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Librarian-bot — A New Dalek Paradigm

Published: 2010-04-18 10:15:21 +0000 UTC; Views: 33506; Favourites: 149; Downloads: 6517
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Description Well now. SPOILERS. In fact, if you're looking at this, it's possibly a bit late but, if you don't want to know anything about Victory of the Daleks, GO BACK YOU MAD FOOLS, GO BACK!!!

*Ahem* Anyway, I was on the whole impressed by it, even if it did gallop along a touch too fast. The Dalek’s plan was sound and their needing the Doctor's help was wonderfully reasoned. And the new Daleks were certainly impressive, with some wonderful (intentional or otherwise) nods to Ron Turner's art on the Dalek Chronicles. However...I have three problems with said new Daleks.

The first is that they look hunch-backed. This is not a little be due to some bright spark's idea to cover the back panel of the skirt with a ruddy great support pillar with vents on. This is something I’ve noticed happening a lot in fan redesigns and I personally loathe to see it on anything that isn't a special weapons Dalek. In fact, I dislike any design that cuts the Dalek bumps down from the requisite 56. In story, if they are sensors, then that would leave them with a blind spot. Out of story, I just don’t think it looks right. All this said, on subsequent watching, I am getting used to it so we’ll have to see how it goes.

The second is the neck/ring section. It looks like a compost bin. And you can SEE STRAIGHT THROUGH IT. Granted, this only happens a couple of times but would it have killed them to put a bit of gauze or something around inside there? The above models take these two complaints and run with them. It’s effectively my attempt to bolt aspects of the new design onto a more traditional (and, admittedly, smaller) model, since it’s long been my ambition to apply some features of Turner’s wonderfully stylised Daleks to an actual model and this is as good an excuse as any.

But the third problem is the worst and will sorely test my endurance if it remains. It’s one of the greatest crimes against the image of the Daleks since the comedy routines of The Chase. It is an almost unforgivable sin. You see, last night, the world bore witness to the unimaginable horrors that were the Bright Orange Dalek and the Marigold Yellow Dalek.

I exaggerate, of course. But while I am (as a glance at my gallery will show) a lover of multi-coloured Daleks, there are limits. I’m not talking about going beyond so hallowed ‘black, red, blue, grey, gold’ spectrum of acceptable Dalek colours ‘cause they already did that with the rather spiffing bronze scheme we’ve had for the last five years and that worked wonderfully. What I’m talking about is the sudden absence of the very definitely metal feel that the UK’s favourite pepper-pots have been sporting of late. Suddenly we’re back to flat, matte colours and it leaves a design that is bigger, bolder and heavier than even the bolted and riveted RTD era one looking decidedly plastic. And that would be fine, I suppose, if it weren’t for the colours. You see, it kind of works on the White, Blue and Red versions. A bit of texturing and a metallic zing would go a long way, of course, but what the heck. Bonded polycarbide doesn’t sound like a metal anyway.

Except then we have Orange Zest and the Sunflower Kid and it all falls apart. If it had been a decent gold and copper, we’d have been fine, I think. But Orange and Yellow – *bright* yellow – do not look threatening. They’re cheery, friendly colours, nice, happy colours, in short, colours no self-respecting Dalek should be seen dead in. They look, as a friend of mine pointed out, like sweets.

Which is all a rather long winded way of saying that, when it came to deciding on colours for the above picture, I decided to stick with metallic hues. I hope that, while still striking, they can at least hold their eyestorks high, confident that they do not look like they could be undone with a craft knife and a glue-gun.

*Phew*
Rant over. Enjoy the picture. It’s sort of WIP but hopefully there’ll be more of this design to show off soon.
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Comments: 130

N3v3r-Kn0ws-B3st In reply to ??? [2010-04-20 07:17:14 +0000 UTC]

i dont think i like the new design at all ... nor the new voices

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Librarian-bot In reply to N3v3r-Kn0ws-B3st [2010-04-20 10:01:18 +0000 UTC]

Really? I didn't think the voices (well, voice - we only here one of the normal types speaking clearly) didn't sound all that different. A bit of buzzing modulation in there but that just seemed to be a slight undertone...

