Tag Archives: character options

Nov 6 2010

Doctor Who: Underhenge Six Figure Set by Character Options, Part 2

So, I mentioned something about not dropping any spoilers in Part 1. In the course of writing Part 2, I decided it was inevitable. So if you haven’t seen The Pandorica Opens yet, and you don’t want anything ruined, you better tread carefully here. On the other hand, it was broadcast a long time ago, so go watch it already, eh? The next two figures we’ll take a look at from the Underhenge set are the Roman Autons. These are both exactly the same sculpted figure, but one is a regular variety and the other has a petrified stone finish. I was a little disappointed that this sculpt doesn’t include anything at all to signify it as being an Auton and not just a regular Roman soldier. I really would have liked it if CO had incorporated the same kind of removable half-hand that they did on their older Auton figures. Granted, we spend most of the episode, The Pandorica Opens, unaware that the Romans are plastic agents of the Nestene Consciousness, so I guess I’ll have to give CO a little wiggle room on this point.

If you’ve been collecting CO’s Doctor Who figures for a while, then you may remember that this is not the first Roman figure to be released in the line. A little while back, CO released a two-figure set based on the Series 4 episode, The Fires of Pompeii. This set included a Roman soldier and a Pyrovillian Magma Creature. This Roman utilizes some parts from that previous release, but there’s enough new here to make this guy look completely new, even when standing next to the older figure.

So which parts are new, and which parts have we seen before? The legs and the armored torso are both the same, although this new figure has a new soft plastic skirt and a completely resculpted belt. The new figure is also wearing a soft plastic removable cape, which further helps to distinguish him from the older figure. Both the sword and the dagger are the same, although they have been switched on the new figure so that the dagger is on the right and the sword is on the left. As with the original figure, both weapons are removable from their scabbards and can be held in his hands. The biceps are the same ones used on the old figure, although the forearms are new as the Underhenge Roman is wearing armor here. The headsculpt is completely new, although there are a lot of similarities between the two helmets. The new figure is clean shaven whereas the old one wore a beard.

The paint job on the new Roman also serves to distinguish it form the older one. The armor has a more tarnished, weathered look and both the scabbards and hilts of the weapons have new decos. One strange thing on the new figure is the dark color used on his legs, which doesn’t match the skintones on his face, hands or feet. It almost looks like he’s supposed to be wearing some kind of leggings, but I doubt that was the intent.

I don’t have nearly as much to say about the Petrified version of this figure. I was expecting it to just be a solidly grey repaint, but as it turns out, CO actually did some texture work on the figure to make it feel gritty like stone. The only place that isn’t covered with the petrified finish are the blades of his weapons. It’s a really cool and realistic effect and a nice example of CO going above and beyond. However, even as well as this figure is executed, it’s still something of a toss-aside for me. Apart from standing in the backdrop, the Petrified Autons didn’t feature at all in the storyline.

Both figures feature the exact same articulation. The head rotates. The arms rotate at the shoulders, have swivels in the bicep and wrist and hinged elbows. The legs have universal movement in the hips, swivels in the thighs and ankles, and hinged knees. The figure also swivels at the waist.

The Roman is an absolutely beautiful figure and should be a double treat if you’re just into historical figures. The attention to detail is great and he supplements the older Roman figure nicely. Still, I don’t think these two figures are going to persuade anyone to buy this set if you weren’t already convinced. I suppose you could just pretend the Roman is Rory, or perhaps try your mad custom skills at making him a Rory head. As for the reasons I think most people are going to buy this set? We’ll get to them in Part 3.

Nov 6 2010

Doctor Who: Underhenge Six Figure Set by Character Options, Part 1

One of the oddest things about Doctor Who figures in the last year is how much the Classic releases have been overshadowing the figures based on 2010’s Series 5 characters, when traditionally Character Options has been pushing the modern series figures and supplementing them by throwing us older fans a wave of Classics here and there. Lately, it’s been the other way around. After nearly a year, there’s only been one wave of figures so far based on this last Series. That is until this box set hit the shelves.

