The Challenges of Building a Dalek: Part 9
Be sure to read the previous parts of The Challenges of Building a Dalek. Picking up from where I last left off, we have finished the construction on the neck and soon we will be starting on the dome/head.
The Neck
As I stated above, we have finished the construction of the neck; the last piece installed was the dowel rods. After everything was installed, we coated everything made of wood with a white primer. We have now fully attached the neck to the shoulders as they will not be moved and is the base for the rotating dome/head.
Color Scheme
As stated in part 8, we have decided on the color scheme for Derek the Dalek; he will be camouflaged in green, brown, and black to blend in with the foliage as it’s a reckon dalek. Before starting the painting process, we reprimed him; even though we had been doing a white primer after every step it still had a lot of touch-ups. We started on the first coat of hunter green, which is the base color; after every coat, the dalek needs to be sanded so that it doesn’t bubble.
Talking to Professionals
Last weekend we attended MegaCon Orlando where we went to talk to the Daleks of Florida group, they are obviously known for their daleks. Talking to them we found some great ways to make changes to some of our plans and gave some great tips on our future builds. One great tip they gave us is about the hinge of the dalek, aka how to open the dalek, one guy suggested placing the hinge in the back so that it wouldn’t tip over, just make sure it’s a heavy-duty hinge and to also add a chain so that it doesn’t open too far. So that’s exactly what we did.
The greatest tip they gave us is how to make the balls that are needed for the base design. As we came across that when you paint styrofoam balls that tend to bubble and just look horrible. The group suggested that you first make a mold of half a ball to use, from there you then can use the mold to make the balls out of resin. Also, you will need to make a lot more than our original number of 52. They also suggested doing this will give you practice before making the dome. And dad couldn’t agree more as we’ve had problems in the past making the dome.
Overall, they said that we are heading in the right direction and they agreed that Derek the Dalek is a bit of an oddball. They can’t wait to see how he looks at the end and maybe join them one day.
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. 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.
