Sunday 19 June 2011

Desktop Patrol Dalek - a review


This isn't a new piece of merchandise but it's still available & I've been talking to my family about it today (in fact I convinced my grandad to buy one - shame I didn't know he'd be interested before as it would have made a useful Father's Day present!) so it's fresh in my mind. For that reason I thought I'd share the review I wrote for the forum with you.

Ok I'll start up with what it says on the box:

Patrols your desk for hours, never bumping into anything or falling off!

Simply switch on the Dalek & watch him go! In-built sensors detect nearby objects & the ground in-front of it. As it turns, the Dalek lets out the classic 'Exterminate' sound.


I got one these guys for Christmas. Understandably being a bit of a Dalek nut these days I was keen to get it up & running. Happily I had been bought some batteries as well (it takes 3xAAA) as they are not included in the box (it does clearly state this on the back). After a lengthy battle to actually remove it from the packaging (it was screwed to the card) I was eventually good to go.

So ... does it live up to it's boast?

Well ... no. But, for me at least, that's the actual joy of it. It's way more fun to watch it bang into things & shove them around all the while yelling 'Exterminate!' I love the fact that it doesn't even attempt to take the path of least resistance but relentlessly seems to go at things. And yes I even enjoy it when it falls on the floor! (Please keep all comments about little things & little minds to yourselves) I suppose there's the possibility mine's got a fault (although it does on occasion 'behave' as it should) but I don't care. I think I would've got bored if it literally just went back & forth.

As for the look - I know a lot of people don't like the new Dalek look, and I'll admit it doesn't look as good as my Ironside figure, but it actually looks a lot better up close than they perhaps come across on the TV. And it's red, which is my fave colour so that's another point in its favour for me.

Summing up then - it might not do what it says on the tin but it gets a thumbs up from me.

The Desktop Patrol Dalek is currently retailing at £13.99 from Forbidden Planet. It's been out for a while now though so it may pay off to shop around a bit.

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