Announcing Project: Robot

So it's 2008, and Character Options, the company that makes Doctor Who figures, have just released pictures of their upcoming wave of figures based on the classic series. There are three Doctors, two "army builders" and three one off characters. Every Collector out there is really excited, myself included, and then we see the words "Build-it-Figure". Everyone becomes even more excited, especially when the Build-it figure was announced as the "K1 robot".

Which looks like this:

Now, back then, I wasn't anywhere near as knowledgeable about Classic Who as I am today. I had absolutely no clue as to the significance of the Robot, save that it was from Tom Baker's first story. So when I bought the figures (only the ones I wanted, mind - so the Doctors, some Sea Devils and Zygons), I thought nothing of the pieces, and they were mostly given away. About a year later, I bought the Magnus Greel and Mr Sin for £10 (quite the deal). At some point, I also bought the SV7 robot (the silver one in that group). Again, I still had no intention of building this figure, so I threw the pieces into a box somewhere and promptly forgot about them.

Cut to about three weeks ago, and I watched ROBOT, Tom Baker's first story, in it's entireity for the first time. I've watched the odd episode in the past. Of course, having seen it, I wanted the Build-it-figure. So I searched through various boxes for the pieces, but gave up.

Today, I tried again, and I found the following pieces: 

My K1 Robot, so far

Now I am especially pleased with finding that arm! That's the piece that came with Magnus Greel (who is now worth around £80) and I really did not want to pay that much JUST for the arm (well, the gun - I could've bought another Fifth Doctor and just had two arms). So this has made my day.

My friend has offered me another arm, so all I need now is the upper torso (Sixth Doctor), second leg (D84 - black robot) and the head (Zygon). I shall keep you updated as I collect. 

Soon...

Live Long and Prosper

Rory Williams action figure

So, after nearly three years, countless fan requests and a lot of complaining on our parts, we have finally received the news that we are getting a Rory Williams figure! In fact, two have been announced and images of them have been released! Today is a good day to be a Doctor Who Fan! 

First up, the general release one!

and secondly, an exclusive to the BBC shop

Both, to me, are brilliant. The only thing that lets it down to me is the hair. The face sculpt is an amazing likeness to Arthur Darvill. The figure is a good example of what Rory wore during the fifth series of Who. The hair, however, is too short and it is the wrong colour. That said, I am fairly certain that in person, I will not care.

However, before I return you to your regularly scheduled lives, I will give you this extract from a Twitter conversation between the highly talented Philip Lawrence, creator of action figure theatre and Alasdair Dewar, who works for Character Options.

Live Long and Prosper

DOCTOR WHO FIGURE: Regen 5th Doctor and the Master's TARDIS

In a surprise move, Forbidden Planet announced a new Classic Doctor Who Exclusive Figure set (pictured below). It features a new Regeneration Fifth Doctor, the Master's TARDIS in Column form, and a shrunken figure.

Some people are disappointed by the lack of Ainley figure. Personally, I am not one of them. While I would love an Ainley Master in his iconic penguin suit outfit, I actually like this new 5th Doctor figure. Yes, we already have a regeneration 5th Doctor (in full Season 18 outfit - picture below), this is the outfit he remained in for most of the Serial (until he changed into his new one.)

Also, it is not like we don't have an Anthony Ainley Master (OKAY technically we don't but still). We have one from the serial 'Planet of Fire'. That Ainley actually looks brilliant. The face is a brilliant likeness to the actor, and the suit is rather menacing. People will complain because they want him in his iconic look, but I don't mind either way. I'm sure sooner or later we shall get one.

The highlight of this set, for me, is the TARDIS. When I talk about the Master's iconic TARDIS, two come to mind. Delgado's Grandfather clock and Ainley's column TARDIS. Thanks to The Keeper of Traken set, we have the Grandfather clock, and now we have that Column. The Rani's TARDIS from Mark of the Rani would also be a nice addition to the growing collection, but for the time being I am happy with these.

