Collectible item from original Red Dwarf model

[TheMagpie]

(cross-posting from reddwarf.co.uk, hope no-one minds!)

Hi all,

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I’ve finally decided to part with an item that I’ve had for the last 23 years. It’s the right-hand side name plate section from the original Red Dwarf model, and has sat in my old bedroom at my parent’s house all that time.

I worked at the Visual Effects unit as a temp over Easter 1989, and was part of the team tasked with chucking out the remaining bits (after the shelf fall – as I remember it fell from around 15 feet up in the props store – top shelf might not have been the best place to put it! ). It was rather heartbreaking to have to chuck it into a skip, but I managed to ‘salvage’ this bit in a binbag.

I will be able to post pictures later this week, but am curious as to whether some of the undisputed experts here would have an opinion on how much this might be worth.

Cheers,

TheMagpie.

[si]

Sounds worthless. Send it me, I’ll dispose of it for you. ;)

[Jonathan Capps]

Wow, I would really love to see some pictures of this.

The only bits of Red Dwarf I’ve seen came from the exploded series V one (a bit of which is on our shelf). I remember those bits went for around £200 – £300 each about 6 years ago, and those were quite small bits. If this is the fucking NAME PLATE from the original I imagine it’ll worth quite a bit more.

[JEZZMUND]

I hate answering these sorts of questions,
Value is subjective for something as rare and unique as that.
If you were to approach someone like the propstore to sell it for you, they would probably tag it up for about a grand.
The chances of it getting bought for that though are slim at best – or would be a slow sale.
I reckon about 300 would be a good start, up to 5 or 600 would be a realistic price, but as with all things like this it’s about what someone is willing to pay for it…

Pictures would make a massive difference to guesstimating a price tag,
When can you get some uploaded?
And how would you be wanting to sell it? (private email offers, or eBay etc)
I’m happy to help you price it up, More info needed!

[Seb Patrick]

I am watching this with considerable interest. That is all.

Also: listen to this dude Jez. Anything he and James Bull don’t know about the RD collectibles market between them isn’t worth knowing.

[Jonathan Capps]

Holy balls.

Thanks for the pictures, those are amazing to see. Wish I could help more with a guide price but I would imagine good money would be exchanged for that.

[Danny Stephenson]

That is… much bigger than i was expecting it to be. Had it been any other part of that ship, although still highly sought after, would be expensive, but the fact that it’s the most recognised part of the ship…

Awesome pictures. Such a shame the rest of it is probably landfill by now. I hope that the land it’s in bloody well appreciates it…

[Alex]

Wow. Yeah, a lot of people would certainly pay very good money for that. I can hear the sound of Jezz’s wallet opening from here.

[Seb Patrick]

And that’s what’s known as “upping the game”.

Personally – and I don’t know a huge amount about the RD collectibles market, so feel free to ignore me – but my gut feeling is that if anyone gave you less than a grand for that they’d be ripping you off.

[Seb Patrick]

Just to point out, as well, in case anyone hadn’t realised (I didn’t really twig myself until seeing the picture), the right-hand nameplate IS THE ONE FROM THE OPENING TITLES.

[si]

That is beautiful. And I am skint. But, yeah…wow. I’d pay good money, VERY good money if I had it.

[ori-STUDFARM]

Oh wow! Much better than I thought it would be. Would this be the equivalent to Red Dwarf as a missing episode turning up would be to Doctor Who?

erm…..Probably not….but it’s certainly the closest RD can come to it…

[Blisschick]

Holy. crap. If I had the funds, I’d have that mounted in glass and displayed in the living room for the world to envy.

Okay, so only my geek friends would even know what it was. But still.

[Kris Carter]

Shit a brick. That’s some highly collectible stuff right about there! Fantastic to see.. and sad to see what state it’s now in. :( Thanks for sharing this. Had I any decent income, I’d try and take a punt…

[Voter Colonel]

Awesome. Get it auctioned at the next Dimension Jump! *checks bank balance*
Just don’t let Merchandise Man buy it, he already has too much…

[TheMagpie]

Hi all,

thanks for all the replies and comments – I had a feeling it might be an item of interest!

