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March 13th, 2025 25 comments

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Evolution Of The Toy Dalek Collecting Through The Ages

Available to order from www.amazon.co.uk and www.telos.co.uk

One of the most iconic creations to come out of the BBC’s cult television show Doctor Who is the Dalek. Its deceptively simple shape, movement and voice have beguiled fans since the very start, and it wasn’t long before the merchandisers came on board and started to produce Dalek toys in a variety of shapes and sizes, and with variable features and functions from push and go, to voice activated.

Dalek enthusiast Alex Storer takes us on a fan and collector’s journey through the multitude of Dalek toys which have been produced over the years. From the early days of Louis Marx and Selcol in the 1960s, to the modern Character Options variants, every type of toy Dalek is pictured and discussed. This is not an exhaustive catalogue or a guidebook, but an enthusiastic and appreciative love letter to the toy Dalek, explaining the challenges and elements of their construction, and how these changed as technology grew more sophisticated.

With interviews and input from many of those who were involved in the creation, design, manufacture and marketing of the toys, this book is a gloriously designed and illustrated celebration of the Dalek in miniature form.


Categorised under: Books, Reference books

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25 comments

  • Nic Saunders

    March 24th, 2025 - 1:06pm

    Ordered from Amazon when this first appeared on this site. Have had delivery pushed back to April. Hopefully all okay? Restocking maybe?

    Reply
    • Rory

      March 27th, 2025 - 4:31pm

      Mine arrived yesterday, so hopefully should be soon. Looking forward to reading as soon as I get time.

  • John

    March 24th, 2025 - 8:47am

    Nice book and took me back to my childhood!

    Reply
  • JOHN H.

    March 22nd, 2025 - 7:07pm

    I cannot find this book for sale any where bar Telos books. I’ve not purchased off them before.

    Does any one know how good their service is and how quickly they dispatch ?

    Or should I hope Amazon get it back in.

    Reply
    • Alex S

      March 23rd, 2025 - 2:11am

      Telos usually ship pretty quickly. You can also order it from Waterstones or WHSmith or any book shop should be able to get it in for you.

    • Alydon2007

      March 27th, 2025 - 1:53pm

      I ordered direct from Telos just over two weeks ago (I won’t order anything from Amazon as I’m sick of receiving poorly packaged and damaged books that I have had to return; it seems no one there knows how to correctly pack a book anymore), and haven’t received anything at all from them yet, other than an e mail confirming they have taken my money…

      Guess I will have to wait for the regulation 28 days and then chase them up…

  • ChrisP

    March 20th, 2025 - 1:28pm

    Been wondering for ages if I could stretch to ordering this. Then a few days ago I got a dispatch email for the copy I ordered on New Years Day and forgot about. Haha

    Reply
    • ChrisP

      March 23rd, 2025 - 9:19pm

      Haven’t had a chance to read my copy in detail yet (preordered from Telos and arrived yesterday).

      But first impression is that it looks great. Lots of photos of the products, packaging and adverts.

      As the Evolution title suggests, it’s arranged chronologically.
      Massive nostalgia rush for me in the 70s and 80s sections. Plus lots of fun stuff that I hadn’t seen before from 60s and the 90s onwards. Looks like lots of love had gone into producing it.

  • mick

    March 19th, 2025 - 3:53pm

    Got this today looks a really interesting book and Amazon didn’t damage for a change

    Reply
  • David C

    March 15th, 2025 - 8:06pm

    Good evening Alex ,Tried to order but it said currently unavable is that an amazon issue or out of stock issue
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Alex S

      March 16th, 2025 - 10:13pm

      The original release had to be put back slightly but it should be appearing as in stock soon.

    • Alex S

      March 16th, 2025 - 10:17pm

      It is shipping direct from Telos now and should be showing up on Amazon in the coming days (our original release had to be put back a little), so stock is on its way.

    • JRT!

      March 16th, 2025 - 10:29pm

      Thank you so much for the update Alex,can’t wait to get this! A friend of mine ordered two,one for me as well since I don’t live in the UK anymore,but not stopping me from getting this,lol

  • GARY VERNON

    March 13th, 2025 - 10:45pm

    Had a look through Alex’s book at Valiant last Saturday and it’s an absolute work of art. Extremely well produced with plenty of colour pictures throughout. A must buy for any Doctor Who fan as well as the Dalek obsessives amongst us.

    Reply
  • Alex S

    March 13th, 2025 - 1:45pm

    Thanks for the enthusiasm, everyone! I can’t wait to see this out in the world in the very, very near future. This is 40 years of obsession in print…

    Reply
  • David Minter

    March 13th, 2025 - 1:16pm

    Hopefully, this will be imported to the US like through Amazon.com. Being an American Who fan, I prefer to get from importers here in the States whenever possible as opposed to ordering directly from places like Amazon.co.uk. Though I’ve yet to have anything imported from the UK directly get lost in the mail, I just worry it could happen.

    Reply
    • booboo

      March 13th, 2025 - 1:35pm

      Telos say whona will have it

    • David Minter

      March 15th, 2025 - 1:52pm

      In the words of the Cyber Leader “This is excellent!” 🙂 WhoNA are my go to first source for Doctor Who imports.

      If they weren’t going to get it, I was going to check into Diamond Distributors for comic book shops. However, given their recent bankruptcy filing, that would be an iffy proposition.

    • David Minter

      April 17th, 2025 - 12:42am

      And WhoNA.com has put it up for sale! 25 copies available as of this post for any US fans reading this looking to import it.

  • Rory

    March 13th, 2025 - 12:43pm

    Is there any chance of this being released as a hardback? Would be an instant buy for me.

    Reply
    • Alex S

      March 13th, 2025 - 1:42pm

      Sadly not. We did look into an initial hardback run, but it simply wasn’t a viable option.

    • Rory

      March 14th, 2025 - 10:04am

      Thank you for the response, Alex. Disappointing that there won’t be a hardback, but c’est la vie. Still an absolute must buy.

  • Mark @ Terraqueous

    March 13th, 2025 - 12:29pm

    Ordered from Amazon as soon as it became available.

    Alex is crazy talented, and I know this book will not disappoint.

    Grab it while it’s stoll available.

    Reply
  • beef

    March 13th, 2025 - 12:21pm

    This is totally my jam, I love the cover as well.

    Reply
  • David

    March 13th, 2025 - 11:43am

    Already ordered. Can’t wait for it to arrive.

    Reply

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