Tag Archives: character options

Aug 7 2010

Doctor Who: Planet of Fire 5th Doctor and The Master (SDCC Exclusive) by Character Options

For a while now, Character Options has been dancing around giving us certain characters from the classic show. We’ve gotten all The Doctors, and our share of aliens, but the “human” characters have been off limits. With the release of this set, we’re one step closer to breaking that unfortunate lock out. The “Deadly Assassin” Master previously released was all well and good, but I, like many fans, were waiting to get a figure based on one of the proper incarnations of this evil Time Lord, and now we have it. The Planet of Fire set gives us another version of the 5th Doctor plus The Master as portrayed by the late, great actor Anthony Ainley.

The packaging here is the same type we’ve been seeing on all the classic style two-packs. The logo and artwork is based on the 2005-2010 series and the figure is sealed in a clamshell. An insert on the bottom shows off images of The Doctor and The Master and the back panel has a blurb about the episode and The Master. The 2010 SDCC logo is printed in the upper right hand of the card. Planet of Fire has never been one of my favorite episodes, but it does introduce the appealing companion, Peri, and it is a pretty good final showdown between The 5th Doctor and The Master. Ainley would also reprise his role to face off against both the 6th and the 7th Doctors in future episodes. Oh yeah, Planet of Fire also sees the departure of Turlough… good riddance!

Before getting started, here’s a quick and possibly unnecessary disclaimer on The Master as he is portrayed in this set. Technically, this is not The Master, but rather the shape-shifting android, Kamelion, assuming the form of The Master, who was in actuality stranded in his TARDIS in a… um… diminished state. Its only really relevant because The Master never actually wore a suit like this and this was an opportunity for CO to create an Ainley Master while reusing some parts from the John Simm Master. Do I care? Nope. If CO sees fit to release a proper Master figure later on down the road, I will pick it up, if not, I’m perfectly happy with this one. Its amazing how easy I am to please when dealing with a figure I thought I’d never get.

At first glance, many thought that this Master’s body was a complete reuse of the body used for the John Simm Master, but that’s not entirely the case. The arms and legs are the same, but the torso has significant differences. The details on this new figure’s jacket are much better sculpted, he’s wearing a vest under the jacket, and the wrinkles sculpted into the back are more pronounced. The sculpting on the Simm Master’s coat looks really soft when compared to the crisp detail on this one. The head sculpt is obviously new and quite excellent. CO did a fine job capturing Ainley’s slightly evil smirk and his mesmerizing, piercing eyes. There’s a tad of paint slop on the goatee, but nothing that is unacceptable. All in all, this is an excellent figure.

The Master’s articulation includes a rotating head. His arms rotate at the shoulders, are hinged at the elbows and have swivel cuts in the biceps and wrists. His legs have universal joints at the hips and hinged knees. He is, however, missing the swivel cuts in the thighs that many fo CO’s Doctor Who figures have.

The Doctor is also a fantastic figure, although he features far less original sculpting than The Master. The body sculpt is virtually identical to the one used for the previous single carded release, with the only difference being the celery on his lapel. I suspect it is identical to the Doctor released in the SDCC exclusive Time Crash set, released a few years back, and it may be the same body used on the one in the recent Eleven Doctors Set, both of which also feature the ornamental vegetable.

The head on this figure is a resculpt, changed just enough to accomodate the hat, which is not removable. The paint on this figure is very crisp, with the only flaw I can see being a small red dot of paint on the left shoulder of his coat. I’m not someone really interested in collecting a lot of variants of each Doctor, but I was glad to get this one because of the celery and I think the hat looks quite good on him. Right now, this one is replacing my other 5th Doctor as my main display piece. That’s how much I like him.

The Doctor features the exact same articulation as his previous releases. He has a rotating head. His arms rotate at the shoulders, are hinged at the elbows and have swivel cuts in the biceps and wrists. His legs have universal joints at the hips, hinged knees and swivel cuts in the thighs.

The set only comes with one accessory and that’s a sonic screwdriver for The Doctor. The obvious miss here is the lack of a Tissue Compression Eliminator for The Master. Oh well!

The Planet of Fire set retailed at $39.99, which is exactly what we’ve come to expect to pay for these limited issue two-packs. Sure, some might complain about the reuse of parts on The Master, or that he’s actually Kamelion and not The Master at all. Others might complain that they have to buy another Doctor just to get him. Me? I’m thrilled with this set. Its actually the one SDCC exclusive that I decided I couldn’t live without. As it turned out, it was a pretty easy set to get and many e-tailers still have it available at the original MSRP.

