Tag Archives: Character Options

#0351: The Tenth Doctor

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

THE TENTH DOCTOR

DOCTOR WHO (3.75)

It’s a Doctor Who review!  Those are becoming more and more frequent, aren’t they?

For several years, the Doctor Who line chugged along in the 5 inch scale. It didn’t really fit with other contemporary lines (5 inch is really a 90s scale), but at least there was some internal consistency. Recently, however, Character Options opted to move the line to 3 ¾ inch scale. This provided a bit of an issue for people that had been collecting the larger line, and also left some pretty big holes in the smaller collection. Character Options is on board with filling those holes, because it means they get to do yet another release of each of the heavy hitters! The most recent series features a small scale take on the fan-favorite Tenth Doctor. Let’s see how that one turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Tenth Doctor was released in the third series of the smaller scale Doctor Who line. He’s 3 ¾ inches in height and he sports 14 points of articulation. Seems the doctor has traded in his larger counterpart’s hinged hips for a set of hinged shoulders. It means he has the same number of points of articulation, but he can do a little bit more with the shoulder movement than the hip movement, so it’s a good move on their part. Ten features an all-new sculpt, depicting him in his signature pinstripe suit and long coat. Even at the smaller scale, I must admit, the sculpt on this figure improves on the larger figure in almost every way. The likeness on the Doomsday Doctor’s head was pretty good, and this one is even better. That’s very definitely Tennant. I’m also glad to see the long coat, as the Doomsday figure didn’t have that. The biggest improvement on this figure is that the suit is a much better fit, not too bulky at all. That’s nice to see. While the sculpt is a definite improvement from the previous Ten, the paint sadly isn’t. It’s not terrible, mind you. It’s just that the Doomsday Doctor had stellar paint, and this figure’s paint is just okay There’s a few bits of slop here and there, and things like the details on his tie just look off here. Ten includes his sonic screw driver and a red DW logo base. The sonic isn’t as nice here as the larger one, but that’s to be expected. I have no use for the stand, but I guess it’s nice that it’s there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, it’s a Doctor Who review. You can probably guess who I got this figure from. Yep, this is another figure purchased for me by my Super Awesome Girlfriend. While we were at Walgreens looking for Star Wars: The Black Series figures, we discovered that Walgreens also carried the smaller scale Doctor Who figures. I expressed interest in the Ten figure, so she bought it for me. Isn’t that nice of her?

The figure is really good. I still like the Doomsday Doctor for his own pluses, but this figure definitely has led me to consider what the smaller scale has to offer. In the meantime, this can be my “Travel Doctor”! Allons-y!

#0309: Amy Pond

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

AMY POND

DOCTOR WHO

AmyPond1

Continuing the Guardians of the Galaxy theme, I’ll be moving on to a figure of one of the movie’s main baddies, Nebula. What’s that? …I’m being told there’s no Nebula figure. Ummm, well this is awkward. Hmmm. Perhaps I can arrange some sort of replacement! Wouldn’t you know it, Karen Gillan just so happens to have an action figure from another toyline? That sure is convenient!

Okay, so it’s actually just dumb luck that Amy was the next on my list of figures to review. I totally hadn’t realized until I sat down to write the intro that Karen Gillan was also in Guardians. That amused me. If nothing else, this site is here to amuse me. So, yes, today I’ll be looking at a figure of Amy Pond, the first companion of the 11th Doctor!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

AmyPondWilsonAmy was released as part of the first series of 11th Doctor-themed figures in Underground Toys’ Doctor Who line. The figure stands roughly 5 inches tall and features 18 points of articulation. Amy had a few different appearances on the show, but the figure seems to be based on what she wore right after she started travelling with the Doctor. I don’t know specifically when she wore this, but it seems to properly capture the essence of Amy. Amy features an all-new sculpt, and it’s a pretty good one. The proportions on the body look pretty good, nothing being too exaggerated. The likeness of the sculpt seems to be pretty spot on to Karen Gillan, but it is a bit difficult to tell, thanks to the paint. Ah, the paint. If I had one real complaint about the figure, it would be the paint. It’s not bad, mind you. No, it stays in the lines, and offer some pretty good detail work. The biggest issue is that her skin tone just seems off. It’s got a sort of a greenish hue to it, which makes her seem unnatural. It doesn’t ruin the figure, but it makes her seem…off. Amy included no accessories, though given my experience with Doctor Who figures, this is no surprise.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, in addition to what was brought up in the intro, there’s another connection between this figure and the Guardians figures. This figure also was given to me by Super Awesome Girlfriend! She’s the one that gets me all my Doctor Who stuff, and this was no exception. Although the 10th Doctor is my favorite version of the Doctor, Amy and Rory are my favorite companions. Sadly, Amy carries quite the hefty price tag on the aftermarket, which meant I didn’t think I’d be getting one anytime soon. While walking through the dealer’s room at Shoreleave, my girlfriend pointed out the figure for a reasonable price and seemed dead-set on me getting it. Eventually she gave up trying to convince me to buy it and just bought it for me. Because she’s awesome.