I will definitely be buying this set!

So Say We All!

The Doctor Who Experience new Exclusive Figure

First off, let me just say this. Aside from rumours, I have no idea what this figure will be. I personally hope it will be a Rory figure. 

seriously, why hasn't one been released already?

Why do I hope it'll be a Rory? Well, aside from finally having a Rory figure, it would probably mean that we get a variant VERY quickly. 

Want me to explain it? Okay. Character Options & Underground Toys have a history of releasing tweaks of exclusive figures. Off the top of my head, I can think of three examples of this, including the previous Doctor Who Experience's Exclusive.

In 2010, one of the Classic Doctor Who Exclusive figures was a freshly regenerated Fifth Doctor, which meant he was still clad in the outfit the Fourth Doctor had worn in Season 18. A lot of fans bought two of this exclusive, and swapped the Fifth Doctor's out for one of the Fourth Doctor. Unlike them, I waited. Sure enough, within a month or so, a Season 18 Fourth Doctor was announced. I own both.

In 2011, again at the San Diego Comic Con, there was a River Song exclusive Figure. This one came with the inside of the Pandorica (to join up with the previously released Pandorica wave). Of course, this figure was well received, considering it was a new River Song (the previous wouldn't work for Doctor Who figure Adventures owning to being in an astronaut suit). 

Sure enough, within a month, a new wave of figures was announced, including River Song. The difference: This one wasn't wearing the woolly jacket the previous release (and obviously, no Pandorica chair.) I own both. 

And finally, in May 2011, the Doctor Who Experience announced an exclusive figure: Amelia Pond (kid version of Amy). This figure has a hat, a coat and a suitcase, and is based on her appearance in 'The Eleventh Hour'. 

Sure enough, another version of this was announced. Amelia Pond in nightgown (sans coat, hat and suitcase) appeared alongside Nephew (from 'The Doctor's Wife') The Doctor in Stetson (actually the Teselecta from 'The Impossible Astronaut') and two Silent variants (from Series 6). Naturally I own both (of the Amelia figures, I mean - although I own four Silents.)

So yeah. I think we'll probably get a variant of whatever the Doctor Who Experience Exclusive. If it is a Rory figure, I think the DWE will be a Roman Rory.

SWISH!

And the one released in a wave will be the 'normal' (IE the one Fans have wanted since Series 5 started and he became a main character) variant.

That's just my thoughts on the subject. What do you think?

So Say We All

Today's the day...

Okay, so Underground Toys is supposed to be announced their SDCC Doctor Who Exclusive today. And I am excited! Why? Because there's been a draught of Doctor Who figures recently. Apparently the BBC has asked UT and CO to hold off on until the new series of Who starts.

So it's been a fair while since a new figure was announced.

However, Keith from WhoNA has stated that we will be disappointed with the new announcement. It apparently won't be a new Doctor or a Companion. Hopefully, this won't be a case of 'The Time Monster'. Also there is no word on a Classic exclusive. 

Although, I do think that they will be showing some new sets off at the Convention, similar to what they did with Leela last year.

However, I refuse to be completely disappointed until I see the actual announcement.

So Say We All

UPDATE: because of a miscommunication between WhoNA and Underground Toys, the announcements were solely for retailers and stores. However it was apparently leaked on another forum. But I'm not going to tell you in case this person is wrong :P

Taking back something I said earlier

Hello, loyal readers.

A while back (specifically back in May '11), I posted about my disappointment about a new figure release. The Time Monster Set, containing the Delgado Master which had previously been released in 'The Claws of Axos' Set. At the time, I lampooned the Set, since Underground Toys had made a massive deal about a big announcement coming. My main problem with the Set was that, after so much of a build-up, it was disappointing considering that the Set contained a re-release.

This is the Set I'm talking about, by the way. Also, picture :D

However, I recently lost my Delgado figure, so it seemed logical to buy a new one. So I bit the bullet, and bought this Set. I have to admit, it is pretty cool. The accessories are fairly awesome, and will probably be putting an appearance in at some point in a bit of stop motion.