Aug 7 2010

Doctor Who: Dalek Ironside by Character Options

The episode, Victory of the Daleks was definitely not one of Season 5’s high points, but it did have its moments. Most of those moments was getting to see the Daleks acting as subserviant soldiers to Churchill and the British armed forces in World War II. Of course, this was all a ruse and one that was revealed pretty early on in the episode, but it was all worthwhile just to get a figure of this unusual variant WWII style Dalek known as an Ironside.

This is the first of the new series of figures I’m looking at, so we finally have all new packaging. The artwork is similar to the style used on the 11th Doctor Crash Set with the blue background and the new logo introduced in Series 5. The big difference here is that CO finally gave up the use of a full plastic clamshell and went back to mounting the figure in a bubble on a simple card. The package is wider and appears more squat than the previous designs, but overall I like it. It looks pleasing and its much easier to get into than the clamshells. Although, I imagine if you’re a mint on card collector this might be a setback, since these cards are more easily damaged. On the other hand, the logo insert in the bubble does obscure the bottom third of the figure.

A large portion of this figure is a reuse and repaint of the 2005-2010 Daleks we’ve been seeing all along. In fact, the only new sculpting here is the equipment belt that’s covering up the Dalek’s shoulder slats. The belt is very nicely sculpted and textured and includes several pouches, a canteen and an unkown silver container. The new paint job is a solid olive green with some silver accents to the belt and a tiny British flag painted right under the eyestalk.

The Ironside has the same articulation as previous Dalek figures. The sucker arm and gun are both on ball joints, and both arms can be removed from their sockets. The head rotates 360 degrees and the eye stalk can raise and also be removed from its socket.


On initial offering, these Series 5 figures have been far more expensive than previous releases. The Ironside set me back $20 and while its possible some e-tailers will price drop somewhere down the line, I didn’t want to risk missing out on him. He’s a striking looking figure and a very cool design concept, even if his role in the story turned out to be fairly short lived and forgettable. The only thing that would have really improved this figure would be if it had a voice chip that screamed, “WOULD YOU LIKE SOME TEA????” Who knows, maybe CO will grace us with a 12″ talking RC version. Yeah, pretty doubtful, but I’d be on board if they did.

 

 

Jul 29 2010

Doctor Who: 1:6 Scale Judoon Captain by Character Options

I’m more than willing to accept my share of the blame for CO bailing on their 1:6 scale figure line. I only own two of these things and I think they’re pretty amazing. So, its not like I did my part for sales, although I must say I’m tempted to pick up some of the others some day when I’m caught up on all my other wish lists. Nonetheless, last time we looked at their 12″ Cyberman, and this time its their even more impressive Judoon Captain. So, without further ado… Ma-Ho!

The Judoon comes in the same style box as the Cyberman. Its perfectly serviceable, very collector friendly and the window shows off the figure nicely. The back panel has a small blurb about the Judoon, although this figure was released before Series 4, so there’s nothing in there about them being the stormtroopers for the Shadow Proclamation. The box is also a lot thicker than the Cyberman’s box, as needed to accomodate this heavy brute of a figure.


Once out of the box, the Judoon Captain is a thing of absolute beauty. That is, if you’re partial to hulking, heavily armed space rhinos. The figure is, however, amazingly well executed in just about every way. The sculpt is phenomenal, from the head to the excellent detail on all the buckles and fringe of his leather outfit. Those of you who own the 5″ version of these guys already know that you had to buy the Judoon either helmeted (Trooper) or without the helmet (Captain). There’s no such compromise here, as this version comes with a removable helmet that locks into place quite nicely.

Two of the biggest drawbacks about the Cyberman were lack of accessories and articulation. The Judoon Captain fixes both of those. Besides his helmet, the Captain comes with a laser pistol that fits snugly in his holster and can be held in his right hand. He also comes with a language assimilator, which can be plugged into the port just under his neck, and he has a brainwave scanner. Both the scanner and the assimilator also clip onto his belt.

As for the articulation, the Judoon’s head does not turn, which is probably to be expected. His arms rotate at the shoulders and have some limited lateral movement. His legs have universal movement in the hips, his ankles have limited mobility and both his elbows and knees are hinged. He also has swivel cuts in the biceps, thighs and wrists.

I’ll confess that the Judoon are my favorite of all the aliens introduced in the modern Who series, so yeah, I’m a bit partial here. But I don’t think I’m overstating it when I say this guy is just awesome and is easily one of my favorite one-six scale figures in my collection. Character Options just nailed all the points and produced a great figure. The only thing that could have made this figure any better is if it talked.

The original retail was $29.99, but if you look hard enough, you can still find this guy for closer to $20. In fact, last time I checked even the Toys R Us was selling it on their US site, so there’s no excuse not to hunt one down.

