Dalek
Source: Doctor Who
Brand: S Evans Models
Scale: 1/5
Medium: Vac-formed styrene
and multimedia
Release Date: 1987
Pieces: 70+
Life Lost: 120+ hours
Enhanced: Yes (see captions)
TSF Rating: * * * *
One of the most terrifying, villainous villains to grace our wee black and white t.v. screens back in the "nipper" years! Trembling in our pyjamas, cowering behind the couch my brother and I would peek nervously across the living room at the "box". Pale and transfixed we would wince at the images of these bizzare, unearthly "robots" as they threatened the Doctor, (and OUR very existence), with their metallic, watery voices! Exterminate, exterminate...!!
Clearly, someone was neglecting their parental guidance duties and we were far too young to be watching Doctor Who...!
However, having grown up a little, I will forgive my parents (may they rest in peace). For I will concede there is the distinct possibility that, as two adults of some intellectual prowess, they may have figured that no nightmares or long-term emotional damage could be inflicted on young minds by observing the inane images of a few oversized tin cans rolling and clanking around like headless chickens!
But whatever they look like to us now, we still love the daleks, - because of those early chidhood memories. No one had ever seen anything like them, let alone heard anything like them, which is why the daleks have been imprinted in our brains with all the subtly of a red hot poker! And which, in the end makes them an endearing and everlasting piece of our pop culture.
Clearly, someone was neglecting their parental guidance duties and we were far too young to be watching Doctor Who...!
However, having grown up a little, I will forgive my parents (may they rest in peace). For I will concede there is the distinct possibility that, as two adults of some intellectual prowess, they may have figured that no nightmares or long-term emotional damage could be inflicted on young minds by observing the inane images of a few oversized tin cans rolling and clanking around like headless chickens!
But whatever they look like to us now, we still love the daleks, - because of those early chidhood memories. No one had ever seen anything like them, let alone heard anything like them, which is why the daleks have been imprinted in our brains with all the subtly of a red hot poker! And which, in the end makes them an endearing and everlasting piece of our pop culture.
This awesome kit was a birthday or Christmas present from my wife a few years back, and I was completely gob-smacked when I tore the wrapping paper off. A) It was a model, - from my wife! (proof that she does love me sometimes?), and b) it was a kit I never even knew existed! The intimidating scale of this dalek is simply brilliant, so much so that the only improvement would be a life-sized one (to sit in the corner of the master bedroom! Now that would be a true test of love!!)
The biggest challenge I faced with this build was that the box contained two sets of left side "skirt" panels and no right side panels. With the kit being so far out of production I figured there would be little point in trying to obtain spare parts from the manufacturer, and scratch building those panels with their complex angles and semi-spheres was just too daunting a task for this amateur. The only option I had left was to use what I had. After much discussion with my modelling peers I decided I would use the spare left-hand panels and turn them inside out. This meant I had to perform the tedious task of carefully removing the 24! "skirt balls" off the panels and glue them back on the reverse side of each. With a hideous amount of putty and an insane amount of sanding I was finally where I needed to be. Now, with an (almost) exact mirror image of the left hand side of the "skirt" I could move forward with the project...
Nothing about this kit was really easy, and I "take my hat off" to Stuart Evans for creating such a complex masterpiece. The instruction sheet is huge, and Stuart goes into plenty of detail about how to execute each stage of the dalek, and also gives an extensive overview of the dalek's history, with loads of information on the different incarnations that have appeared throughout Doctor Who's adventures.
All images property of The Starship Factory 2010.