Building one Dalek (photo above is my first motorized Dalek in local halloween parade) proved to be not enough, and so this web page documents the building of my 2nd full scale motorized Dalek. Actually there are several reasons why I've chosen to start on a second Dalek build and they are as follows:

TOP TEN REASONS for a 2nd Dalek Build

1. Security protection from burglars and terrorist.
2. My first Dalek was lonely and needed a playmate, someone to talk to, someone who would understand.
3. My garage has just enough room for a second Dalek.
4. I'll have a better chance of winning the first place trophy at the Halloween parade this year.
5. Purchasing the Dalek parts and materials will help to improve the sagging US economy.
6. Two Dalek heads are better than one.
7. Justification for my insanity plea.
8. Keeps the kids off the lawn.
9. Excuse to buy new power tools.
10. Perfection.
 

The documentation of my first Dalek Build of one year ago is chronicled in My Full Scale Dalek Build Web Page.
 

The full scale building project plans were obtained free from internet web site of the Dalek Builder Guild . The photo to the right is a child's electric wheelchair that I got at the the local Rt. 70 flea market in early May 2003. The wheelchair motors will be used as the prime mover in the Dalek.  After finding the wheelchair I decided to commit to the new Dalek build. Without hesitation I placed another order to Shawcraft Robotics, Andy Shaw for the fiberglass Dome, the 4" plastic Hemis and dome lights.

The first order of business was cutting out the base section of the Dalek. It is cut from 3/4" plywood...

The photo above is that of the skirt. The skirt panels cut out from a single 4' x 8' sheet of 1/8" luan plywood. Top and bottom sections are made from 1/2 plywood.
 

The shoulder section top and bottom support is made from 1/2" plywood. I inserted temporary 1/4" all thread to keep the proper spacing for measuring and cutting the wood struts that will be used for support.
 
 

This is a view of the gun box. Made of 1/2" plywood on the front and sides, top and bottom made of 1/8" luan plywood...

The photo above show placement of the base , skirt and the start of the shoulder section with the gun box temporally set in position...
 

This photo shows progress on the shoulder section. Added is the support bracing made of furring strips. The gun box holes were cut out to accommodate the 4" plastic balls...

Work in progress as of 5- 19-03 shows the wire meshing added to the shoulder section. This approach is different from my first build where I used wood strips around the shoulder section. I decided to use the wire meshing and fill in the area with car body putty, commonly called by its trade name BONDO.  This is a photo shows the work in progress of on section of the wire mesh with the bondo applied....

 Work progress as of today 5-24-03 shows the base, skirt and roughly completed shoulder section....

Here is  a photo of the wheelchair motor assembly when mounted onto the base. Holes were cut in the 3/4" plywood base for the back wheels. The front wheels of the wheelchair were removed and 4" caster wheels were place under the front of the base. The metal motor assembly frame is secured to base with 3/8" bolts. There is just enough room for the Dalek skirt to fit over the motor and base as shown in the next photo below...

This is a photo of taken from above looking down at the skirt mounted on the base/motor assembly.... Point Of Interest: I had my 11 year old daughter Rebecca, perform a 1/2 mile test drive to check out the operation the new Dalek motors and control. My daughter jumped inside the unfinished Dalek, then I placed the finished dome from my first Dalek build atop the Dalek, I proceeded to give instructions and watched as my 11 year old daughter went for a spin around the neighborhood. (This may be one for the record books as possibly the youngest female to operate a motorized Dalek?) I am happy to report that both my daughter and the new Dalek operated flawlessly.  I am somewhat jealous as my 11 year old is much better operating the Dalek then I.  This is so,  because of her nintendo game interest and skillful use of the proportional joystick control. She will be the driver of the new Dalek when we enter the Dalek in the Halloween parade....

Work progress to Date 5-26-03......

The above photos are the start of the neck bin. The neck bin is made from 1/2" plywood. I used 1/4" all thread to hold the top and bottom sections to the proper spacing. I then measured cut and glued in the wood struts using liquid nails. When the liquid nails dries I will remove the 4 sections of all thread between the top and bottom sections...