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!!

Oct 26 2010

Doctor Who: Werewolf by Character Options

I suppose I could have culled any number of monsters from my Doctor Who collection as good filler for a Halloween entry, but there’s one in particular that just really grabbed my attention and that’s the Werewolf from the Series 2 episode, Tooth and Claw. Werewolves in the movies are a tricky thing. Everyone has their own interpretation of what they might look like, and depending on how good your design is and how good the special effects budget is, a Werewolf can either be really cool or completely suck. The beastie in Tooth and Claw was definitely really cool, and this figure does it every justice.

Sorry, no in-package shot of this figure, but he came on the older style cardback that Character Options used for the earlier releases, and if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. There isn’t a lot to it, and the cardback itself is completely generic with only an illustrated paper insert in the bubble to individualize the package to the figure. The one nice thing about this older style of packaging is that you didn’t need a hacksaw to get the figure out like you do with the newer clamshells.

Stop laughing, you sickies… that’s his tail!

The werewolf is a pretty big figure, although I suppose it depends a lot on how you display him. He can stand upright and in this stance he towers above most of the regular sized Who figures. But he has a lot of lupine characteristics to his structure, so he’s perfectly fine with standing on all fours too. Either way he looks great, although his head joint could have used a bit more upward movement to make his wolf-posture a little more convincing.

The sculpt is really excellent, although his exposed joints do interfere with the quality a bit. I do think there could have been a bit more fur sculpted on him, as he tends to have a smoother look to a lot of his skin. Still, I absolutely love the head sculpt. The detail on the mouth is amazing, complete with intricately detailed teeth and tongue with high gloss paint apps to round out the whole package. The appearance is genuinely viscious. There aren’t a lot of other paint apps on the figure, although you can see some bluish veins running across parts of his body.

His articulation is fantastic. The head is ball jointed. The arms have universal jointed shoulders, hinged elbows and hinged wrists. The legs are universal jointed at the hips and have two hinges, one in his knee and one again in his reverse doggie knee, and a third hinge in the ankles. He’s also got a ball joint in his waist. You can really get some great poses going with this guy.

The crazy thing about this figure is that he was a real pegwarmer. At least he would have been if Doctor Who figures could actually be found on pegs in this country. I’m not sure if it was because he was just a one-off monster or perhaps some people didn’t care for the episode. I realize he wouldn’t be as popular as a Dalek or Cyberman, but this is a figure that should have sold well on his merits alone.

Even though he’s an older figure (long in the tooth? HA!), he’s still available at a lot of Doctor Who figure e-tailers. I remember paying about $7.99 for mine, and you can probably do even better than that if you shop around. So you can really afford to buy a whole pack. And even if you aren’t a Doctor Who fan, this is still a really great generic Werewolf figure to have, if you happen to be in the market for one. And hey, it’s almost Halloween, so why wouldn’t you want a Werewolf figure?

 

Oct 23 2010

Doctor Who: TARDIS Playset (Series 5) by Character Options, Part 2

So, the tension and recriminatinos are over. The playset is assembled. How is it? Pretty darn cool. CO managed to capture a lot of this new console room’s crazy architecture and multifaceted mystery with the use of some plastic and cardboard really well. It’s scaled pretty well for the figures, although it is by no means an actual recreation of the dimensions from the show’s set. For example, there’s significantly less room on the deck around the console. My guess is that CO was more interested in showing off the vertical, multilevel orientation of the new console room. Still, everything is pretty well represented.

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.