 

Jul 28 2010

Doctor Who: 1:6 Scale Cyberman by Character Options

Those of you who have been collecting CO’s Doctor Who figures for a while will no doubt remember that in addition to the 5″ figure line, the company also dabbled in 1:6 scale versions. There were quite a few of these made and since they’re rapidly becoming all but forgotten, I thought I’d parade out the only two of these figures that I currently own. Today, we’ll start with the Cyberman. DELETE!!!

The packaging is pretty nice, and should be instantly familiar to anyone collecting the CO Doctor Who figures from the beginning. Its got the 2005 style logo and the whole orange box motif with a nice big window to show off the figure. Its also very collector friendly, as you can slide the figure and tray right out and return him to the package for display if you desire. The back panel has a blurb about the new Cybus Industries Cybermen and some nice screen grabs from the show.


The thing that may stir up some discontent over this figure is CO’s decision to go with a cloth bodysuit worn by the figure under the armor pieces. The cloth is colored to look like its supposed to be mesh or some kind of flexible metal, but I know some fans have suggested that this looks more like what it is, fabric, and doesn’t do the figure much credit. I can see where critics are coming from on this matter, but personally, it doesn’t bother me. If you watch Rise of the Cybermen, you can see that there is supposed to be a more flexible material between the armor pieces. I think what CO did here was to avoid just making a larger copy of the smaller scale figure. Overall, I’m glad they did it, as it certainly adds some nice complexity to the figure.

The sculpted plastic armor, on the other hand, shouldn’t garner much criticism from fans, as its executed very well and is very faithful to the suits worn in the show. The head, in particular is very accurate. The raised Cybus Industries crest looks awesome, I love the pistons on his arms and legs, and the inclusion of the arm gun suggests these are based on the Cybermen seen in Army of Ghosts and Doomsday. Overall, this is a great looking figure.

The Cybermen’s articulation is basic and does just enough to get by. No more, no less. The package claims 14 points of articulation, but I confess I haven’t been able to find them all. The head turns, the arms rotate at the shoulders, the legs rotate at the hips and there are hinged joints for the elbows and knees. The joints in the legs are also severely limited. For a 1:6 scale figure to not have better articulation is pretty much unforgivable these days, as it was a few years back when this figure was produced. In fact, its doubly irritating to note that CO’s 5″ figures nearly all have better articulation than this big guy. Still, there are plenty of companies out there producing what are essentially 1:6 scale statues and calling them action figures, so it could be far worse. Honestly some kind of swivel joint in the arms or elbows would have gone a long way to improve this guy.

I seem to recall paying around $29.99 for this Cyberman back when he was released. Yeah, that’s a steep price for a figure with limited articulation and no accessories, but considering its an import of a Doctor Who figure, its not a ridiculous sum. Even years later, there’s no shortage of these figures on the market and they can usually be had for less than the original retail. No doubt a big factor in CO’s decision to stop producing the figures in this larger scale. Still, its a great sculpt and a fantastic display piece. Not to mention it allows me to create some dream crossover scenes with my 1:6 scale Star Trek figures.

Jul 23 2010

Doctor Who: Silver Nemesis Cyberleader and Cyberman by Character Options

Silver Nemesis was one of the very last episodes of Doctor Who to air before the show got shitcanned by the BBC in 1989. While impressions of its quality varies from fan to fan (The Doctor was up against 16th century time travellers, Cybermen and Neo Nazis!), it did give us the absolute final incarnation of the Cybermen until they were later recreated in 2006 for the modern series. This final version, though based heavily on the model that appeared back in the episode Earthshock and later Attack of the Cybermen, featured a number of key changes, well worthy of a brand new figure… or in this case, two!

The Silver Nemesis Cybermen come in a two-pack, mounted in a blister pack very similar to other recent classic-era figures. The front insert shows a photo of the characters and the back gives a brief synopsis of the episode, along with a timeline of all The Doctors. Actually, the timeline cheats a bit since it doesn’t have Sylvester McCoy retiring as Doctor #7 until his regeneration in the 1996 Fox TV movie. I don’t have much else to say about the packaging, we’ve seen it many times before, and it still works just fine. It is interesting that Character Options is still using the 2005-2009 logo for the Classic figures and have yet to adopt the current one from the Mat Smith era.


The figures represent a standard Cyberman soldier and a Cyberleader. They’re actually the same exact figure, except for the black paint on the Leader’s handlebars. They also both come with the same terrible, terrible weapon, which is basically a hunk of soft rubber that neither one can hold very well. Compared to the amazing detail that went into the Earthshock Cybie’s gun, I’m really not impressed with these accessories. But then the prop used in Silver Nemesis was vastly inferior to the Earthshock one as well.