So back to the original point of this blog. I retract PART of my earlier statement about this Set. It is worth the money. THAT is the part I am taking back. I stand by my original point that it was given too much hype.

It is also nice to have the option of buying a Master & TARDIS or a Master & Monster set, since both are still readily available.

So say we all.

Warning: Contains Rant

Welcome back, loyal readers.

As usual, after promising to blog more often, I completely forgot and spent my evenings running around the Internet instead. However, when I don't promise, I blog more often! Irony.

But that's beside the point. Today's post is a RANT about Character Options Character Building Line. For those not in the know, Character Building Figures are basically Lego inspired figures and playsets for Dr Who (and the armed forces but I don't care about them.)

Basically, this is them:

These are in order of release. There are also some sets, which include the rest of the New Dalek Paradigm and some army building sets. I personally do not collect them, but my Dad does. I wouldn't have a problem with them, except in the same year we got them, the 5 inch figure line (which I do collect), was comprised of this:

Yes, we did get some decent figures, including a new River and a Cyberman with gun, but every single wave was pretty much made up of re-releases with slight tweaks. Hell, the only difference between two of the waves is the number of psychic cubes on figure came with. To me, this wouldn't be too much of a big deal, except for the fact Character Option seems to be releasing the figures people ACTUALLY want in 5 inch form in their Character Building Sets only.

For example, in their Second Wave: 

It featured a Vampire Woman from Series 5. As a regular forum visitor, I saw this on many people's wishlists, especially after the other Vampire was announced. However, that is nothing compared to Rory! Everyone has wanted a Rory figure since before he became a main Companion. It is the single most frequent figure that I've seen, and I know because it's ON MY OWN DAMN LIST.

This is their Super Rare figure list, three of which also appear on Wishlists. Rory as a Roman, Pirate Amy and American River Song. Everyone wants a Rory, and a fair few people want him as a Roman as well. People are also after another Amy variant, be it in her pirate get up or just a Series 6 figure. I included River because she has become a popular character and a lot of people want another figure of her. However, this is nothing compared to their newly announced third wave.

Obviously, this is their newest announced Wave. It was literally announced this morning, and has no fewer then SIX figures people want. Again, it has an Amy and a River (this one is one I want a 5'' figure of), a Doctor in long coat and a Rory. It also has a handbot from the popular Episode "The Girl Who Waited". I know several people who want this released in figure form. If we got a future Amy as well, I would buy several.

However, the main figure in this list that many people want is the Kovarian. Each series of Doctor Who has one Big Bad (to borrow a phrase from Buffy) and this year, Kovarian was it. I like having figures of the Big Bad, and the lack of a Kovarian has been one of my biggest gripes (along with a lack of Rory).

I just wish that the 5'' line got this much love, instead of one or two new figures and constant re-releases.

So say we all!

Review: The Enemies of the Third Doctor Set

First off, I know I said I would probably do the Chase Set as my next review but, as often happens with me, I changed my mind. Instead, I will review the Third Doctor's Enemies set. And boy, what an interesting set it is.

Pictured: The Set...duh

I was personally very excited about this Set, since it contains two figures that have featured on my personal wishlists ever since they started making Classic Figures: Omega and the Auton. As for the Drashig, a lot of people don't like it. I am not one of them. I think it's absolutely brilliant, but more about that shortly.

Auton: The Auton is from Jon Pertwee's first serial, Spearhead in Space. The body is a retooled first release Jack Harkness (which ironically enough was the base figure many people used to make custom Autons). The head is a dead match for the characters in the serial, which is unsurprising considering how hard it would be to muck up that head.

Having said that, they painted the eyes black, which I think looks better than there. Another advantage to this figure over the previously released Autons is that they come with an interchangeable hand. The Autons, based on "Rose", featured a weird hand where the fingers slide which looks NOTHING like they do on screen. It also comes with a Nestene Sphere, which doesn't look like much more than a melted glob of plastic (AKA exactly how it looked on the show).