Oct 21 2010

Doctor Who: TARDIS Playset (Series 5) by Character Options, Part 1

It’s a crying shame, but US toy companies don’t believe in making playsets anymore. There are still exceptions, and some companies, like Hasbro, have managed to blur the line between vehicles and playsets to throw us a bone now and then, but it sure ain’t like the good old days. Thankfully, our friends across The Pond at Character Options haven’t given up on the playset yet. A few years back they gave us an amazing playset based off the 9th and 10th Doctor’s TARDIS console room, and now they’ve done it again for the 11th Doctor. Granted, this time around, CO had to scale back on the bells and whistles (not to mention the lights), but the result is still a really cool piece.

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.

Oct 8 2010

Doctor Who: Warrior’s Gate Fourth Doctor and K9 by Character Options

Just about every Doctor made some kind of subtle change to his iconic outfit during the course of his tenure and CO has been doing a nice job getting all the different versions out, whether it be in these two-packs, exclusives, or in the massive Eleven Doctor set. This time around we get the long awaited Fourth Doctor donning his 18th Season outfit. CO chose the episode Warrior’s Gate as the basis for this set and bundled him with hit trusty tin dog K9. I could go on and point out that this was a missed opportunity to toss Romana in there too, but I guess CO isn’t quite ready for classic-era companions… yet.

If you’ve picked up any of the recent Classics two-packs, then you know what the packaging looks like by now. It’s the same old clamshell with illustrated insert. It features a blue swirly pattern, the figure is mounted against an orange backdrop and the package uses the 2005-2009 series logo. The back panel has a little blurb about The Fourth Doctor’s final days and K9. Of course, K9 doesn’t take up as much space as a regular figure, so there’s a lot of empty space in the bubble. I’m thinking CO maybe would have been better off mounting K9 higher up in the bubble to even out the presentation. Either way, I don’t really care, as I’m just ripping this thing open.
  The Fourth Doctor is not a mere repaint, but a completely new figure from he previous releases. He sports the long burgandy trench coat, buccaneer boots, and a brand new scarf, which this time is easily removable without having to pop off the Doc’s head like the original release. Alas, his shirt lapels are not sculpted over his coat, so he’s not showing off the question marks on his collar. I would have liked that. His head sculpt is completely new too. It’s leaner than the past release, which I suppose depicts the older Tom Baker in an accurate fashion. I definitely like this head sculpt better, and that’s saying a lot since the old one was pretty good too. Apart from the scarf, there isn’t a whole lot of dynamic paint work going on here, but what’s here is good. All in all, this is another excellent figure that really captures The Doctor perfectly.

The Doctor’s articulation is almost the same level we’ve been getting for a while now. You have a rotating head, arms that rotate at the shoulders, hinged at the elbows and swivel at the wrist. His legs have universal movement in the hips, hinges in the knees, but no swivels in the thighs. It’s an odd little omission, but I don’t think it hurts the figure all that much.

The Doctor comes with… no accessories. Seriously, CO? Seriously? You can’t throw a tiny little Sonic Screwdriver in this set? You’ve already got it sculpted, and yet you couldn’t just stamp out a bunch of them for this set? Yeah, it’s disappointing and almost insulting that the tiny little plastic rod wasn’t included in this package. Still, he can always borrow the one off my other Fourth Doctor, I suppose.

Ok, so I suppose K9 is more an accessory than an actual figure. He’s the exact same one that was released with Rose Tyler several years back, which is fine by me since it’s an excellent little plastic version of the tin dog. There’s really no articulation here, although you can press down on the computer bank on his back and his side panel pops off revealing his inner workings. His tail and ears are made out of bendy plastic to avoid breakage. I can’t think of much more CO could do to improve on this design, except maybe include a tiny little extended blaster to plug into his nose, but then it’d have to be so small, I’d probably lose it in a second. K9 also features the same pull back and go feature as the previous release. I really don’t mind owning two of these, since I can race them now! And besides, considering how badly I wanted to own a little K9 figure when I was a kid, it seems only fitting that I should have two now. [three, actually, if you count the rusty R/C version -FF.]

