Swindon model maker's amazing collection of Dr Who villains

Phil Stevens has lost count of how many life-sized models he has - and tells his wife he has no idea where they are coming from.

The 55-year-old has been building and restoring models since he was a child and now has an army of Daleks, Cybermen and patrol robots living just minutes from his house.

Phil has had to relocate the daleks to a storage container to make room for everything (Image: Phil Stevens)

“I’ve just been collecting stuff for years and years," he said. "What you can see there in those pictures is actually one of my storage units.

“I have no idea how many models I have currently. They just keep on appearing out of nowhere and I don’t know how it happens. At least, that’s what I tell my wife anyway.”

But for this sci-fi fanatic, model making is more than just a hobby.

“It’s also become my job too," he said. "I do restorations and exhibitions and conventions and building stuff for people. I love it."

“I can remember building my first model kit when I must’ve been about five or something like that. I built it very badly, I must add!”

Cybermen are just part of Phil's huge collection of life-sized models (Image: Phil Stevens)

While building life-sized sci-fi robots seems to come easy to Phil, the real challenge is finding somewhere to put them all.

He said: “A lot of them are very big. Like a dalek, you think oh it's only 5 foot tall, it's not that big. But the sort of footprint area that it takes up is about the size of a very large armchair or wardrobe.

“So put that in the middle of your living room and you’ve already lost about a third of the space.

“But we’ll build it first, then find space for it. That’s what I always say. And if there’s still space on the ceiling for things to be nailed, then you’re never out of space are you?” he laughed.

And while it is Phil’s impressive collection of Daleks and Cybermen which have gained him attention on Twitter, his real passion is actually Blake’s 7, a BBC science fiction series that ran from 1978 to 1981.

A Blake's 7 patrol robot watching over Stratton (Image: Phil Stevens)

He said: “I love it. I’ve also got quite a few costumes, big props and models from that lying around.”

“Then when you add that to the five-foot tall daleks and a couple of big cybermen lurking about too, plus the smaller other models, well I’ve lost count."

As his collection keeps growing, Phil’s next challenge will be deciding exactly what to do when his army of robots take over.

"I really don't know what I'll do when I run out of space, but I just hope I can keep going forever," he said.