McCoy's Umbrella and other new products

Last week I had some rather good fortune. I managed to get hold of an original mid-eighties umbrella body of the same type and vintage used for Sylvester McCoy's famous question mark umbrella.

The umbrella has been a project that I've not really had the heart to tackle and finish mainly because of the difficulty in sourcing an umbrella that was 'just right'. This means the umbrella had to be to same vintage and model from the same maker as the original base umbrella used for the prop. Having an umbrella that was close just doesn't cut it and would put me in the same league as those idiot cosplayers out there. If I was to do it, it would be done right or not at all.

The actual question mark handle shape and dimensions were not actually that difficult to find or work out and the dims would actually surprise you.  Hence why past attempts to replicate this iconic piece have fallen woefully short. The Who Shop's version was just a cheap approximation designed to cash in on a moment and the current group run organised by, who else, our window licking cosplay wunderkind Bob Mitsch, is so seriously inaccurate on many different levels, one wonders if the designer actually possessed an optic nerve.

Enough about the riff-raff, let's discuss what I've got planned.

So I managed to get, through my contacts in the UK, the last remaining umbrella body of the same model and vintage used for McCoy's prop. This was very exciting as the manufacturer of the original umbrella, whilst still in business, has drastically changed the designed and materials used in their umbrellas. In particular, the vintage nylon used has been superceded by the cheaper and entirely different polyester and the overall construction has been tweaked to make the manufacture more efficient. For me, this was a deal breaker and meant any replica that used the modern model was compromised. Don't get me wrong, the umbrella is still in a league of its own. The manufacturer is a fine old traditional maker of handmade umbrellas that start from about £120 and upwards. However, it wouldn't be the same and I want perfection.

So here's the brolly:

Having got the umbrella I am going to be making the handle using the same materials, techniques and dimensions as the original prop. Once I've installed it and finsihed it, I fully intend to replicate every single mm of this umbrella for you, even down to the original manufacturer's label. This will not be a replica so much as a straight 1:1 facsimile of the original prop.

Speaking of 1:1 facsimiles, I am also working on the most accurate recreations of Peter Davison and Colin Baker's shirts ever made. They will be exact repros even down to the Dometakis and Harvie & Hudson labels. I am very excited about these and once you see them, you will too. Remember I promised you museum quality replicas? I'm delivering, so watch this space!!!