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Librarian-bot β Cusick's Legacy
Published: 2013-03-02 09:48:41 +0000 UTC; Views: 16980; Favourites: 328; Downloads: 249
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Very sadly, Ray Cusick - the man who designed the Daleks - passed away last week. His work in creating one of the most iconic bits of design work in Television history has, for the most part, gone woefully unrecognised. He certainly never got any royalties from the use of his design, with the money bound up in the legal control of Terry Nation's estate. [link]I'm not sure I can adequately express how brilliant his work on the Daleks was and how much of a shame it is that he got far less recognition for it than Terry Nation. Cusick took a very vague description and transformed it into something totally original and totally alien, a monster from outer space that was at once ridiculous and terrifying.
This is my tribute to him and his work, a sci fi icon that will last as long as there are geeks and British people in the world.
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Comments: 71
I'm doing a blog about ranking all of the Dalek stories, I wondered if I could use this picture. You would of course get full mention and credit. If not, then no worries : ]
Huge fan of your work btw.
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Sure, go for it!
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Aw thanks! 
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I would like a universe where all the daleks from each universes was trapped inside the G arkΒ after the time war and then released Β
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so Meany different Daleks from each universe will be in different classes
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Would they all fight each other, though?
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Nah its when they all realize that they are all Dalek and purity can be not necessary Β Β
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Seriously though, that episode would be really cool. However, I still think they'd all think about fighting each other.
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No! Not Ray Cusick! Yet another underrated genius has passed on!... R.I.P. Mr. Cusik, you may not have been a money-magnet but your legacy will still make life richer for all Dr. Who fans everywhere!
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Wow! Β All hail the mighty Dalek Empire!!!
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How come the Dalek Emperor from "The Parting Of Ways" isn't included?
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Simply because I haven't built it yet. The issue is that I don't have any decent measurements to work from, so it's all guess work, which is going to take quite a while to get right....
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How is the Time war Dalek emperor getting on now? Any closer to finishing it?
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Closer, but it's slow going. The lack of defined dimensions makes it much harder than usual, especially when I'm trying to match the exact look of the original model.
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Any progress? In terms of dimensions, there are several commercially available models. If you could find the dimensions of a model, you could conceivably divide it and scale it up. Just an idea, and probably a bit late. So... yeah.
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Not really - I just lost interest in modelling it, unfortunately.
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Ah well 
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Just the Star Trek model I've got in-progress. Which will hopefully be finished soon!
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Any other Dalek Models you working on?
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Just a few improvements to existing ones, nothing new.
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After you have finished the Time war Emperor, would you consider making another image like this, but including the new models you made after thisΒ tribute? Maybe you could make one forΒ Ray CusickΒ birthday, just a thought.
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Certainly, that's always been the plan - I need to do a version of this with better lighting anyway!
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I will look forward to seeing it in the futureΒ Β
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Am I allowed to pretend that the Daleks are all saluting him with their sucker hands?
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Fantastic tribute, especially as soon it will be the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Dr. Who. Long may it, and the Daleks....and the geeks as well as us British, continue! Thank you.
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Thanks for commenting!
Glad you like the image!
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Awesome picture I love it, I have to ask though, is Dalek Prime up there?
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No, not as such. I sort of decided that the Golden Emperor Dalek made the Prime redundant in terms of design - they are essentially the same in terms of looks - and I don't really like War of the Daleks anyhow.
Glad you like the image!
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Just missing the emperor dalek from the ninth doctor
[link]
still good though excellent
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Thanks!
I've started working on that Emperor, so I'll eventually be able to add it to the collection!
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The Strategist and Drone Officers in Asylum had their colours somewhat close to your choices actually.
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Just shows what an iconic design he came up with. He deserved better treatment.
Nice art, btw
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"...at once ridiculous and terrifying"...
This encapsulates the Daleks far better than anything else I've read. I think a lot of the New Series Dalek stories attempt to tone down or negate the aspect of the "ridiculous" (which I am betting was also pretty unintentional on the part of the early Doctor Who stories) yet it really is a huge reason in Why the Daleks were so terrifying... a silly stunted cone with Short Man syndrome to the power of a thousand (though were it me I'd have made them a fraction taller...)
Totally agree about Raymond Cusick... a lot of Nation's scripts reek of "I'm meeting a deadline and I don't give a rip", and it was Cusick who took a vague careless description and made it into the most contradictory, aethetically intriguing design on TV. Something totally inhuman with no human elements like jointed limbs. Rather criminal he was so totally ignored legally. I'd go so far as to call him the Real creator of the Daleks, even if they owe their space-nazi personalities to Nation... though I guess this really was an equal meeting of minds now I think about it, and however a poor writer Nation was, he still came up with a great idea, if not the visual...
Anyway, as always, love the work! Looking forward to more of the "Mark Is/IIs/IIIs", etc.
Best,
Eddy
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