Dalek drone The Dalek drone was the most common Dalek model . ( GAME : " City of the Daleks " ) They were used as the main " foot soldier " , which led to them very occasionally being called warrior Daleks . ( PROSE : " War of the Daleks " ) Pre - Time War . The original Daleks were created by Davros , who described them as his Mark III Travel Machine . These Mark IIIs had armour cast in gunmetal grey and black . ( TV : " Genesis of the Daleks " ) By the time the First Doctor first encountered the Daleks , the Dalek drones lacked slats on their midsection and instead depended on static electricity from the floors of the Dalek City for power . ( TV : " The Daleks " ) The Dalek drones seen in England during the 22nd century Dalek invasion had radio dishes mounted on their backs for external power and larger bases . ( TV : " The Dalek Invasion of Earth " ) The Daleks later adopted vertical slats as a more efficient means of drawing external power from their surroundings . ( TV : " The Chase " onwards ) Later , the Daleks readopted the gunmetal grey colour scheme used by the Mark III Travel Machines , ( TV : " Day of the Daleks " ) although the Daleks that were stranded on Exxilon had a silver and black colour scheme . ( TV : " Death to the Daleks " ) The gunmetal and black design continued to be the standard for the Dalek Empire for many years . However , during his time at Tranquil Repose Davros genetically engineered an entirely new breed of Daleks from the Resting One s - these mutants were completely loyal to Davros , and had distinctive white casings with gold sensor globes , neck grating and limbs . Following the eruption of the war between these and the original Dalek Empire , these came to be known as the " Imperial " faction , now featuring all - gold appendages and white bases and - for the first time - the ability to hover under their own power . Meanwhile , the original Skarosian faction of Daleks came to be known as the Renegade Dalek s , and phased out the traditional gunmetal casings in favour of a battleship grey and black colour scheme . ( TV : " Remembrance of the Daleks " ) The Dalek drones were still identified by their grey casings at the beginning of the Second Dalek War of the 26th century ( TV : " Frontier in Space " , " Planet of the Daleks " ) but the casings were altered as the war went on . By the end of the war , Dalek soldiers had a much heavier and more solid look with a distinctive bronze finish , an expanded base , larger cylindrical indicator lights , and a blue - lit eyepiece . ( PROSE : " Prisoner of the Daleks " ) However , they reverted to the simpler grey casings once again after the war was finished . ( TV : " Destiny of the Daleks " , " Resurrection of the Daleks " , " Revelation of the Daleks " , " Remembrance of the Daleks " , PROSE : " War of the Daleks " ) Time War and aftermath . During the Last Great Time War , the Daleks reintroduced the bronze casings from the Second Dalek War . The basics of the design became standard for all Daleks . ( PROSE : " Prisoner of the Daleks " , " I Am a Dalek " , " Engines of War " , TV : " The Last Day " , " The Day of the Doctor " , " Dalek " ) This design was much more advanced than any previous models , with a swiveling mid - section that allowed the Dalek a 360 - degree field of fire and a force field that fully disintegrated approaching bullets . The design also added a new feature to the eyestalk : if something was obstructing its vision ( such as paint ) , a heat discharge could melt the obstruction . It was also able to regenerate itself by absorbing electrical power and the DNA of a time travel ler . The manipulator arm was also able to crush a man ' s skull in addition to the technology interfacing abilities shown by earlier models . ( TV : " Dalek " , " The Stolen Earth " ) The four unique Daleks who comprised the Cult of Skaro had the built - in " Emergency Temporal Shift " functions . ( TV : " Doomsday " ) New Dalek Empire . The drone casings of the New Dalek Empire were identical to the bronze casings of the Time War Dalek Empire . One minor variation , the Vault Dalek s ( found aboard their space station the " Crucible " ) possessed a specialised manipulator arm with eight " digits " but were otherwise identical . The mutants inside all the New Empire casings were grown from the cells of Davros ' own body . New Dalek Paradigm . When the Dalek race was successfully restored using the Progenitor device , the first five individuals of the New Dalek Paradigm emerged . Their casings were larger than their predecessors ' and the new drone was bright red , but was otherwise no different from its superiors such as the Strategist Dalek and the Scientist Dalek . ( TV : " Victory of the Daleks " ) While the design of the red Paradigm drone was initially mass - produced , ( GAME : " City of the Daleks " , " Return to Earth " , " The Eternity Clock " ; COMIC : " The Only Good Dalek " ) the Daleks ultimately chose to return to using the smaller bronze Time War model as the standard drone , with the larger red version being elevated to a higher position and given a more metallic burgundy colour . They also used older casing as seen on Skaro . ( TV : " Asylum of the Daleks " , " The Time of the Doctor " , " Into the Dalek , The Magician ' s Apprentice , The Witch ' s Familiar " ; COMIC : " The Dalek Project " ; PROSE : " The Dalek Generation " )