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Blake's 7 Online - Horizon, the B7 Appreciation Society :: Other Forums :: General Chat
 Exterminate ... !!
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| trevor travis |
Posted on 19-07-2010 23:37
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Beta Grade Posts: 824 Joined: 18.01.10 |
Exterminator, that's great.  I love the Dalek TV21 strip, especially the confrontation between the Emperor and Zeg. |
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| exterminator |
Posted on 20-07-2010 10:25
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 Gamma Grade  Posts: 332 Joined: 08.09.09 |
Ms Wooster wrote: It's actually bigger even than the big Liberator, isn't it? Oooooh yes - if the top bit was still just two hemispheres, the Liberator would just about fit inside them!! trevor travis wrote: Exterminator, that's great. I love the Dalek TV21 strip, especially the confrontation between the Emperor and Zeg.Thanks!! I think the TV21 "Daleks" strip is hugely underrated by Who fans - in fact I don't suppose a lot of them know about it!! It's also interesting to note that this is the THIRD "origin of the Daleks" that Terry Nation wrote (the other two being "The Daleks" and "Genesis Of The Daleks" from the TV series). _________________________________ "Where's my potato?" |
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| Angry Angel |
Posted on 20-07-2010 14:13
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 Moderator  Posts: 722 Joined: 07.09.09 |
Ooh, I missed this! It's looking great, and it's always good to finish those unfinished projects (crafters tend to call them UFOs, unfinished objects). |
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| exterminator |
Posted on 21-07-2010 18:52
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Gamma Grade Posts: 332 Joined: 08.09.09 |
Angry Angel wrote: Ooh, I missed this! It's looking great, and it's always good to finish those unfinished projects (crafters tend to call them UFOs, unfinished objects). Thanks!!  A little something came in the post from RS today! Six red beacon lenses by Moflash – they look quite “1960s”. Interestingly, Moflash beacon lenses have been used on the TV Dalek props from 2005 onwards (a cylindrical shape), but that design has been discontinued, and the ones I’ve bought are their replacement design!  Here’s a comparison shot of the Moflash lens compared to one of the lenses used on the Daleks from the two 1960s movies. They were actually cheap glasses (made in Italy, I understand) bought from Woolworths, available in a range of colours, along with other things like jugs, etc. The ones I’ve got are resin copies. Very occasionally original glasses come up for sale, but they are like the proverbial hens’ teeth, and all the ones I’ve seen have gone for lots of money – not bad for glassware originally costing a few pence!!  Cheers! Unfortunately, my glass is neither half-empty nor half-full – there’s nothing in it at all – honest, officer!! Hic!!   Meanwhile, back on Earth, I made two castings (and one spare) of the single rib detail for the two rear inset sections of the dome.  I suppose I’d better start trimming and fitting all these fibreglass bits now … !! _________________________________ "Where's my potato?" |
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| exterminator |
Posted on 28-07-2010 13:01
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Gamma Grade Posts: 332 Joined: 08.09.09 |
Detail parts trimmed … …and marked up for cutting!  Meanwhile, more lines on my bit of MDF – I’ve suddenly got the urge to throw darts at it!! These extra angles will be used to mark the position of the dome lights. I stuck masking tape around the edge of the top dome and positioned it centrally on the “dartboard”, using the outermost circle as a guide.  I could then mark all the angles on the tape (it’s pretty much impossible to write on the fibreglass).  I was then able to use the marks I’d made to mark the centre line at the front.  Now to mark the position of the six lights. I used my super-flexy ruler to mark the vertical lines …  … and I drilled a hole at the desired height in a piece of wood I’d wetted and curved into shape, and used this to mark the horizontal lines.  There you are! I drill where the two lines meet! It looks like the crosses are going slightly “uphill”, but it’s just a trick of perspective.  Back to the dartboard!! There were lots of lines everywhere, so to avoid confusion I marked the areas to be cut out – one moment of not paying attention means “start again”!  