Welsh toy company Dapol announces the release of a box set of “early” Daleks depicted in various 1960s Doctor Who episodes. The set, containing four uniquely modified Dalek action figures, is a limited run of 2,000 units. 
It’s safe to say that Dapol’s most popular Doctor Who toys were the dreaded Daleks. The first toy Daleks were introduced in time for the Christmas shopping season that followed the mechanical meanies’ second appearance in late 1964, and quite a few toy licensees have benefitted from the Dalek trademark since then.
In 2000, Dapol really only introduced three new toy products: a new version of its standard TARDIS toy, this time containing a sound effect chip; a boxed set of Daleks with specialized features hearkening back to their reign of terror in the 1960s; and another Dalek, this one transparent – as seen in two 1980s adventures – due to being in a state of “mid-beam-down.” Through the transparent casing, the hideously tentacled Kaled mutant – the true mind behind the Dalek – can be seen.
The four Daleks in the Early Daleks box set all had the same grey-with-blue-highlights paint job, faithful to the many surviving publicity photos showing that paint job. (Keep in mind, Doctor Who was in black & white until 1969, so the photos are the only record of the Daleks’ paint scheme prior to their first color appearance in 1972.) The box set also came with a rather nice printed cardboard backdrop, evocative of the Dalek ship and city interiors seen in many episodes, though not intended to be a dead-on accurate representation of any one setting.
Clockwise from upper left: Warrior Dalek, Flame-Thrower Dalek, Production Dalek, Perceptor Dalek.
ToyBox review by Earl Green