Building a Dalek - A worklog

[GrlumpTheElder]

A little while ago I set myself the task of producing a replica Dalek. After much searching, I found some plans on the internet for a full sized one. I scaled down the dimensions and started work in cardboard. Sorry about lack of pictures to start with, but only got the idea just now...

Below is a picture of all the skirt slats, the base (partially glued) and the supports for the skirt (glued)

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After having cut out all the slats, I got to work on the Dalek Bumps. Because I'm working at 1/10 of the original size, the bumps needed a diameter of 1cm. To produce them, I made a mould out of blue tack and pressed a bicycle tyre valve cover into it to produce hemispherical indentations. Then I filled these with PVA glue and left them to dry. The result was plastic bumps. After gluing them onto the slats, this is the result:

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And at an arty angle:


This is the slats leaning against the supports. Already looks Dalek-esque:

At this point, I started thinking about what style Dalek to make. Eventually I decided on WWII Ironside from the new series, so out comes the green paint:

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Once painted (with the base black), It's time to construct the skirt:

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What do people think so far? Has anyone got any advice when it comes to building Daleks or have anything they'd like to see me do with the Dalek?

Next stop - The Guns and The Satchels

[Szilard]

I wish you luck and am very interested in how this turns out.

[Gullara]

Looks cool. Don't really know what a dalek is though

[Maximum Zersk]

Looks cool. Don't really know what a dalek is though

Some guys from Doctor Who, a british show.

Anyway, this looks really amazing! I hope to see how it turns out.

[Gullara]

Some guys from Doctor Who, a british show.

Anyway, this looks really amazing! I hope to see how it turns out.

I believe I've seen a total of one episode of Doctor Who, so I guess I'm out of the loop.

[Maximum Zersk]

I believe I've seen a total of one episode of Doctor Who, so I guess I'm out of the loop.

Same here. I just managed to pick up the gist of what they are.

[Serpentine]

...
Hand in your nerd-cards at the door.

[Gullara]

...
Hand in your nerd-cards at the door.

NEVER!!!
You can hardly blame me. It was before my time.

[GrlumpTheElder]

NEVER!!!
You can hardly blame me. It was before my time.

Actually, it was revived in 2005..

Sorry.

I've started work on the saddle bags (no idea what to call them). Expect pictures soon.

[Gullara]

Actually, it was revived in 2005..

Sorry.

I've started work on the saddle bags (no idea what to call them). Expect pictures soon.

Crap *turns in nerd-card*

[GrlumpTheElder]

More progress:

I made the slats out of cardboard, scoring the indentations in them. I will add the bolts by putting a small dab of PVA glue in places then painting over again when dry.

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The saddle bags are made of a cross of material, sewn and painted.

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Then sewn onto the 'belt'

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Next I made the neck by cutting out cardboard slats then glued them in position. The gun box (cardboard again) is secured with glue. I've cut the neck rings and the neck out (the neck is made from a toilet roll tube (it had the correct base diameter.

I've balanced all of the dalek together so you can have an Idea of what it looks like so far. I'll be repaining it near the end

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[Concrete]

I am so impressed that my eyeballs just exploded.
You just blinded me you bastard!
fky hyt tyhjto tioyhj :(

[Bongos]

Everything is better with daleks.

[Mina Kobold]

...
Hand in your nerd-cards at the door.

Can I keep mine? I am in the progress of watching the first series, planning on watching Star Trek too.

Possibly in the same time period as both Doctor Who and Star Trek are really, really long

Groovy Dalek, Grlump, by the way

[Dvandemon]

I can only think of a Dalek that looks like the Genesis Ark now sorry

It'll have a sonic/laser screwdriver with a tissue compressor eleminator thrown in. Using dimensionally transcendental technology he'll be able to switch through every weapon the Daleks have encountered. He has three toclafane following him around and uses them as scouts

[Bongos]

Looks cool. Don't really know what a dalek is though

EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!

[Nameless]

Very awesome! Can't wait to see it done.

[chiasaur11]

You fool, you've doomed us all!

Did you learn nothing from Victory of the Daleks?

If you need me, I'll be huddling in a back room with a chainsaw sword, patiently waiting for a madman in a blue box to show up.

[shadow_archmagi]

You fool, you've doomed us all!

Did you learn nothing from Victory of the Daleks?

If you need me, I'll be huddling in a back room with a chainsaw sword, patiently waiting for a madman in a blue box to show up.

and I'll be in my spitfire, waiting to save the day.

