Some time ago, Christmas (2002), I got a resin kit of the Special Weapons Dalek from 'Remembrance of the Daleks'. This was a highly unique Dalek and the first new one to be seen in decades. I was amazed at the creature. It was to be years later that I found there was a limited edition resin kit of this strange new creature.

However, when I got the kit it was in a terrible state and I can only assume that the silicone mould that the parts were cast from was WELL past its sell by date. There were bits of resin all over the place and so many pin holes (and bigger) that it would have been impossible to build a decent model from it without very extensive hole filling.

In the end (summer 2003) I decided that I'd be better off cutting all the Dalek bumps off and skinning the thing with very thin sheet plastic. But what of the bumps? Well, this is the photo-story of how it all came together during that summer.

The bumps have been cut off and the surface sanded flat. Resin clumps have been removed (honestly, this kit was in atrocious condition).

Skinning has started. The model base is being covered in 0.5mm plastic sheet.

Even the skirt is being rebuilt.

This is the completed, skinned base. The skirt has been painted gold and the body air-brushed cream (although a Dalek would argue with that and proudly say 'It's off-white'). Any gaps were filled before painting with milliput.

But what of the classical Dalek hemispheres I hear you say. Well, I found a lump of aluminium at work and stuck a 13mm ball-ended end mill in the big Bridgeport and I made this mould. I polished it for ages and then waxed it. After that it was filled with plasticraft resin and left to cure. Once cured the surface was machined flat and the balls removed by knocking the back surface of the mould. I did a lot more than I needed which was just as well because some came out chipped (they left bits behind).

These are the hemispheres. Each is sitting on a little bit of plasticine and has been painted gold.

This is what the base looked like when it was finished. Very much better than the original.

The white-metal gun was also in a terrible state and so I turned up another one out of brass. The sizes are the same it's just that the one at back is further away and badly drooped. Note that I replaced some of the resin as well because the moulds had been offset when it was originally made and one cylinder did not line up with the other.

Rather pristine at the moment but he's looking real fine now.

Here he is with a friend. Do Daleks have friends? These two are of the same scale.

Here he is all dirtied up. In the show the Special Weapons Dalek was utterly filthy. I can only assume that it had a pathological aversion to the Dalek Autowash. That's it, all completed.

How about this fella in the picture above? Nope, it's not the resin dalek composited in.

OK, I put my hands up and say it's a LightWave modelled Gunner Dalek composited into a background image of our garden. Cool or what, hehehe!

 

 

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