Classic – Sacred Icon

New Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – Intensive Care Asylum Daleks Part 1

Welcome to the next instalment in this series of Dalek customs showcases, a tour through my collection of custom-made New Series Daleks that have been altered and painted to appear destroyed, with some marked with stamps for the Dalek Asylum. The previous instalment featured some odd additions to my customs collection that didn’t really fit anywhere else, but now we must delve back into the depths of the Dalek Asylum to take a look at some ‘intensive care’ Dalek customs. These are based on the Daleks that appeared in the special ward of the Dalek Asylum who are all survivors of particular encounters with the Doctor. All of these customs are made by me unless stated otherwise in the description.

Damaged Life Support Dalek

This Dalek went insane due in part to the horrors it witnessed in the Time War, both by the Daleks themselves in their genocidal campaign against the universe but also thanks to equally vicious atrocities that the Time Lords committed against their tenacious foes. This custom was created using a mutant reveal Dalek mutant placed on top of an overturned plastic flowerpot, of all things, that was attached to the base before the damaged casing was constructed around it. The wires and computer parts were salvaged from various pieces of old equipment like radios and motherboards, and the plastic frame came from a Warhammer set. The paints used for all of the customs featured here is Citadel paints, and the drybrushing was done with an old model painting brush. The detailing on the mutant was done with Promarker pen, and pieces of plastic and hot glue were used to construct a new eyestalk.

Straight-jacket Dalek

This Dalek was based on the Dalek seen during the intensive care scenes in Asylum of the Daleks that breaks free of its chains but has no weaponry with which to attack the Doctor. Since the Asylum automated precautions made a point of removing this particular Dalek’s weapon, it would stand to reason that this particular inmate was even more deranged than its peers, and so for this custom wires were used to create a sort of Dalek straight jacket, designed to imply that this Dalek is being kept restrained for the safety of other Asylum inmates. Silver spray paint was used to give this Dalek a weathered look, and the wires have been painted silver to resemble metal. As with many Asylum customs, a fake eyestalk was needed and this one was constructed using the inside of a ballpoint pen and hot glue.

External Life Support Dalek

This Dalek has clearly suffered from some kind of internal damage or fault, and the Asylum’s automated systems have responded by constructing a life support system around the Dalek’s casing to keep it alive. Although the base figure used for this custom is that of Dalek Sec, this could be any Time War era Dalek commander as many of these Black Daleks were seen in the Asylum during Asylum of the Daleks. The frame was constructed using pieces from a Warhammer figure frame cut using heavy duty wire cutters and held in place with hot glue. With silver and green paint added, the plastic frame looks convincingly metal and the glue serves as leaking Dalek fluids. The front panel is held in place by a structure built inside the Dalek casing using the plastic case of an old plug and some more Warhammer frames.

Open and Empty Dalek

This Dalek casing’s colour scheme indicates it may have once contained a particularly high-ranking Dalek, but after it was admitted to the Asylum and its casing opened for maintenance, the mutant escaped and now prowls around the depths of the dark facility. In the meantime, this abandoned casing gathers dust in the intensive care ward, ignored by the repair drones and essentially left to rot. This custom was created by sawing the two individual halves of the Dalek figure in half and gluing them back together as separate pieces, whilst also sawing the front panel in half and building a frame out of plastic pieces to hold it all together. The wires and computer parts represent the internal workings of the Dalek casing that have corroded over time.

Next – New Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – Intensive Care Asylum Daleks Part 2

The Tomb of the Cybermen – A Rare Gem

One of the most popular Patrick Troughton stories is 1967’s The Tomb of the Cybermen, which is the earliest story of his era to exist in its entirety. Although many fantastic Second Doctor episodes that are lost have been reconstructed or partially reconstructed using animation, such as the Power of the Daleks recreation that I have previously reviewed as well as animated episodes in partially complete stories such as The Moonbase and The Invasion, nothing really compares to the genuine article. But is The Tomb of the Cybermen only as popular as it is because it is one of the few complete episodes of Troughton’s era? Well, the short answer is no. Tomb stands on its own as a classic Cyberman story, often cited as among the earliest memories of Doctor Who that a lot of veteran Doctor Who fans have, and makes good use of its four-episode run time so as to not feel drawn out like other Cyberman stories of its era. In fact, Tomb is considered by some to be the last Cyberman story that actually does the concept of the Cybermen justice in the classic era, although the topic is debated.

As always, Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines perform in their roles spectacularly – Now educated on the nature of the Cybermen from the events of The Moonbase, Jamie is a great asset to the Doctor whose motives initially seem quite clear – he wants to keep the humans as far away from the Cyberman Tombs as possible, and yet as the episode goes on he deliberately gives the archaeologists more and more information about how to operate the Tomb’s controls, almost as if he is just as curious as they are to see how the Cybermen have managed to survive. The Second Doctor is credited by many, including no less than 4 later Doctor actors, as their favourite Doctor and is probably the most popular Classic Doctor after Tom Baker. It would seem obvious then that The Tomb of the Cybermen ranks highly among Classic episode polls, since it is a standout episode of the Troughton era, but oddly enough the Second Doctor is actually sidelined in this story compared to other episodes of his era as the narrative focuses more on the team of archaeologists and how they interact with the Doctor and his companions. Both Jamie and Victoria are separated from the Doctor at various points throughout the episode, and prove their ability to stand out as characters in their own right. The archaeologists themselves, particularly the skittish and paranoid John Viner and the cunning logician Eric Klieg, form a diverse and interesting array of characters, although the episode’s handling of the large and largely mute Toberman, who eventually becomes quite the hero at the end, is an interesting dichotomy.

