You know how it is, the longer you leave something, the harder it is to come back to it. This blog is no different. But every once in a while something comes along to give you a push. Of course it is new Doctor Who figures, which means another chapter in the Ultimate Action Figure Adventure. Now we are up to part 42 which is quite poetic as if it is the answer to the ‘Ultimate Question’, that question must be ‘How many variants of the Fourth Doctor have been released?’.
But anyway, there were two ways of looking at B&Mgate 2018. Either the figure line was going out with a bang, or this was the start of a renaissance. Thankfully optimism won out as it was soon announced that not only had the sets been successful enough to warrant more exciting things next year, including another TARDIS, but a further production run of the existing sets with minor tweaks had been ordered in the interim. More on that later.
But first, cast your minds back to Christmas 2017. After ‘Twice Upon a Time’ had aired, Pearl Mackie posted a photo on instagram of a production sample figure of Bill on top of her Christmas tree. Naturally collectors were ‘triggered’, wondering ‘Where? How? What? When?’. Rumour floated about that it was an abandoned Toys R Us exclusive. But then early 2018, Amazon posted a pre order for a Bill Potts Collector figure, with an arbitrary summer release date and no promo images. It is a regular thing for Amazon to publish pre order holding pages for products long before they are actually to be solicited and they get taken down very quickly. But this just sat there. So over the months, people just casually dropped in a pre-order in the hope that one day a figure would materialise and that if there was any doubt, the support and willing might prompt the powers that be to make it reality.
We know now that B&M snuck in and secured the debut release of Bill in the figure range, despite the figures supposedly being ‘no new parts’, so a whole new figure was a shock. But Amazon were better late than never and in September, made good on their pre orders with a single packed figure of Bill Potts.
Bill Potts: This release of Bill is the exact same sculpt as the B&M set figure from ‘The Pilot’. This version however is the one seen on Pearl Mackie’s Christmas Tree and based on her appearance from the following episode, ‘Smile’ and is a pretty good match sculpt wise, so the direct re-use makes total sense. The head and arms are identical, as are the trainers. The jeans are now completely black instead of dark blue and the top is now made up of chunky and vibrant, vertical, multi-coloured stripes. There are five buttons on the front, but these are just painted on. Overall, the paint applications are slightly crisper, but this may be simply down to not having such a busy pattern as the previous release had. The only other difference of course is the packaging, which is the standard collectors series single figure box.
With Series 11 fast approaching, it was always a possibility that the production team would want a clean slate or at least pause and think before committing to any significant product releases. We had seen Thirteenth Doctor figurines announced if not released in every other range and scale other than Character’s 5.5 inch line. In fact for a while it seemed the 10 inch figure would be the primary Thirteenth Doctor figure release. However concerns over whether we would ever see a 5.5 inch Thirteenth Doctor were pretty soon put to rest as Galaxy 4 and The Who Shop within days of each other, solicited a 5.5 inch Thirteenth Doctor Collectors Figure. So at the very least we would be able to continue the Doctor line up. More than that, the figure was slated for release in January! Whilst this meant the figure had been in the works for some time, it did mean the figure would be released just after the series and Christmas special (and Christmas itself) had ended. But those that pre ordered were rewarded as the figure came into stock and was sent out to customers in the black hole period between Christmas and New Year, just in time to see the Thirteenth Doctor face off against a Dalek!
The Thirteenth Doctor: This figure shows the Thirteenth Doctor as she appears in most publicity images for Series 11 and indeed most of the episodes. Basically, she is wearing the dark blue Tshirt rather than the maroon version. The figure at a glance appears to be all new, but in fact includes some very clever parts re-use. The hips, thighs and arms are reused from Martha Jones, meaning the torso, lower legs, head, hands and coat are new. So about 25% reuse and 75% new parts. It does mean that some of the articulation is limited, for example the shoulders and elbows are hinged rather than ball jointed as on more recently developed figures like Missy. But the head is on a ball at the top of the neck, which is now part of the main torso, to avoid a ghastly seem line across the open collar.
The head is a good likeness for Jodie Whitaker and the hairstyle is nicely captured. The paint apps are simple but effective, not thick and hiding the sculpted detail. The hair does suffer a bit as it is mostly all one pale yellow with a dark crest of roots down the parting, which doesn’t exactly convince. The torso has the bare neck and collar bones captured in an unbroken sculpt, which really makes all the difference. The Tshirt is a dark blue base colour, with several horizontal, multi-coloured stripes across the chest. This is a simplification of the screen used costume which has a great deal more stripes but at this scale, it’s almost impossible to tell. The braces are bright yellow and are mostly concealed beneath the coat so as not to be too conspicuous. Looking at the coat, it is a simple, sleek shape painted mostly a sky blue, with dark blue lining and pockets painted on. The trim of the lining shows very thin rainbow stripes, just like the screen used costume, but depending on how they are applied, terminate quite abruptly as the lapel folds inwards. The hood at the back is sculpted in and static. It might have been nice to see a swappable piece like on the ‘Winder’ figures to raise the hood, but as it was never used on screen it is no big loss. The arms are the same sky blue colour with the dark blue almost spiral piping around the cuffs.
