About a month ago, a friend of mine and myself were discussing amongst other things, Steampunk, Doctor Who, and the Daleks. We started wondering what would happen if you combined steampunk and Doctor Who, setting the scene in 1930s Germany, taking the Nazi allegory of the Thal/Kaled war to its logical conclusion. I have other things planned, but for now, here are two figures I have just finished, based on Davros, creator of the Daleks, and Nyder, his second in command from the story: Genesis of the Daleks:
Davros von Schillborn:
Head: Order 66 Palpatine with Legacy Han Solo goggles and part of strap from MU Hawkeye
Body: 25th Crimson Guardsman
Left Arm: Clone Wars Ziro's Assassin Droid
Main chair: Cobra Terrordrome with: Lego cart wheels, Astromech unit side wheels, Astromech legs, aluminium mesh, plasticard, a Deep Six v2 backpack (life support unit) and sundry other items I found in my bits box.
General Maximillian Nyder:
Head: Last Crusade Colonel Vogel
Body: Resolute Destro
Left Hand: RoC Doctor Rex
Right Eye: Eyepiece from GI Joe rifle
Breathing mask/Respirator: Starkiller Concept figure
Butt pack: Phantom Menace accessory pack
The logo on the armbands is the one used by the Kaled Bunker Guards in 'Genesis of the Daleks'. I have adapted it as the symbol of Unit 11.
If anyone is interested in the alt. universe biographies I wrote for them:
Davros:
Davros von Schillborn was born in Austria in 1879. He was a child prodigy of genius level who studied medicine, mechanics and physics at Heidelberg University. He came to the Kaiser’s attention with his radical ideas on early eugenics and bio-mechanical implants, and his work with drugs and hypnotism which he did in association with his chief assistant Dr Heinrich Sinnesbieger. In 1910, the Kaiser appointed Davros head of the newly created Imperial Science Corps, Unit 11, located at Camp Loki near the Rhine.
The work continued there until World War 1 when the institute was put on a war footing, looking to create weapons of mass destruction, especially poison and nerve gases. Davros himself organized allied POWs coming through the camp into a slave labour force, and was given permission to perform experiments upon any prisoners he wished. After a breakout by six allied prisoners early in 1918, security and armaments around the camp were doubled, but a young Lieutenant in the Air Corps managed to drop a single bomb down one of the chimneys leading to the underground furnace.
The resulting explosions killed many of the science corps. Davros was severely wounded, losing his left arm at the elbow, receiving severe damage to his eyes, his spine was shattered by shrapnel and his lungs and throat were exposed to some of the chemicals he had been mixing in his laboratory. He was saved by his head of security, Major Maximillian Nyder, who despite horrific injuries of his own, managed to drag his mentor and friend out of the rubble.
Over the next ten years, Davros worked on the technologies to help repair their injuries. He developed a breathing system and electronic right eye for Nyder, and a life support system built into a motorized wheelchair for himself, as well as a device to augment his damaged eyesight. His bitterness against the former allied nations drove him on in his work, first funded by the Weimar Republic and later by the National Socialists.
Nyder:
Maximilian Nyder Born in Prussia in 1894. Attended the Prussian Military Academy and graduated top of his class. He was considered by his tutors to be highly intelligent, cunning and cold-bloodedly ruthless. He won all fifteen of the duels he fought, and instigated, at the academy, blinding two of his opponents and crippling a third man. He was a crack shot and superb strategist. As soon as World War One broke out, he was sent straight to the front as a Lieutenant in a Stormtrooper Battalion. His tactical brilliance meant that he lost far fewer troops than his fellow officers, and managed to accrue a far higher kill rate as well. This alongside a fair but brutal regime and extreme courage under fire meant that by the end of 1916 he had been promoted to Captain and twice received the Iron Cross First Class.
Upon joining the army, he quickly realised that his lack of social and political standing meant that he would never advance far beyond the rank of Captain. He was hungry and ambitious to improve his station, and looked around for something or someone to attach his flag to. He learned of the Kaiser’s pet scientific elite, Unit 11. Knowing that once Germany won the war, such projects would be highly favoured, he shocked his commanding officer by applying for the vacant post of Security Chief of the Science Bunker at Camp Loki.
Over the next year, he became very close to Davros, the two men becoming friends and Davros promoting Nyder to the rank of Major and his second in command.
When the bunker was bombed, Nyder was in the lab with his mentor. Chemicals burned away most of the flesh on his left hand and his left eye. While he was rescuing Davros from the rubble of the bunker, a canister of poison gas erupted in his face, causing scorching to his lungs. When Davros had recovered sufficiently, he created a breathing apparatus that was a cross between a respirator and humidifier to allow Nyder to breathe normally. He also created a mechanical left hand for him and over the next ten years, managed to perfect an electronic eye.
The two men remained friends, and when Nyder was inducted into the SS in 1929 being promoted to Colonel, and the General in 1933, he was allowed to stay on as Davros’s personal Chief of Staff.
