Meet the Exeter Doctor Who fanatic who’s built two amazing Daleks
A Doctor Who fanatic has built two full-size Daleks – in his garden shed in Exeter. Sci-fi nut Ron Munns, 57, started the first about four years ago with a wooden frame around an old mobility scooter.
He added a few Christmas decorations and electrical cables and painted it black then climbed inside to drive it back and forward. He followed that with a second improved red-coloured Dalek which is remotely controlled.
Both models are the same height as in the timeless BBC drama – 5’8″ – and talk and squirt water.
Ron pushes a button and it talks through an internal speaker and he eventually plans to fit it with a radio mic
His first model ‘speaks’ with the person inside talking through a voice changer.
Ron, who works for the estates department at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, spent around seven months building each one.
He used old pieces of wood and other scrap and fibreglass and put them together in his 10ft x 12ft metal shed at the bottom of his garden in Exeter.
The pair have appeared together at sci-fi conventions and charity events across the country and helped raise hundreds of pounds for good causes.
Ron said: “I built the first about four years ago out of scrap of wood I just had lying around. I just felt like building one.
“I found the dimensions online and made it out of wood I just had lying around.
“It took about six or seven months, and I started from the bottom up.
“I spend most of my evenings and weekends doing it as I also have a full time job at the hospital.
“My wife is very understanding and she just leaves me to it. She even lets it in the living room occasionally.”
Ron, who lives with wife Marilyn, 60, and has two daughters, now takes them both to charity events and conventions.
He added: “I do watch Dr Who and I am a fan of the show. You also meet many enthusiasts by doing this. It is a great hobby.
“The first one I made I had to get inside to operate, which was tricky, so the second one I made radio controlled.
“It was very similar but I learnt from my mistakes. I finished this one last year and it goes to events alongside its ‘brother’.”
Ron has donated the black Dalek to local sci-fi group the Exewing Fundraisers who are collecting for Hospiscare this year at various events.
He still owns the red Dalek and takes it to other public events.
He added: “It’s a fun hobby as people often remember hiding behind the sofa when the Daleks first appeared over 50 years ago on our screens.
“Most people love the Daleks coming towards them shouting ‘Exterminate!’ but some run away.
We don’t know how much they have helped raise for various causes in total but it’s been good fun.
“If I had the room I would do more. I am thinking about doing another.”