The waistband of the trousers is actually part of the torso, extending the jeans of the Martha Jones figure slightly, but it works quite well as a natural seem line. The rest of the trousers are a medium blue plastic, stopping half way down the shins, showing a bit of bare leg painted in, blue socks again and then painted brown boots. The hands are a bit odd. The left hand is spread out in either a reaching or mysterious gesturing pose. The right hand is an almost clenched fist, but designed to hold the one accessory, the Sonic Screwdriver. Because the hand is not angled, it does mean that the screwdriver can only be held at right angles to the arm like in the classic series, not in the ‘wand’ style of all the new series Sonics. Given how the Thirteenth Doctor’s signature move seems to be the flamboyant presentation of the screwdriver, it is a bit annoying. The sonic itself is a small if crude rendering of the screen used prop, painted mostly silver with yellow highlights and emitter. Nothing outstanding. So all in all, considering we might never have seen a Thirteenth Doctor figure, this has worked out very well, with some extremely clever use of existing parts. The packaging too has been updated fully. For the first time in several years we have a blister card, now featuring the new logo, the TARDIS down the left side and the Police Box doors framing the sides of the display bubble. It has to be said though that this style doesn’t in any way evoke the feel of the series now it has been broadcast (which was much more muted and earthy in terms of colour), but is at least somewhat consistent with the promotional material and other packaging for tie in product and stands out on shelves and pegs.
But wait, there’s more. Due to the reform of Underground Toys into Seven20 the partnership with Character Options was dissolved and with that went the distribution rights for the Doctor Who figure range. However Seven20 successfully obtained the license to produce and distribute 5.5 inch Doctor Who figures exclusively in North America. So for the first time ever, we would see two competitive ranges, in the same random scale, but at opposite ends of the planet. But things went massively downhill, when it was announced that having struck this deal, the US Thirteenth Doctor would be exclusive to a single and obscure retailer, ‘Toots Toys’. The prototype images showed that this figure would have a different aesthetic to the Character Options line and production samples shown at New York Toy Fair showed that two variants would be released, one with coat and one without.
In January, Toy Fair took place in London. Of course people were keen to find out if the Thirteenth Doctor would be a one off figure or if there would be an expanded range. Given Series 12 would not air until 2020 it was unlikely anything would appear in the interim. Hope won out as a three pack of Ryan, Yaz and Graham was displayed and would be released subject to retailer interest. While companions would be desirable to collectors, there is always the risk that retailers would turn down a 3 pack of regular ordinary humans. Stranger things have happened.
No monsters were proposed though, which means the last newly sculpted alien/monster/non humanoid to be released in the 5.5 inch line was Bok from ‘The Daemons’ back in 2013. Since then we have seen repaint and re-releases of various creatures, most recently the B&M Auton.
Mixed news was received on a new flight control TARDIS. Firstly reports were that it had been shelved, but soon after it was updated to potential release in 2020 to tie in with Series 12 accompanied by a teaser photo from Al Dewar. Watch this space.
Following on from the great success with the B&M sets in the summer of 2018, a restock was planned with some running changes, mostly minor paint tweaks. It should be noted however that whilst the images on the back of the box have been updated to reflect the changes, the packaging style is the same. But this will most likely be the final outing for the ‘classic’ orange and purple collector packaging, that was both stylish and vibrant and a personal favourite for the line.
The 1970’s Collectors Set: This set featured the most dramatic changes. The Fourth Doctor now has painted frilled cuffs, the jacket in slightly more pinky/wine coloured in hue a more reddish undertone shade of paint for the waistcoat, the painting on the tie seems universally poorly painted in just one thin strip but most importantly, the legs now had sculpted shoes rather than boots painted to look like shoes. The Brigadier’s uniform was also updated to be a more yellow/sand colour. The Auton however is unchanged.
The Eleventh Doctor Collector’s Set: Amy’s blouse/top is now entirely white where it was once lilac, but retains the same patterning. Oswin’s belt has been removed. The Eleventh Doctor is unchanged.
The Twelfth Doctor Collector’s Set: Bill’s jeans now have a black stripe running up the side of the leg and the bow in her hair is now a deep orange/red and her trainers are mostly black. The Twelfth Doctor and Missy are unchanged.