So what’s different on these guys from the Earthshock figure? The biggest difference is in the body, which is a completely new sculpt. Gone is the chainmail style of the Earthshock Cybie (seen below on the left), and in its place are coils of wires on the arms and legs. The former Cybie’s big ski boots are replaced with smaller boots, but the newer versions have much, much bigger hands. Both figures have a nice level of detail, although the new version includes some wash over the paint, which makes the foil jumpsuit look more textured and realistic.

The cowl that hangs over their shoulders and chests are mostly identical, with the main difference being the black plate in the center of theEarthshock version’s chest. Obviously, the Cybermen got tired of people grinding up gold into these cheesegrater plates and did away with them. There’s also an extra helping of clear tubing that runs into the back of the Silver  Nemesis Cybies. As for the head sculpts, the only major difference there is the weapon or sensor cluster sculpted into the top of their heads and the fact that the chin plate on the older model is more transparent.

The articulation on the Silver Nemesis Cybies adds just two swivel cuts in the thighs that were unfortunately missing from the Earthshockfigure. Otherwise, you get rotating shoulders, swivel cuts in the biceps, wrists, and waist, hinged elbows and knees and universal movement in the hips. The heads do not turn, but then I’m pretty sure they couldn’t turn their heads in the show either. Basically, this is the level of articulation we’ve come to expect from this line of figures, and while ball jointed shoulders would be nice, what’s here isn’t at all bad.

While the overal 80’s Cyberman is still my favorite design, I don’t have a huge preference over the differences here. I will, however, say that the overall quality on my Earthshock Cyberman is a notch above these new guys. The sculpt seems a bit more detailed and crisper, and I think the detail in the body just pops more on the older figure. The new Cybies’ hands are a bit soft and I’ve already expressed my dismay over their reluctance to hold their weapons. Although, I will say that the added tubing on the new figures is very nicely done. In the end, its almost a toss up, but I’ll give the Earthshock figure the nod. I was considering buying a second set of these, but now I think I’ll just invest in two more of theEarthshock figures. Either way, Character Options did an amazing job incorporating every little detail of the differences into these figures.

While previous classic-era two packs have sold for $49.99, these Cybermen were released at only $34.99, which really isn’t that bad. Granted the previous fifty dollar sets all included a version of The Doctor. But considering the Earthshock Cybermen sell for around $15-18 each, this set seems to be priced just right. And army builders will be happy to know that just a few dabs of silver paint can turn your leaders into warriors. Now, all Character Options really needs to do is give us the model from Revenge of the Cybermen and we’ll be all set.

 

May 23 2010

Doctor Who: The 7th Doctor with Electronic TARDIS by Character Options

Last week was busy for Doctor Who collectors, and for many it was also a disappointing one. In one day we were hit with the 7th Doctor & TARDIS set, the 4th Doctor & TARDIS set, and a brand new version of the 1st Doctor from the pilot episode, An Unearthly Child. Besides dealing with the cost, these toys were issued in pretty limited supplies Stateside and as such unless you were lucky enough to pre-order what you wanted, chances are you missed the tiny window in which these remained on e-tailers’ websites. In many ways it was a similar experience to what Masters of the Universe fans face on Matty Collector’s site just about every month, only we Who fans didn’t even have a specific time as to when these would be available for purchase.

I was lucky enough to get a pre-order in for this, the 7th Doctor set, the one I wanted the most, but I would have liked to have picked up theUnearthly Child figure as well and I’ll have to bite the bullet and hunt him down somewhere. The 4th Doctor & TARDIS set is pretty cool, but I just couldn’t justify dropping $100 on two TARDIS sets in one month, so I went with the 7th Doctor, mainly because he’s a new version (albeit just a repaint), whereas the 4th Doctor is the exact same figure I already own.

Let’s get the figure out of the way first.

The 7th Doctor’s early stories were pretty flippant and silly, but as time wore on, they took on a much darker style and his outfit evolved to portray that change. His jacket went from cream to dark brown, his paisely scarf got darker, even his tie got darker. This repainted figure reflects those changes really well and the quality of the paint job is excellent. Unfortunately, CO didn’t take the opportunity to give us a new head sculpt, and while a smiling Sylvester McCoy may have been appropriate in the outfit from his more whimsical days, its pretty out of place in this darker attire. This figure should have definitely been issued with a more serious and somber head sculpt. Apart from that everything is the same as the previous release. He has the same articulation and the same umbrella accessory. Its a great figure, and I think the repaint makes him well worth owning in addition to the previous release.

And now… the TARDIS.

Casual and newer fans of the show may be surprised to learn that the iconic Police Box, the one constant throughout the entire series, wasn’t so constant. Sure, the TARDIS remained a Police Box, but the prop saw a number of variations over the years. You can actually go mad studying the slight (and some not so slight) differences in the TARDIS props. The package says this is supposed to be the TARDIS from the episode The Curse of Fenric, but it actually better matches the one used for the 7th Doctor’s earlier stories, or even the later 6th Doctor stories. Either way, its significantly different than the one used in the 2005 series as its slightly shorter, considerably narrower, has much smaller windows, and the sign on the door is blue instead of white.