AmyPond2

#0286: Tenth Doctor’s Companions

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

ROSE TYLER, SARAH JANE, MARTHA JONES, DONNA NOBLE, ASTRID & K-9

DOCTOR WHO

10Companions1

After yesterday’s brief break, we return to the Birthday Reviews with Part 6! I’ve wrapped up my Power Rangers (well, the ones I received as gifts, anyway…) so I’ll be moving on to some of the other gifts I got this year. This time around it’s Doctor Who themed, which is something I’ve looked at only once before on this blog. This time I’m not looking at the Doctor himself, but rather several of his companions.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These six were released as a boxed set, based on the companions of the Tenth incarnation of the Doctor. All of them were previously released on their own, but this is the first time I’ve seen any of them, so I’ll be treating them as new.

ROSE TYLER

10Companions6Rose is the new Doctor’s first companion, a hold-over from the Ninth Doctor’s time. The figure is about 5 inches tall and features 11 points of articulation. She’s based on Rose from the Tenth Doctor’s first season, specifically from the episode where he fights Satan in space. Yeah. The sculpt is all new, as far as I can tell, and it’s pretty good. The body seems well proportioned, and the face is a pretty great likeness of Billie Piper, so that’s cool. The hair is a bit chunky, but it’s not terrible. The arms lack elbow articulation, I assume to prevent the sculpt of the bare arms from being interrupted. It looks nice, but it does mean the arms are very limited in what you can do with them. The paint work is nice and clean, no bleed over or slop, which is all pretty good.

SARAH JANE

10Companions2Sarah Jane is only one of Ten’s companions in the loosest sense of the term. She appeared in a few episodes of his tenure, but she was never his sole companion. She was, however, a long-time companion to the Fourth incarnation of the Doctor. She stands about 5 inches tall and features 13 points of articulation. She’s based on her appearance on the show during Ten’s first season, which seems sensible for the set. The figure’s sculpt is pretty good overall, though she may actually be a little too young looking for the actress at the time of her appearance with Ten. That seems preferable to the opposite, so I can’t complain too much. The body sculpt looks pretty reasonably proportioned and detailed, and her hair looks more accurate than Rose, so that’s good. The paint work on Sarah is pretty clean, nothing amazingly impressive, but not bad by any means.

MARTHA JONES

10Companions7Martha was Ten’s first major companion following Rose (Donna showed up first, but she was only in the one episode). She only lasted a season, but she continued to appear for the following season, and also made a few appearances in spin-off series Torchwood. The figure sports 13 points of articulation and stands 5 inches tall. Martha’s sculpt is really quite good, probably the most accurate in this set. The likeness is definitely there, the proportions look great, the detail work is nice, and the articulation doesn’t interrupt too much. That makes for a really good figure. The paint is nice and clean, and accents the sculpt very well, and I like the differences in the finishes on different materials.

DONNA NOBLE

10Companions5Donna first appeared in the episode following Rose’s departure, originally meant as a one episode character before Martha appeared. However, the producers liked Catherine Tate’s performance, and decided to bring her in following Martha leaving as full-time companion at the end of the season. The figure is about 5 inches tall and features 13 points of articulation. She’s based on Donna’s appearance in her first episode as full time companion, which may not have been the best idea. Purely viewed through the window of show accuracy, it’s not a bad sculpt. She looks quite a bit like Tate, and the outfit she wore has been transferred pretty well. The issue at hand is that it’s not very flattering. Under the coat, they’ve accurately conveyed her build, but you can’t tell thanks to the bulky coat. It’s really a shame. The paint work on the figure is pretty good. Everything is cleanly applied, and there aren’t any issues of slop or bleed over.

ASTRID

10Companions8Astrid is the companion in this set with the shortest tenure on the show. Her only appearance is in the Christmas special following Martha’s departure. The figure stands about 5 inches tall and has 16 points of articulation. She’s in the only outfit that Astrid ever wore, so I suppose that’s fair. Her sculpt is okay, though not phenomenal. She looks a tad too old to be Astrid, and the proportions seem slightly off. In contrast to Rose, she has elbow joints. Functionally, it’s better, but aesthetically, I’m uncertain. I wonder if there might be some middle ground. The paint work on Astrid is pretty good overall, but the legs do show a little bit of slop.

