Eagles of Skaro
My output is no way as fast as it used to be due to a developing new mind-set and semi hiatus where I’m doing a lot of other stuff.
If I don't engage in some other activities I start dwelling on things like the 1000 year war between the Kaled and Thals as one tends to do during idle moments. I assumed a period similar to our own early to mid 1940’s and to go with my earlier tracked Dalek I figured on there being some sort of air power and a radial engined Dalek flyer just seemed to do the trick.
Of course this begs many questions. Not least is how do you adjust all those poppet valves with only a rubber suction cup or steel grabby thing ? Perhaps the full on mutant Dalek race is a way off and standard limbed personnel build and maintain the flyers.
A humanoid pilot would have to be some poor short bugger that has to be squeezed into the machine – not much fun and a proper window might have been better.
It could be that there are genetically modified hybrids that were especially “grown” for the flyer but having the tech and understanding for manipulating the Kaled Genome doesn’t somehow sit right in an era of radial combustion engines, projectile weapons and tank tracks ... you see what happens when you dwell on this crap!
Anyway, if the Kelad have flying machines then the Thals have to have them too if only to pay a little tribute to Roy Cross who died 24 April 2024, one day after his 100th birthday. Roy Cross and his fabulous Airfix kit box artwork made him a hero of mine going way back to my childhood and has influenced much of my 3D art. I had this tail sitting idea and nothing to do with it so in the style of Mr Cross I have sort have made a dogfight double box cover.
I actually abandoned the tail sitting idea as the landing would probably result in a big ball of fire. Even though the concept is similar to 50's designs such as the Lockheed XFV, my placing of the contra rotating props so low would make handling impossible when transitioning to the vertical I would imagine but then there I go again over thinking it.
