This model was created in SolidWorks 2019. It also holds a scanned mesh from a 3D scanner.

The Daleks (/ˈdɑːlɛks/ (About this soundlisten) DAH-leks) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The Daleks were conceived by science-fiction writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 Doctor Who serial The Daleks, in the shells designed by Raymond Cusick.

Drawing inspiration from the Nazis, Nation portrayed the Daleks as violent, merciless and pitiless cyborg aliens, who demand total conformity to their will[1] and are bent on the conquest of the universe and the extermination of what they see as inferior races. Collectively they are the greatest enemies of Doctor Who's protagonist, the Time Lord known as the Doctor. During the second year of the original Doctor Who program (1963-1989), the Daleks developed their own form of time travel. In the beginning of the second Doctor Who TV series that debuted in 2005, it was established that the Daleks had engaged in a Time War against the Time Lords that affected much of the universe and altered parts of history.

In the programme's narrative, the Daleks were engineered by the scientist Davros on the planet Skaro. During the final years of a thousand-year war between his people, the Kaleds, and their enemies the Thals, many natives of Skaro became badly mutated by nuclear war and chemical warfare. Deciding to create a master race from the ashes of his people, Davros genetically modified Kaleds into squid-like life forms called Daleks, removing weaknesses such as mercy and sympathy while increasing aggression and survival instinct, then integrating them with a tank-like robotic shells equipped with advanced technology. His creations became intent on dominating the universe, enslaving or purging all inferior non-Dalek life. In the Doctor Who audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions, it has been said it is a tradition on Skaro to sometimes name offspring with an anagram of a parent or relative (thus Kaled becomes Dalek). The audio plays Guilt and The Lights of Skaro also reveal that the word dal on Skaro means warrior, whereas the word dal-ek means god.

The Daleks are the show's most popular and famous villains and their returns to the series over the decades have gained media attention. Their frequent order to Exterminate! has become common usage.