A whistle stop tour of Dalek trivia! The Daleks first appeared in Doctor Who back in 1963 when the Doctor visited the Dalek's home planet of Skaro exploring the dalekcity in an adventure known as 'The Dead Planet' or 'The Mutants'. The script was written by Dalek creator Terry Nation. William Hartnell was to meet the Daleks on several other adventures: 'The Dalek Invasion Of Earth', 'The Chase' and 'The Daleks' Master Plan'. Meanwhile Peter Cushing was battling against movie Daleks (also designed by Raymond Cusick and built by Bill Roberts of Shawcraft Models) in the Aaru films 'Doctor Who and the Daleks' and 'Dalek Invasion Earth 2050AD). Patrick Troughton took over the TV dalek encounters with stories such as 'Power of the Daleks' and 'Evil of the Daleks'. Sadly many of the stories are now classed as 'missing Dr Who episodes'. By the 1970s Jon Pertwee had took over as the famous TARDIS owner and met the Daleks in the stories 'Day Of The Daleks', 'Planet Of The Daleks' and 'Death To The Daleks'. The 1970s continued with Tom Baker in the driving seat attempting to avert the Daleks creation in the epic 'Genesis Of The Daleks' which saw the first appearance of their creator, Davros. It follows the battle between the Kaleds (Dals?) and the Thals for control of Skaro. Later in 1979 the Daleks and Davros appeared again in 'Destiny Of The Daleks'. By the time Peter Davison became the Doctor, the Daleks were becoming quite tatty and this is evident in the story 'Resurrection Of The Daleks'. The story included the famous 'Tussauds Dalek' repainted in black and white for certain scenes. Colin Baker met the Daleks in 'Revelation Of The Daleks' where Davros turns up yet again, breeding Daleks from human corpses. This is the first time we see Daleks in cream and gold colour schemes. The Imperial Daleks from 'Remembrance Of The Daleks' (starring Sylvester McCoy) were also painted in this colour scheme, including the plunger and eye-stalk. Gold was to be used big-style for the Christopher Eccleston fronted episodes 'Dalek', 'Bad Wolf' and 'The Parting Of The Ways'. Mike Tucker took the original design and (along with Matt Savage) created a whole new 'chunky' look. It remains to be seen if the Daleks meet the new Doctor, David Tennant. Maybe with help from Rose Tyler, Captain Jack and Torchwood, he'll put an end to the Daleks once and for all. Masses of Dalek merchandise and toys have been sold over the years, especially during the Dalekmania period in the 1960s including bump and go and talking Daleks. More recently Sevans models produced a great fifth scale kit and both Product Enterprises and Character Options have released radio command Daleks. For the ultimate Dalek purchase, This Planet Earth sell the real thing made from fibreglass at full size. Building Daleks has been a popular hobby for a long time and is ideal for those who can't afford to buy one. Many online groups have appeared over the years including the Dalek Builder's Cub, The Dalek Buider's Resource, The Dalek Builder's Guild, The Research Facility and of course Project Dalek which has a lively build community at the Project Dalek Forum. All these places are for people who want to build Daleks for their own personal use and pleasure. No commercial activity regarding Daleks is encouraged.