The Challenges of Building a Dalek: Part 8
Be sure to read the previous parts of The Challenges of Building a Dalek. Continuing from my last post, we are currently working on the neck as we are almost done with it, and soon, we will be moving on to the head/dome.
The Neck
We are almost completed with the neck section; we have installed the metal screening, the dowel rods, and the two discs that rest in the middle. There are about 200 holes per square inch on the metal screening that was installed. When we bought it, it was silver so we had to spray paint it black lightly. The goal was to make it so that we could see out from the inside but it would be hard to see in unless you are very close. We got pretty close to this goal, we had to use two different types of screening but you cannot see the difference.
The dowel rods are in eight sections in groups of three. We did this because it is a part of the original design from 1963. That is the blueprint/design that we are basing our dalek on. The neck technically is made up of four discs, the bottom one you don’t see as it’s the base of the neck. You then have two middle discs that are connected by the dowel rods; lastly, you have the top disc that you do not see as the dome overlaps that part of the neck.
Color Scheme
Dad has decided on the color scheme; we will be going with camouflage green, browns, and black; so that it will blend in with the foliage as it’s a reckon dalek. Dad’s exact words. Since our dalek is a little bit of an oddball, with its odd size and shape; dad thought it would be best to use a color scheme that we have not seen on other daleks. Derek is a rare and special dalek so he deserves a unique color scheme. For future daleks we will be using standard color schemes.
Current Design
Currently, the neck is about 10 inches in height; and about 16 inches in diameter. When you add it to the base it stands at 62.5 inches, 1587.5 millimeters, including the wheels. Styrofoam balls are being collected for use in the base design, we will need about 52 balls. We are in the process of looking for another electronic scooter/wheelchair to make the next dalek to make more of today’s version of the dalek.
