Welcome to the Asylum Project, a series of new blog posts showcasing my custom Dalek Asylum inmates collection, including Paradigm Daleks in the Asylum. Several of these Daleks have been showcased on this blog before, however they have all changed greatly since then and new custom Daleks have been added to the collection. Although many despised the Paradigm Daleks upon their initial reveal, in the years since I have found that the Paradigm Daleks are actually among the most fun Daleks to customise, both painting-wise and hand-tool DIY-wise. They have less fiddly bits than the Classic Series Daleks or Time War Daleks, and because they were mass-produced as a toyline and subsequently hated by most of the fanbase, it is not hard to pick up multiple Paradigm Daleks cheap on eBay.
Although I commend Steven Moffat for trying to do something radically different with the Daleks, and despite the fact that I actually really like the idea of a colour-coded hierarchy for the Daleks, it is undeniable that the Paradigm Daleks were poorly executed and maybe even poorly conceived. They were too much of a deviation from not just the bronze Time War Daleks but the general design silhouette of the Daleks themselves, and they were made of a cheap-looking plastic material on their first appearance making them look like overgrown action figures. Though the design was later altered in none other than Asylum of the Daleks, which gave the Paradigm Daleks less of a hunchbacked appearance and a striking metallic colour scheme, this was too little, too late for many fans. It didn’t help that the Paradigm then never appeared after this, meaning that over their pitiful number of appearance there was never a single episode in which the Paradigm Daleks were the primary villains. Maybe fans would have grown to like them in time had the production team stuck with the design and expanded on the roles more. Unfortunately, we will never know. Part II of the New Series Paradigm Dalek Asylum Inmates series will cover my collection of custom Paradigm Daleks in my Asylum collection that have been modified to appear damaged, insane or deranged.
Custom ‘Hermit Crab’ Paradigm Dalek
This custom was fun to make, requiring only the top half of a Paradigm Dalek (something that I have plenty of) and some effective innards for the Dalek to pull off. I call this the ‘hermit crab’ Dalek, as there is no indication that this Dalek is even a Paradigm Dalek mutant – it could just be using a Paradigm Dalek shell for protection. The mutant itself was made using tissue paper, hot glue, pieces of network cable and smaller, bendable model wires. The mutant itself has an eye and two separate brains, made using hot glue and permanent marker.
Having abandoned the remains of its casing decades ago, this Dalek uses what it can to survive in the recesses of the Asylum whilst collecting parts to construct a new casing for itself. If in danger, the Dalek can retreat inside its durable ‘shell’ in order to resist the firepower of weakened inmates as it continues its scavenge.
Custom Damaged Paradigm Shadowmaster
The name ‘Shadowmaster’ may be a bit over-the-top for a Dalek rank, but as Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss ran out of names for the progenitor Daleks and went with ‘Eternal’ for their fifth Dalek, I believe that creativity is key when expanding on the pantheon of Paradigm Daleks. This custom is a simple one relatively speaking, although it did require a complete repaint of a Paradigm Dalek to transform a yellow Eternal Dalek into the black ‘Shadowmaster’. This repaint was done using black and silver Citadel paints and required several coats. Following this, I used the same black Citadel paint to add a light wash to parts of the figure that were not painted over.
This Dalek Shadowmaster was condemned to the Asylum for running simulations depicting the destruction of the Parliament to scare the Prime Minister into relocating to a permanent base. Ironically, the Prime Minister was later killed over Trenzalore in the Parliament by the Doctor, proving the Shadowmaster right.
Custom Destroyed Paradigm Drone Dalek
The blasted remains of this Dalek are meant to resemble something we never got to see on-screen in the series – a Paradigm Dalek Drone that has been destroyed. This custom is unique in that it can be displayed in a variety of modes due to the disconnected top section. The insides of each half are filled with tissue paper, wires and hot glue painted over with a dark green wash to resembles the charred remains of the creature and machine parts inside. Several spheres from the skirt were removed using a hacksaw, and the entire figure was then given a black wash.
Destroyed in a battle near the Asylum’s surface, this Drone now sits among the debris in one of the facility’s many waste disposal systems. Although unable to destroy Paradigm Dalek casings, the Asylum systems have protocols for disposing of these remains – it just takes several millennia.
Custom Ancient Damaged Paradigm Dalek
Due to the temporal nature of the Daleks, I had the idea to create several Paradigm Dalek customs to resemble Daleks that had been abandoned in the Asylum for centuries, having been placed there far back in time. Despite the fact that they looked like plastic in Victory of the Daleks, the Paradigm Daleks are made of metal, so I created this custom to resemble a Dalek that had lost its paint job after centuries of abandonment and has since began to rust. I did this using a combination of silver and bronze Citadel paints, and this required several coats.
One of the first Daleks to emerge from the Progentior after escaping 1940’s Earth, this Dalek was another Strategist to facilitate the new Dalek temporal schemes. However, when faced with the task of re-ordering the Dalek timeline, this Dalek went insane and was condemned to the Asylum.
Custom Paradigm Scientist Krynoid-Dalek
The rank of Paradigm Dalek that was arguably least explored in the show is the Scientist Dalek, which unlike all four of its peers was never seen again on-screen after its initial appearance in Victory of the Daleks. This is a shame, as the Scientist rank was an interesting concept and could have led to some really interesting stories if the show focused more on scientific nature of the Daleks. The Classic Series and Big Finish do this with several Dalek stories featuring individual Daleks that are stated to be scientists in stories like Planet of the Daleks and A Thing of Guile, and it opens more ideas for things to do with the Daleks other than having them stand in for Stormtroopers. This custom was created using a regular Scientist Dalek that I added light dark washes to using black paint. The green goo on the side was created using papier-mâché that I then painted over using green Citadel paint and red permanent marker.
After a terrible experiment involving a vicious form of plant life went wrong, this Dalek has become the fleshy source of nutrients for this bloated juvenile Krynoid. Although still alive, the Dalek is incapable of movement as the Krynoid’s toxins prevent any form of psychokinetic motion, cutting the mutant off from its casing.
Sacred Icon 