This episode also serves as the official introduction of new companion Victoria Waterfield, played by the late Deborah Watling. She appeared in the previous episode, The Evil of the Daleks, but since that episode almost entirely lost and considering the fact that she was not an official member of the TARDIS team until now, her official ‘induction’ into the pantheon of companions begins here. Victoria makes a good first impression in this episode, alternating between damsel-in-distress to confident heroine – she does get into trouble occasionally, such as being trapped inside the Cyberman recharge pod early in the story, but also shows her strong will by insisting to volunteer as a member of an exploration party and successfully deceiving Kaftan. Victoria’s courage would shine more prominently in later stories, but the general image of her character begins to take shape right from the get-go. Sadly, most of Victoria’s episodes are either incomplete or totally missing – in fact, until the recovery of The Enemy of the World in Nigeria in 2013, this episode was the only complete episode featuring Victoria, making it one of the few remaining opportunities to see what her character was really like.

The Cybermen themselves appear as sinister as ever, with this marking the first instance of an appearance of the Cybermen in which their general design did not change from the previous appearance, establishing a sense of continuity and the assertion that these are definitely the same Cybermen that were seen in The Moonbase, and although the design would change again after this, the idea of standardising the design of the Cybermen did finally take hold following Earthshock in 1982 and again in 2006. Their goal in this episode is simple – they want to survive. Putting the Cybermen in a more vulnerable position helps this episode immensely, particularly since they do so without damaging the character of the Cybermen – they are still shown to be strong, cunning and insidious, but there are simply not enough of them to immediately take over the base. In fact, the Cybermen themselves don’t do very much in this episode – mostly just milling around their tombs and occasionally engaging various characters in hand-to-hand combat – their sinister leader, the Cyber-Controller, fills most of their screentime. His electronic voice and visible brain help portray him as a sinister character, and the parallels between the Cybermen and the human Logicians is clear in this story – Eric Klieg wishes to use the Cybermen for their strength, although he severely underestimates them. Like the Cybermen, however, he remains persistent to the end, and at certain points in the episode you wonder if he is the true villain, since he displays his utter lack of conscience and commits acts of murder and betrayal that the Cybermen would be impressed with.

Another aspect of this episode that shines is the set design. There is something about the black-and-white era of Doctor Who that almost made the sets appear more convincing, and in The Tomb of the Cybermen this was always an important factor. An essential part of the episode is convincing the audience that the environment of Telos, as well as the underground Cyberman structure, is a real place and the threat of the Cybermen is very real. A hard task for Classic Who to achieve, but in cases like this it does so spectacularly. A particularly impressive sequence is the blending of model shots with actual-size footage as the Cyber-tomb begins to unfreeze, and the Cybermen inside begin to wake up. In fact, the cliffhangar sequence of Part 2 in which the Cybermen emerge from their tombs has been listed by some as the greatest cliffhanger in the history of the show, and is certainly cited as a classic ‘scary moment’. It seems odd today that the Cybermen could be that scary, in fact I have previous analysed the subject of whether or not the Cybermen can be scary today, but in the late 1960s they were about as scary as it gets, and an element of that can still be detected today, even if this episode won’t have kids hiding behind the back of the sofa.

So that’s my review of The Tomb of the Cybermen, leave a Like if you enjoyed and be sure to follow us either here or on Facebook for more content like this!

Classic and New Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – Davros Customs

Welcome to the next instalment in this tour through my collection of custom-painted Davros figures. Following the New Dalek Paradigm Customs, which represent the newest incarnation of the Daleks, this feature goes back to where it all began with tour of my collection of Davros figures. The few of these that are customs are made by me and are identified in the description, the rest are Davros figures as sold in various sets.

Genesis of the Daleks and Destiny of the Daleks Davros Figures:

Although neither of these are customs, I’m bundling these two versions of Davros in together since they’ve technically both appeared in my 1970s-era Dalek Customs Collection Tour, but putting them side-by-side also helps to point out the various differences between these two figures. The detailing on the heads is mostly correct, with the Genesis figure having paler skin and blue wires and the Destiny figure having a slightly altered face and red wires. However, I am at a loss to explain why the Destiny figure has such an odd colour scheme – the skin appears far too dark, and the chair is grey, which is an odd choice but at least this helps to make it stand out compared to the Genesis figure, particularly since they are the same sculpt. The detailing on the control panels is excellent, and overall these are very well-made figures.

Resurrection of the Daleks / Revelation of the Daleks Davros Figure:

My personal favourite of the traditional Davros figures, this version of Davros is actually the Revelation Davros, but he is essentially identical in both episodes save for some minor detailing so I never felt it necessary to purchase the other version. This Davros, like all the previous Davros figures, has a removable panel on his chair, although this is the only Davros figure in which this is actually relevant since this only occurs on-screen in Resurrection of the Daleks. Nonetheless, the Davros sculpt is very good, the new head is very accurate and overall it captures his spindly, hunched and withered appearance perfectly.

Remembrance of the Daleks Dalek Emperor Davros Figure:

Probably one of my favourite Dalek figures of all time, this version of Davros represents his final form at the conclusion of Remembrance of the Daleks, in which it is revealed that he was in fact the Imperial Dalek Emperor the whole time. This figure is near-perfect, with a great use of the Davros head sculpt with a newly formed body and external shell that perfectly captures how he appears onscreen. My only slight complaint with this figure is the paint applications to the Davros figure itself, since the wires and the paint stripes don’t quite line up properly, and in the episode Davros’ face was much more blackened around the mouth, making him look much more visceral in the show than ever before. Despite these minor flaws, this figure is still a crucial focal point of my collection and I am so glad that I bought it when I did, since prices have since skyrocketed to the point where this figure in the two-pack boxed set with the Destroyed Imperial Dalek can sell for as much as £150.

New Series Imperial Dalek Davros Custom Figure:

New Series Juggernauts Davros

This is the first Davros figure in this Collection Tour that is actually a custom of mine, but it won’t be the last. This repainted New Series Davros figure is supposed to represent the transitional phase between Davros as the Emperor Dalek and Davros from the Time War, with a colour scheme inspired by his appearance in the Big Finish audio The Juggernauts. I used the hand of a Dalek Sec Hybrid figure to restore Davros’ old hand, since a genetic engineering genius like himself would certainly know how to graft a new hand onto his body rather than settling for a crude robotic replacement. The paint applications were particularly tricky, especially since it was white matt paint over a pre-existing black base, but after several coats it formed a solid colour. I used Humbrol metallic gold for the detail and matt grey for the suit of Davros himself.

