I always wondered what it might be like if Doctor Who took place in a steampunk alternative universe. I think it would be pretty cool to have a TARDIS filled with gears and giant steam engines, and Cybermen and Daleks made from copper and brass. Well, one very talented Australian artist has created a life-size steampunk Dalek, and it’s pretty epic.
According to artist Vince Austin’s Etsy listing, this awesome Dalek is “fully-operational” – in that it can be driven by a pilot inside, and has a voice modulation circuit that can be used to communicate with the outside world in Dalekese. It’s also been rigged up with cameras and screens inside so its driver can see where it’s going, lest it exterminate the wrong person. Top speed for the Dalek is about 6 km/h (~3.7 mph).
This thing truly is an amazing work of art. However, it’s also as expensive as a really nice Porsche – with a $150,000 asking price. And that’s before the $2000 shipping fee to get it from Australia to the US. It took Austin about 6 months to build it, so it definitely was time consuming to create. As much as I’d love to have this thing in my living room, it would truly exterminate my retirement savings.
