RIP Ian Scoones

And another childhood influence goes from us.
First became aware of Ian's work (although i wasn't aware of it till much later) on the Gerry Anderson shows.
Then it was his work on Dr Who. Even though i didn't know who he was or what he'd done, there was something about the designs he was responsable for that i responded to - the Brain Of Morbius and Scaroth's spaceship being two good examples.
Of course, i was responding to the gothic, horror vibe which Ian had developed during his time working with Les Bowie and Roy Ashton on Hammer films - my next exposure to his work.
Finally it was Blake's 7, where Ian was Effects Supervisor on series 1. He was responisble for a lot of the designs - the London as seen here, the Domed City, the Teleport Braclets (altough Martin Bower changed the design slightly for ease of building) and the Liberator, although his very Scorpio-like design was nixed in favour of the final version (conversely, it was Ian who changed the elipse shape of the green power unit to a ball for ease of building).
As well as the stunning work above, something else that's always stayed with me is an interview with Ian in an early Starburst in which he said he used to cross the Medway tidal flats to the remains of the Napoleonic prison barges and find human skulls in the mud.
That bit of the estuary isn't too far from me and the thought of being able to go out there and do the same has stayed lodged in this noggin.
Goodbye Mr Scoones, a great designer, crimingly over-looked.