New Series Time War Davros Figure:

When Davros returned in the New Series, fans were happy to see that continuity had been left intact with the installation of a new robot hand and improved life-support chair to match the newly upgraded Daleks. However, I feel like an element of what made Davros who he was was lost in the new design. Gone was the spindly, hunched and withered body of the original Davros, now replaced by a big beefy chair. His weak, pathetic Palpatine hand was now a stocky metal claw, and whilst the new Davros looks awesome, a crucial element of his character was lost in this new design, in my opinion. Still, the figure is excellent, a near-perfect recreation of Davros as we see him in The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End and an essential for any Dalek collector.

New Series Infirmary Davros Custom Figure:

This was another custom that was just so much fun to make. Customising a Davros figure is never a chore, particularly when there is a wealth of source material to go off of, and the version of Davros that we saw in The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witches’ Familiar essentially gave us an idea of what Davros had looked like had he appeared in the Dalek Asylum. A battered and beaten-up version of his Time War chair would have made a nice touch in the episode, but I recreated that here in an attempt to represent the damage inflicted on it by the destruction of the Crucible, an even which he barely escaped from alive. Although it is never explained how he escaped, whatever happened certainly took its toll on the Dark Lord of Skaro, since he appears sick and weak. I recreated this using glossy paints on his face to give him an ill look, black detailing to bring out the gaunt features and scuffing and detailing on the chair to make it look battered and weathered.

Next – Classic and New Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – Special Weapons Daleks REVISITED

Bonus – Removable Davros Custom Figure:

Davros out of his chair

That’s right, just like the episode, this Davros has a removable torso! Unfortunately I don’t have a legless Twelfth Doctor figure that I can shove inside, but that might be an idea for the future. In the meantime, this Davros is near-fully articulated. I had to sacrifice head movement to modify the figure to give him a more hunched-over appearance while in the chair (and also to make it so that he can actually look straight ahead while on the floor) but his other arm that I salvaged from a broken Auton figure is articulated, with a moving elbow. If positioned correctly he can prop himself up or lie helplessly on the ground. I made this custom using a hacksaw to cut the pieces to fit, hot glue and green paint to simulate his Kaled blood and various spare parts, wires and bits of plastic to either act as his mechanical innards or to adhere to his chair to give it the look of being held in the Skaro medical facility. Undoubtedly this is a custom that I am very proud of and I hope you enjoyed!

New Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – New Series Daleks with Classic Colour Schemes

Welcome to the next instalment in this tour through my collection of custom-painted New Series Daleks. Following the Time War Dalek Customs, this feature includes a tour of my collection of New Series Daleks with Classic Dalek colour schemes. All of these customs are made by me unless stated otherwise in the description.

Classic 1960s Dalek Custom Figure:

This was actually one of the first Dalek customs that I ever did. And nearly 4 years later, it still holds up. Back in the early days I was stuck using Humbrol paints only, so the finish is a bit off – particularly since the paints I was using then were nearly 20 years old. Regardless, this is still a good custom, and although I lost the eyestalk (or re-purposed it for another custom) I was apparently able to cobble together a replacement out of Lego to compensate. Overall, this is still one of my favourite customs.

Death to the Daleks-style Custom Figure:

I am actually surprised that the New Series doesn’t branch out much in terms of colour schemes of its Daleks in the way that the Classic Series did. If Death to the Daleks had been made today, they would have used standard bronze Daleks and the story would have few memorable features. As it is, the Death to the Daleks colour scheme actually looks really good on the New Series Daleks, especially with a metallic finish. I used Humbrol paints for this custom, and the midsection required a lot of re-coats, but overall it was well worth it for how it turned out.

Destiny of the Daleks-style Custom Figure:

Although the scene in Destiny of the Daleks in which Davros straps bombs to a squadron of Daleks and tells them to blow up the Movellan ship despite previously stating that a Dalek would never destroy itself is one of the most ridiculous and embarrassing things in all of Classic Dalek lore, the design of the Destiny Daleks with the bombs actually translates really well to the New Series sculpt. By painting the slats to be the bombs it gives the illusion that this Dalek was originally a 60s slatless Dalek before being strapped up with plastic explosives and sent on its merry way. I used a very light shade of grey Citadel Paint along with Humbrol red and yellow to give the base of the Dalek a matt effect but giving the bombs a shiny gloss, thereby differentiating between the body of the Dalek and the bombs.

Remembrance of the Daleks-style Renegade Dalek Custom Figure:

Renegade New Series Dalek

It can often be hard to decide what to do with ‘Damaged Dalek Thay’ figures, particularly since there are so many of them out there. Most of the ones I have acquired over the years ended up as spare parts for Asylum customs, but this one in particular is unique in that I actually incorporated the damaged back panels into a non-Asylum Dalek custom. The idea behind this is that a lone Renegade Dalek, after surviving the events of Remembrance of the Daleks, hides itself away in the Shoreditch area and waits for the Doctor to return. In the meantime, it crudely repairs any damage to the casing, explaining the missing back panels. Aside from the paint job itself, which I am very pleased with, I am particularly proud of the ‘rust’ effect that I included on the backside of this Dalek custom, since it differentiates it from a standard damaged Thay and gives it character.

Remembrance of the Daleks-style Imperial Dalek Custom Figure:

Imperial New Series Dalek

Another colour scheme which, in my opinion, translates extremely well to the New Series sculpt is the iconic white and gold Imperial livery. This stands to reason, as the colour scheme of the New Series Daleks was partly inspired by the Imperial Dalek design, and I would not be disappointed if any tie-in Eighth Doctor novels or audio-books featuring the Dalek Civil War have this crossover design on the cover. However, much as I like the colour scheme itself, as a custom it proved difficult to make. I lost count eventually, but I believe this custom required around 12 individual coats of white paint to completely cover the bronze and form a nice, even coat, and even then there are still some imperfections. Nonetheless, the final result looks great, and I am a huge fan of this design on this type of Dalek.

