Tuesday 29 January 2013

Ultimate Six Frock Coat - purrrrrrfection!

Now I’ve finished my ULTIMATE Six Frock Coat project, I thought I should top it off with the ULTIMATE icing on the cake!

A while back I did a breakdown of all the Cat Brooches the Sixth Doctor wore during his era.

By far the most used was the first, a ceramic white tortoise shell cat with a cheeky grin.


Back in the late 1980s I heard that the jewellery artist who made it had produced a limited run of replicas for sale through the Doctor Who Shop. So I rushed out to get myself one and I have proudly kept it in mint condition ever since.

It’s the brooch I have kept on my replica Fock Coat I did when I was only 19 years old!

Moving this brooch to my new ULTIMATE Six Frock Coat got got me thinking. Could I persuade her to made some more replicas to go with my ULTIMATE Six Frock Coat?

Turns out the answer is YES!

I spoke with her just before Christmas and this month I took delivery of half a dozen smiling little white ceramic cats, all hand made and painted just like the originals - and made by the original artist as well!





I have a number spare and have secured future stock as a EXCLUSIVE through my blog, so get in touch if you want to get your hands on this unique piece of Sixth Doctor memorabilia.

The Cat Brooches cost £35 each.
Global shipping is included in the price.
To order you brooch, please send funds to  tennantcoat@me.com making sure to include your address

Saturday 26 January 2013

Ultimate Six Frock Coat - FINISHED

So last weekend at Project Motor Mouth I debuted my ULTIMATE Six Frock Coat.

A lot of people asked for my photo - but I know you wanna see some proper quality images of how the coat came out, so here they are.


I’m so happy about how it’s turned out. Better than I could have hoped.


As you can see, the lapel sports one of the original-style cat brooches as screen-worn.
Check back soon for the chance to get hold of a PERFECT replica of this brooch!


Now you might have noticed that under the Frock Coat is a rather special waistcoat. It is my copy of the season 22 waistcoat with knitted fronts.


I’ve been keeping this one under wraps for several months now, but finally you can see it and I’ll show you it properly very soon.


Do let me know what you think of the finished coat. Has the three years of work paid off? You tell me!

My Sixth Doctor green boots

Hopefully you will have seen and enjoyed the complete Sixth Doctor costume I wore for Project Motor Mouth. But for me it was a tiny bit frustrating as it wasn’t actually 100% complete.

It didn’t notice too much, but I was lacking the green boots that finish off the garish look the Sixth Doctor wore.

Annoyingly, the boots had already been made to measure for me, but due to my bout of flu and then the heavy snow just prior to the event, I wasn’t able to collect them as planned.
But now I’m back to somewhere near full strength and the roads are a bit clearer, I’ve finally been able to get them from my boot makers.

Back in 2009 I saw an original of screen worn boots at a viewing for the 16th June 2009 Bonhams Auction, and it’s these that mine have been directly modelled after.

I regard them as the middle pair in a series of boots worn during the Colin Baker era.
The following is a potted history as I see it and is by no means definitive, so please message me if you have anything to add. Here is what I have been able to find and work out about the Sixth Doctor’s footwear.





Originally he wore a pair of shop-sourced green ankle boots. I’m not totally sure of the brand name, but the things to look for are the combination of eyelets and hooks to lace them up; and a moulded Doc Marten-style rubber sole.

The pair I viewed at Bonhams also had the eyelet and hook combination for the laces; no makers name was visible; the inside of the boots were unlined; and it had a plain leather sole.

These I believe were a copy made when the original boots started to show signs of wear and replacements were unavailable. Hence the lack of manufacturers name and the use of a plain sole.

A further pair I have seen has all eyelets with no hooks; a brown leather lining; and a plain leather white sole.

I think these were made when the previous copies also started to show signs of their age.
The use of all eyelets suggests they were made in haste and at minimal cost and the way they are made are uncannily like the work I have seen on Matt Smith’s boots. In fact I would not be surprised to find they were cut by the same company.
So which pair to copy?
Since it will be near impossible to make an authentic pair of the shop-sourced boots, I have gone for copying the first replacements.
They are after all a hand-made copy and my versions would be made in the same way and would be of equal quality.