The Warrior’s Gate set sells for around $29.99 at most e-tailers. It’s nice that CO recognizes that K9 doesn’t weigh in at the same cost of a regular figure, and so this set was ten bucks less than the past Classic two-packs. On the other hand, he was a repack of an older figure, so they might have gone the extra mile and shaved off another five bucks, especially with all the money they saved not including the tiny Sonic Screwdriver. I don’t mean to sound bitter, I really love this set, and if you don’t already have K9 he’s a really great pick up. I can certainly imagine that there may be collectors out there only buying the Classic figures and if that’s the case, K9 would be new to them.

On a parting note, the Warrior’s Gate set was released simultaneously with another Classic two-pack based on Attack of the Cybermen. You won’t be seeing that one reviewed here, as it’s the first Classic figure release that I won’t be buying. I think it’s cool that CO produced it, but I already have that version of the Sixth Doctor, and I’m not so keen on owning the variant Cyberman that I’d spend $40 on the set. CO has also revealed Classic sets based on Revenge of the Cybermen and Remembrance of the Daleks, although confirmation of a US releases of these sets is still pending.

Sep 30 2010

Doctor Who: The Third Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver by Character Options

In addition to a bewildering number of awesome Doctor Who action figures, CO has been dabbling in other Doctor Who toys from time to time. These are what we’ve come to call Roleplay Toys. But while toylines like Star Wars has its lightsabers and blasters, ever since his second incarnation, The Good Doctor wades into the danger with only his trusty Sonic Screwdriver. CO has put out a number of toys based on The Doctor’s trusty gadget, although today’s featured toy is the first time they’ve gone back to the Classic Series to produce one.

I don’t have any of CO’s Sonics from the modern series, so this one is my first. Why? I’m just not a fan of what the writers have done with the device in the modern series. Longtime fans may remember that the Fifth Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver appeared to be destroyed on screen by an angry Terileptil, but in reality it was destroyed by the producer who felt it was being used way too often as a crutch to get The Doctor out of a jam. Boy, could we use a trigger happy Terileptil in the new series, because in my opinion the Sonic Screwdriver has gotten way out of hand. What was originally a clever little device to open locks, vibrate screws, and detonate the occasional landmine, has become a device so ridiculously versatile, that they ought to start calling it the Sonic Swiss Army Knife. Seriously, once The Doctor started using it as a bio scanner, it was well past time to either retire the device, or reign in the way the writers’ use it. But I’m waaay off topic now. Rant over… let’s get back to the toy at hand.3rdsonic2

The Sonic comes sealed in a blister pack with an illustrated insert, similar to the way CO packages the figures. The artwork includes the blue swirly field introduced for the current line of figures, but retains the logo from the 2005-2009 series. It has nice blurbs on the front and back about the Third Doctor and his trusty device. One would expect a toy like this to be packaged with a Try Me feature, but that’s not the case here. In fact, the batteries are mounted right next to the toy. The package also displays an included hologram card, which shows the desolve from the title screen to The Doctor’s face as it appeared on the opening credits of the show. For a bonus pack-in, I think this is a really cool item. Oh, and make sure you have a trusty blade or a pair of scissors if you want to get this thing out.

3rdsonic4

The first thing I noticed about this Sonic Screwdriver is that it isn’t ridiculously oversized, like I feared it would be. It’s definitely a bit bigger than the prop, but only enough to allow for the electronics. I was surprised to see that it strikes a nice balance between replica and toy. It has a nice metallic silver paint job with black trim. The trademark yellow and black swirl is there on the shaft, and the “head” is bright red with the silver nob in the middle. The “head” is made of rubbery plastic, which may feel cheap, but I’m guessing it was the better way to go since the connecting rod is so thin harder plastic would have been more susceptible to breakage.

