Custom Figure: Time War Dalek Scientist

"Did you not see the markings on their casings? Dalek Scientists."

From the Dalek Time Controller to the “benevolent” Daleks from a parallel dimension, Big Finish’s expansive Doctor Who audios have always been a wonderful source for interesting and obscure Dalek variants. Sometimes these simply have to be left to interpretation, but those that manage to grace the CD artwork the perfect inspiration for custom figures. And with the release of Infernal Devices, the second box set in the new War Doctor range, another has joined them. Appearing on the cover of its second part A Thing of Guile is a new version of a Dalek Scientist, specifically the ones that appeared during the last great Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords.

These Dalek Scientists were tasked with developing a weapon on the asteroid Theta 12, with their mission a top secret to even Dalek high command. They could be recognised by their distinct casing markings, which included a blue dome and skirt hemispheres in addition to the standard bronze body colouring.

The base figure used for this custom was a standard 5” Character Options new series Dalek that I picked up on the aftermarket. The paint was brush applied and is Humbrol enamel metallic blue. I initially played around with a thinner to ensure the blue wasn’t applied too thickly, but after that failed I ended up just doing it in multiple light coats straight from the bottle. Painting the hemispheres can be a little tricky (especially if you’re trying to maintain the colour of the circular panel underneath) but with a steady hand and a lot of patience the end product should come out wonderfully.

It’s an incredibly simple custom, but I’m extremely pleased how this has turned out. The one thing I’ve always thought the bronze new series Daleks were lacking was a secondary colour, and blue is the perfect choice. Not just because of how nicely it stands out against it, but because it was part of the original models’ colour scheme back in the 60s as well. The blue dome also adds some nice colour flare to the top half while drawing parallels with the black-domed Emperor Guard Daleks as well. With how well the metallic blue pops on this toy, I can see myself working on an Eternity Circle Dalek (blue with silver accents) from the War Doctor Engines of War novel in the near future.