One thing you should know about this toy is that it is not just a redesigned version of CO’s previously released Flight Control TARDIS. Its a much simpler and somewhat lesser quality toy with fewer features. There are no interior lights, which actually makes sense, since the windows on the classic TARDISes didn’t have that interior glow like the ones in the current series do. It still has the take off and landing sounds, activated by picking it up or setting it down, and a flashing lamp on top, but there’s no more vortex sound or humming when its at rest. Consider this, a stripped down version of the Flight Control TARDIS.

The doors on this model are designed to work in a similar manner to the Flight Control TARDIS, but they don’t. There is still an opening cubby for the phone, but its bigger on this model, and so that door won’t open in very far at all. The other door is designed to lock in an open position and can be released by pushing a button on the floor. Unfortunately, the door usually won’t stay open at all, instead it just springs closed. I’ve gotten it to stick open a few times, but its not as solid as my other TARDIS.

Probably the most frustrating thing about this TARDIS is that Character Option chose to leave the interior completely unfinished. Open the door and look in and its just an empty box. It would have been easy for them to include an insert of the classic console room to brighten things up.

All things being equal, its a bit tough to justify the $50 price tag on this set. Unfortunately, it had a very limited production run and even fewer than those came Stateside, so if you missed out on the initial offering, you’ll probably have to pay a premium. Some may seriously regret dropping more than fifty bucks on this set once they get it in hand. Don’t get me wrong. There was a time when this set would have been like a dream come true and I probably would have paid double to own it. But since then, Character Options has given us a huge number of fantastic Doctor Who figures and toys and now I’ve come to expect better. It just goes to show how far we’ve come that we can be so discriminating about a set of Doctor Who toys.

May 16 2010

Doctor Who: Cyberman Voice Changer Helmet by Character Options

Quite a few years ago, Hasbro cooked up an affordable toy replica of Darth Vader’s mask, threw some electronics into it and struck gold. Since then, we’ve seen the “voice changer helmet” appear in all sorts of toy lines from Star Wars to Street Racer to Iron Man 2 to Transformers and yes, even Character Options got into the mix with their Doctor Who line of toys. When these things are done right, they can appeal to kids, as well as collectors who don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for a high quality studio style replica. And the Cyberman helmet is certainly done right.

Sadly, I don’t have an in-box photo of the Cyberman helmet, as I’ve had it for quite a while now and the packaging has long since been tossed. It came in an open style package, very similar to Hasbro’s helmets, complete with a try me mode that let you test out the electronics. If you’ve purchased any boxed toy from CO’s Doctor Who line, then you have a pretty good idea about the style of artwork.

The coolest thing about the Cyberman helmet is that the design hasn’t been altered to conform to any toy safety regulations. You know, like the way the visor strips on the Hasbro Clone Trooper helmets are ridiculously large or the eye holes on the Iron Man helmets are massive. As a result, you get a pretty good prop-style replica of the 2005 Series Cyberman and hey, if that means a few kids have to fall down flights of stairs because they can’t see while wearing it, I suppose that’s a fair enough trade off.

The electronics feature the ubiquitous voice changing gimmick as well as a number of pre-recorded phrases and sounds, which can be activated by pressing the somewhat discrete buttons on the left side of his chin. Pressing the buttons also cause the lights in his mouth to light up blue while the sound or voice is firing. The speech is pretty loud and sounds just like the Cybermen in the TV series, and there are quotes from the series as well as some original ones. Here’s what he says:

  • You must be upgraded. Upgrading is compulsory.
  • You wil be deleted. Delete! Delete! Delete!
  • You will be taken for analysis. You will be upgraded or deleted.
  • You will be taken for upgrading.
  • You will become identical. You will become like us.
  • You will become like us or you will be deleted.
  • I am unit five-oblique nine-eight. I am Cyberform. Once I was human.
  • Resistance is illogical. You will be upgraded or you will be deleted.

Of course, the toy is designed primarily as a roleplay item, to be worn as a mask. The helmet is a two-thirds style piece so that you really have to practically get behind it to see that it isn’t a fully enclosed helmet, which really improves the display value. It has an adjustable plastic strap inside so it will fit adults fine, but it looks awkwardly large when worn by kids. If you choose to display it, I highly recommend paying extra for this chrome metal Official Cyberman Helmet Display Stand.

Ok, actually that’s a paper towel holder from Target’s housewares department, but it really does work perfectly as a stand for the helmet and you can pick one up for about seven bucks.

