and original helmet.
I tried the helmet on for size, and I have to be honest it’s not that comfortable. As it was a reasonably warm day it got quite hot inside the helmet fairly quickly and steamed up , and when I spoke with the visor down the sound reverberated to the back of helmet. I don’t think I'd want to wear it for too long, I wonder how the actors got on under the hot studio lights!
You can’t have a Sci-Fi model show without Eagles from Space:1999 and modeller, Richard Ashton brought along a fine collection.
Richard also brought along a large Millennium Falcon model. I can’t say I’m a big Star Wars fan but the model is impressive.
He also had a Colonial Viper from the original Battlestar Galactica, and a model Back to the Future DeLorean complete with Marty McFly and 'Doc' Emmett Brown figures.
He also brought along his large ‘work in progress’ Serenity model.
As I say, the exhibition featured not only models
from the worlds of Gerry & Sylvia Anderson, but also Blake’s Seven and
classic Doctor Who.
Scott Goodman, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Jon Pertwee was suitably attired as the Third Doctor, and was accompanied by a taller than usual Dalek made by Scott himself, and based on the instructions given in the 1973 Radio Times Tenth Anniversary Doctor Who Special!
Here's Scott aka The Third Doctor, talking to Bob, one of the Cromford Mills staff members, who helped in getting the exhibition off the ground.
Daleks did prove popular on the day, especially with the kids!
Blake’s 7 fan, Gary Holland brought along several Blake’s 7 items including a large selection of costumes and props including a screen –used helmet from the episode Countdown, and a screen-used Mini Orac from the episode, Gambit.
A sea-devil head made by James Burgess.
Modeller James Burgess brought along some of his excellent scratch-built puppets he’s using in a digital film he’s making which is based on the H.G.Wells story, The First Men in the Moon.
All in all, an excellent day out, and well worth the trip. Thanks to all those exhibitors, and their helpers. It was great to meet up with them all and other fellow fans after so long.
A work in progress Alpha Centuri head
Overlander from Terrahawks
Let’s hope it’s
not too much of a wait till the next one!
W-a-y Cool Scoop!
ReplyDeleteA grand day out, Ed!
DeleteDespite sweltering conditions on location, for us still living under tightening covid restrictions your report feels like a breath of fresh air, indicating that things are getting back towards normal again. Excellent models & photography. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThanks Arto, yes, it was good to meet up with fellow fans again, and If normal is a Dalek squirting kids with a water gun at a Peak District attraction then I'll all for it! ;D
DeleteThat looks like an amazing day out. Getting to see the actual models and props - wow.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, we'll see more of this as Covid rules relax a little.
DeleteWow! The UK is really where it is at, at the moment. I'd love to meet David Sisson as I'm a big fan of his work. Seeing other people's versions of puppets would also be very inspiring to me.
ReplyDeleteAs it is, our entire state of NSW (and most of Australia) is in heavy Lockdown, so Moonbase Central is the only way I can see any of this stuff!
Sorry to hear you're still in a lock down, Lewis. All for the best, I know, but hopefully you'll get it under control soon.
DeleteDavid, and the other modellers are all very talented people. One young man there, James Burgess brought along some of his unique puppets he's using in his short film. I'll be showcasing some of his display at some point.
Would love to go to one of these in future. Seems similar to the Smallspace exhibitions set up by Mat Irvine in Northampton, which I always enjoy.
ReplyDeleteWell done to David Sissons, a truly great model maker, for organising it.
I've attended several Smallspace events and it certainly is similar, Mish. My feeling is Smallspace is generally attended more by long time fans and modellers, where as I think it's fair to say more of the general public appeared to visit this one.
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