A while back, there was a little bit of confusion over the new Dalek design, especially about the compartment in the rear. At the time, it was thought that this was to be for extra weaponery etc. which could replace the sucker + gun at the front, but, despite hours of interweb earching, no proof was found.

But, going through my old DWMs last week, I. Found. Proof!

IIRC, look in the issue with the VoV (Bite Me!) cover. There should be an aticle on the new daleks, with comments from Mark Gatiss on why he made them look so different (interesting answers )

But, there is an extra piece in the article, to one side, that details the new design with the original concept design. Not only were the Daleks to get new lights and shoulder sections, but at the bottom of the page is a sketch showing the extra weaponery coming out fo the Dalek's rear.

Wow, I never thought i would say that!

But, aside from the "I told you so"'s, it is a really good article, and certainly worth a read

Interesting -but I still hate the new Daleks

There's also confirmation of this in the Monster Files on the S5V1 DVD. I make specific reference to the 'back flap' weapons in my review:

http://blogtorwho.blogspot.com/2010/...-vol1-dvd.html

When the invasion arrives I do not want my loved ones to suffer the indignity of death by arse gun. I would like a good old fashioned blast from the egg whisk. Plan A is to be the head of the vichy government though.

(I really like your web site Cameron btw.)

Possibly the greatest statement made within a post, ever made in history of DS.

Shame they never used them. Or is it... Personally I wouldn't mind if we never saw these designs again, only in the games. They already destroyed at least one of the new models to make the stone one in The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, so that goes to show they don't care about keeping all the colours.

The Dalek we saw in series 1 'Dalek' is the most perfect and how they should always be. Perfect design, perfect features (including the middle section revolving courtesy of CGI, which we never really saw again!).

I'm still expecting the bulges to open and little baby Daleks to come out.

Yes, the Daleks have figured out how to mate.
Maybe they'll become slightly less angry now!

Maybe after a few generations of natural evolution they won't look so bad either

I dunno, I'm not massively torn up about the new design, it just makes me wonder why after 47 years they decided they needed a redesign.
When they brought them back in 2005 they sensibly decided to pretty much keep them as they were, just solidify the design (no more wobbly plungers or bobbling about when moving, making them smooth and even more eerie imo)

To completely overhaul that within 5 years smacks of nothing but a cynical "lets redesign them to sell some more toys" decision and not anything motivated by plot or story.
If they'd left it a few more years I'd be less inclined to think this, but to do it straight off the bat suggest change merely for changes sake.

Perhaps because they've been redesigned pretty much every time they've appeared over those 47 years? In some ways the latest design bears more similarities with the earliest models, and in some ways they don't.

http://www.dalek6388.co.uk/

Hmmm, you don't have children do you?

I heard that Daleks wouldn't be in the next series but I could be wrong.

Interesting. I hadread somewhere that under a 'deal' with the Nation estate that the Daleks had to appear in every season, if only briefly.

Me after a curry would cause far more damage!

Teehee!!!

They're Duplo. Big, blocky, colourful and child safe. Dupleks.

I think this comic has it right: http://www.mechmaster.co.uk/cg-lair/.../secemp331.htm

Thats brilliant ! How long has it been going ?

They've never been redesigned to this extent before, they've always kept the same basic shape.

I dread the moment I hear a Dalek commander yell - "ABOUT TURN... LIFT SKIRT... EXTERMINATE!"

I have no idea, I randomly came across it a while ago- 'tis nothing to do with me, I just think it's great

How kind of you to say so. I shall not, however, be giving up the day job (hole in the middle jam filler at the biscuit factory) which the rest of the forum will be relieved to know.

What an interesting job.

They still are!

First time I've read this thread, and this made me choke on my cuppa post of the day for me.


What a great job. Do you get free biscuits? Or free jam? Can you put in extra jam and somehow mark the packet so I'll know which ones to buy?

You need a steady hand and an eye for detail.


The thrall of free biscuits wears off after the first fifteen years or so. I do sometimes play fast and loose with the teaspoon but whole packets of splurge get noticed quickly. To be honest, it's not worth it these days.

It was lovely to see such a fine example of the craft in Victory of the Daleks recently. What the layman won't know is that your 21st century "jammie dodger" (to slip into the colloquial for a moment) gets its smooth, neat jam dome appearance with the aid of the modern epoxy resins that we cut with the jam. During the war they had no such aid. Resin being rerouted to the manufacture of Hurricanes, of course and fruit/sugar in short supply. High quality jam was rarely on the menu. It was down to the teaspoonmanship of the hole filler. For the daleks to mistake it for a piece of manufactured electronics was a tribute to the filler and his/her skill (not discounting the baker of course). We've had numerous TV programmes about that period in the last couple of weeks. You'll see plentiful praise for the pilots, Churchill, aircraft factory workers etc. But the hole filler goes largely unsung. The ironsides debacle was buried, of course, and the role of the biscuit with it.

It's always good to get an expert opinion. I'm not very happy tough that your craft is not properly acknowledged in historical prgrammes. I can see that without a proper jammy doger filler, Doctor 11 would have been in a right pickle (well not really - it would have been in a jam - although not a traffic one - I'm sure you gest the gist).

We need more people like you.

They really were the unsung heroes of the war... There's a beautiful monument that lists the names of the Jammie Dodger fillers that gave their lives in the struggle against Fascism near Portsmouth. A giant bronze dodger looks out to sea in a poignant tribute. In a nearby cemetery is the grave of 'The Unknown Jammie Dodger Filler' and on the third Wednesday of every February the people of Portsmouth have a two minute tea dunk in honour of those brave, brave men...