Post by donlock on Jul 30, 2008 23:02:36 GMT 1
This set contains three 5” plastic Daleks, representing variants seen in the episodes ‘The Dead Planet’, ‘Planet of the Daleks’ and ‘Genesis of the Daleks’. In this reviewer’s humble opinion they have to be amongst the nicest and most accurate Dalek miniatures produced yet, although they are not without their faults.
Character Options have obviously invested a considerable amount of time on research, and each Dalek succeeds in capturing the look and feel of the relevant full size prop to a remarkable degree. The domes rotate, all of the appendages are pose-able, and they will readily roll across a smooth, flat surface with minimal effort. So, let’s look at what you get in detail.
The Packaging
With an eye to the collectors’ market the contents can be easily removed without damaging the packaging. The lid of the lozenge-shaped box just lifts off after removing the strip of Cellotape holding it in place. The clear lid itself is nicely embossed with the Seal of Rassilon.
The Daleks, with the base/backing piece, can then be simply lifted out. Each Dalek is secured by two pieces of tie-wire, one running up through the base and one around the neck. On my example these seemed to have been twisted into place by a Latvarian body-builder, but they still came free fairly easily. Once the miniatures are released all that remains is to remove a thin, soft, vinyl band from around each dome which secures the eyepieces against injudicious waggling during transit.
The Dead Planet Dalek
Items of note are the mesh surface detail on the neck bin, ‘toffee-apple’ eye, correct number of eye disks, bulb-like dome lights and a convincing representation of the early style gun with mantles.
Planet of the Daleks Supreme Dalek
The torch eye , lilac ‘jam jar' dome lights, crimped gun rods and movie-style fender are all faithfully reproduced. The plain, strutless neck bin with un-chamfered neck rings is a work of art. Each ring even has tiny little rivets moulded onto the recessed edge!
Genesis of the Daleks Dalek
The taller fender, upper collar mesh, neck bin mesh, indicator style dome lights, interior plunger washer and another example of crimped gun rods are all present and correct.
So, what’s not to like?
Well, CO's variable quality control rears its head again. I had to free up the ball joints on all of the miniatures by removing the arm and gun (they are quite bendy and just a push fit) and inserting and levering with a small piece of steel rod. All of my examples exhibit some very minor scratches to the paint work. The Dead Planet item has a slight flat spot at the dome apex and two symmetrical dimples between the gun boxes, an area which appears to have been brush painted. The painting on the Supremes’s shoulder slats is uneven, giving some of them a slightly ragged look. The dome on the Genesis Dalek has a fairly deep scratch about 2mm long, and what looks like small over-painted glue spot. (Although both of these items might feasibly be replicating actual prop damage! They were in a fairly poor state by 1975…). Purists might also take issue with the shape of the chest oval on the Genesis variant, the fact that the Supreme has got a chest oval at all, and the position of the two front shoulder slats on both the Supreme and the Genesis, which are slightly off-centre.
Conclusion
Nit-picking apart, these really are very nice pieces indeed and an absolute must-have for any miniature Dalek collector. They will look great gracing the desktop, book shelf or display cabinet. I’m certainly extremely happy to have added them to my mini-Dalek hoard. Lets hope other Dalek collector’s sets follow.
I obtained my set direct from the manufacturers at £16.99 plus £4.99 p&p.
Character Options have obviously invested a considerable amount of time on research, and each Dalek succeeds in capturing the look and feel of the relevant full size prop to a remarkable degree. The domes rotate, all of the appendages are pose-able, and they will readily roll across a smooth, flat surface with minimal effort. So, let’s look at what you get in detail.
The Packaging
With an eye to the collectors’ market the contents can be easily removed without damaging the packaging. The lid of the lozenge-shaped box just lifts off after removing the strip of Cellotape holding it in place. The clear lid itself is nicely embossed with the Seal of Rassilon.
The Daleks, with the base/backing piece, can then be simply lifted out. Each Dalek is secured by two pieces of tie-wire, one running up through the base and one around the neck. On my example these seemed to have been twisted into place by a Latvarian body-builder, but they still came free fairly easily. Once the miniatures are released all that remains is to remove a thin, soft, vinyl band from around each dome which secures the eyepieces against injudicious waggling during transit.
The Dead Planet Dalek
Items of note are the mesh surface detail on the neck bin, ‘toffee-apple’ eye, correct number of eye disks, bulb-like dome lights and a convincing representation of the early style gun with mantles.
Planet of the Daleks Supreme Dalek
The torch eye , lilac ‘jam jar' dome lights, crimped gun rods and movie-style fender are all faithfully reproduced. The plain, strutless neck bin with un-chamfered neck rings is a work of art. Each ring even has tiny little rivets moulded onto the recessed edge!
Genesis of the Daleks Dalek
The taller fender, upper collar mesh, neck bin mesh, indicator style dome lights, interior plunger washer and another example of crimped gun rods are all present and correct.
So, what’s not to like?
Well, CO's variable quality control rears its head again. I had to free up the ball joints on all of the miniatures by removing the arm and gun (they are quite bendy and just a push fit) and inserting and levering with a small piece of steel rod. All of my examples exhibit some very minor scratches to the paint work. The Dead Planet item has a slight flat spot at the dome apex and two symmetrical dimples between the gun boxes, an area which appears to have been brush painted. The painting on the Supremes’s shoulder slats is uneven, giving some of them a slightly ragged look. The dome on the Genesis Dalek has a fairly deep scratch about 2mm long, and what looks like small over-painted glue spot. (Although both of these items might feasibly be replicating actual prop damage! They were in a fairly poor state by 1975…). Purists might also take issue with the shape of the chest oval on the Genesis variant, the fact that the Supreme has got a chest oval at all, and the position of the two front shoulder slats on both the Supreme and the Genesis, which are slightly off-centre.
Conclusion
Nit-picking apart, these really are very nice pieces indeed and an absolute must-have for any miniature Dalek collector. They will look great gracing the desktop, book shelf or display cabinet. I’m certainly extremely happy to have added them to my mini-Dalek hoard. Lets hope other Dalek collector’s sets follow.
I obtained my set direct from the manufacturers at £16.99 plus £4.99 p&p.
extremly happy with my set. They are indeed faithful to the original daleks. Keep it up character.