Next – New Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – Other New Series Dalek Customs

Bonus – New Series Movie Dalek Custom Figures:

Although it looks ridiculous, I could not resist painting a few New Series Daleks in the classic technicolor Peter Cushing Movie style livery, even if it was just two of them. Overall, all things considered, they actually look quite nice, particularly since the enlarged lights and thicker base actually resemble the Movie Daleks more than the standard Classic Series Dalek sculpt does.

Classic Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – Expanded Universe Customs

Welcome to the next instalment in this tour through my collection of custom-painted Classic Series Daleks. The previous instalment featured the 1980s Dalek Customs, and this one includes a tour of my collection of Expanded Universe Dalek customs. All of these customs are made by me unless stated otherwise in the description.

1960s Peter Cushing Movie Dalek Custom Figures:

Classic Daleks in 60s Movie Colours

Classic Movie Dalek Supreme

Classic Dalek Movie Saucer Commander

Lets face it, everybody loves the colour schemes of the Daleks in the Peter Cushing Movies. There’s something about the garish technicolor craze of that era that makes these Daleks particularly appealing, whether it be the mismatched globes of the Supreme Dalek, the surprisingly awesome-looking standard Daleks or the stark, bright red of the Commanders. These customs were a joy to make, particularly since the Saucer Commander figures that I used as a base for these are so cheap and easy to get hold of, if I wanted I could probably do customs of all the other Cushing Movie Daleks too. For these customs I used a combination of various Humbrol and Citadel paints, and detailed using a thin paintbrush and Sharpee pens. The trickiest one was the Supreme, who required alternating gold and silver spheres, two colours which are difficult to paint with while maintaining a metallic finish. Overall, however, I am really pleased with these three and they remain a centerpiece of my collection.

Dalek Zeg Custom Figure:

For those who are unfamiliar with Dalek Zeg, he appeared in a 1965 comic called Duel of the Daleks, published by City Magazines. The comic depicts Zeg, a Dalek inventor, accidentally discovering Metalert, the material used to make the casing of Dalek Sec, that fuses with Zeg and makes him almost invincible. He challenges the Dalek Emperor for supremacy, and after attacking a Black Dalek he is ultimately destroyed by the Emperor after being doused in liquid oxygen in a final duel for leadership of the Daleks. His unique and iconic design is similar to the Daleks seen in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, as well as the Dalek Movies, but his red and gold decor makes him a striking figure. Zeg is one of my favourite customs, particularly since the finish I used on him has set perfectly with hardly any imperfections.

War of the Daleks Red Dalek Supreme Figure:

When Doctor Who was cancelled in 1989, several scripts that were intended to be produced as part of the unmade ‘Season 27’ and beyond were instead adapted into novels. One of these is War of the Daleks, although the plot was heavily altered from its original form. When it was originally conceived, War of the Daleks was intended to be the finale of the Dalek Civil War arc, and would actually introduce two new Dalek factions to fight the pre-existing Imperials and Renegades. One of these factions was a group of Daleks led by a Red Dalek, which had long been a staple of Dalek command structures in the comics and the novels, but had never appeared onscreen before. Had the story been produced, this is an idea for what I think the Red Dalek Supreme could have looked like. I took inspiration from the Red Dalek Supreme seen in the New Series, which is one of my favourite Dalek colour schemes, and used a Gold Dalek as a base in order to retain the solid gold without needing repaints.

War of the Daleks Blue Supreme Figure:

Unlike the Red Supreme Dalek, this Blue Supreme Dalek is actually based on a pre-existing Dalek design, albeit not one that has appeared in any episode, comic or novel. The design in question originates from none other than the War of the Daleks tabletop turn-based game, which in itself adapted its story from the unmade War of the Daleks episode. Although it is not clear what role this Dalek plays in the board game, in the unmade episode this Dalek would have served as the Supreme for the fourth faction of Daleks, which presumably would have been blue too. I have loved this design ever since I first found the War of the Daleks Gallery page, and so it seemed fitting that it now exists in figure form. I used matt Citadel Paints for this figure, since the figurine in the board game had those palette choices too, and I used a Gold Dalek as the base, although hardly a trace of gold remains on this Dalek custom.

Alternate Resurrection of the Daleks / Madame Tussauds Dalek Figure:

Tussauds Dalek

This is an odd custom because it is essentially trying to be two Daleks at once. I set out to make a custom of the Madame Tussauds Dalek, an oddly incongruous Dalek prop that featured at Madame Tussauds despite not matching any Dalek shown on screen. However, I just don’t like the design, I have no idea why it was created, and it doesn’t make any sense to me. Instead, I decided to adapt the Tussuads design and create a cross between a Dalek from Destiny of the Daleks and a Dalek from Resurrection of the Daleks, but I still really like the way this one turned out. The colour works so much better with black, and in the right light it comes out as really light turquoise, which gives it a nice look on my shelf. Whilst its origin story may raise an eyebrow, this is probably one of my favourite Dalek customs.

Terry Nation’s Red-top Dalek Figure:

‘Red Top’ Dalek

After the Peter Cushing Movies wrapped, Terry Nation kept several of the props, but put little effort into keeping the colour schemes intact, leading to many of his Daleks becoming mismatched. This problem was made even more complicated when he started painting over certain Daleks, creating orphaned parts. Whilst he did give us the excellent Planet of the Daleks Supreme using parts from Movie Daleks, the result was a rag-tag collection of leftovers, one of which was the infamous Red-top Dalek. This odd variant came about totally by accident, when Nation put several of his Daleks out for promotional shoots and, for whatever reason, included this Dalek with the pack, leading to it featuring in some of the promotional material for Dalek episodes at the time. Not only that, but some writers and artists took this to mean that the Red-top Dalek actually existed in the lore of the show, and he started appearing in various Dalek comics and games as a sort of second-in-command to the Supreme Dalek, even getting his own figure in the 60s. All-in-all, it was impossible for me to not create this custom since it is so simple – all that is required is an Emperor’s Guard Dalek and a Saucer Commander base, with mismatched red and blue LEDs for the lights and some slight repaints to the dome and skirt.