The TARDIS set, despite being a sell out success was not re-commissioned. Instead a new-ish set was announced for release alongside the other tweaked sets, much to the delight of collectors meaning we now had 3 versions of the same prop from 1972, 1974 and 1975.
Fourth Doctor Regenerated and TARDIS set: This set includes the TARDIS and the Fourth Doctor, immediately after regenerating in the opening scenes of ‘Robot’. The TARDIS is the ‘Planet of Evil’/’Time Monster’ box with the flat roof, which is fair as it is supposed to be the same prop but does retain the same quirks and inaccuracies. The blue is a more neutral shade. Lighter than the ‘Planet of Evil’ box but darker than the ‘Time Monster’ box. It is coloured plastic with a medium grey wash to weather it, and it works to a nice effect and brings out the detail. The phone panel is white text on a black background, but this includes the frame of the panel too, something the TV prop didn’t have at this time, so it all blends to appear as one flat panel. The roof signage has been inverted to black text on a white backing, accurate to the prop after it was refitted with dummy parts left over from ‘The Celestial Toymaker’. 
However, this has been done on all the panels for consistency despite one being the correct white text on black, one not having any text at all after being smashed in ‘The Time Monster’ and the rear of the prop being seldom seen anyway. But it is something different and sets it apart from the other boxes. The wash over the signage also helps dull it down and prevent it looking to conspicuous and frankly wrong. The lamp cage is blue but the top part is white, again with a wash, which is an odd choice, but considering at the time the TV Prop didn’t have a cage around the lamp at all, what can you do? There are no electronics,, just the standard, mechanised spring loaded door. But if B&M and Character are going to make a regular thing of this, it would be appreciated if they could fill in the speaker holes and battery compartment at the back, which look awful. It’s strange that they fixed the base so as to remove the trigger button and the on/off switch that you can’t see, but simply glue down the battery panel and call it a day.
The Fourth Doctor figure in his predecessor’s clothes, is one that has been released a couple of times but in very limited ways. Firstly in the ‘Fourth Doctor Time Capsule’ with a new head sculpt, then again single carded in the US only but with a standard Fourth Doctor head. This release is a repaint of the ‘Time Capsule’ variant. The exclusive head sculpt with slightly swept back hair is repainted into a more pinkish, flesh hue rather than the yellowish colour of the ‘Time Capsule’ release and the tanned appearance of the US version. The paint apps are consistently crisp, and interestingly the sideburns are more ginger coloured as they appeared on screen, rather than brown like the hair on previous figures. The Doctor has been given prominent eyebrows again, however compared to previous releases, these are relatively natural. The jacket and shirt ruffles had a gloss black piping effect around the frills and lapels, but here they are a medium grey, which is an interesting choice. It makes them stand out, even if it is not necessarily accurate to the black piping on black velvet seen on screen. The trousers and legs are medium grey with black shoes like the previous release.
Unlike the other revised sets, this TARDIS set has been given all new packaging to bring it on current brand. It is significantly different from the Thirteenth Doctor Figure packaging and indeed any other product styling, which flies in the face of consolidating the brand. The packaging is now a dark blue lined with a thin Gallifreyan text ribbon and a thin yellow outline around the window. To contrast against this, the right side of the window has a stencil of the 2005 TARDIS (Classic?) but it is in a very dull grey. Not only does this packaging not stand out on the shelf due to the colouring and new minimalist logo, but the TARDIS stencil obscures the actual model within, plunging the contents almost into complete darkness when on the shelf. Really a clear panel needs to be added into the top to let in the light. It is a shame because the interior of the packaging is great! It is a diorama of the UNIT lab from ‘Robot’, with some great details. From the framed Season 9 publicity photo and the Blake’s 7 Teleport Bracelet from Series D, to the photo of the Whomobile on a trailer (having been rediscovered a couple of years ago) on the notice board. The poster for Li H’Sen Chang’s show is a bit inflammatory in the current climate but it’s inclusion makes sense even if it is a bit prophetic if not too on the nose. This is probably Gavin Rymil’s recent reproduction of the poster. What is more, the package has been engineered to enable you to remove the contents without damaging the diorama (aside from the screw holes in the floor). This was attempted with the ‘Image of the Fendahl’ set but too many blisters and twisty ties and tape spoiled that. So a lot of thought has gone into this and it is arguably better executed than the 3.75 inch Time Zone sets.
For once I get to end a post not fretting for the range’s future, for we know there is more to come. At Toy Fair, a new wave of B&M sets including ANOTHER TARDIS were on display and considered ‘very exciting’. These will be coming in the summer. What the contents are, we wont know for some months, but the future looks positive. The adventure is far from being all over.
Nerd World Problems 