3rdsonic1

3rdsonic3

As in the show, the Screwdriver is activated by pulling down on the shaft with your thumb. It makes the head appear to be extending and it emits one of two sonic whirrrrs, depending on how far you push it down. The sound will continue as long as you have the shaft pressed down. I don’t really detect all that much difference between the two sounds, but what I do hear sounds pretty authentic to the show. The speaker is unfortunately located in the very base of the toy, which means it tends to get a little muffled if you hold it a certain way. I would have loved the sound to come out closer to the top, but from the Screwdriver’s design, I’m guessing that CO was forced to most of the electronics in the thicker base of the gadget.

The Sonic Screwdriver set me back $24.99. If this were a toy that was being sold off the pegs in the local toy aisle, I would call that a bit steep. But keeping in mind that this is an import, and an extremely niche item featured in a show from the early 1970s. I’m not going to complain. I would have adored this toy as a kid, as I tended to have to improvise a Sonic Screwdriver with various small tools from my Dad’s garage. I do remember seeing some toy Sonics when I went to a Whovent Doctor Who convention in NJ back in the late 80s, but they were just oversized, hollow molded plastic and nowhere as cool as this baby.

 

Sep 1 2010

Doctor Who: The Master and Axon by Character Options

Having barely recovered from holding in my hand an action figure based on The Master as played by Anthony Ainley, Character Options delivered the rapid one-two punch by leaking photos of another Classic Master figure, this time the original as played by Roger Delgado. In a bewilderingly fast turnaround, leaked photos turned into finished product and scarcely a month later I now hold in my hands The Claws of Axos set, which is comprised of the aforementioned Master and a Krynoid… no, wait… I mean an Axon.

No standard clamshell package this time. The Axos set comes in a cool, compact little window box, featuring the blue background from the newer Series 5 packages, but still retaining the Doctor Who logo used for Series 1 through 4. Yeah, part of me wishes they would release these Classic figures with one of the original series logos, but then again, I toss the packages so what do I care? The rear and side panels feature photos of Roger Delgado as The Master and the Axon creature and there is a synopsis of the episode on the back panel as well. The box is totally collector friendly and the insert can come out and double as a nifty little diorama depicting the Axon spaceship.

The Master and the previously released Ainley Master represent the first two non-Doctor figures from the Classic series based on actor’s likenesses (ie. not heavily costumed aliens). This is a big deal, because CO went on record a while back saying that this would probably never happen. Granted, they were speaking more about Classic companions than anything else, but I’m buoyed in my optimism that if we can get figures based on Ainley and Delgado, then Classic companions can’t be too far behind. I realize a lot factors into it, especially differences between securing the likeness rights between living and deceased actors, but I’ve never been more confident than right now that we will see Classic companion figures.

But besides being a milestone release, the Delgado Master is also an absolutely fantastic figure. The likeness in the headsculpt is excellent, even for CO, a company that has been known for producing very good likenesses. The paint apps on the face are extremely well done, with just a tiny bit of slop along the hairline. I especially like the darker pigments around his eyes and the streaks of grey in his goatee. Even the skintone is perfect for Delgado.

The body does not feature a lot of paint apps or sculpted details, but it is a great likeness of The Master’s iconic black suit. In fact, the only place below The Master’s neck that isn’t black is the little bit of white on his cuffs that peek out from under his sleeves. He’s even wearing black gloves. It may not be the most visually stunning outfit, but it is totally in character for The Master’s wardrobe. He comes with his Tissue Compression Eliminator, a ghoulish device that basically shrinks its targets, killing them in the process. The sculpt here seems a little too cylindrical, more like a black and silver Sonic Screwdriver, but I’ll take what I can get.

The Master’s articulation is on par with the current waves of Doctor Who figures. He has a rotating neck, rotating shoulders, hinged elbows and knees, universal leg movement in the hips, and swivel cuts in the biceps, thighs and wrists.