But who should I get to make them?
Well that’s a real no-brainer - since I work regularly with the makers of Matt Smith’s boots, they are the obvious choice since they did a similar thing by copying the All Saints boots for series five.
Besides, it gives my boots some pedigree!

AND HERE ARE THE COPIES THE BOOT MAKERS DID FOR ME!

I gave the boot makers access to the third pair of boots as a guide, plus lots of reference pictures of the second pair to work from.

They painstakingly matched the green leather and followed every subtle line of white top stitch.
Suitable hooks were sourced to match as closely as possible those on the original boots.

Being hand-made with a lot of decorative stitching, they weren’t cheap - but I’m very happy with the result and they now make my costume as complete and authentic as possible!
If you’re interested in getting a pair of hand-made Sixth Doctor Boots, made by THE Doctor Who boot makers, drop me an email to tennantcoat@me.com
and I can send you the details


UPDATE

I am now also offering the orange spats to go with the boots.

You can read much more about these here:

Sixth Doctor - ankle armour!
If you want to get a pair of spats to complete your Sixth Doctor cosplay, they are priced at GB£35 each.
FREE global shipping is included in the price!
Email me at tennantcoat@me.com 
and I can send you full details.

Close Encounters Of The Sixth Kind

My primary goal is to finish the Ultimate Six Frock Coat in time for Gallifrey One in mid-Februry.

I cannot possibly miss this deadline, so to get the coat ready for Project Motor Mouth in late January is a helpful false deadline to kick me into gear.
With the cold weather and a bought of flu, it was right down to the last couple of days before that I finally got it finished to a level worth showing off - and it goes without saying the ONE person I wanted to show it off to was Colin Baker, who happens to be attending Project Motor Mouth.

It was a shade disappointing to find out that he was not able to arrive until mid afternoon since he had a rehearsal for The Woman In White, a stage production he is starting soon. He therefore missed the Doctor’s photocall and the discussion panel, as well as the main signing sessions in the hall. However, it became clear he had arrived as planned and an additional queue was forming leading out of the room towards where Colin was held up in a side suite.

Word came down the line that only ONE autograph was allowed and NO photos were permitted with Colin. Hum. We’ll see about that.

Here’s my picture I got with Colin - read on about how I managed to get it!

Monday 21 January 2013

Ultimate Six Frock Coat -
Project Motor Mouth debut

As you’ve read, I braved the Arctic conditions and battled flu, but got myself along to Project Motor Mouth this weekend.

The event was the perfect opportunity to wear my Ultimate Six Frock Coat for the very first time, and here are a selection of photos of me with other cosplayers at the convention.

Annoyingly my boots were ready for me to collect, but I couldn’t get them due to the snow that fell this week.

Still, I got to show off my season 22 waistcoat - something I’ve been keeping very quiet until now.

Thursday 17 January 2013

Ultimate Six Frock Coat - all in the detail

I’ve been busy - VERY busy - and it’s time to tease a little with the results of what I’ve been up to.

I finished the Ultimate Six Frock Coat about a week or so back, but I’ve been keeping it under wraps for a while. You’ll find out why very soon.


Here is the collar. As you can see, I’ve gone for The Twin Dilemma look - if you understand the subtlety!

The collar went in a treat. But since I have done a few of these coats already and I’m a professional tailor, that’s as you’d expect!


I love finally seeing the woven back panel in its proper place at last. After all the effort and work that has gone into that one piece of fabric, it is a real pity it is on the back.


This is the first time I have done cuffs to the screen-accurate design, as my previous versions have all been in velvet for artistic license.


I’ve made everything to the original design, right down to how the coat is assembled and internally tailored. Along the way I’ve discovered how these techniques are used to make the coat drape and hang perfectly, something that just doesn’t happen if you cut corners.


I have a convention I’m planning to attend this weekend, and its the PERFECT opportunity to wear the Ultimate Six Frock Coat for the first time, so stay tuned...