Dalektible - Inaugural Post

Hello and welcome to Dalektible! This blog will document my attempt to plan and build a Dalek to be premiered at GenCon 2012. My hope is that you, the reader, will enjoy following along with my progress. First things first, though. Let me fill you in on the story thus far.

I decided at the beginning of January  to undertake this project after having mulled it over for a few months. It originated with the vague idea of building something cool over an old Jazzy power chair. I didn't have one, but I just knew that it would be an awesome base for something like, oh, Professor Xavier's Wheelchair, or Captain Pike's, or something. And then it hit me. A Dalek! What a fantastic idea!
     I came to find out through a little Internet research that there are clubs that have been building these things since Dr. Who was in its infancy. And so I perused diaries of those who had gone before and came across several sites dedicated to the building of Daleks of all shapes and sizes. The place I decided to land was projectdalek.co.uk. The wealth of material and the thriving forum was very exciting and I started to think, amid periods of serious self-doubt, that I could indeed possibly pull this off.
     I should point out that I am a novice to many of the disciplines that this project will demand, including metal cutting and welding, circuit building, fiberglass molding, and others. I will likely be documenting a great many mistakes along with a few triumphs, so follow along if you'd like to learn what not to do!
     And so, that brings me to January 2012. I had been saving up a little, so I could begin to gather the necessary parts. The first challenge was my power chair, which I have recently acquired:

This is a Jazzy 1113, which I will be attempting to use as the power base for my Dalek. It will likely have to be modified to fit correctly, but I think it should work. It was purchased second hand and I think I got quite the bargain.
     The first piece of construction I'll be attempting is the manufacture of a custom voice modulator so that when I actually do pilot my Dalek, I'll be able to sound like one. I'll be following a build manual that was authored by one of the very talented Project Dalek builders. The modulator is going to be built from scratch, employing PCB etching and soldered components. The end result will provide me with a very flexible sound for my Dalek's voice. Stay tuned for more on the modulator. The PCB blanks are in transit, and I have an electronically gifted friend helping me put together my list of materials for the build. (Along with recommending a few modifications that will no doubt prove excellent) I expect construction to begin next week!

     By the way, I won't be linking any of the build manuals directly throughout the build as the Project Dalek site authors prefer that you join up to acquire those materials. If you are interested in building your own Dalek, I highly recommend them. You can join for free, but may donate to support the site. So far the staff and other users have been very friendly and helpful.
     That feels like a good kick-off to me. I hope you enjoy watching the progress. It helps me stick to my goals if I post things publicly. And so, let me say thanks for reading and I hope we all end up having a lot of fun with this!

Allons-y!
-Scionic