The inner parts were cut with the jigsaw blade vertical, and the outer cut was with the blade set at an angle …  … so it will more or less follow the curve of the fibreglass piece (this is a quick test fit).  I was so pleased, I attached the second bit of detailing around the bumper!!  Next up, the detailing for the inset sections. All the surfaces were given a sanding, and the two larger pieces for the front were cut to size and a thick gelcoat was applied to the back, as a sort of “glue”.  They were screwed into place, and hopefully they will stay there once the gelcoat has cured.  Ditto with the single pieces at the back!  Progress so far:  What’s left? Getting the top dome in place and rotating, fitting the lights and look at fitting the eyestalk and other bits … _________________________________ "Where's my potato?" |
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| Henry Eggleton |
Posted on 28-07-2010 18:18
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 Gamma Grade Posts: 277 Joined: 08.09.09 |
Looking good |
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| exterminator |
Posted on 29-07-2010 12:49
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Gamma Grade Posts: 332 Joined: 08.09.09 |
Thanks, Henry!!  I bought six of these today – they’re brass light bulb holders (“SBC” – for the smaller “bayonet” fitting bulbs), with the additional screw-in plates which allow them to be attached to surfaces. Why the “SBC” fitting?  This is so I can fit 12V car bulbs in them. It just so happens that car bulbs fit in these holders! This is a design “nod” to the bronze Ecclestone/Tennant Daleks, as this is how their dome lighting was done.  For the moment they will be non-working, but it’s nice to see that there’s “something” inside the lights (as you can see, with the aid of a bit of torch light), as opposed to empty lenses. I’d like to get them lighting up, that’s for the future though!  Let’s get rotating!! Three small castors were screwed to the underside of the top dome disc.  Holes were drilled through the centres of the two discs and an over-long piece of 8mm threaded rod was bolted in place.  This was then lowered in place …  … a few adjustments were made, and the centre rod trimmed to size.  Did it work? Have a watch of this!!  Finally, I put some little self-tapping screws around the edge of the top dome to temporarily hold everything in place. 
_________________________________ "Where's my potato?" |
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| president solvite |
Posted on 29-07-2010 13:30
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 Moderator Posts: 1637 Joined: 07.09.09 |
Words fail me, I'm just so impressed you have time to do all of this.. I wish my neighbour was working on projects like this rather than Lambrettas and VW Camper vans!!! (Drilling, banging and revving of engines late at night!) Looking very nice and await some more updates with eager interest and anticipation. Behold your God, Neil!!  |
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| exterminator |
Posted on 30-07-2010 12:33
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Gamma Grade Posts: 332 Joined: 08.09.09 |
Thanks PS, your wish is my command!!  At the back of my workshop is a pile ‘o’ boxes, full of “things that might be useful”. One of these boxes (with a postmark dated 2003) has got this in it:  A complete generic Dalek eyestalk that can be made in a number of styles – this is the “60s” style (without the central “dot” on the front and with the 9 rings behind the eye). All I’ve got to do is shorten it a bit and it’s ready for fitting. Before I can fit it, I need the make a slot for it in the top dome. I made a test slot in one of the waste dome sections, so I was able to move it about to the height I wanted.  Time to do it properly!! I covered the area with masking tape, drew and then cut out the area where the slot would be. Note that I’m making the bottom of the slot rounded – another “homage” to the “real” Dalek props – some of them had the bottom of their eye slots rounded, most likely caused by damage by the eyestalks being allowed to drop, and the damage subsequently being cleaned up.  I drilled around the curved part as close to the edge as I could, then I used my cutting wheel on the rest, following the edge of the tape. It’s like colouring in, except with power tools!!  After a little “gentle persuasion” with a hammer, I had an almost-finished slot! A bit of sanding and filing, and this was the finished result:  A test fit – only a couple of mm either side, and not much gap at the top and bottom. Nice!!  There we are! A bit of internal woodwork to fit and the eyestalk will be fitted!! 