The only downside I can see to this figure is that, due to being a retooled series one figure, it doesn't feature the same amount of articulation as later figures. That said, it is STILL a great figure. I give this figure a full 9 out of 10.

Omega: Now this is an interesting figure to say the least. In the past, when CO/UT has done figures in long robes, the robes have been moulded. This time, they choose to go for fabric. I'm not too sure about this myself, since I've always felt fabric cloaks and the like don't look as good as plastic. This figure, to me, is no exception.

However, despite this, it is still a brilliant figure. If you take off the helmet, there's nothing underneath it as in "The Three Doctors". CO/UT could've just stuck the helmet on and been done with it. Its touches like that that make me truly love this Toyline. However, to me, the fabric cloak stops it scoring a perfect 10. Once again, 9/10.

Drashig: The Drashig technically isn't a figure. It's a hand puppet. Whoever thought this one up had a brilliant mind! While some people would've preferred a Draconian, a Silurian or an Ogron, the Drashig makes this set completely unique. Never before has CO/UT released something like this. They came close with their rotocast accessories but this is fantastic.

Obviously, it's a little out of scale with the rest of the Line, but if it were in scale, I think the Drashig would be about three foot tall! This is a very neat novelty item, and almost screen accurate. For that reason, I give it 10/10.

The Set in general: This set, to me, is close to perfect. it contains two figures the fans have been asking, and a nice novelty item in the form of the Drashig. 10/10

My first Figure review of 2012

Yes, boys & girls, I decided to put up ANOTHER blog tonight. This time, however, it'll be a review of one of the many Doctor Who figure sets I've received over the last month or so. I don't know what it was, but suddenly Character Options and Underground Toys couldn't seem to release enough figures fast enough.
I mean, in the space of a month, we got:

Enemies of the First Doctor

Enemies of the Third Doctor

The Invasion of Time Set

The Keeper of Traken Set

The Caves of Androzani Set

Image of the Fendahl Set

The Chase Set

That's seven sets, for those of you who can't count too well. And since these are all classic figures, they're exclusives and therefore, not cheap. But enough about that. More about me reviewing them. (Well, apart from the Fendahl set, since that hasn't shipped yet.)

For this review, I choose to do the "Keeper of Traken" Set. I have to say, I really like this Set, since it showed CO/UT don't always go for the cheap options. For instance, the Serial this set is based on features Tom Baker in his burgandy outfit, which has already been released in figure form. However, instead of simply re-releasing that figure in this set, they tooled a new variant IE the Tom in waistcoat. My figure's detailing and paintjob is top notch, as usual. There are no problems with it as far as I can tell. As is the norm, he comes with his Sonic Screwdriver and a large(ish) accessory of the Source Manipulator Sphere.

Onto the Master. Again, this is a nicely sculpted figure which is the spitting image of who he's supposed to be. Underneath his cloak, he seems to be wearing the same suit as the DA Master fromt he second wave of Classics, which makes sense considering it's the same Incarnation of the Doctor's enemy.

But for me, what makes this set worth it is the two TARDISes. Both belong to the Master this time around (which makes sense considering we already have the Fourth Doctor's TARDIS) and are beautiful immortalised in plastic. The Melkur is awesome and features very basic articulation in the arms, legs and head. The Grandfather Clock, however, is my absolute favourite of the Set. For me, this has always been Roger Delgado's TARDIS, more so then the Computer Bank we got in a previous release, similar to how Anthony Ainley's TARDIS will always be the column for me.

All in all, a great set! My only complaint is that it featured a Tom figure when it could've so easily had a Nyssa (a figure we don't yet have) instead. Therefore, I mark it as 9/10.

Been a while

Figured it's been a while since I posted a blog, too long in fact, so here you are, friends. 