The prices on this helmet vary anywhere between $30 and $50. Its been a while since I priced one so they may be getting harder to find, but for a while there it was often being sold online in the US at less than retail. There’s also a variant Cyber Leader style with black ear pipes, an exposed brain, and all new phrases. I haven’t tracked one of those down yet, mainly because I’m running out of room in my Doctor Who display case, but maybe one day.

 

Apr 17 2010

Doctor Who: The 11th Doctor’s Crash Set by Character Options

I was originally going to post a review of the last Doctor Who episode, “Victory of the Daleks” tonight, but I’m still digesting it, and I’ll probably watch it one more time before I compose my feelings on it, so look for that at some point tomorrow. So, keeping with the spirit of New Who, it was pretty cool that just a few hours before sitting down to watch the episode, I found a box on my stoop containing the new 11th Doctor action figure set from Character Options. So… without further ado… Allons-Y!!! or Geronimo!!! or… let’s just get on with it.

With the return of a new full season of Doctor Who comes all new figures and our friends at CO wasted no time in getting us fans figures of the newest Doctor. Now, the 11th Doctor was already released in newly regenerated form as part of “The End of Time” wave, but I passed on this figure, partly because I’m not big on owning these “regeneration” variants and partly because the figure was one big continuity error as he was wearing the 10th Doctor’s suit, but it wasn’t battered and torn as it should have been. Well, patience prevails as the 11th Doctor Crash set features not only the first definitive figure of the 11th Doc in his new outfit, but a far, far better “regeneration” variant.

There have been some running changes in the packaging of the Doctor Who figures since they first came out, but this is the first time the figures have been released using the Series 5 logo and artwork. I was pretty iffy on this new logo when I first saw it, but its beginning to grow on me, and I’ve got to say it looks very nice on the new package. The orange is replaced by blue, and the bubble and overall card is smaller and less bulky. CO is still using a sealed clamshell package with paper inserts. All in all, not bad.


The head sculpt, which is the same for both figures, is wonderfully done. I was worried here, because while I have yet to see the figure in person, the photos of “The End of Time” 11th Doctor didn’t look so hot, and let’s be honest, Matt Smith is a unique looking individual. I was concerned that his face wasn’t going to translate that well to plastic, but these figures prove that not to be the case. Not only are these the spitting image of Matt Smith, but I also really like how they sculpted his hair, with his bangs sculpted out over his forehead, instead of just molded into the head.

The newly regenerated version of Doctor features him as he was seen throughout most of his premier episode, “The Eleventh Hour. He’s wearing the remnants of his previous incarnation’s suit, minus the jacket. His shirt is half untucked, his sleeves are rolled up a bit and the shirt is sculpted with all sorts of tears and wrinkles. The untucked portion of his shirt is actually sculpted to hang down over his pants, which is a nice extra touch. His tie is sharply painted and pulled down a bit in disarray. Unfortunately, his pants are unscathed, which harkens back to the first 11th Doctor figure. I would have liked to have seen them a bit more properly distressed, but overall the effect of the “Raggety Doctor” is still very well conveyed with this figure. One other thing to note about this regeneration Doctor is that it is notably shorter than the other 11th Doctor figure, I’m guessing due to the reuse of the 10th Doctor’s lower half. Its a bit odd when you stand them next to each other. Let’s just explain it away by saying the newly regenerated 11th Doc was shorter because he wasn’t done cooking.

The other version of The Doctor is what I really wanted out of this set. He’s wearing his sure to be iconic outfit and he looks absolutely smashing. After the rather pedantic look of the 9th and 10th Doctor’s outfits, I’m glad to see a return to something with a little more character. Its not ridiculously outrageous like the Six’s coat or Five’s cricket get-up, but instead it manages to look somewhat classical with just a hint of eccentricity.

The brown tweed jacket is intricately detailed with a stitched cross-thatch pattern sculpted into it and he’s even got the two elbow patches and buttons sculpted on the sleeves. His shirt has red pinstripes, although there are no sign of his suspenders, even if you peek under his jacket flaps. The bowtie is nicely sculpted to give it a 3D look like its a separate piece, which is cool. Yeah, bowties are cool! There’s not much to say about the pants or the boots, but all in all, CO did a fantastic job bringing the 11th Doctor’s outfit ot life in plastic.

Both Doctors have almost the same amount of articulation, and if you’ve been with CO’s Doctor Who figures for a while, you should know what to expect. His head rotates at the neck, both arms rotate at the shoulders, have swivel cuts in the biceps and wrists and hinged elbows. The legs have universal movement at the hips and hinged knees. The one difference between the two is the swivel cuts in the thighs. The 11th Doc in his new outfit has them, while the newly regenerated Doc doesn’t. That’s fine by me, so long as the Doctor in his outfit comes out on top.

