More Classic Daleks

There's another marvellous Classic Dalek set on the way from Character Options; the Remembrance of the Daleks set features an Imperial (great, now I don't have to get the overpriced McCoy+Imperial pack), a Renegade, a Supreme, and best of all, a Special Weapons Dalek. And there are three more Cybermen coming out too, but frankly they're all starting to look the same to me...

A visit from Evil Cat

We've had a few visits from a local cat who likes to nest in the foliage at the top of the garden, or curl up on the barbecue, or just sit on the step and stare at us. He's a bit evil-looking, black with a tatty ear and glarey eyes, but I've been feeding him anyway. Here he is, auditioning for a part in The Omen.

Unimat 1 Classic

I indulged myself in a multi-tool which ought to make it easier to manufacture small parts for models and conversions. The Unimat 1 Classic is a lightweight plastic-bodied lathe which converts into a mill, saw, sander etc; it's not heavy-duty, but should serve for what I need, and at around £160 from eBay it was a viable alternative to the £600-ish mills and lathes a real pro would go for. I'll report back on how I get on with it!

Doctor Who action figures - 11 Doctors box, Ironside Dalek etc

I've been going a bit mad with the Doctor Who action figures lately - apart from the 11 Doctors box set, I've had the 1st Doctor with Dalek, 2nd Doctor with Cyberman, 7th Doctor with The Master, Cyberman 2-pack and Remote Control Dalek Ironside. Just have to get the 7th Doctor with Dalek now. And a blue new model Dalek. I sold another custom - a 'pewter' finish classic Dalek - and am still working on a Dalek Space Commander...

Nintendo DS Lite, Korg DS-10 plus, Dubreq Stylophone

Mainly influenced by a number of impressive videos on Matrixsynth, I invested in a Nintendo DS Lite and Korg DS-10 Plus software. It wasn't cheap - the DS cost £50and the Korg software was around £40 - which was much more than it made sense to pay for something which is little more than a toy. And it's not as if I'm going to play games on it. But still, it's good fun - the combination of synthesis, sequencing and real-time control would be difficult to match on any other hand-held device. I suspect though that the novelty will soon wear off. You can't, after all, transpose patterns, export sequences, control external instruments etc - and of course you can do all that on a Yamaha QY instrument. Still, good fun. I also got a new design Stylophone - well, one has to, doesn't one?.

New instrument - Boss DR-220E

I'm very pleased to finally have found on eBay a reasonably-priced Boss DR-220E drum machine. At around £35 it's a bit of an indulgence, but I've always fancied one. The 'E' sounds are nice punchy Simmons-type electro samples, so though the drum machine has no MIDI or sync (though you can clock it via the Trigger In), it might be some use. And anyway, it's fun. I'm not too fussed about getting a 220A, since its acoustic sounds are fairly dull, but I'll pick one up if I see it dirt cheap.

Doctor Who Eleven Doctors action figure set

Ooh, very excited by this. A set of all 11 Doctor Who action figures, in a Tardis presentation case, including the one Doctor who hasn't been released before, number 8. Looking forward to seeing it at a launch in July, and I already have my order in...