Dr Who fan's DIY Dalek

When Dave Logan was a child in the'60s he was scared by Doctor Who's greatest enemy, the Daleks.

Now he has one in his home.

Mr Logan was a fan of the original Doctor Who series, created in the early 1960s, and has always wanted to build one of the robot-like aliens.

His chance came four months ago when he found blueprints to build a scale replica of the creatures on the BBC website.

"It was kind of one of those 'because I can' things. When the first Doctor Who series came out it was really freaky, especially because TV was really new. It was an iconic, scary machine.

"It was one of those things I had stuck in my mind as something I would like to build one day."

The Dalek, over 175cm tall and weighing about 90kg, now sits by the Logan's front door and has become a talking point for friends and family, and strangers visiting the house.

Mr Logan spent "at least" 120 hours during four months building his Dalek.

"I'm not a builder by trade, it took a lot of thinking through the angles and things. Sourcing the materials was tricky and quite expensive.

"I would get home from work at about 5 or 6 o'clock and disappear into the garage. My wife, Donna, sometimes wouldn't see me until midnight."

The main body of the Dalek was built using 18mm particle board with parts made of 9mm and 3mm MDF.

Other materials included plastic, copper, brass, expanded aluminium mesh, aluminium pieces for strengthening and polystyrene domes. The head was built from a barbecue lid which Mr Logan stumbled across in a shop and happened to be the exact size he needed.

"It's been a lot of improvisation and those moments when you wake up in the middle of the night and think: 'oh, that's how I'm going to do it'."

Mr Logan's creation even has a voice modulator kit so users can say the famous "exterminate" catchphrase and sound exactly like a Dalek.

The Dalek has been listed on TradeMe with a starting bid of $1500.

Mr Logan said he had a set price in his mind he wanted to reach and if the bids did not hit that limit, he would keep the Dalek.

"You can't put a price on it. It's a bit like art, whatever it is to someone is how much it will be worth."

Donna Logan said when her husband first said he was going to build a Dalek, she was a bit sceptical but watching it come to life had been incredible.

"He put so much work into it, it was a labour of love. He put so much work into it it's a bit sad he's trying to sell it but he may build another one."