I'm currently sat watching Iron Man at my friend Jeremy's house. It's an excellent film, brilliant cast and a cool storyline (except for the lack of a true villain fight). Robert Downey Jr does a wonderful job as Tony Stark, and the special effects are rather spectuclar! All in all, it is a film I'd recommend to everyone I meet on the streets, and that's saying something, considering I don't like the streets...or people. 

There isn't really much else to tell, except that a new wave of Doctor Who Action Figures has been announced.

As you can see, its made up of three re-releases (Idris, Uncle and the Doctor), two retolled figures (River and Ganger Doctor) and one completely new scuplt (the Astronaut). Surprisingly, I'm quite happy about these figures. The Doctor has a new blue bow tie variant, which is bluer then the original release. He comes with a Sonic Screwdriver (as is standard) and looks somewhat cool.

Idris is a re-release (but fortunately one I don't already have) but she comes with 5 Time Lord Hypercubes. Why 5? Why not is all I can think of to answer that partcular question. 

Now I'm really happy about the River and Astronaut figures! The Astronaut is something I've been wanting since the Series started. It's something of a mystery to everyone (except Steven Moffat) and since its first appearance, it achieved what the Daleks have failed to do since their first encounter, that just amplified the desire. River is a tweeked version of the SDCC exclusive (see below), without the coat and belt. Some would be irritated at this, but I'm not since it means that anyone who couldn't pick one up now has the chance.

Uncle and the Ganger Doctor I'm not fussed about. Much like the Nephew figure, I can't see myself buying this (unless they release an Auntie figure to complete the set). And I have no desire for a translucent Zombie Doctor to add to my collection. All in all, quite a good wave though!

Though I'd still quite like a Canton figure!

I also had an idea for a "Good Man Goes to War" action figure set: Dorium, Strax, Vastra, Roman Rory, River and Madame Korvarian. I would also like figures of the Headless Monks. Very little was revealed about them, but they were still a cool villain.

Finally, Doctor Who is starting up again on the 27th of August! YAY!

I am a Genius!

Semi-true fact. For example, I know that in Mathematics, a Score is "20". But that's beside the point. Today has to do less with the fact I'm a genius and more to do with actually being thankful that I shop around/am really, really luck. 

It also links into my last post, since it regards this: 

The amazing Pandorica Wave

Yep, the Pandorica Wave which consists of: 

-Eleventh Doctor with a Fez
-Amy Pond
-Damaged Cyberman
-Silurian
-Angel Bob
-Roman Auton.

Well, I found it on Amazon for roughly £50, including Shipping. I was fine with this, but a distinct lack of money caused me to postpone it and postpone it until I got some, which occured this morning when someone paid me some of the money he owed me. But since I was away from my laptop, I decided to postpone it until I got home. 

The rest of my day proceeded with its normal level of usualness, until we reached Tesco. As I do, I had a look around the shelves when I saw the Eleventh Doctor in Fez for £2.99. I thought cool, and had a look behind it. Angel Bob stared back at me (I was careful not to look at it in its tiny plastic eyes). Awesome. 

To cut a story short, they had the entire set...for LESS then £20! So as a result, I now have this: 

MY Pandorica Set!

And notice that that Amy is the limited Amy in Kissogram. So not only did I save £30, I got an exclusive-ish at a brilliantly reasonable price to boot! 

Bring on that River Song figure!

And the SDCC Exclusive is...

Spoilers...

River Song AKA Cleopatra AKA Mrs Robinson AKA Melody Pond in her outfit from "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang. A fantastic choice, since we've been needing a new River Song figure since her second appearance. Her first figure is brilliant, but there's one small problem with it: 

Admittedly, this is only an issue for me, who wants to do a Doctor Who Figure Adventure series. Since I didn't want River Song to only be appearing in her space suit, I've been hoping for this figure for quite a while, as one of my best friends will atest to lol!

BUT WAIT! IT GETS BETTER! Lookie:

It comes with the Pandorica Chair. YAY!

