November 2, 2025

I am now making a 50% scale Dalek, in parallel with the full size one. This is already becoming very handy with finding design problems quickly, and helping see how things will go together.

To start, I laser cut the 50% skirt sections and panels in some 3mm MDF. After starting the assembly, I realized that I needed to mirror half the panels… Oops… At least with the half scale dalek, the builds are fast, and use less materials.

While I was assembling the skirt section, I had a full set of 50% scale dome and neck pieces being printed. I put a full size dome light near the smaller head for a size comparison to the full size one (it is difficult to move the full size head/neck for a full comparison atm). I might attempt to make this “tiny” Dalek an AI driven autonomous robot at some point, after the full size one is done.

I also did end up redesigning the neck rings. Now they are separate rings with solid slats that are bolted into place, instead of printing the slats as part of the rings. This makes them much stronger, and way less prone to breaking/snapping. Not to mention being more modular in case I need to change how the slats will connect to the head and reprint them (for example).

I also did a quick experiment for the “sensor globes”. They are supposed to be 4″ hemispheres, and I found some acrylic Christmas ornaments that are the perfect size. I painted the inside with some gloss black paint, which should make them scratch resistant on the outside. Just need to wait a bit, and make sure it does not crack or peel from the inside. I even found some 2″ ones for the 50% dalek.