1:5 Dalek "Fred the Exterminator"

[tetsujin]

A while back, one of my coworkers gave me this kit - a 1:5 scale Dalek vac-form kit by Sevans. I finally decided to get started on it. I've built about half the skirt so far.

1:5 scale Dalek

(Of course, this being a kit produced in 1984, it's not really accurate to "Dalek Fred" - but I like calling him that anyway.)

 

[FourForty]

Looks really nice man! Thankk-You for sharing. You know no offense at all, but the kit looks like it is made of really thin material?

Jeff

 

[tetsujin]

Looks really nice man! Thankk-You for sharing. You know no offense at all, but the kit looks like it is made of really thin material?

It's a vacuum-form kit. All the parts are made out of 1mm thick styrene.

The skirt actually seems surprisingly rugged so far - but I'm working to reinforce it anyway because I don't like surprises during the finishing stages.

 

[JMac]

This is going to be a wicked build...I grew up on Dr Who (on PBS) and Star Trek (on CBC). Love the new series.

Have you made a vac-formed kit before? Make sure you keep the build by build updates coming...

 

[tetsujin]

This is going to be a wicked build...I grew up on Dr Who (on PBS) and Star Trek (on CBC). Love the new series.

Have you made a vac-formed kit before? Make sure you keep the build by build updates coming...

It's the first full vac-form kit I've built - though I have vac-formed parts for myself on occasion, and I've done enough scratching with styrene plate that I feel comfortable dealing with this...

I'm still trying to decide on the variant and color scheme I'll be doing... I was thinking maybe the gray one that started showing up (IIRC) in the Tom Baker years - though I have to say the elegance of the original variant, without the vertical slats on the neck, is very appealing too.

 

[Joseph Osborn]

That's a notoriously difficult-to-build kit but it looks like you have whipped it into shape pretty well. You're going to have to hide behind the sofa when it's finished!

 

[tetsujin]

That's a notoriously difficult-to-build kit but it looks like you have whipped it into shape pretty well.

Honestly, I have heard it's difficult-to-build but so far I can't see what people are talking about... The way I figure it, this isn't a difficult kit (though when things start going wrong I may change my mind) - it's just that this kit is being built by people who don't know how to deal with vacu-form. I think it's notorious because the subject matter attracts a bunch of people without skills. Really the kit seems to go together fabulously. But if someone builds this kit without the patience to trim away excess plastic from the edge of a vac-formed part, or on general the skills to deal with styrene sheet using a hobby knife, that's when the frustration comes in...

Really, so far, I've just built the skirt, and not even finished that. There are other challenges ahead, and some of them may be more difficult than I expect... But mostly I think this kit just calls for a bit of patience and care - skills all modelers should cultivate.

 

[Joseph Osborn]

Yep, I think you're right about the kit's reputation coming from folks with little experience in vac-form construction. I have a 1/6 Dalek scratchbuild that is about halfway finished but was sort of abandoned over a year ago. Seeing this Sevans kit makes me want to find that box of Dalek pieces and finish him off!

 

[the Baron]

Pretty cool, tetsujin! You'll need to make a Doctor from a GI Joe/Action Man, to go up against your Dalek when you're finished.