Doctor Who

An original prop used in the production of the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.

This Cyberman gun is one of the original eight made for the 1982 serial Earthshock starring Peter Davison as The Doctor, built by noted model maker Martin Bower (Space: 1999, Alien) the weapon is constructed largely from plastic with a solid cast handle and features a barrel of perspex which would illuminate via a button to the top, the wiring for which is contained within the body of the gun. Following a modification by the BBC Visual Effects Department to shorten the barrel the gun was then reused in the 1983 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors.

When the Cybermen returned for the 1985 serial Attack of the Cybermen starring Colin Baker as The Doctor the weapons had reached a poor state of repair and those that remained were overhauled by the BBC Visual Effects Department, this time they were finished in a green colour and redressed with silver and black tape detailing with this particular example having had the original switch replaced before use, the original strap missing by this point. There is evidence of just five of these guns being used on screen in Attack, in varying states of disrepair with at least one of these almost certainly destroyed in its entirety during filming.

The gun measures approximately 17.5" long and remains in good used condition having sustained some damage during the production to include chips to the handle and lacking various pieces of detail some of which have been replaced, these replacement parts intentionally left unpainted, the end on the weapon has also been replaced with the exception of the final part which is original. The functionality of light has been tested and it remains in working order although one wire has become detached from the terminal inside, otherwise fine.

Cybermen guns are one of the most heavily replicated Doctor Who props with these replicas frequently being passed off as original, this represents a fine example of an original screen used gun with immaculate provenance, the rarity of which cannot be overstated.

A highly displayable and extremely significant artefact from this classic science fiction series.