Next – New Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – Time War Daleks

Bonus – Comic Emperor Dalek Figure:

Since I had a Dalek Zeg custom, the logical next step was to attempt to create an Emperor Dalek custom from the comics, with the bulbous gold head and tiny lower section. Unfortunately, the end product wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for…
I do intend to someday go back and correct this figure, possibly using fibreglass and better paints to complete the effect, but until then it will have do.

Classic Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – 1970s era Daleks

Welcome to the next instalment in this tour through my collection of custom-painted Classic Series Daleks. The previous instalment featured the 1960s Dalek Customs, so this one includes a tour of my collection of 1970s-era Dalek customs. All of these customs are made by me unless stated otherwise in the description.

Day of the Daleks Custom Figures:

Since the original version of Day of the Daleks only ever used three Dalek props, I never felt it was necessary to make more than three customs for this episode, although the fantastic re-release of this story features some incredible remastering to add more Daleks to the battle. The Gold Dalek Supreme came in the Dalek Collector’s Set #2, which I bought several of in order to repaint them to use for other Daleks. Other than being a slightly different shade of grey, these Daleks do not differ much from Planet of the Daleks or Genesis of the Daleks figures, and they can be used interchangeably for the most part. However, there are several subtle differences that distinguish 1970s Dalek props from each other based on the episode in which they appeared due to the BBC’s constant repairing and repainting of the props.

Planet of the Daleks Custom Figures:

The best thing about Planet of the Daleks is this Supreme Dalek, which has a genuine figure but the set in which it appears is so popular and rare that the prices have skyrocketed. This was not an easy custom to make, as I had to be very precise with the black and gold paint, as painting over black with gold paint requires many re-coats in order to make the colour even and stand out properly. The lights also proved a challenge, but I was able to use broken blue LED lights painted with a see-through purple coat to recreate the Supreme Dalek’s iconic oversized lights that would later become a staple of all Daleks by 2005. The Supreme Dalek in this story has the telltale larger lights and taller fender that the movie Daleks had, and that’s because Terry Nation himself loaned a Dalek from his personal collection of movie props to serve as the Supreme in this story. The partially transparent Dalek I have also slightly customised, adding the white around the end of the eyestalk that the original figure lacked.

Death to the Daleks! Custom Figures:

Of all the 1970s-era Dalek designs, the colour scheme from Death to the Daleks is definitely my favourite. As a result, I actually made four of these customs, although one would become the Asylum variant featured in my previous Dalek Asylum Collection tour. Of the customs I made that weren’t for the Asylum, there are two standard silver Daleks and one Commander, who can be distinguished from the others by his orange lights. These Daleks all started out as Gold Daleks that I spray painted silver and then painted the detail in black, then again using Humbrol silver. Unfortunately, due to the nature of spray paint and the slight differences in the colour of Humbrol paint, these Daleks did turn out quite rough, although that does match the poor condition of the Dalek props of the era.

Genesis of the Daleks Custom Figures:

Although none of these are painted, one in particular still stands out as a custom, of sorts. Whilst two of the Daleks came in the Genesis of the Daleks Collector Set, one of these Daleks came to me broken, and it was only after painstaking reconstruction using spare parts from other broken Daleks that I was able to restore it to its former glory. The Daleks seen in Genesis are perhaps the highest quality Dalek props of the 1970s, which is fitting considering the episode is regarded by many as the best Dalek story of all time.

Destiny of the Daleks Collector Set Review

Even though none of these are customs, it seems odd to not include them here since they form part of my 1970s-era Dalek collection. One thing I will say about this set is that it appears whoever decided on the paint detail of these figures was watching Destiny of the Daleks on a television with the Gamma turned all the way up, since the colours on both the Daleks and Davros himself seem far too light to me. Although the Destiny Daleks are noticeably lighter than other Daleks of the era, it is not to the same extent as presented in this set. However, for me, that is hardly a downside – in fact, I bought this set specifically because I adore the colour scheme that they have used here. Light grey and black works really well on these Daleks, and Davros with a grey chair is odd but not unwelcome. So, overall, although this set gets 1/10 for accuracy, it stands out to me as one of the best sets in the Doctor Who range and is definitely worth picking up.

Next – Classic Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – 1980s era Daleks

Imperial Daleks vs Renegade Daleks: Civil War — Dalek Civil War

Bonus – Genesis of the Daleks Complete Collection

Thanks to the fact that the Day of the Daleks, Planet of the Daleks and Genesis of the Daleks figures are all so similar, it may be hard to differentiate between them. I have included this image here at the end to prove that they are separate figures and not just the same two or three Daleks repeated several times, but this has the added bonus of making all of these Daleks fit to all of the episodes in question, so if I wanted I could have a diorama of the Special Edition version of the final battle from Day of the Daleks, a recreation of the Spiridon Jungle from Planet of the Daleks or, my personal favourite, a fully-bolstered Dalek army as seen in Genesis of the Daleks, with six Dalek props and Davros completing the look.

Classic Series Daleks Customs Collection Tour – 1960s era Daleks

Welcome to the next instalment in this series of Dalek customs showcases, a tour through my collection of custom-painted Classic Series Daleks. Moving on from the inmates of the Dalek Asylum, this feature includes a tour of my collection of 1960s-era Dalek customs. All of these customs are made by me unless stated otherwise in the description.

