Life-size Dalek

Project Notes

Every year, Venerable House at Caltech puts on an interhouse party that attracts many students from around the campus, dubbed OPI. Each party has a distinct theme, with OPI 2020's theme being based on the popular science-fiction TV show 'Doctor Who'. My goal was to construct a life-size model of a Dalek to bring a bit of extra life to the party. After dozens of hours and many long nights, the Dalek was completed just in time for the party.


The Dalek was based around a wood frame built from scrap screws and lumber from the construction of the party's dance platform. The side panels were made from 4'x4' sheets of tempered hardwood panels. These panels are excellent for projects such as these due to their pourus nature and thus, bond very strongly to wood glue, and are easy to cut. They are also quite flexible, which is how I was able to construct the torso of the Dalek with its curved panels. Dimensions were pulled from a CAD model found online, and the panels were affixed using custom metal brackets to account for the very specific angles.


The various tools that stick out were made from PVC pipe and 3D printed components. This includes the whisk, the laser, and the plunger. The bulbs on the bottom half of the Dalek were made from foam spheres that were hand-cut to make hemispheres by my excellent friends in the house. The top dome was also made by my friends who were somehow able to construct a two-foot dome using only miscellaneous materials that were available on-hand. They also painted the Dalek and worked on other parts while I worked on the frame in the moments leading up to the party.


The entire Dalek was built upon caster wheels in order to make it easy to move around. Plans are in place in the future to make the Dalek motorized, which is discussed in more detail below.

Build Photos

The final result. Unfortunately, I couldn't get many pictures of the progress like with my Portable Wii project.

Here I am hugging the Dalek, for some reason. This gives a good sense of scale. It weighs easily over 80 pounds.

This is the only available photo of the Dalek prior to its completion. It gives a good look at the unpainted structure.

Future Plans

I originally intended to make improvements to the Dalek over spring break after the end of winter term 2020. Unfortunately, this was when coronavirus sent all of us home. I still plan on making the following improvements:


  1. Make it motorized: The original plan was to have it be motorized, up to the point of even building a working radio control vehicle around a wood frame that would slide into a cavity build into the bottom of the Dalek. The Dalek ended being far heavier than expected, and improvements needed to be made to the power of the system. Unfortunately, this could not be completed in time for the party, and remains on the to-do list.
  2. Clean up the rough edges: Many details had to be omitted to complete the build in time for the party, such as the panels above the torso, a properly hemispherical head, and smaller details to make it more like the original Daleks.
  3. Working action features: I had originally planned on making the head movable, in addition to being able to lift the laser up and down, but this was also not completed due to time constraints.