If you missed out on seeing the two-parter series finale of Doctor Who this year, then this set is probably going to confuse the hell out of you, as it’s rather an ecclectic assortment. It consists of a repack of Amy Pond, a Roman Auton, a red Drone “New Paradigm” Dalek, a Sontaran General, and petrified stone versions of the Auton and Dalek figures. Not knowing the story behind this cadre of characters could be enough to make your head explode. And yet, to prevent potential spoilers, I won’t go into the reasoning behind the stone figures, but I will say the stone Dalek is a lot more relevant a figure than the stone Auton.

The set comes in a rediculoulsy long window box that lines all the figures up in a row, with the two big Daleks flanking each side. Seriously, just look at it standing next to CO’s big R/C Dalek.  

The package includes the blue backdrop seen in the Series 5 packaging as well as the Series 5 logo. The back panel shows a photo of each character from the episode and includes a little blurb. The front also notes that the Underhenge Dalek is an exclusive to this set. [Also worth pointing out, nowhere on the package is this set actually called the Underhenge Set. I’m just using that name for my own reference. -FF] The figures are secured in the tray with twisties, but overall the package is pretty collector friendly and you can return the figures to the box for storage or display if you so desire it.

As already mentioned, Amy Pond is a straight repack. I’ve already got her, but considering she sold out pretty fast at most e-tailers, and she tends to go for a premium on Ebay, I think it was a good idea for CO to repack her. She’s also going to be available again on a single card in one of the next upcoming figure assortments before the end of the year. I’ve already reviewed her, so I’m not going to go through it all again here. Suffice it to say she’s a really good sculpt and a very nice figure. The only real difference I can see between my single carded Amy and this one are some minor variations to the paint apps on her face. This Amy’s eyes are a little larger, which I think better fits the likeness. Apart from that, these two figures are identical.

The other figure in this set that we’ve seen issued before is the Sontaran General. This figure was originally released as General Staal and was available only as part of the Series 4 inspired Sontaran Strategem set and even though the Sontarans are a clone race, he features an entirely different headsculpt from the much more common single carded release of Sontaran Commander Skorr.

The headsculpt on General Skorr was really fantastic, but this sculpt blows him out of the water. It’s an overall incredible likeness and if you wanted General Staal and didn’t pick him up, now you can get him with this set. Besides having a new headsculpt, the General’s head can actually turn, which Skorr’s can’t. Some collectors have reported problems getting his helmet on, but mine fits on my figure with no worries, just like the Commander Skorr figure.

The General’s body is a complete reuse of Commander Skorr, some have reported the paint job having a more metallic finish to it, but I find the difference to be negligable at best. Unlike the other Sontarans, the General comes with a swagger stick instead of a rifle, which is fine by me, because I like to outfit my Sontarans with the chunky old Star Wars: Power of the Force 2 weapons, and I’ve got plenty of them to go around.

The Sontaran has great articulation. Apart from the already mentioned rotating head, he has 17 points. His arms rotate at the shoulders, have swivels in the biceps and wrists, and hinges at the elbows. His legs have universal movement at the hips, swivels at the thighs, hinged knees and ball joints in the ankles. A common problem with the other Sontarans has been loose joints and feet that fall off. So far, the General here hasn’t taken any headers off the shelf, so it might not be an issue with this one. At least not one that I’ve seen yet.

Words cannot express how much I love these Sontaran figures, and that goes double for the General here.

So, both of these are great figures, but unless you’re a completist, I don’t think either of these figures make this set a “must have.” You can still get the Sontaran Strategem set for a pretty decent price online and as I mentioned, Amy will be available again. In Part 2, we’ll start looking at the brand new figures this set has to offer, beginning with the Roman Autons!!