TV man's dangerous creations (From Witney Gazette)

TV man's dangerous creations

6:57am Friday 1st February 2008 in Witney By Debbie Waite

IN a quiet lane in Standlake lives international 'arms dealer' Tod Todeschini.

The 39-year-old married father-of-three is more of a 'creator' - of rockets, weapons, explosions and even jet-powered skateboards that can shoot along the road at 85mph.

Tod's official job title is TV engineer, but that doesn't really do justice to his craft.

Last year, he worked on the TV series Scrapheap Challenge before helping Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond make a documentary involving stunts and demos.

From there he built a giant cryogenic freezer for an artist to put people in.

And just before Christmas he was in the Arizona desert in America, working on another secret project involving an electro-magnetic coil gun that shoots satellites into space.

And it doesn't end there.

A cursory look at his CV and you would discover he is the armourer for Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London and he has managed special effects for the likes of Kylie, U2 and the Spice Girls.

"It's barely work frankly," he admits.

"I basically get paid to do things I'm really interested in."

Tod - his real name is Leo, but he's been Tod since a child - started making engineering models when he was only knee-high to a mortar shell.

He said: "My dad, who was an architect took me to dumps to find materials and brought me things he'd found in skips. I didn't realise it then, but he was probably making sure I was up to doing all the DIY around our house.

"What it actually gave me was the ability and the nerve to try things, whether that was making new bikes out of old ones, building rockets or taking apart engines and putting them back together."

After leaving school, he studied product design at the Royal College of Art in London, but once he started work it didn't take long to realise his heart was not in it and, after spending five weeks designing one particular fridge plug, he realised he wanted to use his talents elsewhere.

He said: "A friend suggested I try special effects and a couple of phone calls later I got a job working on a film by the puppet maker Jim Henson - The Never Ending Story Part 3.

"I was awestruck and just so excited that I was making scary models that moved and came alive."

It wasn't long before he was working with another 'Scary' creature.

He said: "It was the Spice Girls first gig in Turkey. They were unknown and I can't say anything about their performance, but the special effects were good."

The Spice Girls are not the only celebrities Tod has created fireworks with.

He said: "I worked on the special effects for the Brit Awards for about six or seven years. There were lots of bands, The Sugababes, Kylie, U2...mostly we were creating smoke and flames and pyrotechnics. And most went to plan.

"The only trouble was, you would only get paid if all your effects happened when they were supposed to and because the acts all rolled into one another, that often meant running about wildly, trying to meet all the cues.

"During one performance me and one of the other guys were only halfway up a ladder above the stage when we realised the rocket launchers were about to go off below us.

"I think I was slightly less toasted than he was.

"Another time I was on a stage, standing in front of massive speakers, wearing earphones and throwing confetti into the air above Tom Jones - it can be quite bizarre."

Tod eventually moved out of special effects to pursue a career with his real passion - making weaponry and other historical items, which he is commissioned to make by clients from around the globe.

He said: "I make knives, swords, armour, crossbows and even things like leather sewing wear and wooden tools.

"It's beautiful stuff and I'm happy to say that I'm recognised as being one of the few people around who does it well.

"I sometimes get commissioned to make things for TV, like a knife I made for the series Silent Witness.

"But I can get very excited about making the simplest things - yesterday I made a replica sharpening stone that I've been itching to make for weeks.

"And I've got some nice commissions coming up, including a replica German hunting crossbow and a Viking knife."

For Tod's wife Lou and their daughters Lily, four, Isobel, two, and new arrival Charlotte, born on January 25, their father's job is just what he does.

Proudly he shows off pictures of a jet-powered street luge he created for the TV series Mission Implausible.

He said: "It's one of the craziest things I've ever made.

"A luge is basically a large skateboard, which you lie on, only the one I made was rocket powered and could go from 0-85mph in just two seconds.

"It was enormous fun.

"I couldn't actually believe we were getting paid to do this.

"I also made a miniature jet engine luge which Oxford racing driver Jason Plato rode.

"It was incredible to see."

Just as Tod discovered his passion for creating as a child, he is now using his talents to inspire young people.

He said: "I have a company called Workshop Challenge.

"We go into schools and run one day workshops with 13 to 15-year-olds.

"We use basic materials to make giant catapults and hovercrafts and things like that. The kids are blown away by what they can actually create.

"In 2008 I'm hoping to bring the workshops to Oxfordshire, starting at the many new technology status schools.

"Who knows, maybe some of them will end up having as much fun in their careers as I do."

More details of Tod's work can be found at www.todsstuff.co.uk