However, this presents a tiny problem for me. You see, loyal readers, about six months (or a year, I'm not a hundred percent sure) ago, Character Options released this: 

PANDORICA BOX!

A Wave with a Pandorica Build-it thingie! At the time, I already have 5 Silurian Warriors, 8 Weeping Angels (4 weeping, 4 screaming) and while I liked the Cyberman, I wasn't majorally fussed about buying it. So in the end, I bought the Fezzed Doctor and Policewoman Amy (not pictured). I then proceeded to give the Pandorica Pieces I bought with those two to a friend in America. 

Of course, had I known about this Set, I would've kept them for myself, but I didn't. In hindsight, not my brightest move ever, but not my worse either. Dad'll be getting the Fezzed Doctor, Amy and Headless Cyberman (whom I bought today and will be keeping the Pandorica Piece) from the complete Set I'll be buying in a couple of weeks. Huzzah for me.

Also, let me focus on the chair for a moment. It actually works! You can put your Eleventh Doctor figure inside it (Though I have doubts about Amy). See:

"No! Please, listen to me! The TARDIS is exploding right now and I'm the only one who can stop it! Listen to me!"

Kudos on an excellent figure choose, Underground Toys/Character Options! 

Holy Double Disappointment.

Today has been a bit of a disappointment for me. As my regular readers will know, I collect the Doctor Who action figures, both the New and Classic Who lines. So on Friday, when Underground Toys announced via Twitter that there would be a new announcement on Monday (today), I was excited. 

Turns out, it was a mistake. 

Around 3pm, it was announced it was a Classic Exclusive, and that it would be properly announced at roughly 5 gmt. So I sat here, waiting patiently when I spotted that the first wave of Series 6's figures had been announced. I was somewhat excited, and so I clicked the link. This is what I saw.

- Doctor with Stetson (and Sonic Screwdriver)

- Amelia Pond 

- Silence (closed mouth)

- Silence (open mouth)

- Nephew 

This was something of a disappointment to me, since that wave primarily consists of tweaked re-releases. The Doctor, for example. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so here you go. Here's the figures of the Eleventh Doctor we already have.

From left to right, we have a Jacketless Doc, a blue bow tied Doctor, a Fez Doc, a Tiger print Jacket Doc, a Red Bow tied Doc and a Raggardy Doc. So you can understand me when I say the Stetson Doc doesn't excite me much at all.

Now, the Amelia Pond figure is something good. Thus far, only one other has been announced. But it's still going to tick some poeple off. Because of this:

The fact is, the first Amelia Pond figure was announced as an exclusive to the Doctor Who experience and, while it is somewhat different from the one pictured above, it'd still be something I'd be ticked off about.

Now the Ood figure. That's been released before, numerous times, to the extent that no one at Character Options could be bothered to remember the fact that Nephew (the name of the above Ood) didn't have gloves on. But then, why make a correct figure when you can just slap out one from a pre-existing mould? Typical Character Options. 

Because I like Pictures.

Now, I AM excited about the Silence figures, but I'm still ticked about it. There is ONE new figure in this Wave, and a variant of that new figure. It has an open mouth... BIG difference! what happened to the days when they'd release ONE figure with an interchangeable head? They did with the Fourth Doctor, and Tom Baker was very excited about it!

So after this, I was looking forward to the Twitter Announcement. The last time they hyped it up that much, they announced the Jon Pertwee Sonic. The time before that, it was the Peri/Sil Set (the first of the Classic Companions). So I was thinking it was possibly another Companion Set (possible even the Brig or Sarah Jane, in remembrance of the departed Actors). But no.... It was this: 

The Time Monster Set - consisting of the Roger Delgado Master, his TARDIS and two accessories from the serial. Not bad...except for one small detail. 

The Delgado is a re-release... of a figure I already have. Whoopee! Basically, if I were to buy this, I'd be paying £19.99 for a big lump and two smaller pieces of plastic. Since that's not on my to-do list, I'm disappointed by this. Go Figure. 

lol "Figure"