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N3v3r-Kn0ws-B3st In reply to Librarian-bot [2010-04-21 01:30:47 +0000 UTC]

the new daleks rangers voices are super low and distorted like darth sidious passing a kidney stone

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Librarian-bot In reply to N3v3r-Kn0ws-B3st [2010-04-21 09:04:58 +0000 UTC]

Only the Dalek Supreme's voice, surely? The Strategist's voice seemed almost exactly the same.

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N3v3r-Kn0ws-B3st In reply to Librarian-bot [2010-04-21 19:02:53 +0000 UTC]

ill have to watch it again but still that was pretty lame

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EspioArtwork31 In reply to ??? [2010-04-18 22:02:01 +0000 UTC]

My Favorite Sci-Fi Robots

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Librarian-bot In reply to EspioArtwork31 [2010-04-19 22:48:45 +0000 UTC]

Heh. Not mine. But then, of course, I'm picky and I don't consider them robots!

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AnmlBri In reply to Librarian-bot [2011-11-15 08:18:54 +0000 UTC]

They're not really robots, per se. But I did think they were robots too when I first saw them, before I got into Doctor Who and learned their backstory.

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JohnnyMuffintop In reply to ??? [2010-04-18 20:06:01 +0000 UTC]

I was sort of starting to go along with Smith and the new series UNTIL I SAW THESE!
Though I somewhat like the retro look of them, the design looks like a bad fan design.
Aside from the just awkward parts of the design, what bugs me the MOST are the following:
1)You can see right through the neck section
2)The "they have to be scary, so let's make them tall" reasoning.
3)The eyepeice, when I first saw it from the outside, I was like "Oh, it's like a squid eye, cool." Then I saw the "display" view, DEAR GOD! Just because it's now in HD, you don't need to REDESIGN EVERYTHING!
[end rant]

Yours is a good recreation of them. Maybe if the future you could blend their new elements and the previous newer Daleks.

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kirk-suzuki In reply to JohnnyMuffintop [2010-04-19 00:56:22 +0000 UTC]

I acctually like these daleks also they made them taller to match amys height rather than roses.

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JohnnyMuffintop In reply to kirk-suzuki [2010-04-19 07:25:47 +0000 UTC]

Well, they've always been shorter. Which was good because most characters who didn't know of the Daleks would think of them as nonthreatening, but for anyone who DID know they are VERY threatening.

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Librarian-bot In reply to JohnnyMuffintop [2010-04-18 21:58:11 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. I'm trying to work out how far to add bits from the older newer design (there's a tongue twister) but it's kind of hard to mesh the two. The aesthetic is so widely seperate.

And I have no problem with the series in general myself - I think it's been rather wonderful so far - but, yeah, I have to agree a bit on the 'bad fan design' opinion...

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JohnnyMuffintop In reply to Librarian-bot [2010-04-19 07:35:36 +0000 UTC]

I think it would be easier to just call the "older newer" design the 2005 model/design.
And if you DO a blending of the two, I'd suggest keeping roughly the build of the 2005, with slightly brighter color version of your IoW ranks, add the raised slanted pieces behind the globes like the 2010 model, maybe have the 2010 styled eyepiece but keep it attached like 2005. Idk, whatever you come up with I'd probably like.
I could always help by sketching something out (oh, the irony of us complaining about a bad fan design yet instantly willing to come up with our own fan designs.)

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Librarian-bot In reply to JohnnyMuffintop [2010-04-19 22:46:39 +0000 UTC]

(Well of course we are, we're fans!)

Hmm. Think I'll keep on playing with this platform for the moment. Not that my 2005 style models are going to rest on their laurels, no sir...

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JohnnyMuffintop In reply to Librarian-bot [2010-04-20 09:16:35 +0000 UTC]

Well, I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

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Ratbullets In reply to ??? [2010-04-18 18:01:38 +0000 UTC]

A fantastic reworking of the new design, you've managed to make them look really good, which is something the BBC sadly failed to do.

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Librarian-bot In reply to Ratbullets [2010-04-18 21:55:31 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much! I hope it's not too crawling to say that from someone who's done such beautiful redesigns yourself, that's a real compliment.

