How cool is this? A Dalek made out of an egg – looks like a brilliant homemade present for a friend or a member of the family who just can’t get enough of the Science Fiction TV show Doctor Who. But just how do you make one? We just know you want one, right?
Here is a step by step guide, from egg carton right back to the egg carton - courtesy of Flickr User
PugnoM. Yes, you too can create your own species of Daleks from the original race, the Kal-eggs (ouch). You won't even need a sonic screwdriver.
First of all, you need an egg and a lathe. OK, the lathe may well be optional but, let’s face it. The shape of an egg does not really lend itself very well to lines being drawn on it. By the time you get three hundred and sixty degrees around the egg, will your line finish where it started up? Do it right, otherwise those hours of Davros impersonations you are so looking forward to may never happen.
Next comes the drafting stage. A pencil should be used for this as it seems that the graphite will still wipe off after you have dyed the egg. The general shape of the Dalek is now becoming apparent.
I have my children, Doctor. What do you have now?
Then, beeswax is applied to the pencil lines. The wax is used to stop the dye sticking to the eggshell. Any line that you draw with wax will, once the egg is dyed, stay as a white line. The egg is not normally kept in the lathe at this point – it is like this for the sake of the picture.
Then the egg goes in the blue dye. Note that at the moment there is still a yolk inside the egg. This is so a hollow egg does not have to be held down in the dye. It saves on time and avoids blue fingers! The wax will be removed later. This is what the egg looks like after it has been dyed but with the wax still on it.
The egg is now ready to be emptied. We would imagine this is rather a delicate operation (which part of this isn’t to be honest?). The green thing that you can say is a small manual drill. Pretty soon it will make its incision.
The dewaxing and blowing process is now underway. This is a Blas-fix one hole egg blower. Yes, quite. We didn’t know such a machine existed either. The thumb goes over the hole at the end of the part that looks like an accordion. That is then squished, the thumb is rolled off and the accordion thingamajig is released. At the other end there is a hollow needle which blows air in to the egg. Et voila! Empty Dalek egg.
"You are soft, like all Time Lords. You prefer to stand and watch. Action requires courage. Something you lack."
The egg is rinsed and is ready for dewaxing.
Then, the wax comes off, ever so gently.
Now it’s time for some inspiration. The sucker at the end of one of the Dalek’s arms was made by removing one of these pads from a soap holder. The blue rings on the eye stalk and the eyeball itself will be made out of small beads. This is where the glue comes in.
A twist of copper wire for the pedastal. They all come together to make the finished product.
A perfect gift for that Who-fixated friend that you will not be able to get in the shops!
"Welcome to my new empire Doctor. It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and triumph of Davros. Lord and creator of the Dalek race."
Kuriositas would really like to thank Flickr User
PungnoM for making these pictures available with a groovy Creative Commons License (Attribution 2: Generic). Oh, we would also like to thank her (and her creation) for making us squeal with pleasure like juveniles. Doesn't happen often enough.
First Image Credit Flickr User PugnoM