The Axon figure has a bit of a history to it, as it started life as a Krynoid and was even originally leaked as a possible Build-A-Figure for a forthcoming wave of Classic figures. It’s certainly big enough for a BAF, but in the end the idea was nixed and it was unknown whether we’d ever actually see this figure released in any form until now. And so, the Krynoid figure was retooled and repainted to be an Axon as a companion figure needed for a Classic Master release. It’s only fitting, though, since the Krynoid suit worn in the Seeds of Doom was a modified version of an old existing Axon costume. In other words, the fact that this Axon started out as a Krynoid does not bother me one bit. On the other hand, they could have bundled the Delgado Master with just about anything and I still would have bought it.

Regardless of his origins, the Axon is a very cool looking figure. There’s a ton of sculpted details on his copious body. In fact, there simply isn’t a spot on this figure that isn’t elaborately textured in some way. The tendrils are made of bendy rubbery plastic and protrude off of his body at various points. The main complaint here isn’t likely to be the amount of effort that went into him, but that the detail makes him look more like a plant than anything else. It’s also worth noting that the tendrils on the Axon costume were a lot thinner and more stringy. Still, we can blame that partly on the similarities of the costume, and partly on CO wanting to cut costs by reusing a mold. Hey, Hasbro and Mattel do it all the time, so I’m willing to let CO get away with it now and then. And either way, I’ll be happy to buy this figure again when CO inevitably repaints him green and releases him as a Krynoid.

The Axon’s articulation is a lot more limited than most other Doctor Who figures, but I blame this more on his body type than any lack of effort on CO’s part. He has a rotating head, universal joints in the shoulders and hips, and swivel cuts in the wrists and ankles. His waist looks like it contains a joint of some kind, but mine doesn’t move at all there. I’m guessing this seam may be a holdover from the figure’s BAF origins.

The Claws of Axos set retails at around $39.99, which I think is pretty good considering the size of the Axon figure and the fact that we are getting two completely new figures in the set. CO could have easily bundled The Master with another Dalek and put it out at the same price. Needless to say I am absolutely thrilled (and still just a little bit stunned) to finally own a figure based on this version of The Master, especially one that is so wonderfully executed. Now to let my wallet recoup a bit before the release of the newly revealed Revenge of the Cybermen set.

Aug 17 2010

Doctor Who: Scarecrow by Character Options

I’ve been meaning to getting around to looking at some of Character Options’ older Doctor Who figures, and so today I’m going to start doing just that. Afterall, with the exception of the occasional surprise release (like The Master and Axon set), it’ll probably be a little while before there are any new releases for me to look at. There will be no rhyme or reason to which ones I select or the order I do them in. I’m just going to grab them off the shelf from time to time and dig in. We’ll start with The Scarecrow from Human Nature.

The origins of this creature are possibly a little more convaluted than one might think. They were featured in the Series 3 episodes Human Nature and Family of Blood. which were adapted from Paul Cornell’s excellent 7th Doctor novel, Human Nature. There were no evil animated Scarecrows in Cornell’s original story and the official word is that Russell Davies had the idea to toss them in, because the story lacked a proper monster. Still, it’s kind of hard to not believe these shambling bags of hay might have been inspired by another Doctor Who novel, The Hollow Men by Keith Topping and Martin Day, which did in fact contain evil animated Scarecrows.

Um, yeah. Either way, the Scarecrows from the Series 3 story were simply animated soldiers, drummed up by the aliens who called themselves The Family of Blood, to lay siege to the school where The Doctor was hiding in human form thanks to a very special pocket watch and a device called the Chameleon Arch. Phew. Enough back story. Let’s look at the figure.

I know that there are a couple schools of thought on these guys. Some saw them as silly, some saw them as creepy. But then isn’t that the case with most Doctor Who aliens, both old and new? I rather liked these things and I’m particularly fond of the figure as well. It was actually released with a few different color variants. I have two Scarecrow figures, but they are both the same.