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HugoLuman In reply to ??? [2010-04-18 17:46:37 +0000 UTC]

They're like 7 ft tall now! They can just squish you if they get bored of their guns... which are even more powerful now.

But seriously, bright yellow? Really? Now that is un-dalek

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Librarian-bot In reply to HugoLuman [2010-04-18 21:52:56 +0000 UTC]

Bright yellow is an un-Daleky as fluffy kittens and pink teacups. (And I personally would not have liked to be run over by a Dalek of any era...well...kinda...they did used to get pushed around an awful lot...jolly convenant if there was a pool of sub-zero liquid or an open fourth-storey window...)

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HugoLuman In reply to Librarian-bot [2010-04-20 00:20:16 +0000 UTC]

For the whole revival, the daleks have been looking a lot more solid. Before, you could lay hands on them, but now that would probably result in some kind of horrible, messy death. And don't forget the plungers of doom 0_0

But somehow, I just can't be scared of one that is colored like pepes marshmellows. I dunno, maybe they were going for bee-like colors...

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Librarian-bot In reply to HugoLuman [2010-04-20 10:00:17 +0000 UTC]

From everything I've read and heard, they were aiming to emulate the 1960s movies. But, the thing is, they've managed to miss that: though they were undoubtably colourful and more physically imposing then their TV counterparts, there was no mistaking the Movie Daleks as anything other than *metal*. Now that's something you can't say about the new brigade...

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HugoLuman In reply to Librarian-bot [2010-04-21 00:04:48 +0000 UTC]

I've heard them called "Fisher-Price" Daleks

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AnmlBri In reply to HugoLuman [2011-11-15 08:15:37 +0000 UTC]

Lol, that's great, but actually a quite fitting description. I do not like the new Daleks. They look like giant trash bins and I just can't take them seriously when they're lime green and royal blue. It goes against everything the Daleks said to the Cybermen about having no concept of elegance in "Doomsday." Not even their imposing new height can undo the damage of their Jolly Rancher-esque new image. Well, if one was right in front of me, ready to plow me down, I'd still run, but you get what I'm saying.

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HugoLuman In reply to AnmlBri [2011-11-17 00:58:36 +0000 UTC]

Then again, Daleks probably also have no concept of color-theory. Still, blue I accept, lime I can live with, but bright yellow? Not so much.

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Alientraveller In reply to ??? [2010-04-18 15:18:15 +0000 UTC]

I loathe the new Daleks and even Moffat admitted on Doctor Who Confidential that it was change for the sake of change: all that effort in the 2005 look to galvanise what had become a dated design is now gone sadly. I do like the new eye stalk though, but gone is the sense of heaviness the larger platform provided, the cool armour around the eyes and THE SWIVELLING MID-SECTION (so well done for putting that back in your rendition).

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Librarian-bot In reply to Alientraveller [2010-04-18 21:50:52 +0000 UTC]

Yes, well, the swivelling mid-section may not have been used since but it was a fun gimmick. Plus it makes modelling easier...

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AnermayArt In reply to ??? [2010-04-18 11:34:45 +0000 UTC]

To True! I much prefer your colours, they did indeed look like sweets.
Even my nephew said how bright they are, his 8.
I like your little changes too, make them look more menacing, although I suppose if we got face to face with one in real life they would look pretty scary.
I was wondering what you link of the living eye? as you have left your white...

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Librarian-bot In reply to AnermayArt [2010-04-18 12:26:09 +0000 UTC]

I think they would be very imposing face to face because the new props are so flaming big! You'd get out of the way if one of them came trundling at you!

As for the eye...I actually quite like the idea, even if it is a departure from what's been before. But, as someone said on Doctor Who Confidential, the 'living eye' was in Terry Nation's original scripts. I haven't put it in yet because I'm still trying to work out whether I can make that work with these models...

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DeviantKaled In reply to Librarian-bot [2010-05-03 07:09:02 +0000 UTC]

Hear hear!!

Mind you, I do think that the multicoloured ranking system of these new Daleks and the overall cleaner, less cluttered aesthetic are more reminiscent of the very first Hartnell and particularly Chushing Daleks... a lot of things in the 2010 season seem to be going right back to the very start!

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