_________________________________ "Where's my potato?" |
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| Leyos |
Posted on 30-07-2010 16:15
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 Beta Grade Posts: 896 Joined: 21.04.10 |
exterminator At the back of my workshop is a pile ‘o’ boxes, full of “things that might be useful”. One of these boxes (with a postmark dated 2003) has got this in it: It's impossible not to be impressed by someone who just happens to have a complete Dalek eyestalk knocking around in a box at the back of their shed. |
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| exterminator |
Posted on 30-07-2010 17:19
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Gamma Grade Posts: 332 Joined: 08.09.09 |
That's not all! I've got some other bits lying about somewhere. I wonder where they are ... ??!!
_________________________________ "Where's my potato?" |
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| Lurena |
Posted on 30-07-2010 17:30
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 Alpha Grade  Posts: 1626 Joined: 08.09.09 |
Ohhh! I can not find words, Exterminator! Really, I hardly can believe my eyes! You know it is not good to be off line as long as I have been last week. You are going so fast and steady. Very impressing. very nice! Now, I have to look at your Dalek postings again. I feel I could not cope so much exciting information in one read! .....I want to tell, but I can't.....  ...I promised.... |
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| THE DOCTOR ALT 8 |
Posted on 30-07-2010 20:07
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Gamma Grade Posts: 238 Joined: 26.01.10 |
Drool... it's certainly comming along. Now, can I have a quick word about this suit of Galifreyan Time Armour?
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| Crater236 |
Posted on 31-07-2010 01:59
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 Delta Grade  Posts: 29 Joined: 10.09.09 |
Just been drooling at the photos - Exceptional work, and a really under-rated design. There's a bloke over on the Eagle message board making exactly the same thing!
Andersonic New Issue 10 http://www.anders... |
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| Ms Wooster |
Posted on 31-07-2010 07:28
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 Moderator Posts: 1145 Joined: 07.09.09 |
exterminator At the back of my workshop is a pile ‘o’ boxes, full of “things that might be useful”. One of these boxes (with a postmark dated 2003) has got this in it: It looks very much like one of those weights people use to work out at home! A novelty weight in the shape of a Dalek eyestalk! I can imagine you lifting it with one hand, while you're doing some intricate colouring with power tools with the other, the superman that you are!Nice progress! Do you have a deadline for this project? |
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| exterminator |
Posted on 03-08-2010 11:56
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Gamma Grade Posts: 332 Joined: 08.09.09 |
Thanks, everyone!! Ms Wooster wrote: Nice progress! Do you have a deadline for this project? Umm … err … yes, less than nine years!! I’ve made a small frame that fits inside the slot in the dome, for the eyestalk pivot. It’s currently held in place by screws, but will be fibreglassed in place.  This is the Dalek eyestalk in place, as it came “out of the box”. It looks a little over-long.  That’s better! A swift application of my junior hacksaw has trimmed it to a more acceptable length.  This is a little card template I made to mark where to drill the holes for the bulb holders and lenses …  … ooh, and it works, too!! That’s the bulbs and holders in place …  … and here you can see the finished effect, with the lenses screwed in position:  Something else I “found” lurking in the workshop – the sucker and gun arms!! These have got 4-inch spheres on (which is the standard size for TV and Movie Dalek props), but I’ll need to fit smaller ones – a little job for the not-too-distant future!! Note that the gun is in the style of the early Dalek stories. The early version of the gun has three supports underneath the wires, and a popular misconception is that they were some sort of octagonal metal supports (usually identified as “gas burner mantlets”), and you see a lot of fan builds (including this one) with these included. It has come to light that these supports were in fact Perspex discs with silver paint! I am going to keep this gun “as-is”, as it looks nice!!  I’ve decided to include a 60s-style cowl over the eye pivot, as some of the original drawings from the TV21 Comic included something similar, and it’s also another slight nod to more recent Dalek props. A while ago I’d bought an EMA hemisphere 8¼ inches (which is about 20cm) in diameter, and I took castings of the inside and outside, to give me a “step” of two sizes.  That’s the top part cut out being held against the lower bit.  This is the top part held roughly in place, to give an idea of what it will look like. 
