Welcome to the next instalment in this tour through my collection of custom-painted Daleks. Following the Davros Customs, this feature includes a tour of my collection of Special Weapons Dalek customs. All of these customs are made by me unless stated otherwise in the description.
Remembrance of the Daleks Box Set Special Weapons Dalek Figure:
The original Special Weapons Dalek figure was highly sought after for years following its release, especially since at the time it was totally unique. The Remembrance of the Daleks Box Set is probably one of the best releases Character Options has had so far, particularly since it is the only four-pack Dalek Box Set to actually contain four Daleks, rather than two Daleks, a Davros and a Doctor as in previous box sets for Genesis, Destiny, Resurrection and Revelation of the Daleks. Unfortunately, the one thing that does let this set down somewhat is the paint applications, particularly on the Renegade Dalek and this Special Weapons Dalek. Whilst it looks good from a distance, i.e. on a shelf, upon closer inspection it is clear that there was actually very little effort put in to the detailing on this figure. The oil patches between each hemisphere on the lower section are simply singular splodges of grey wash, and the detailing on the back of the midsection is plainly obvious as a simple brush stroke on each side. Thankfully, the detailing on the cannon is excellent, and overall the figure is screen-accurate, but the paint applications could use a lot of work.
Sound FX Talking Special Weapons Dalek Figure:
It should be immediately apparent that this figure is an almost universal improvement over the original, but let’s break down why this is the case. For a start, the paint applications are much improved, with a much more convincing oily effect on the lower section and a less obvious brush marks on the midsection. The area around the cannon is also different, it now has an excellent dirtied bronze effect which looks great, and the cannon itself is detailed in light silver too, making it look dirty and scratched, like it should. Overall, this figure looks a lot better, but what really makes this figure an essential for any Dalek collection is the Sound Effects. Although the cannon blasting sound used is not screen-accurate, what makes this figure unique is that it has its own voice, despite the fact that the Special Weapons Dalek never talks on-screen. Using a secret activation method, you can ‘unlock’ this figures talking mode and behold the beefy, guttural voice that this behemoth never had. Awesome.
Renegade Special Weapons Dalek Custom Figure:
Although painting over a Special Weapons Dalek seemed wrong at the time, the results of this custom speak for themselves. Based on the alternate versions of the Special Weapons Dalek featured in the War of the Daleks tabletop game, as well as early drafts for Remembrance of the Daleks, this Renegade Special Weapons Dalek is one of my favourite customs. Originally this started out as a standard Remembrance Special Weapons Dalek, so it does not have the sound effects, but I was able to salvage a ring of midsection slats from a former custom of the Renegade Dalek Supreme (which then went on to become my custom Dalek Battle Computer) to adhere to the back of the midsection of this figure. I got the idea to do this from Librarian-Bot, an artist on DeviantArt who does various renders of different Daleks, you can check that out here.
Asylum War of the Daleks Special Weapons Dalek Custom Figure:
This custom featured briefly in the header for my Classic Series Dalek Asylum Customs tour, but I felt it necessary to elaborate on it more here. The damaged cannon on this figure made it impossible to repaint as an intact Special Weapons Dalek, since the cannons are practically irreplaceable, but this made it perfect for use as an Asylum custom. Oddly enough, the Asylum stamp on this figure was already present when I bought it, albeit heavily faded – I believe this to be a custom made by CaptainJimiPie, as the stamp mark matches those on other customs of his that I bought along with other damaged Daleks. The colour scheme that I chose for this figure is based on the War of the Daleks Special Weapons Dalek, that was painted to serve as a Special Weapons Dalek for a faction of Daleks that used the Movie colour schemes.
Time War Temporal Weapons Dalek Custom Figure:
This was another custom inspired by a Librarian-Bot, and also by the cover art for the War Doctor novel Engines of War. The best thing about this custom is that it looks the part, and I refrained from dirtying this one up too much as in-canon the Temporal Weapons Dalek is actually regarded with much more respect from its brethren than standard Special Weapons Daleks. Overall, this was actually quite an easy custom to make, as the Dalek X figure already has a particularly good colour scheme and so minimal painting was required, and all I needed to do was remove the front, use hot glue to fit a part underneath (in this case, part of a mechanism for a Classic Dalek’s dome) and then hot glue the oversized gunstick and wires in and finish with some light paint detailing. Check out Librarian-Bot’s renders for a better idea of the base idea for this custom here.
Next – New Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – Screen-Accurate Asylum Daleks
Bonus – Paradigm Special Weapons Dalek Custom Figure:
It can be hard to figure out what to do with New Dalek Paradigm figures, particularly since they barely had 3 episodes before they were ditched by the Doctor Who production team. The most common customs you see of Paradigm Daleks are very much akin to the sort of customs I have been doing already, either Paradigm Daleks in different colour schemes, Paradigm Daleks in the Asylum or, as this custom is supposed to represent, ‘what would a Special Weapons Paradigm Dalek look like?’. Opinions may vary on this custom, and in all honesty, my opinion of it varies from time to time. In the right light it can look menacing, but often it just comes off as ridiculous. The genesis of this idea was way back in 2010, when the Doctor Who production team apparently decided that the odd back-panel of the New Paradigm Daleks was in fact a ‘hatch’, that would at some point in the future be revealed as a storage compartment for extra weapons for the Daleks. This got many people thinking, what sort of weapons? And people connected the dots. Whilst it would have been nice to see a Special Weapons Dalek in the New Series, chances are if they ever did include it, it would not be a Paradigm Dalek. Nonetheless, this custom took a long time to make and so it will remain on my shelf forever in stubborn denial of the futility of its existence.
And Finally…
For those who are interested, here is CaptainJimiPie’s Asylum Daleks Custom Figure Showcase at the exact point in which the Special Weapons Dalek appears. After comparing this one with my War of the Daleks Special Weapons Custom I have concluded that it is the same figure, but it is open to discussion. Until then, I hope you enjoyed.
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