Classic 1960s Dalek Figure from The Daleks:

This first figure may seem like an odd choice for a custom, since Dead Planet Daleks exist as a standard figure. However, their most common appearance is in the Dalek Collector Set #1, which is now a very rare box set – the asking price for them has rocketed to over £50, in some places as high as £100. Since not everyone has that kind of money, it made more sense to me to buy a Dalek Collector Set #2, re-base the Dalek Saucer Commander and use silver Humbrol paint to complete the detail, so that is exactly what I did. Unlike my Asylum variant, this Dalek does not feature a ‘mutant reveal’, but it looks like the genuine article and that is really all you can ask for in a custom.

Dalek Saucer Commander and Dalek Supreme Figures from The Dalek Invasion of Earth:

Like the figure of the original The Dead Planet Dalek, there exists a genuine figure of the Dalek Supreme from The Dalek Invasion of Earth, but it is rare and only comes in a two-pack with the First Doctor. As such, I simply painted the remaining silver parts on a spare Dalek Saucer Commander to create a facsimile of the genuine article. Interestingly enough, this isn’t far from what the actual Doctor Who production team did during the making of this episode, since the Dalek Saucer Commander only appears in the colour scheme that it has because it was originally supposed to be the Dalek Supreme, but they hadn’t finished painting the prop when it came time for filming, so they just used it as it was. This explains why the Dalek Saucer Commander disappears and is replaced by the Supreme midway through the story.

Dalek and Dalek Supreme from The Daleks’ Master Plan, and Emperor’s Guard from The Evil of the Daleks:

Although there is some debate over what colour this Dalek Supreme from The Daleks’ Master Plan is actually supposed to be, the most common (and technically correct) view is that it is black, since that is the colour that the original prop was. And it looks fantastic next to the Emperor’s Guard and Standard Dalek, so that works as part of this collection. This is another custom that is cheap and easy to do, since all I used was a standard Emperor’s Guard and some black Citadel Paint to give the lower section a new coat, and light blue Citadel Paint to cover any marks on the spheres. Overall, this is such a simple custom that gives a great result with minimal effort required, and definitely one that I would recommend to first-time Dalek painters.

Classic Series 9 Dalek Figures:

Although not technically 1960s Daleks, the variants of the classic Daleks seen in The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witches’ Familiar are displayed in the same place on my shelf mostly just to bolster the ranks of my 1960s-era Daleks, and also because they appear at first glance to be identical to other Daleks of the era. However, minor differences set these particular Daleks apart, particularly the bright blue used on the midsection and the blue New Series style eyestalks. The Emperor’s Guard figure is a representation of a Dalek briefly seen at the end of the two-parter, as one of the Daleks that corners Missy as the city around them crumbles. Allegedly, this Dalek exists due to a mistake, since the black-domed head of an Emperor’s Guard Dalek was accidentally placed atop a slatless The Dead Planet style body, creating a whole new variety of 1960s-era Dalek that had never been seen before on screen. Again, these customs are very easy, as all that is required are Emperor’s Guard and Saucer Commander Daleks, some silver and blue paint, and a blue Sharpee for the eyestalks.

The Chase Guard Dalek Figure:

Classic Dalek Guard

This Dalek is based on a brief appearance of a Movie prop in The Chase, that was given to the BBC on loan in order to increase the number of mobile Dalek props for that episode. Since it used the Movie design, it lacked the slats seen on other Daleks, had a blue head and gold trim, and had no base. The production team did replace the dome lights to better resemble standard Daleks of that era, however. The only difference in my custom is that I have left the alternating black and silver slats from the Dalek Saucer Commander that I used as the base for this figure. Perhaps this Dalek serves as some form of Commander in the Dalek Emperor’s Guard.

Next – Classic Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – 1970s era Daleks

Bonus – Alternate Red The Daleks’ Master Plan Supreme Dalek Figure:

Red Supreme Dalek

Since The Daleks’ Master Plan aired in black and white (and is now mostly missing), there has been debate over what colour the Supreme Dalek in that story is actually supposed to be. Whilst the original prop was allegedly black, some fans have interpreted this Dalek as being red, to the extent that several novelisations and comic adaptations of this story feature a red version of the Supreme Dalek on the front cover. As such, I have created this custom of what the Supreme Dalek would look like in this colour scheme, and I have swapped the manipulator arm for double gunsticks so he can also serve as an Emperor’s Guard too. Since I used Humbrol paints for this custom, the Dalek has a nice glossy finish, and I used a simple screw as a replacement for the manipulator arm.

Classic Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – Destroyed / Asylum Daleks

Welcome to the next instalment in this series of Dalek customs showcases, a tour through my collection of custom-made Classic Daleks that have been altered and painted to appear destroyed, with some marked with stamps for the Dalek Asylum. The previous instalment featured the New Series Dalek Asylum inmates, but one of the biggest draws of Asylum of the Daleks was the fact that there were Classic Daleks in the Asylum, so I was eager to include some in my collection. All of these customs are made by me unless stated otherwise in the description.

DISCLAIMER: I have not damaged or destroyed any rare classic Dalek figures to create these customs.

All of these Daleks are either common Classic figures painted to look like rarer figures, or figures which I bought on the pretence that they were damaged beyond repair and then painted and customised, so rest assured, no rare Daleks were harmed during the making of these customs. (At least, not by me, but I’ll explain that later…)

Duo of Destroyed Genesis Dalek Custom Figures:

These are two destroyed Daleks from totally different eras, even if they are of the same design. The left side Dalek has been altered to resemble a casualty of the early Dalek-Thal War that takes place on Skaro during the finale of Genesis of the Daleks. Damaged out in the wastelands of Skaro by a land mine and hit with a well-aimed explosive, this Dalek has collapsed in on itself as the mutant inside dies. I had to cut the neck rings to shape and use hot glue and paint to make it appear as though the front part of the Dalek’s neck ring had collapsed due to an impact on the back of the casing, which spewed green oil and fluid all over the top part of the Dalek and blasted off its weapons and eyestalk in the process.
The right side Dalek is my rendition of a Genesis-style Asylum inmate, who has been rotting in the Asylum since the very beginning. Long since destroyed by age and the other inmates, this relic to Dalek history sits abandoned, still bearing the scars of its former battles and stains of oil on its side. Whether or not the pole sticking out of its head is what remains of the eyestalk or a brutal makeshift weapon that has been embedded in the dome somehow is open to interpretation.

