A Doctor Who theme was destined to happen on the floor hole! This was a week full of exciting reveals, including a Dalek with removable head. The week started with the simple arrival of the TARDIS. Little did I know, the blue police box isn’t as recognizable as I’d expected for folks working in the building. (We can’t all be Doctor Who fans, I know…but onward we go!)

What’s Easter Got to Do With It?

While building a TARDIS is actually pretty simple, the Dalek posed an interesting challenge. I needed an appropriate base, a strong core, and a round top. For the core, I used a plastic medicine bottle. The skirted base is all cardboard, glued to another flat piece to hold the Dalek’s “skirt” in just the right shape. Then came the fun part–what to do for the Dalek’s head. I searched around the house for random objects and it turned out that half of a plastic Easter egg fit perfectly! And the best part was that it was easy to pull off and on. At that point I knew I was going to keep it removable as a bonus feature to reveal the tiny Dalek alien driving underneath.

The final product was a fun Dalek that could drive around with its top off in sunny weather, which may or may not reflect actual Dalek activity.

While I do strive for excessive accuracy, this is one of those times where I enjoyed taking the comedic liberty for things like the Atari-inspired joystick and the much-friendlier-than-usual alien. (How can you not love that cute little Dalek?)

Fun Facts

• The original blue dots I’d made for the Dalek’s body (as visible in the background of the behind-the-scenes photo) were beautiful but just didn’t work out. They were made from puffy paint (usually used on fabric) and didn’t dry in time. The final dots were made out of hot glue and hastily painted with a blue Sharpie (that somehow turned purplish).
• I used photos from the 4th Doctor’s scarf to remind me of the exact color combination that was used. Who knew that the original scarf had lavender in it?
• The “Bad Wolf” graffiti I used on one of the days was even MORE obscure for non-Doctor Who fans than originally expected.
• The figures from this week currently live on my office shelf. 🙂