Emperor Dalek Model

My emperor model is based on the the Golden Emperor depicted in the mid-sixties TV21 comic strip (aka “The Dalek Chronicles”).

Figuring out exactly what it was supposed to look like was a bit difficult as it changed appearance from one panel of the strip to the next, but eventually I settled on the following design requirements:

• The base should have the same dimensions as a classic dalek's (the emperor in the comic sometimes appeared to have a larger base than a classic dalek, but this seemed illogical),
• The top of the shoulder section, where it meets the head/dome, should have the same radius as that of a classic dalek,
• It should be noticeably shorter than a classic dalek,
• The head should be almost as wide as the base, but not wider (in the comic the emperor's head sometimes seemed wider than the base, but I thought that would look too top heavy).

I had to squash the skirt and shoulder sections down pretty ruthlessly in order to meet these requirements, but I eventually arrived at the following proportions (the units of measurement are arbitrary):

• Base height 85 units,
• Skirt height 366 units,
• Shoulder section height 230 units,
• Head/dome height 681 units and diameter 790.44 units,
• Total height 1362 units.

By comparison, the height of my Classic Dalek model is 1476.

All of the appendages (eye, plunger arm, etc.) are identical to those of my classic dalek model, except that all versions of the emperor model have the earlier style of gun. I wasn't sure how many lights to put on the dome: some think it should be six, while the model kits produced by Reshape and Comet Miniatures had seven. As you can see, I went with seven in the end. Click here to see some photographs of the Comet Miniatures model.

Purists might argue that I shouldn't mix a 1966 TV dalek which has solar slats with the TV21 emperor which doesn't. However I would argue that the solar slats are optional: after all, the special weapons dalek seen “Remembrance of the Daleks” (1988) didn't have them. I did in fact try putting little solar slats on the emperor, but they just looked daft.

The model is currently at version number 42. I have produced several variants of it, to match the variants of my Classic Dalek model.