D is for Dare, Dan Dare!

The third of today's contributions is one of crossed-wires and mixed messages (my fault), resulting in a post's worth of images from Brian 'Terranova' Berke on a subject close to his heart; Dan Dare - "Pilot of the Future".

Group shots, the top row is half Dr. Whatsit and his Kaled's; nothing to do with Dan the Man who battles the evil Treen boss - 'The Mekon'.

From the left the top row shows Dalek from a Dr Who Advent Calendar (which I think is the same little silicon-rubber one that The Toad sent to the Blog many years ago?); A metal 'first Doctor' painted by Terra', a home-printed (or - I'm told - a son-in-law's-home printed-) 3D-model TARDIS, and a 5-inch model of the First Doctor (played by one William Hartnell), I hate to say it but Terranova's in danger of dating himself with his dateable Doctor-fandom!

Then we're on to the Meat & Two-veg' of the post; Dan Dare, and start with a nice paint-conversion of a Marx pilot from the late version (hollowed-out base) 45mm Air Force set, A 3½-inch GI Joe figure painted-up as Dan, both matt-painted by Brian, with - either side of a PVC Thompson (or is it Thomson?) figure from Tin Tin - two gloss-pointed Auburn Rubber policemen, again by Brian but in the 'old toy soldier' style. Finally; the little guy half-seen is a Unicorn Models RAF Pilot also painted-up as Dan Dare . . . it's lucky, but space pilots of the future all wear 1950's military pilot's gear!

The lower line-up; again from the left consists of Professor Peabody, a Treen and a [slimer than I remember him] Digby, these are solid-metal castings of the old Crescent hollow-cast figures (again painted by Mr. Berke), then we have five metal copies of the Eaglewall figures (these are supplied by Good Soldiers as unpainted castings) From a red Dan Dare himself, and carrying-on to the right; Sir Hubert Guest and three generic 'Spacefleet' officers - think the Spacefleet equivalents of Star Trek's red PJ-wearing Ensign Smith!

Close-ups the painted casting in Brian's Dan Dare collection; the more observant among you will have clocked that Sir Hubert Guest and Dan dare are the same casting, but with Sir Hubert's arm moved to reflect the movable nature of the plastic original.

This is the boxed set, also available from Ron Good's firm as a pre-painted set of seven casts with an aditional Mekon, not released in plastic by Eaglewall! From the top left to the bottom right we have:

- Commander Lex O'Malley

- Digby (another slim one!)
- Dan Dare
- Sir Hubert Guest
- Professor Jocelyn Peabody
- The Mekon
- Cadet 'Flamer' Spry

On the left we have close-ups of the Dan Dare half of the upper row, and on the right a comparison between the Good Soldiers Dan (out of the cabinet) and Brian's home-painted sculpt from the same source, the Good Soldier's painted version has an other ranks silver helmet (shock horror!), while Brian's has been painted with the proper gold one!

Seen here at Small Scale World before; Brain also beefed up his 'Planet-side' Spacefleet command staff with a quick, flat-matt paint-conversion of some rack-toy policemen (from Jaru's 55-piece Emergency Rescue Police Big Bag set) into Spacefleet officers for space-port security, hunting-out Treens and probably a bit of Ensign Smithery . . . aaahrrrrh!

Thanks again Brian!