I picked up this set for $24.99, which I thought was a really good price, seeing as how some of the Doctor Who figures can go up to $15 a piece if they are more desireable. I’ll make no secret about the fact that I would have much rather had an Amy Pond figure in this set, rather than the newly regenerated Doctor. Its a great figure, to be sure, but I have a feeling that an episode specific set like this might have been our only chance to get Amy in her sexy police woman outfit, and I really, really wanted that figure to be made. Either way CO continues to improve on their sculpts and paint apps. The last bunch of waves have been great, and if this pair is any indication, the future waves for Series 5 will also be excellent.

Now, bring on the new Flight Control TARDIS and a new console room playset, please!!!

Mar 24 2010

Doctor Who: The 7th Doctor and Imperial Dalek by Character Options

Well, it took a while, but we finally have them all. With the release of the 7th Doctor (played by Sylvester McCoy), Character Options has finally given us figures of all the original Doctors from the classic series. In fact, if you toss out Peter Cushing from the old American feature films (which no Who fan considers canon anyway) the only Doctor that has not yet been released is Number 8 (Paul McGann) from the largely unsuccessful 1996 Fox TV film.

Sylvester McCoy had the dubious position of playing The Doctor when the show got shitcanned back in 1988. While his early stories were pretty rough, he really shined in the role and ultimately made it his own. The 7th Doctor went from being a comedic bumbler to one of the craftiest and darkest of all The Doctors. His episodes spanned everything from sharp political commentary to sinister stories that pointed to The Doctor having a dark and mysterious past. Episodes like “The Curse of Fenric,” “Silver Nemesis,” “Ghost Light,” and yes, even “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy” rank among my favorites. Of course, he also had some real stinkers like “Delta and the Bannermen,” which to this day I still find completely unwatchable. But nobody’s perfect… not even Time Lords.

Just like the first three Doctors, the 7th Doctor comes in a two figure blisterpack, bundled with one of his foes: In this case it is a white and gold Imperial Dalek from the episode “Remembrance of the Daleks.” The packaging is identical to the first three Doctors with a personalized insert in the bubble and blurbs about the 7th Doctor and the episode on the back. If I were a MOC collector, I would have much rather the classic Doctors all be carded alone, but considering I ripped this baby open the second I got it, it really doesn’t matter to me.

Before getting on to all the good stuff, let me start out with what I consider to be this figure’s biggest stumbling block… the goofy smile. The head sculpt is actually a very good likeness, but when CO released the 4th Doctor, they gave him two interchangeable heads. One had him grinning his big toothy (and batshit insane) grin while wearing his fedora, the other was a hatless and more serious look. I really, really wish CO had gone the same route with the 7th Doctor. I don’t mind the hat, since he wore it enough, but there really should have been an alternate head if they were going to have him smiling like that. Yeah, I know that during the opening credits, he winks and grins, but the truth is that the 7th Doctor spent most of his time scowling at enemies and administering stern lectures to his companion Ace. I just don’t think the smile fits all that well.

Ok, so that having been said, the rest of the figure is fantastic. CO really nailed his outfit perfectly. He’s got his cream colored jacket and matching hat. The paint apps on his plaid slacks, question mark sweater, pocket hanky and paisley scarf are all excellent. A big part of each Doctor has always been their iconic choice of outfits and the 7th Doctor’s outfit is reproduced here meticulously. His height is also perfect. Sylvester McCoy is a pretty short guy and this figure reflects that pretty well.

The articulation is exactly what we’ve been getting on the previous classic Doctors. He’s got a swivel neck, rotating shoulders, swivel cuts in the biceps, hinged elbows and hinged wrists. His legs have universal joints in the hips, swivel cuts in the thighs and hinged knees. Not bad.

The Doctor comes with one accessory, and this time its actually not a Sonic Screwdriver. No, the 7th Doctor comes with his trusty question-mark handled umbrella, which he not only used to keep the rain off of him, but to zip line down cables, snatch weapons out of enemy hands and all sorts of other clever improvisations. Its molded in soft plastic and fits nicely in his hand.

The Dalek is a repaint and slight remold of the classic Dalek sculpt that CO has been turning out for a while now, but that’s not to say it isn’t a welcome addition. The color scheme here has always been one of my favorites and not only matches the pattern used in “Remembrance of the Daleks” but can also double for the Imperial Daleks seen in the 6th Doctor episode, “Revelation of the Daleks.” Either way I’m always happy to add another variant Dalek to my army. The main difference in the sculpt is in the “ear” lights which are new sculpts for this design. The Dalek has ball jointed blaster and suction arm, a swivel head, and the eye stalk can move up and down.