_________________________________ "Where's my potato?" |
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| exterminator |
Posted on 05-08-2010 12:11
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Gamma Grade Posts: 332 Joined: 08.09.09 |
Time to make some 3-inch arm joints! The first 3 inch EMA hemisphere was superglued to a spare piece of plastic, and the whole thing was taped down to a piece of MDF. I added three “protective vinyl pads” (small, rubbery domes) which will enable the two halves of the mould lock together correctly. The whole thing was then coated with release wax.  Gelcoat on, and I’m using the spare bit to stick the two parts of the cowl together. Shame to waste it!  Clamps. Lots of clamps.  That’s a nice sight! No leakage of gelcoat under the dome.  With the plastic sheet removed, I carefully superglued the second hemisphere in place.  With the gelcoat “glue” cured, I removed the clamps and trimmed the excess fibreglass off. The next step with this is to attach it to a “C” shaped “collar” of fibreglass.  “Your flying saucer needs a shave!” The second half of the mould is made.  Next: Freeing the hemispheres and making some "one-piece" castings … _________________________________ "Where's my potato?" |
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| exterminator |
Posted on 09-08-2010 15:20
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Gamma Grade Posts: 332 Joined: 08.09.09 |
I cut around the edge of the mould and separated the two halves with a small, thin-bladed screwdriver. With a little gentle persuasion, the two hemispheres came out of the mould … still glued together!! Usually with joining two fibreglass parts, I could make them separately, trim them to size and then join them together with either strong glue or fibreglass resin. However, if you start chopping things like hemispheres about, there’s always the danger of taking a tiny amount too much (or not quite enough) off or not fixing them together accurately enough. This is a “trick” I learned from Ginger, one of the guys who built a number of the Ecclestone/Tennant Dalek props, both for the show and for exhibition/promotional purposes. The gelcoat is applied as near to the top of the mould parts as possible, without getting any excess on the mould flanges.  Next, the matting is cut very precisely, again so that nothing gets on to the mould flanges. A little more gelcoat is mixed up, and this is applied over the top of the gelcoat/matting edge and on to the flange, so that when the mould sections are put together, it will fill the gaps between the pieces.  Here are the two mould halves, securely clamped together and left in the warm sun for a number of hours.  The fibreglass has cured sufficiently for me to remove it from the mould. You can see where the excess gelcoat has been squeezed between the two mould halves.  I roughly removed quite a lot of the excess, and you can see that it’s a hollow one-piece casting! What looks like a white line around the middle is the remains of the excess gelcoat (to be removed a little later), and the grey patches are wax release agent – these will wash off with some soapy water. I’ve got a solid black sphere, so I won’t need to paint it, and it will remain looking nice! One more to go …  While the second sphere was curing, I cut a “C” shape from one of the spare sections of dome, filed and sanded the edges smooth and temporarily superglued the other part I’d made previously to it.  I added a layer of fibreglass matting to the back, so the two parts are permanently bonded together.  Having done that, it was time to get the second sphere out of the mould …  More soon! _________________________________ "Where's my potato?" |
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| exterminator |
Posted on 10-08-2010 10:25
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Gamma Grade Posts: 332 Joined: 08.09.09 |
A bit of a tidying-up evening last night. I removed the seams on the spheres with wet-or-dry paper and water with a dash of washing up liquid. They’ve got quite a matt finish to them now, and they’re ready for fitting.  I trimmed all the excess off the cowl as well, and gave that a thorough sanding.  This is also ready for fitting. What’s left on my rapidly shortening list? Modify and fit the gun and sucker arms and install all the hemispheres around the skirt – that represents Phase 1. Phase 2 will involve dismantling everything, filling, primering and painting, and Phase 3 will be putting it all back together again! _________________________________ "Where's my potato?" |
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| Lurena |
Posted on 10-08-2010 23:58
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Alpha Grade Posts: 1626 Joined: 08.09.09 |
Ohhhhiyee... Dear Exterminator, I have spent a lot of time enjoying your lecture. I can't simply get enough of your Dalek adventure. It's ingenious! Looking forward to the continuing story.... .....I want to tell, but I can't..... ...I promised.... |
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