# Duplo Dalek **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863 "2011-12-20T16:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/1 "2011-12-20T16:53:57Z")
My kids asked what I wanted for christmas and said that they where going to get me something for my collection of Dr Who figures. They say maybe the new Daleks as I have none in my collection. Shock… Horror - not a duplo Dalek… never will my collection be scarred with these hidious monstrosities… I grew up watching Dr Who - 45 year old and my mother used to tell everyone that I used to hide behind the sofa when the Daleks where on. They are my all time favorite baddies. So why oh why if I can accept the new Cybermen, Sontarans and Silurians cant I accept the new Daleks - every time I see them I see [Duplo](http://duplo.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx) Daleks… Am I the only one who sees them like this? ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/2 "2011-12-20T17:53:46Z")
I’m actually more fond of “iDalek”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/3 "2011-12-20T18:34:16Z")
> [@Hogfather65](#): > > Am I the only one who sees them like this? I hadn’t thought of Duplos, but they are horrid creations. They screwed up the proportions when they scaled them up and their tops look dinky compared to their bottoms. The “bar” that their guns and arms are mounted on looks like it was designed by someone at Apple. They took a villain that was scary primarily because of the utilitarian brutality of its physical form, and added all sorts of elegant touches that completely undermines its sense of threat. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/4 "2011-12-20T18:36:08Z")
I think even Moffat regrets them. Note that on the two occasions daleks have shown up since that episode, they were old-style. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/5 "2011-12-20T19:01:46Z")
I’m not quite sure what the OP means by “Duplo Daleks”. Did they license them out for a children’s toy company or something? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/6 "2011-12-20T19:14:05Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I’m not quite sure what the OP means by “Duplo Daleks”. Did they license them out for a children’s toy company or something? 😕 Though I’m not certain, I assume the OP is referring to the brightly colored Daleks from [Victory of the Daleks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_of_the_Daleks) (a larger image of whom is [here](http://www.xanapus.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/color-daleks.jpg)). ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/7 "2011-12-20T19:22:49Z")
I assume he means Lego Daleks, that is, Daleks constructed of Lego building blocks, but referred to Duplo Daleks to bring in some alliteration to the thread title. The Duplos are similar to the legos, but bulkier, intended for toddlers who have less fine motor skills and a tendency to swallow or inhale Lego blocks, which can be, as my children referred to them, baby chokers. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/8 "2011-12-20T21:44:03Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I assume he means Lego Daleks, that is, Daleks constructed of Lego building blocks, but referred to Duplo Daleks to bring in some alliteration to the thread title. The Duplos are similar to the legos, but bulkier, intended for toddlers who have less fine motor skills and a tendency to swallow or inhale Lego blocks, which can be, as my children referred to them, baby chokers. I’m familiar with Duplo (and the OP links it too) but I think we’re talking about the design aesthetic rather than the building toy itself. **The Hamster King** and **Jeep’s Phoenix** talking about the changed proportions and new Apple-esque design and **Alessan** talking about the style’s use (or lack thereof) in the show, rather than in tie-in toys and the like, seems to support this. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/9 "2011-12-20T22:19:17Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > I hadn’t thought of Duplos, but they are horrid creations. They screwed up the proportions when they scaled them up and their tops look dinky compared to their bottoms. The “bar” that their guns and arms are mounted on looks like it was designed by someone at Apple. They took a villain that was scary primarily because of the utilitarian brutality of its physical form, and added all sorts of elegant touches that completely undermines its sense of threat. Exactly. Matthew Savage’s [subtle restyle](http://www.mattsav.co.uk/) for the relaunch wonderfully synthesised and incorporated everything that made the Daleks [brutally, inhumanly functional](http://images.wikia.com/tardis/images/2/21/NewDalek1.jpg) ; the NuNuDaleks look like an undergraduate design student’s overcooked project. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/10 "2011-12-20T22:25:56Z")
> [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](#): > > Though I’m not certain, I assume the OP is referring to the brightly colored Daleks from [Victory of the Daleks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_of_the_Daleks) (a larger image of whom is [here](http://www.xanapus.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/color-daleks.jpg)). They don’t look so bad from the front. It’s the side view that makes them looks stupid. See this guy’s [fix](http://whopix.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/the-dalek-fix/). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/11 "2011-12-20T23:58:37Z")
Cyberman: “Our technologies are compatible, though your design is less elegant.” Dalek: **"Daleks have no concept of elegance!"** ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/12 "2011-12-21T11:46:38Z")
> [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](#): > > I’m familiar with Duplo (and the OP links it too) but I think we’re talking about the design aesthetic rather than the building toy itself. **The Hamster King** and **Jeep’s Phoenix** talking about the changed proportions and new Apple-esque design and **Alessan** talking about the style’s use (or lack thereof) in the show, rather than in tie-in toys and the like, seems to support this. Got it in 1. I was refering to the OTT redesign to the Dalek’s. I refer to them as duplo Daleks because thats what they remind me of - A Clasic Dalek redesigned to appear to kids (nothing to do with the Lego/Duplo merchandise) The colours are brighter… the design is more … inflated. Bigger is not always better or badder… ---
**Author:** ![turtledove\_river](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@turtledove\_river](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtledove_river)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/13 "2011-12-21T19:24:10Z")
I can’t believe there’s no EXTERMINATE!!! joke. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/14 "2011-12-21T19:32:58Z")
> [@Hogfather65](#): > > The colours are brighter… the design is more … inflated. Bigger is not always better or badder… No, [this is an inflated Dalek](http://www.starstore.com/acatalog/gold_dalek-inflatable.gif). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/15 "2011-12-21T23:55:31Z")
I haven’t been able to keep up with the series (long story) so I have to ask: what are the “new paradigm” Daleks? The last I’d heard they’d been exterminated from _ **every possible alternate timeline in the multiverse** _. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/16 "2011-12-22T02:53:38Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I haven’t been able to keep up with the series (long story) so I have to ask: what are the “new paradigm” Daleks? The last I’d heard they’d been exterminated from _ **every possible alternate timeline in the multiverse** _. They got better. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/17 "2011-12-23T03:21:16Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I haven’t been able to keep up with the series (long story) so I have to ask: what are the “new paradigm” Daleks? The last I’d heard they’d been exterminated from _ **every possible alternate timeline in the multiverse** _. They were newly made after that point. By other Daleks. ---
**Author:** ![coffinjumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@coffinjumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffinjumper)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/18 "2011-12-23T03:25:04Z")
I hate them too. Though in my circles I’ve got people calling them Super Sentai Dalek Rangers. But yes, there’s a lot of awful in that redesign ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/19 "2011-12-23T03:35:00Z")
> [@turtledove\_river](#): > > I can’t believe there’s no EXTERMINATE!!! joke. [This is what I want for Christmas](http://s3.amazonaws.com/foalio_production/items/original/1424/INTOXICATE_PRINT_LOW.jpg?1317583246) and I don’t mean a T-Shirt. I want the real deal. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duplo-dalek/606863/20 "2011-12-23T09:52:34Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > They were newly made after that point. > > By other Daleks. It was actually a pretty good idea, scriptwise; the nuDaleks won an unequivocal victory over the Doctor, and it was made pretty clear that they would _always_ be hanging around. Which was pretty obvious; Daleks have Joker Immunity, and wiping them all out but then bringing back one lone survivor next season to rebuild them was getting a bit tired. But if they had to redesign them, couldn’t they at least have looked like [this?](http://www.projectdalek.co.uk/storm/images/realimg01.jpg)