Damaged Revelation-era Asylum Custom Figure:

Asylum 70’s Dalek

This Dalek was painted to resemble a Dalek from the 1980s using a Gold Day of the Daleks Supreme as the base, and then dirtied up with black, brown and green paint and stamped with an Asylum mark. This Dalek was also partially inspired by a bizarre story from 2009 in which a classic Dalek prop was found in a swamp and fished out, which you can read about here. the paint applications represent burn marks and stains of mud from a swamp or jungle which probably indicate that this Dalek was in some scrapes before being admitted to the Asylum but it is still very much active. Now it spends its time stalking labyrinthine corridors of the planet-sized facility, eagerly stalking bands of Imperial Daleks that have also been admitted to the Asylum, but more on that later.

Insane Emperor’s Guard Dalek Custom Figure:

Asylum Emperor’s Guard

A relatively prominent feature in the Asylum during Asylum of the Daleks was a dirtied-up Emperor’s Guard Dalek from The Evil of the Daleks, which featured in several of the promotional photos for the episode and actually appeared numerous times throughout the episode, unlike some of the other classic Daleks. Most notably it appeared as the Dalek which Amy, in her drug-induced hallucinatory state, imagines as a dancing ballerina, when it is in fact spinning endlessly and out of control. It would seem wrong then to not include this figure as part of the Asylum collection. For newcomers to the world of customising Dalek figures, this is one of the easiest customs to make, since 60s-era bodyguards are among the cheapest of the Dalek figures you can buy. All I used here was black and grey paint to dirty it up a bit and a tippex pen and red Sharpee for the Asylum stamp, as is the case with all of my Asylum customs.

Burnt Death to the Daleks Custom Figure:

Another Classic Dalek which was in Asylum of the Daleks but did not feature as prominently as the Emperor’s Guard Dalek was recreation of a Dalek from Death to the Daleks. Unfortunately, this Dalek prop barely featured in the actual episode, as it was painted with dull grey, making its unique design barely recognisable. This figure is therefore a representation of how the iconic Death to the Daleks Dalek should have appeared as an inmate in the Asylum. I created this model using a repainted Emperor’s Guard figure that I detailed in black paint to appear burnt, as a reference to the fact that several of the Daleks inexplicably catch fire in this episode. The orange lights indicate that this Dalek was once a commander before it was admitted to the Asylum, possibly having been scarred for life after the events of Destiny of the Daleks by that ridiculous-giant water eel that definitely wasn’t made of plastic and held up with wires. As a result, this Dalek is one of the catatonic Daleks imprisoned in the intensive care unit.

Destroyed The Dead Planet Dalek Custom Figure:

Asylum Dead Planet Dalek

Another feature in the Asylum was a classic The Dead Planet Dalek, featuring the new updated colour scheme that would later become more prominent in The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witches’ Familiar, particularly since the props used in that episode were remarkably accurate yet updated for the modern era, with the addition of a blue eyestalk and a slightly altered yet more dynamic colour scheme. Oddly, some fans at the time complained that these Daleks weren’t ‘screen-accurate’ representations of the original Daleks from The Dead Planet, overlooking the fact that, although the props themselves were made by fans, they are still Dalek props that appeared in an actual episode, so they are now simply a canon variation of the original Dalek design. For this custom I modified a Dalek Saucer Pilot, replacing the base with a shorter one and painting the Dalek with grey and black paint to appear old and dirtied. I also added a ‘mutant reveal’ feature to this Dalek, by removing the front section and sanding down the parts that keep it in place so that it can be securely fitted but easily removed. The interior I created using parts of an old CD to give it a 1960s vibe, and the mutant is simply the top half of a Dalek Sec Hybrid figure’s head, held in place by a plastic sheet that holds the piece in place.

Duo of Destroyed Imperial Dalek Figures:

One of these is not a custom, but is in fact the destroyed Imperial Dalek that strangles the Seventh Doctor that was included in the Remembrance of the Daleks two-pack with Emperor Davros. The sculpting of the mutant on this figure is marvellous, far beyond anything I could do in a custom, and it was well worth the purchase. The Dalek on the right is a custom that I cannot take complete credit for, as I did the paint job but not the custom itself. I believe this to be one of CaptainJimiPie’s customs, the video for which is featured below. This Dalek has clearly been the victim of fire from other inmates in the Asylum and now sits dead, its rotting flesh hanging out of the scarred casing. One day I would like to do a custom of an actual Imperial Dalek model, but I would have to find one that was already broken as I could never bring myself to damage a rare figure of one of my favourite Dalek designs.

Next – New Series Dalek Customs Collection Tour – Other Asylum Inmates

Bonus – Custom made by CaptainJimiPie

This is another CaptainJimiPie custom that I got in a job lot of other Daleks. I have fitted with a new base since the original one had been removed when I received this figure. This Dalek features in CaptainJimiPie’s showcase of his Asylum Dalek collection, which you can view here (This Dalek that I now own features at 1:08 in this video):

Doctor Who – Lost Episode Animations & Saving the Patrick Troughton era

It’s time to confess. I haven’t seen The Evil of the Daleks.

But can you blame me? After all, very few people alive today have seen The Evil of the Daleks. According to legend, on May 20th, 1967, Part One of Evil of the Daleks aired on BBC One, and the story concluded with its seventh part on July 1st, 1967. But after that, it was never seen again. The Evil of the Daleks is just one of many Doctor Who episodes that are, for all intents and purposes, lost forever. Aside from a few scraps of visuals, the audio track in its original form and a handful of pictures, most classic Doctor Who episodes that are lost are truly lost.

