Dalek Variants - Mark II Daleks

Mark II Daleks

The storyline for the second serial to feature the Daleks, The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), required the props to be used extensively on location. Consequently serial designer Spencer Chapman and manufacturer Shawcraft Engineering devised a tricycle arrangement, incorporating three pneumatic tyres, to replace the original castors and carry the props over uneven ground. Enlarged fenders were then created to hide the revised undercarriage.

To explain the Daleks’ ability to travel away from the static-charged floors of their city, the narrative has the Doctor stating that an aerial located at the edge of a mine in Bedfordshire is the key to the Daleks' power supply on Earth. Although not referred to directly in the story, it is implied that the parabolic dishes now fitted to the rear shoulder section of each prop act as receptors for a form of transmitted energy. Other design changes are a reduction in the number of eye discs to five and painting some eyeballs silver instead of the standard black colour. An amphibious capability is demonstrated in the closing moments of the first episode of the serial when a Dalek emerges from beneath the waters of the River Thames.

For the first time a Dalek command structure is introduced, with rank indicated by differing colour schemes. The Earth Task Force Commander, or ‘Saucer Commander’, features a black dome and alternating light and dark skirt panels. A Supreme Controller or ‘Black Dalek’ is also seen with a black dome, shoulders and skirt.