Jokerman
Established Member
I recently met a bloke, Gary, who's a fanatic about Sci Fi.
His favourite is Dr Who and in his back garden he's got a home made Tardis and a couple of full size Darleks, which you can get inside of and move around in. The Darleks are basically a softwood frame on wheels, using a variety of lap joints, clad in ply then fitted with bits of old kitchen drain pipe etc. for the sticky out bits, before being painted up. Dead realistic! Aparently he lets them be used for local fetes and charity events and has even organised Darlek racing in the local Tesco car park. Anyway at a Dr Who convention he was talking about his creations and another chap asked if it may be possible for Gary to make him a Darlek. Gary duly agreed and contacted the guy who lives in Kent when it was finished. The chap was eager to see his new "toy" and turned up at Gary's house complete with family in tow and with a trailer with which to transport the thing. Must have turned a few heads on the M25.
The chap was only too happy to pay Gary £750 and placed an order for three more for his friends who are also Sci Fi mad. The price now stands at £900 per Darlek + extra for additional personalised bits.
Gary currently has 5 more on order from places all over the country with a lead time of up to 3 months. Customers pay him a deposit that covers cost of materials so he's never out of pocket. When he found out about my interest in woodwork he asked if I'd be interested in helping him make up the bodies, working to a measured plan, so that may bring in a few sheckles and help keep the wolf from the door
On top of this Gary has a full time job, plus a second job as a singer and magician on the working men's club circuit. He is a tea total insomniac so does Taxi runs for Hen Parties to Nottingham in the wee small hours as well as a fair amount of volunteer work for local charities.
What small, mundane, boring lives some people live.
Just wondered if anyone else has met an interesting individual with a story to tell.
Mike
His favourite is Dr Who and in his back garden he's got a home made Tardis and a couple of full size Darleks, which you can get inside of and move around in. The Darleks are basically a softwood frame on wheels, using a variety of lap joints, clad in ply then fitted with bits of old kitchen drain pipe etc. for the sticky out bits, before being painted up. Dead realistic! Aparently he lets them be used for local fetes and charity events and has even organised Darlek racing in the local Tesco car park. Anyway at a Dr Who convention he was talking about his creations and another chap asked if it may be possible for Gary to make him a Darlek. Gary duly agreed and contacted the guy who lives in Kent when it was finished. The chap was eager to see his new "toy" and turned up at Gary's house complete with family in tow and with a trailer with which to transport the thing. Must have turned a few heads on the M25.
The chap was only too happy to pay Gary £750 and placed an order for three more for his friends who are also Sci Fi mad. The price now stands at £900 per Darlek + extra for additional personalised bits.
Gary currently has 5 more on order from places all over the country with a lead time of up to 3 months. Customers pay him a deposit that covers cost of materials so he's never out of pocket. When he found out about my interest in woodwork he asked if I'd be interested in helping him make up the bodies, working to a measured plan, so that may bring in a few sheckles and help keep the wolf from the door
On top of this Gary has a full time job, plus a second job as a singer and magician on the working men's club circuit. He is a tea total insomniac so does Taxi runs for Hen Parties to Nottingham in the wee small hours as well as a fair amount of volunteer work for local charities.
What small, mundane, boring lives some people live.
Just wondered if anyone else has met an interesting individual with a story to tell.
Mike