It’s a real shame too – The Evil of the Daleks sees not only the debut of a great companion in Victoria, but also sees the first appearance of the Dalek Emperor, as well as the first in what would become a long list of Dalek Civil Wars. We see the true Evil of the Daleks as they attempt to infect the human population with the Dalek factor, a plot that was essentially recycled by Russel T. Davies in Series 3 of NuWho. That seems to be a recurring theme with lost episodes as a matter of fact – often their plots or plot elements will be reused in newer episodes. Think about it. The Evil of the Daleks and Evolution of the Daleks seem quite similar, don’t they?

But The Evil of the Daleks is comparatively lucky. It’s audio track is in fairly good condition, and it even has one of the seven episodes fully intact (for the most part) – episode 2, the first appearance of soon-to-be companion Victoria Waterfield, survives and can be viewed to this day. But there are some episodes that are not so lucky – one of them is 1966’s The Power of the Daleks which, despite being Patrick Troughton’s debut as the Second Doctor, as well as being the first post-regeneration story ever and being many fan’s top pick for best Dalek episode ever, is officially lost with all hands. All six episodes were wiped with only scattered fragments, pictures and of course the audio track giving us an idea of what the episode was like.

Sadly, like Evil, Power has also fallen victim to a posthumous plot autopsy by NuWho writers – but this time Mark Gatiss is the culprit. Fans have noticed a striking similarity between Power and the infamous Series 5 Dalek episode Victory of the Daleks, with the “I am your servant”/”I am your soldier” parallel being the most overt. With both Power and Evil wiped, two of Troughton’s strongest stories are lost with with them dies the impact and the menace that Terry Nation’s creations had in their early years. In a sense, it is not just simply The Evil of the Daleks and The Power of the Daleks that are lost – an essential chapter in the history of the Daleks is lost, and the Daleks themselves are less as a result.

However, there is hope. Thanks to the BBC’s amazing dedication to preserving the long history of Doctor Who, The Power of the Daleks has now been restored to its former glory thanks to a full-blown remake of the episode, using the original audio coupled with new professional animation. The concept of animating old lost Doctor Who episodes is not a new one – but The Power of the Daleks is the first time that a full story has been animated in this way – traditionally this technique has only been used to fill ‘gaps’ in mostly surviving stories – The Tenth Planet springs immediately to mind, since in the official release of that story episode 4 had to be completely animated by Planet 55 since the original is missing.

BBC studios has done a fantastic job with Power, and although it is possible to nitpick this reconstruction for several issues that it does have (most notably the style of animation itself, which works for the Daleks but makes the human characters look like jittery puppets) it would be downright blasphemous to attempt to write this project off as a failure, or even as a disappointment – it proved enormously popular and gives Classic fans, particularly Troughton fans, hope for the future – it could be that one day, we get to see the likes of The Evil of the Daleks, The Daleks Master Plan and The Moonbase fully animated (or with animated versions of the episodes that are lost) to finally fill those decades-old gaps on the shelves of Doctor Who DVD collectors, as well as resurrecting some beloved pieces of television history.

Day of the Daleks Special Edition – Hope for the Future of the Past

I first watched Day of the Daleks when I was about 14, although I don’t remember that it actually was Day of the Daleks at the time, since I’d been told that Day of the Daleks was a story about time travel, political intrigue, manipulation, betrayal, sacrifice and explosive battles. The short action sequence from Day of the Daleks that I saw as a child depicted no more than three Daleks wobbling along over a grassy field being halfheartedly flanked by reject stock from Planet of the Apes. What a young fool I was.

It is a simple fact of life that the special effects in Classic Doctor Who have, for the most part, not aged well at all. Oddly enough, this isn’t a continuous process – it isn’t as simple as ‘the further back you go, the worse the effects are’ – that is an ignorant standpoint. If you watch The Daleks from 1963, you will see that the effects are good. If you watch Remembrance of the Daleks from 1988, you will see that the effects are good. If you watch Terror of the Autons from 1971, another episode that involves large gunfight-style action sequences made a whole year before Day, you will see that the effects are good. So why, I hear you ask, does Day of the Daleks and episodes like it have such bad effects?

One of the simplest answers is money. Doctor Who has been consistently made on a low budget typical of shows from the BBC. But there must be more to it than that – allocation of funding can explain why some episodes of Doctor Who look better than others, but this is a Dalek episode – the first Dalek episode in five years, no less. Surely the BBC could have funneled more money into this?

The short answer is no. Day of the Daleks has an Achilles heel, and that is that there were only three Dalek props available for the filming of this story, and no amount of BBC budget was going to create new, functional Dalek props in the time between the final decision to go ahead with the episode and the filming date it was scheduled for. As such, the BBC were forced to round up all their surviving Dalek props, dust them off, paint them up and do the best that they could with what they had.

This leaves us with a Dalek episode that has a fantastic plot, great acting, superlative pacing and yet the one thing that everyone notices now when watching Classic Doctor Who is the ‘wobbly sets’ and the terrible effects. So maybe it’s time to change that.

Day of the Daleks: Special Edition replaces all the technical effects with new, updated CGI lasers and sounds, Nicholas Briggs replaces the original Dalek voices with his instantly recognisable NuWho-style Dalek performance, and the team even went so far as to shoot entirely new scenes with the same cameras that would have been used to film back in the early 1970s, adding in new death scenes for soldiers and, thankfully, swelling the Dalek army from a miserable three to a much more respectable 10, at least.

Now, thanks to the Special Edition, Day of the Daleks takes on a whole new lease of life, with added CGI shots of the future Dalek city to point out to viewers when a time-shift has taken place, more engaging action sequences that better demonstrate the high stakes of this episode, and a fantastic and visually stunning new effect for the blaster weapons that are used regularly throughout the episode. Watching Day of the Daleks now makes it seem less like an episode made in 1972 and more like a modern episode written, produced and filmed in the style of a 1970s-serial, and that is definitely a good thing.

For Dalek fans, Pertwee fans and 70’s fans alike, the Day of the Daleks Special Edition is a welcome addition to the ever growing Doctor Who DVD collection, and represents a beacon of hope for the future of classic stories and how they can stay relevant in the 21st century.