It is said that the Daleks are the embodiment of all that is evil in the universe. Their horribly, mutated bodies are encased in metal shells that protect them from the outside world while enabling them to commit acts of cruelty on a whim — not bad for a guy with a plunger and a small ray gun to work with. Their battle cry is unmistakable and one of the more iconic character traits in all of science fiction: EX-TER-MIN-ATE!
And that’s what makes these sound effects Daleks so cool.
I’ve had a number of Character Options 5-inch Daleks over the years, but I could always take them or leave them — until I got my first taste of the sound effects Daleks, that is. Their ability to recite words and phrases from their respective eras is so darn cool and fun that I’ve been aggressively hunting these down for my collection. While they’re all cool in their own way, the Special Weapons Dalek stands out as singularly interesting among all the other Daleks released.
This Dalek appeared during the 7th Doctor’s tenure in “Remembrance of the Daleks” — considered by many to be one of the Daleks’ defining stories. In it, there are two warring Dalek factions competing for “the Hand of Omega,” a weapon the Doctor had hidden in a coffin way back in 1963. As an ace up their sleeves Davros’ unleashes the Special Weapons Dalek upon the renegade Daleks and its firepower made quick work of anything in its path. This Dalek packs a serious wallop.
Despite some design differences, the Daleks have a fairly uniform look, so the Special Weapons Dalek catches your attention immediately because it is such a departure from the traditional suction-cup-and-raygun Dalek design.
When you see it in package and test out the sound effects, all you get it the sound of the blaster, which is fine since this Dalek never really says anything in the episode; it is literally treated as just a weapon. That makes it a little underwhelming in the “Wow! Cool!” department in which the others have been excelling, but thanks to a few intrepid members of WhoNA, it was discovered that if you hold the button down when you turn it off and keep holding it when you turn it on, you will hear a “beep.” Once you hear that beep, the Daleks “voice” is activated. Press the button, and, in a very deep, guttural voice that sounds creepy as all heck, the Dalek will recite one of the following phrases:
Exterminate
I must exterminate
I … I obey
Orders received
Primary target lock acquired
Receiving target coordinates
Seek, locate, destroy
Target vaporized
What is my target?
The voice is seriously cool. Now, I have to wonder why there is no indication of this feature on the packaging. Had I not casually browsed the WhoNA forums one evening, I would have continued on thinking it just made a couple blaster effects, so I can only imagine how many fans have purchased this guy and have no idea this feature is hidden away.
The paint job is fairly well done here. I say “fairly” because some of the weathering could have been applied with a little more finesse, particularly on the lower body. It almost works, but it really looks too much like paint when it should look like scrapes, rust, oil stains, whatever. Generally speaking, this Dalek looks to me like it could be Ashley Wood’s take on the classic Dalek design. It has a “junkyard build” quality to it that reminds me of the 3A Brambles and Berites. I definitely like it, but I’m also glad it’s a unique Dalek and not a design that was adopted and applied to more of them.
The cannon is large and intimidating, especially compared to the usual Dalek weapon. It has a silver dry brush that succeeds in making it look both weathered and like steel.
Another trait that differentiates this Dalek from the pack is its “head.” Gone is the usual dome shape, the “ears,” and the eye stalk, and in their place what we get is an ever colder-looking head that lacks any indication of intelligence or sentience. It just looks dark and empty — like a gun waiting to be loaded.
Articulation here in minimal. The upper body can be turned 360 degrees and the cannon can be raised and lowered — that’s basically it. There are three wheels on the bottom that allow him to roll around, but I’m not sure that qualifies as “articulation.” Since this Dalek is basically a rolling gun, it has all the articulation it needs to do what it needs to do.
It’s just a smidge smaller than a standard Dalek, but it’s not a big deal at all. It still looks cool when displayed with other figures/characters from “Remembrance of the Daleks.”
What’s especially cool about all the Character Options Doctor Who figures is just how faithful to the source material they are. This Special Weapons Dalek looks like it rolled right off my TV screen into my hands. It’s so spot-on, but that’s what we’ve come to expect from these figures in general, especially the more recently released figures.
This Dalek was released a few weeks ago, but fortunately stores anticipated its popularity and made sure they ordered a whole bunch. It was available once before (non-s/fx) as part of a “Remembrance” box set, but that set is long gone and it commands a pretty penny on the secondary market, so it’s great that Character Options saw fit to not only reissue this Dalek for those who missed out on that older set, but to release it in the special s/fx line. The sound effects really do add a lot of play value to the figure.
It’s a very fun figure, and I do think it’s a must-have for a 5-inch Dalek collection, even if the 7th Doctor’s era isn’t your favorite. It’s a cool take on a classic design, and the sound effects alone make it worth a purchase.