EDIT: @Bongos: You know, those monsters in the dark avatars, seeing them in a line rather reminds me of Daleks.

You don't think-?

[GrlumpTheElder]

Very awesome! Can't wait to see it done.

Unfortunatly, the project is currently on hold due to me leaving the dalek at home and now being at uni 5 and a half hours away.

Thanks though for all the compliments...

[Draconi Redfir]

i shall celebrate this project with a traditional Dalek poem:

Daffodil... EXTERMINATE DAFFODIL!


*bows*

[Bongos]

and I'll be in my spitfire, waiting to save the day.

EDIT: @Bongos: You know, those monsters in the dark avatars, seeing them in a line rather reminds me of Daleks.

You don't think-?

Uh oh, now you did it. YOU GAVE ME AN IDEA!!!!

[GrlumpTheElder]

Uh oh, now you did it. YOU GAVE ME AN IDEA!!!!
[IMG]http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w130/superbongos/MitD%20Fashion%20Show/DalekMitd-2.jpg[/IMG]

THIS is awesome, I love it

[rakkoon]

Very impressive.
Also, you have way more free time than I do

[Icewalker]

This is fantastic. Well done, man. Very accurate and clean too, it's really easy for little projects like this to end up looking shoddy, but this is very smooth.

Should've made it life sized though.

[GrlumpTheElder]

This is fantastic. Well done, man. Very accurate and clean too, it's really easy for little projects like this to end up looking shoddy, but this is very smooth.

Should've made it life sized though.

I was also building a life-sized one at the same time with a group of friends. Unfortunatly, that is also on hiatus what with everone going off to different universities...

[GrlumpTheElder]

Sorry for the double post, but I have a small update.

Rather than continue work on my first mini-dalek which is still at home, I have started building another Dalek, a Special Weapon Dalek:



Loveable little chap, isn't he.

I started off as allways with the base, building it up the same way as the Ironside (WWII) Dalek. The skirt section is all cardboard and painted white here.

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Due to the nature of the Dalek, the top of the skirt is a different shape to the shape produced by the pannels, so after much trial and error I arrived at a shape I was happy with. Two tops were made, one for the shoulder section to sit on.

As you can see from the picture of the Dalek, it only has one gun. I worked on building the casing for the gun next. Made from couragated cardboard and a toilet roll tube. Thankfully I seem to have got it right first time.

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Next time, the Head and Shoulder Sections

[Kislath]

Did any company ever make plastic model kits of Daleks? I would think them very popular.

[GrlumpTheElder]

I think Dalek model kits are availible, I seem to remember a Dalek of Manhattan one...


Next Stages in the Build:

Right, I'm actually getting work done on this.

Firstly the shoulder - toilet roll middle to get the cueve and cardboard painted white, not really much to say about this

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Next, the Head. This consists of the neck, which is again toilet roll middle, and the dome, whihc is carboard with a section of polystyrene ball on. The trick was to get the cutting of the ball right. Third time I managed to get it... Silly me, I started gluing the polystyrene with a glue that caused it to release noxious fumes. The headache was not good, but I learnt my lesson. An open window and tube of safe glue later and the head was done

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Balance that all on top of each other and what do you get?

This:

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Next time, Painting the Dalek

[GrlumpTheElder]

I've finished the Special Weapon Dalek!

Worked on the gun, hooray! Unfortunatly pics were taken after it was put in place and painted due to camera malfunction.

The gun is made of card, wraped round to make cylinders. I took the dimentions from a scale drawing I found. The bars on the gun are cocktail sticks that have been cut short. Due to the scale I have minimised the detail on the gun. I may at some point go back and make a second gun slightly more of the correct scale and detail, but for now I'll keep it how it is. Actually the larger length, it's sort of growing on me, and I'd be the first to admit that this is not the most accurate of Dalek Builds - just making do with the materials availible to me.

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All painted and glued together.
To achieve a slightly murkier bronze on the gun, I mixed some black ink with the gun. Unfortunatly due to the light in these pictures, you can't really see the difference...

The hemis are drawing pins, painted gold and stuck into the skirt section.

Pics of individual painted parts:

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The completed SWD - In one of the pics, the end of the gun is sagging slightly, this has been fixed for the second pic.

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Phew, that's that one done. I've also been working on the Ironside Dalek - My next update will be concerning that! (Hopefully I won't have to tripple post )