Size: just realised I left the ruler the wrong way round, on it’s ‘Ruler’ side. (It’s a history ruler – lists all the English kings and queens :-) ). The piece is about 53cm in height, and 42cm wide.

Anyone know when DJ XVII is likely to be?

[Jonathan Capps]

> Anyone know when DJ XVII is likely to be?

Next spring, the exact date of which will be confirmed soon.

[JEZZMUND]

Just realised i never followed up after demanding pictures,
(i was too busy drooling)

That’s in remarkably good condition for what it is – considerably better than i’d expected to see!
Without a shadow of a doubt it’s worth more than i’d previously hedged at. If you were to eBay this i seriously recommend putting a 6-800 quid reserve on it before you think about anything else.
As for a value – like i said before, it’s all subjective. but a conservative pricetag would probably be about 1000 quid- given the market at the minute you’d be lucky to get up near the 2 grand mark, either by eBay or via private selling.
If you choose to approach a prop reseller (like the propstore, though i don’t know if they’re reselling or buying or whatever) they would probably promise a resale value of 3-5 thousand. but that would most likely take several months to sell and you would pay a considerable amount in dealers fees.
Like Seb said before though – anything less than a grand would be a shame.

I suppose it all depends on how quickly you need to sell it, and how greedy you’re feeling about what was, essentially, skip fodder…

I have to ask;

Made any decisions about this yet?
(you must have had severalty offers!)

Also – have you considered bringing it to one of the conventions and possibly having TORDFC auction it?
I’m stone-cold-steve-certain that everyone would get a kick out of it being viewable for a day or three (though we’d probably have to put towels on the floor in front of it).

[HelloMabel]

> I’m stone-cold-steve-certain that everyone would get a kick out of it being viewable for a day or three (though we’d probably have to put towels on the floor in front of it).

Oh man, I would love to see that in real life.

If you do decide to auction it at DJ, that’s going to be one thrilling auction! Thanks very much for having the presence of mind to save that piece all those years ago – and best of luck selling it. :)

[Dave]

I don’t think much of the competition:

http://www.reddwarf.com/news/2012/07/13/piece-from-the-dwarf/

[TheMagpie]

Hi all,

many thanks to everyone who has commented on the piece. I’ve had contact from the DJ XVII organisers and have an idea of when the next event will be, and now I’m trying to decide what to do next.

First thing I’d like to do: invite ‘official’ offers from anyone who is interested. I’m away on holiday for a couple of weeks from the 20th, so would like to get responses in by Monday 13th August. Once we get to that point I’ll work out what to do next. Please contact me through the contact form on my account with any offers.

Cheers,

TheMagpie.

[Jonathan Capps]

Erm, something odd has happened in this thread. The post with the pictures appears to have completely disappeared and I have no idea why. TheMagpie, if you want to post them again then go ahead! It’s possible your comment was deleted by accident in a spam clearout or similar. Sorry!

[TheMagpie]

Hi Jonathan,

OK, thanks – that did seem odd to me.

Reposting:

OK, pictures time. Full piece, and some detail closeups:

The plastic plate is yellowed and somewhat brittle, and the RED DWARF logo has faded a bit, but the topside is still the deep red that we know and love.

[Jonathan Capps]

Smashing, thanks for re-posting! Definitely looks like it was some mix up with the spam protection. Sorry about that!

[Alex]

First thing I’d like to do: invite ‘official’ offers from anyone who is interested. I’m away on holiday for a couple of weeks from the 20th, so would like to get responses in by Monday 13th August. Once we get to that point I’ll work out what to do next. Please contact me through the contact form on my account with any offers.

Time I consulted the savings balance I think.

[mick]

That’s an amazing piece, very envious of whoever ends up with it…

I’ll get the champers on ice Jezz ;)

[JEZZMUND]

Why do i get the feeling everyone thinks i buy up everything RD related?
Or that i’m going to win biddage for this? lol

That’s sorely tempting though.
and me likey… a lot.
I might back out graciously on this one though, let someone else take the glory,
someone with space for it on the wall – and space below it for my bed… ;)

[Author]

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