Introduction

Hello everyone! Welcome to the first edition of the Little Shop Props Weekly Production Newsletter!

The aim of this news letter is to provide readers and customers with regular updates on our ongoing products and projects, while also giving some insight into the day to day goings on here at Little Shop Props.

First things first, introductions. My name is Josh Martin and I am one of the Directors here at Little Shop Props. I am first and foremost a maker, taking on most of the fabrication of our products and lending a hand on our larger runs where I can. I will be your guide to all things LSP through this newsletter

Our other Directors are: James Sutton, who is the head of research and development, as well as our social media manager.

Kasim Bhatti, who along with myself lead the charge on the physical making side of things, and is our resident electronics expert, and finance extraordinaire.

And Daniel Howard, who is our CAD modeller and the final director on our list!

Rounding out the rest of the team we have:

Matthew Woodhouse, who handles many of our Classic props, and is our model making expert. Matt has been with us for nearly a year and is in charge of the Classic Tools at the moment.

Josh Howe, who is a painting extraordinaire, a Star Wars fanatic and a very talented prop maker.

And finally we are excited to introduce our new graphic designer, Jem Ward, who recently joined us and who will be assisting on a lot of very exciting projects.

Production Update: Grey Aztecs

After many lengthy delays, of various different parts, progress is coming along well with the Grey Aztecs.

Series 1-2 and Pristine Series 3 Bodies are being painted, with a number of them already ready for a grey wash. Series 3 weathered bodies are with Josh Howe, who will be painting, weathering and dark washing them to match the weathering seen on the original prop.

Josh Howe is also testing out a grey wash, to really allow us to get as close to the ‘Grey’ paint colours as possible. 

In the meantime, Kasim is working on fitting and assembling the electronic components of the screwdrivers so that once the bodies are painted and finished, it's just a case of assembly.

We have been working hard on improving our packaging, starting with the Grey Aztecs. They will now be sent out in silver presentation tins, with both the screwdriver and the stand protected by laser cut foam. Another new feature is the inclusion of a small information leaflet, which will be written up by James, and which contains a gorgeous art piece made by Jem.

Production Update: Sladen Lipsticks

After sourcing a number of accurate Estee Lauder Lipstick Cases, we began the long and arduous process of removing the actual Lipstick from the cases, cleaning the cases, and dismantling them, ready for assembly. Currently all of the cases have been emptied, cleaned and dismantled and the electronics sections have been printed. Assembly has begun on both button props.

As with the Grey Aztecs, we will be including presentation tins, though this time with pink paper shavings rather than foam, due to the small size of the tins. James and Dan have also been writing up a history of the lipstick props to include with each replica, and once again, showcasing some beautiful artwork from Jem.

Finally Josh Howe has been doing some amazing paintwork on our Lipstick stands, which take their inspiration from everyone's favourite extraterrestrial wall bound supercomputer.

All the elements are coming together and we are looking forward to getting them out very soon.

Production Update: Tri Sliders

As of last week, the majority of the production parts have arrived with Dan. The heads are still in production due to some minor issues with the sample prototype head. There was some strange artifacting that needed to be sorted out.

The bodies, slider keys and slider plates will be sent to me to receive a lovely coat of crackle paint, while the rest of the parts will be sent to Kasim, for electronics and assembly.

Work has already begun on the presentation tins, information booklets and stands, as well as the artwork from Jem.

Big Changes

Last week, we made a rather large change to how we operate. We made the switch from Etsy to our very own brand new website and store. This has been a long time coming, as sadly the treatment we've received from Etsy is just unacceptable.

Our aim has always been to deliver accurate products, at a reasonable price, but with the amount that Etsy has been taking in fees, it was no longer possible to make products, and survive, without increasing all of our prices significantly, which is something we didn't want to do.

We are very excited about the website, and plan to have it not only be a webstore but much more as well, with features continually being added.

Rubbertoe Replicas 9th and 10th Doctor Wide Slider Sonic Screwdriver

As I'm sure many of you will have seen, Nick and the team over at Rubbertoe Replicas released the Wide Slider as their next run of Officially Licenced Sonic Screwdriver Replicas.

This was incredibly exciting for us, as Myself, James, Kasim and Dan will be travelling down to sunny Barry, Wales, in order to work on these screwdrivers, alongside Nick himself! This project has been in the works for some time now, with us sending the prototype down to Nick in February 2022, and the various discussions and approval processes taking place after that.

We are very excited that the news is finally out and we are eager to get started on the construction. 

The Wide Sliders can be purchased here:

https://www.rubbertoereplicas.com/product-page/9thand10thsonicscrewdriver

Final Points

As we reach the end of this inaugural weekly newsletter we would just like to take a moment to thank everyone for supporting us over the past two years. This year has been a big shift in how we operate and how we conduct our business and we're excited to keep providing replicas to the community.

In next week's issue we will be providing an update on our classic screwdriver props, as well as an in depth look at our new Lalla Tool replica!