One of my favorite things about the set is the way the console deck is raised and has all the space underneath. The 9th and 10th Doctors spent a fair amount of time in the crawlspace under their console, but that playset was designed with the console sitting on the floor. Here, you can actually have The Doctor tinkering underneith it all. The swing is also present, although the instructions contain a strange line about it being where The Doctor goes to contemplate things. In reality, it’s just a place for him to sit while performing maintenance on his sentimental old thing. The crazy curving floor is nicely recreated with the cardboard backdrop, and there’s actually a staircase that leads down to this area.

In fact, there are a lot of staircases in this new console room. It’s definitely not K9 accessible, unless like the Daleks, he’s overcome his inability to climb stairs. Most of these staircases just lead off to nowhere, so where they go is up to your imagination. One of the biggest liberties CO took with the layout of this console room is the relationship of the external doors. Here, they’re illustrated on the cardboard wall, along with the ubiquitous coat rack, on a lower level. In the show, the doors are orientated a lot closer to the flight deck. I do wish the giant viewscreen on the wall was better implemented. It’s the one The Doctor used to talk to the Dalek ship in Victory of the Daleks. The illustration on the wall for this feature is sort of just tucked in the side.

Naturally, the console is the most detailed piece of the set. I really love the way it extends above and below the deck, as it really conveys the idea that there’s some great mechanism at work here. The console and Time Rotor shaft can easily be removed from the playset as one piece.

The console is well represented, especially considering how many tiny bits of junk are on the actual prop. CO did a fine job shrinking it all down to this scale while still maintaining the highlights of the detail. The typewriter is there, along with the wiper fluid resevoir, handbrake, bell and the phonograph speaker. There’s even a socket to insert the Sonic Screwdriver. Each of the console panels are clear plastic laid over wires and circuitry to give the controls a more complex look.

The Time Rotor is the one thing I’m not terribly keen on in the new console room design, but it’s still recreated here really well right down to the blown glass interior. Nothing inside the Rotor moves, but it does look nice. The viewscreen, on the other hand, can be rotated around the console to face in any direction.

The real controversy over this set was CO’s decision to leave out the electronic lights and sounds featured in the previous console set. It’s an understandable sticking point considering that this set is roughly about the same retail price as the earlier electronic one. I won’t deny that I’m disappointed. Even a sound chip in the console with the familiar VROP VROP of the engines would have been nice. When you get down to it, as impressive a piece as this set is, it’s hard to see where all the $65 went. But chances are, if like me, you grew up starved for Doctor Who toys when you were a kid, you won’t balk too much at the price.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no buyer’s remorse. I would get it again in a second. It’s simply awesome. But while the playset is very solid, I don’t think it would survive very long as an actual playset. In other words, if I was a kid, I would probably end up beating the hell out of this thing. So if you get one, be sure to keep it pristine, because I don’t think there will be many of these in great shape ten years down the road.

It should also be noted that the TARDIS console room’s design for Series Five has been met with some mixed emotions by fans. It’s different, it’s multistoried, and it seems to defy logic and reason. But above all, it could not have been simple to design and build a playset based off of its M.C. Escher meets Doctor Seuss environment and I think CO did a remarkably good job translating it.
Pardon my carpet, but I couldn’t get a good shot of the box against my usual neutral backdrop. The playset comes in a fairly sizeable box that does nothing to hint at just how big this set is when completed. It’s nicely illustrated with plenty of photos of the playset complete and displayed with and without figures. I was expecting a window-box with at least the console set up, but once I looked at the mess of parts inside the box I saw that such a presentation would have been impossible. Still, CO makes no bones about showing you what you’re getting on almost every panel of the box.
I suppose I could have taken a few snaps of all the parts laid out and ready for assembly, but I think this shot does it just as much justice.

Holy shit. It looks like they just poured the parts in there. If you bought that second hand at a toy convention, you bet your ass you’d want to dump it out and check out all the pieces first. It’s a pretty scary site, considering how much there is to assemble and the fact that a good amount of this playset is made up of delicate cardboard backdrops and floor panels. In fact, it’s impossible to overstate how important it is to be careful taking this set out of the box. One misstep, one bad crease, and you could be looking at a disfigured console room. The transparent floor is particularly thin and comes in its own baggie, which could easily be discarded if you aren’t paying attention. This playset really is like a trip back in time to the old 1970’s Mego Planet of the Apes or Star Trek sets where plastic and cardboard collide. And even those sets usually used heavily lamenated cardboard. It’s delightfully nostalgic, but at the same time, it could be unbelievably disappointing for someone who isn’t expecting it.

And therein leads me to mention a bit about the assembly process. In retrospect, I should have taken a Xanax before doing it, because I was seriously nervous about screwing up. It’s a pretty unforgiving assembly and the instructions could have been a lot better. There are over a dozen pieces that make up the console room’s structure. The floor and the walls all require you to carefully lay in the cardboard and secure it under tabs. It’s very difficult to do without mangling the edges, but with patience and care, it comes together just fine. The design is actually ingenious at parts, the way the plastic framework supports the cardboard. The end result feels a lot sturdier than it has any right to be, and everything locks in really well. You can easily move the set once it’s completed, without worrying about it falling apart. Still, there are some edges of the cardboard that aren’t reinforced by plastic, so the potential for crunched edges or corners is there. It would have been cool to have some long plastic edging to cap off these panels.

Now that it’s all together and sitting proudly (and safely) up on a pedestal in my Library, I’m going to breath a sigh of relief and have a stiff drink to calm my nerves. Tomorrow, I’ll be back with a detailed look at the playset and all its different goodies.