 The next step is to cut out the 3 rings using 3/4" plywood. The difficulty with the rings is obtaining the 45 degree angle at the end of the rings as called out in the plans. To obtain the cut I used a router with a 45 degree  bit and made a circular template out of 1/8" luan in order to cut a perfect circle. (See photo) After cutting the rings I used some bondo car body filler to fill in the gaps of the plywood. After sanding down the bondo the result is 3 nicely shaped and smooth rings....Work progress to date 6-3-03....

The photo above shows the top view of the neck bin assembly. Notice the cutout for hand access for rotating the dome and controlling movement of the eyestalk. There are 3 captive ball bearings placed 120 degrees apart on the top of the neck bin that will allow easy rotation of the dome....Work progress to date 7 June 2003.

Work in progress as of 6-15-03 shows the finished and red painted shoulder section.
The above photo shows the work in progress to date 6-25-03 with the addition of the shoulder belts. The belts are made from light gauge aluminum sheet metal. The belts were made in four sections and then are riveted together. Notice that my first Dalek is looking on with much anticipation...

The above photo shows the work in progress to date 6-29-03 with the making of the eye stalk. The black eyepiece is a 4" hard plastic ball made from a magic 8 ball. The ball is hollowed out and a 2 1/2" black plastic PVC coupling sleeve is fitted in the front section. 1/4" all thread holds the eyepiece through the 1" tubing to the rotating silver painted 4" pivot that will later be positioned inside of the dome...

The above photo is a view from the top looking down at the dome section. Notice that the eyestalk is mounted atop the rotating dome section When completed the operator  inside has to place their hand up inside of the dome to rotate and move the eyestalk up and down.... work in progress to date 6-30-03.

The above photo is a the completed shoulder section with the addition of the wire meshing and slats. The slats are glued directly using liquid nails to the wire meshing. Clothes pins are used to hold the slats in place while the glue dries.  I prefer to the gluing method vs riveting the slats to the belts and meshing. Notice the addition of the weapon and arm claw assembly.  Work in progress to date 7-2-03.

Work in progress to date 7-12-03. The skirt has been primed and spray painted with the Fire Red color as shown in the photo above. Base section with the electric motor driver has been primed and hand pained with flat black color. Neck rings are primed for the silver colored paint.....

I had the Dalek's skirt hemis on order from England but was told there would be a delay as the manufacture changed hands. After much research I found a local source for the 4" hemispheres. These clear plastic balls are available at craft shops, and are known as 100mm acrylic balls. They are stocked by the craft stores all year around but are used frequently around the Christmas Holiday as people use them to make their own personalized decoration inside and hang them up on the tree. Being that the hemis are proper size and clear makes them ideal for Dalek color customization. I decided to first try to reverse paint the hemis...
This is a photo of the reverse painted hemi. After the paint is dried, then I glued (using liquid nails construction adhesive) a 2-1/2" 1/4x20 bolt to the painted hemi. Please note the wood centering jig in the photo below. The jig was made up to hold the hemis in place and properly align and center the bolt while allowing the glue to dry.

Photo of the completed silver hemis ready to be mounted onto the Dalek skirt.....

Photo of the skirt with all of the silver hemis mounted....Work progress to date 10 September 2003.

On 10 October 2003 the fiberglass Domes and dome lights order was received from England Shawcraft Robotics, Andy Shaw

On 20 October 2003 the work on painting the dome, installing the dome lights and installing the eye stalk was completed. Below is a finished photo of the the motorized Red Dalek project....

On 31 October 2003 I entered the new Dalek in the Toms River Halloween Parade. My 11 year old daughter Rebecca would be the Dalek operator. I am very happy to report that both my daughter and the new Dalek operated flawlessly throughout the entire one mile plus parade route.  The enthusiastic crowd applauded the dalek as it passed by the masses of people. The cable TV coverage announcers were amazed at the detail of the "robot" and doubted there was a kid inside operating it. The highlight of the evening was that the judges awarded the Dalek the first place trophy! Photo below is that of my wife, daughter, the Dalek and I just after receiving the first place trophy.

Just a note that this parade is the 2nd largest Halloween Parade in the world as an estimated crowd in excess of 100,000 came to witness the event. Below are some photos taken at the parade, even "Elvis" and King Authur came out to see the Dalek!
 

Click here to see my to my 3rd Dalek Build webpage