The sculpted detail on this figure is excellent. The colors are all… well, mostly brown and reddish brown and muted. The sculpting on the head bag is particularly well done, complete with a downturned, stitched mouth, angry eyes and the cord around the neck. The outfit is tattered and ill fitting, and I like the way the sculpted hay protrudes from the cuffs.

These are earlier CO efforts, so the articulation is lacking a few points that we are now used to seeing in the Doctor Who figures. This guy has rotating head, rotating shoulders, universal movement in the hips, hinged elbows and knees, and swivel cuts in the wrists and ankles. Conspicuously absent are the swivel cuts in the biceps and thighs that most Who figures have now. Still, not bad articulation, overall.

The Scarecrow is a pretty easy figure to find and fairly cheap too, which makes them good army builders if you are so inclined. I wouldn’t rank them up there as one of the more iconic monsters, and I wouldn’t say that they are a “must” for any Doctor Who collection, but they were well designed, creepy, and they left a lasting impression on me.

 

Aug 7 2010

Doctor Who: Amy Pond by Character Options

Ah, Amy Pond. While I’m not all that fond of the way many of the stories fall back on using her to solve a lot of The Doctor’s dilemmas, its so hard to dislike her. She’s brave, spunky, adorable and sexy and there’s an undeniable chemistry between actress Karen Gillan and Matt Smith that I truly think surpasses the relationship that Billie Piper had with David Tennant. Feel free to throw cans at me, but that’s just the way I see it. So, obviously, I was anxious to add an Amy Pond figure to my collection. Afterall, here Series 5 is already over and my 11th Doctor still stood companionless on the shelf.

The packaging here is identical to what we saw with the Dalek Ironside. The blue background and new logo match the Series 5 credits nicely and the regular card and bubble has replaced the clamshell used for the last few assortments of figures. I really like this new design, although the front insert does conceal a fair amount of the figure’s lower half, and covering up Amy’s legs is just a crime. The back panel shows the selection of figures that comprise this first Series 5 assortment.

I’ll admit, i was pretty apprehensive about how Character Options was going to do with Amy’s likeness. Granted, more often then not their sculpts are right on the money and both Rose (their second attempt at Rose to be specific) and Martha turned out fine, although I was never entirely happy with Donna’s figure. As it turns out, Amy is another win. I will say they didn’t quite get her eyes right. Considering Amy’s “go to” look in almost every scene is a wide-eyed expression of amazement, this sculpt’s eyes are too narrow. Interestingly enough, this significant departure doesn’t really spoil the likeness, as it still looks like who its supposed to be.

CO had a few outfit choices to go with. I wouldn’t have minded getting Amy in her jim jams, but this outfit will do just nicely. She’s wearing a short leather jacket, a red pullover and a fairly short skirt and cowboy boots. This Amy ensemble first materialized in Victory of the Daleks and it certainly gets the job done. There’s also some really nice little attention to detail, like her thin gold choker necklace and the scrollwork sculpted into her boots. Her hair is also exceptionally well sculpted and despite the fact that it hangs loose around her shoulders, it is cast in soft enough plastic to not hinder her head movement all that much.

Amy features standard articulation for this line. Her head turns, her arms rotate at the shoulders, have hinged elbows, and feature swivel cuts in the biceps and just below the elbows. Her legs have universal joints at the hips, hinges at the knees, and swivel cuts in the thighs, which are concealed under her skirt. She also swivels at the waist.

About the only downside to Miss Amy Pond here is the cost and availability. Like all the figures in this wave, her initial offering was pretty high at most e-tailers. I paid $20 for her, which was doubly painful considering she was released the exact same week that I was forking over money for several SDCC exclusives. Unlike other figures in this wave, Amy actually sold out at that price at most places around the web. Hopefully CO will produce more or include her in a future wave, because with the exception of maybe River Song, none of the Doctor’s previous companions have been all that difficult, or expensive, to get. My advice is if you find her, buy her. She’s a great figure and obviously a key character that no Doctor Who collection should be without.