Exciting news for figure collecting Whovians today. Character Options revealed today at 1pm – a brand-new wave of Doctor Who figures. Coming to B&M stores this month (may be September or October for some branches, depending on stock delivery times), the four new sets of action figures are rather interesting…
Before the announcement today, B&M also had a little fun teasing Whovians with some familiar quotes…
In a press release today, Character’s Creative Director, Al Dewar, commented:
I think and hope the fans and collectors will really like these new sets. We have really spent time updating the look of the figures to make them different. The Eighth Doctor set, especially the TV Movie and Night of the Doctor figures are a real delight and have a much more sophisticated look, befitting a modern action figure. I think they are the best yet. The Tenth Doctor sets have a very different and fresh feel and come with two never released variants. The Dalek sets not only feature new packaging, but we have finally brought to the fans the Dalek Supreme and a fully transparent Dalek from Planet of the Daleks, and the Death to the Daleks set is also very close to my heart!
Al Dewar
Set 1 – The Eighth Doctor Set
This set acts as a great opportunity for newer collectors to get their hands on variants of the Eighth Doctor throughout his run of appearances.
Featuring three of his looks, the first is a re-release of his TV Movie costume with some slight improvements in the paintwork compared to the original release. The second is one of his Big Finish audio adventure looks – specifically, the darker leather coat with red buttons featured on the cover art for the Stranded series. Though his somewhat similar Dark Eyes attire has been done as a figure before – this is a completely new variant for the figure range. A variant that is sure to catch the eyes of even long-time collectors.
And the final figure is that of his The Night of the Doctor costume. This one has been released a few times before but now has a slightly darker paint wash.
Though the set lacks Sonic Screwdriver and Bandolier accessories for the TVM and TNotD figures, the set also comes with a satchel accessory for the Stranded figure.
Set 2 – The Tenth Doctor Set
We know what some of you will be thinking, but hold on because two of these variants are new.
We have two figures based on The Sarah Jane Adventures episode – The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith. The first is his bolder blue suit and blue shirt attire from that story. This brand-new variant seems to be craftily reusing pieces from the tuxedo variant.
The second is that same costume but with the addition of the brown overcoat. This is a pretty standard variant of the Tenth Doctor. We’ve seen quite a few releases before with slightly different colour applications. Both figures also seem to have a slightly dirtier wash of paint on the Converse shoes.
As well as being a lovely tie-in to expanded televised Doctor Who works, it’s fitting as The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith was in fact the last story filmed by David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor during his tenure. (Yes, after he’d done his regeneration scene, fact fans!)
Explaining The Big Mystery…
The set is rounded off with another intriguing outfit… or remains of one. Long-time fans will recognise that the majority of this figure is repurposed from the ’Regenerated Eleventh Doctor’ figure released way back in 2010. However, this isn’t just some coy attempt to create an extra variant… Rather than being used to represent the Tenth Doctor during The End of Time – Part Two. This attire comes from Titan Comics – The Tenth Doctor Adventures Year Two.
This variant is quite the specific outfit, having come from Will Brooks’ cover work for Issue 5 of that comic run. (That’s Cover B, for anyone looking to get a copy!) However, the strip story within the issue itself – Medicine Man – Part Two – does not actually feature this costume. Instead, it features the Tenth Doctor in his blue suit, brown overcoat and white shirt. Oh well, at any rate, it’s certainly an interesting choice they’ve come up with!
Set 3 – History of the Daleks #9
As expected, the ’History of the Daleks’ set continues on with this new wave. Rather than moving onto a new story, we’re getting a little encore for the Third Doctor story. Planet of the Daleks from 1973.
Fans will recall that Set #8 featured two standard grey Dalek drones from this story. Complete with surprise opening dome feature. Whilst that set was a delight, some fans were sad that two other Daleks from that story hadn’t been given a re-release. And well, Character certainly knows how to deliver!
The first figure in this Doctor Who figure set is the long-hoped-for re-release of the Supreme Council Dalek. Originally released in the ’Dalek Collector’s Set #1’ back in 2008, the figure had been intended for a second release as part of the ’SFX Talking Dalek’ range – not once but twice.
At the time of Toy Fair 2012, it had been listed for Wave 1. However, that was not in the final released wave. The following year at Toy Fair 2013, the same would happen with Wave 2. And so the figure remained exclusive to that original set all this time. (This humble writer is willing to bet that this will be the most sought-after figure of these releases!)
And the other figure in this set is quite the treat. Rather than simply releasing the previous version of the Light-Reflecting Dalek again as it was in the 2013 Toys R’ Us ‘Doctor-Dalek 2 pack’ series, a new variant has been created. This time, rather than including the patch of spray paint upon the Dalek – we have a completely transparent Dalek! Perfect for those without the original, and a nice treat for anyone who does & wishes to recreate that infamous cliffhanger at home.
Set 4 – History of the Daleks #10
Last in the new wave of releases, is this ’History of the Daleks’ set. It takes us onto 1974’s Death to the Daleks – also a Third Doctor story.
The set contains the re-release of two Dalek figures from the story. The first – originally released in 2009 as part of a Third Doctor two-pack exclusive to Forbidden Planet – is the ’Machine Gun’ variant. As with the original release, prop fans will be happy to see the orange dome lights of this particular Dalek have been accurately presented.
The second figure is the re-release of a more standard drone, featuring white dome lights and a typical Dalek gun. It was first released in 2012 as part of the previously-mentioned ’SFX Talking Daleks Wave 1’.
Overall, these four sets of Doctor Who figures are certain to be a wonderful addition to fans’ collections, new and old.
We will bring more detailed reviews on the sets once they are released publicly!
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