As with the first three Doctors, this two pack retails for $39.99. Sure, $20 a figure is pretty steep, but if I can pay that much for Matty’s Masters of the Universe Classics, I’ll certainly pay it for figures based on my favorite TV show of all time. Another version of the 7th Doctor, in brown coat and hopefully sans smile, will be released in a few months and bundled with a classic version of the Flight Control TARDIS. I’ve already got mine on pre-order!

Oh yeah, and its just about another week and a half until Series 5 starts. And man, I can’t wait!

Mar 11 2010

Doctor Who: The End of Time, “The Narrator” Figure by Character Options

2009 was a surprisingly great year for Doctor Who figures considering that the show was on hiatus and we only got five specials instead of the regular thirteen episodes. Thankfully, the regular show is coming back this year and with it we’ll be getting a whole slew of new figures from Character Options. But before moving on to the 11th Doctor, CO took one more look backwards.

2010 kicked off with a small wave of four figures based on the two-part special “The End of Time,” unfortunately, the selection of figures left something to be desired. Its a pretty crazy world when we’re getting so many Doctor Who figures that I can afford to be picky, but out of the four figures, there was only one that I really wanted. The three I passed on consisted of yet another 10th Doctor (got enough of those, thank you), the first figure based on the 11th Doctor (cool, but I’ll wait until he’s released in his proper outfit), and The Master. Now, I love The Master but this figure is basically just John Simm with a bad bleach job wearing a hoodie. Pass! In fairness to Character Options, “The End of Time” didn’t exactly introduce a lot of desireable characters for action figure fodder, although Wilfred would have been a welcome addition, as would a few more Time Lords.

So anyway, the one figure I couldn’t resist was the Time Lord President, played by Timothy Dalton. There’s still a lot of speculation about who this character actually was. He was originally billed only as “The Narrator,” and that’s how his name appears on the figure’s packaging. I’m guessing this was done to prevent spoilers, but since the figures came out after the episodes aired, it didn’t seem necessary. He was also referred to once by The Doctor as Rassilon in the episode, and working out how the continuity of that could be possible makes my brain hurt. But those are debates better left for the dark recesses of nerd forums and since I refuse to call him The Narrator, Rassilon is good enough for me.

I certainly didn’t expect new packaging on this one-off series of four figures, but that’s exactly what we got. Its still a sealed clamshell, but almost everything else is different. This should be the last time we’ll see this Doctor Who logo, but apart from that the insert is completely new. It has a cool hologram style reflective finish that shows half of the 10th Doctor’s face on one side of the figure and half of Rassilon’s on the other. You can also make out bits of the TARDIS interior among the backdrop. The back panel shows the four figures in this series. The presentation here is so nice, I almost felt bad about tearing this baby open to get to my figure. Then again, if I was a MOC collector, I’d be kind of pissed that the name on the card is “The Narrator.”

First off, CO did a marvelous job on the likeness of Timothy Dalton as well as replicating his majestic Time Lord garb. Even without the trademark cowl often seen on members of Gallifreyan High Council, this figure is obviously a Time Lord through and through. I did think it interesting that the round seal on his chest isn’t recognizable as the Seal of Rassilon, but rather a new and different Time Lord symbol. His robes are nicely sculpted and feature gold leaf decorations around the trim. His clothes underneath are all black. About my only complaint is a little paint slop along his hairline.

Also worth noting is the sculpted gauntlet on Rassilon’s left hand. The very thing he used to obliterate an uppity Time Lady for speaking out of turn. This artifact was one of the many things that still gnaw at me about that episode. Its never been seen or mentioned before in almost 50 years of the show’s history, so what the hell was it? I suppose since there was a Sash of Rassilon and Key of Rassilon and Headpiece of Rassilon, why not a Gauntlet of Rassilon. Either way, its nicely represented on the figure.

Because Rassilon is a robed figure, CO could have easily skimped on his articulation, but instead they really decked him out. How much of it is actually useable is another story. His head rotates, his arms rotate at the shoulder, his elbows are hinged and he has swivel cuts in his biceps and his wrists. His upper legs are jointed, his knees are hinged and there are swivel cuts at the top of his boots. Basically, most of the articulation below his waist is hampered by his cloak.

Rassilon only comes with one accessory, his staff. The shaft is very thin, but he can hold it in his left hand quite well and the sculpting on the head is quite nice.

All in all, I’d say this figure makes up for the fact that I didn’t want any of the others. He looks great and at least now I have someone to keep my Time Lord figure company. On the downside, he didn’t come cheap. While you could easily get the complete set of four figures for around $55-60, Rassilon here cost me $20 all by himself. It seems I’m not alone in only wanting him out of the lot, so naturally he sells for the most. Granted, I’ve had to pay $20 for single Doctor Who figure before, but those were Classic Doctors and not figures from the current series. Still, this is fucking Timothy Dalton… playing Lord Rassilon… how the hell could I not by this figure.