Retro-Fitting A Dalek II
How to Turn the Product Enterprises'
"Death to the Daleks" Talking Dalek
Into a Authentic Looking "Death to the Daleks" Dalek
No will dispute that Product Enterprises
has produced some of the best Dalek toys to come out of England since the
1960s. Unfortunately their most recent releases have left fans of their
work somewhat disappointed, especially as two new additions to their popular
Talking Dalek line are just repaints of previously released material. This
is especially true for their "Death to the Daleks" Talking Dalek, which is
no more than their first issue Silver Dalek with black skirt balls. Missing
from the model is the distinctive black mid section that was so outstanding
in the episode. However once again, with but a few alterations,
one can easily convert the toy to a more accurate version of the "Death
to the Daleks" machine. And all one needs is a little time, a modeling
knife, some masking tape, flat black acrylic paint, and a little patience.
1. The first step in retro fitting the Dalek is to mask off the lower mid section band. This can easily be done by cutting or tearing the masking tape into small pieces and applying them over the lower band. This will leave the upper shoulder band and shoulder slats exposed. You will also need to apply two small pieces of tape to the arm socket boxes, as these were silver on the original props. Do not worry about masking around the part of the front arm sockets, as you will approach this section after the majority of the mid section is finished. Note, if you are using a good stiff brush and are steady handed then it is not necessary to mask off the individual shoulder slats. You will however need to paint around them.
The whole operation should take no more than a hour (not counting paint drying times), and when completed, although it is not perfect, you will have a highly detailed version of the "Death to the Daleks" Dalek machine.