I think the best place to start is at the beginning, so here is the first thing that me and my father built together as a real, commited project.

It is the thing that sparked off all of my enthusiasm for prop creation, and is the one most frequently wheeled out for sci-fi events.

Meet Larry the dalek!

He is the first screen accurate creation I ever made, in collaboration with my father. He was started when I was in year 6 and finally completed when I was in year 9. The project stalled for about a year, but luckily it did not take long for me to grow up enough to feel able to complete him without my father.

I modified/rebuilt almost every part- eye stalk, neck section, shoulder mesh, ball joints, plunger arm, hemispheres, fender. In fact, the photo here is not of the 'finished' dalek.

I was inspired after going to "Exterminate 45" in the Leicester Space Centre, 2009. I was 10 years old, and... wow...

"When can we build a dalek, dad?" was the phrase that sparked off the rollercoaster journey to where I am today- I only asked because I wanted to see dad's face when he said 'no' in a variety of blunt ways, so just imagine the excitement when he actually said "In the new year"...