A COSTUME builder, prop maker and set designer is opening a workshop in Nailsworth and launching classes in body-painting and prosthetics.

Gareth Hinkins, 38, originally from Kent, has established himself as a prop and set designer for film and TV as well contributing to comic and sci-fi festivals.

He is from a family of carpenters and builders and his uncle made the Lotus for the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.

“I’ve always been good with my hands, and after studying art design and sculptures at A-level I found my way into a job at a performance car shop making bodywork pieces.

“I found my way into TV and film work due to my experience with fibreglass. I recently worked on 12 Nights with the Grulems.”

Gareth is looking to get more people involved with what is a very niche craft.

He is starting workshops for body-painting and prosthetics where for around £35, small groups of over 18s can try their hand at making realistic cuts, burns, scales, gun-shot wounds, zombie bodywork and much more.

“Shortly after starting in this trade I made a six-foot Stormtrooper which I eventually sold on eBay to someone who was starting a sci-fi museum for £2,000. I had made it for about £300.

“I began taking on more and more freelance work and there’s a lot of scope for that here where the nearest companies are in London or Cardiff.”

One of his major projects was building the time machine from The Time Machine by HG Wells, which recently appeared in the BBC documentary Future Tense to celebrate the author’s 150th birthday.

Some of Gareth’s other work includes the wardrobe and lamp from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, a mechanised Iron Man helmet, leg and arm pieces, and the Tardis from Doctor Who.

The dates and venue of the workshops are being arranged, but Gareth is now setting up his own base in Shortwood.

He also aims to begin giving tutorials via Skype, extending the success of his YouTube videos, which give viewers a step-by-step guide to how he makes his items.

“It’s great to see people’s comments and know that they have watched my videos and said to themselves ‘I can make this now’,” he said.

After moving from London to the Five Valleys, Gareth is eager to create a team of people with set design expertise which would enable him to widen his scope for larger and more ambitious projects.

He and his partner, Izzy Nutting, 33, from Nailsworth, met at the London MCM Comic Con last year while he was dressed as Iron Man and she was the superhero’s love interest, Pepper Potts.

Izzy has a passion for stage combat, sword fighting and rehabilitating abused horses.

She teaches them tricks to ease their distress, which also makes them skilled enough to be used in stunt riding.

If you’re interested in the workshops, message either Gareth or Izzy on the Hybrid Conzepts Facebook page.