K-9

10Companions3K-9 is kind of a joint-companion with Sarah Jane. He has pretty much the same amount of interaction with the Tenth Doctor, and was also a long-time companion to the Fourth Doctor. K-9 is about 3 inches tall and 2 inches long, with no articulation. It would have been nice to get some neck articulation, but otherwise, the lack thereof is understandable. The figure is based on K-9’s more beaten up appearance in the first season of Ten’s run. The sculpt is pretty good, and looks to be about spot-on to the prop from the show, so that’s cool. K-9 10Companions4features a removable plate on his right side, allowing a glimpse of his inner workings. The plate can be popped off by pressing the button at the top of his body. The paint work on K-9 is okay. I do wish that some of the scuffs and rust spots were a bit more subtle, but the rest of the paint seems to pretty cleanly applied, which is pretty cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Companions set was a super awesome gift from my super awesome girlfriend, given to me for my birthday. She got them for me to compliment the set she gave me for Christmas, and she couldn’t have done a better job picking them out. She was very excited to give them to me, and I was absolutely thrilled to get them! Like the Doctor figure, a lot of these figures have little minor flaws, but as a whole they’re pretty great, and I’m glad my Doctor’s not lonely anymore!

10Companions9

#0097: Doctor Who – Doomsday Set

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

THE TENTH DOCTOR, CYBERMAN & DALEK SEC

DOCTOR WHO

So, apparently, there’s a part 13 to my “post-Christmas review.”  It came as a surprise to me as well.  Good surprise, though.

So yeah, this time around it’s a first for me.  I’ll be reviewing a set of Doctor Who figures, which are my very first set of Doctor Who figures ever.  So, on to the review!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The figures in this set were released as part of the Doomsday set.  It’s a three-pack based on the second series finale, “Doomsday,” and I believe it was released in 2012.

THE DOCTOR

First up, it’s the titular Doctor.  This is the Tenth Doctor, which means he’s based on David Tennant’s version of the character.  He’s shown here in his usual pinstriped suit, and he’s also wearing his 3-D glasses which are important to the plot of the episode.  The Doctor stands about 5 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  The articulation is actually pretty decent over all, though I di kind of wish he had more than simple cut joints on his shoulders.  However, the rest of the articulation works really well, which makes up for the somewhat limited shoulders.  The sculpt is pretty decent over all, but the head is where this figure really shines.  I’ve seen pictures of some of the earlier Tens and the likeness to Tennant is only passable at best, but this figure seems to have really improved in that area.  The 3D glasses are a separate piece, which is really well scaled to the figure, which is super cool.  The body sculpt is pretty good too, if not quite as good as the head sculpt.  The separate piece used for the suit jacket is a little bit too bulky, but not too terrible.  The paint is all really sharp, with no noticeable slop or bleed.  Of note is just how well handled the pinstripes on the suit, which are all very small and evenly spaced.  The Doctor includes one accessory, his trusty sonic screwdriver.  It’s a decently done piece, and matches the quality of the figure, and fits perfectly into his hand.

CYBERMAN

Next up is one of the Doctor’s recurring foes, the Cybermen.  This is just one of the basic Cyberman drones, based on the revamped design from the Russell T Davis era.  The Cyberman stands a little over 5 inches tall and features 16 points of articulation.  The articulation is actually a bit better here than on the Doctor, as he’s got a ball jointed neck and shoulders, which really adds to the posing options.  The sculpt looks fairly spot on to the design of the character on the show.  The detailing of the wires under the armor plating looks particularly interesting and gives the figure some nice dimension.  The paint is decent, though, due to the nature of the design, it is a bit simpler than the Doctor’s.  It’s all very cleanly done and nothing is out of line or sloppy.  There’s also a bit of airbrushing to help bring out the details of the sculpt.

DALEK SEC

Last up is one the Doctor’s greatest enemies, the Daleks.   In particular, it’s Dalek Sec, the leader of a group of individual-ized Daleks created to better fight the Doctor.  The group was introduced in the two-part second series finale where they proved quite pivotal to its plot, so the inclusion of Sec in the set makes a lot of sense.  Sec stands about 4 ½ inches tall and features 4 points of articulation (9 if you count the wheels on the bottom, I suppose).  Obviously, he’s nowhere near as articulated as the other two figures in the set, but that’s totally understandable, since the real Dalek props only had a few moving parts.  The sculpt is pretty much just one of the Daleks shrunk down, with pretty much all of the details handled exactly the way they should be.  The paint is really cool.  It replicates Sec’s unique color scheme, which is super awesome.  He’s all black, but the figure has paint of various different finishes, which really adds some neat detail to the figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was kinda late to the whole Doctor Who thing.  I’ve only in the last 3-4 months really started watching the show, but I’ve gotten pretty well hooked.  I’m most of the way caught up, and Tennant was definitely my favorite, so I wanted to track down one of the many figures released based on his interpretation of the character.

While I was visiting her this weekend, my super awesome girlfriend presented me with a wrapped package containing these guys and informed me it was a slightly late Christmas gift. I was super excited to get these, and they’re one of the best gifts I received in an already pretty awesome selection of gifts.  The Doctor is my favorite in the set, even with his minor flaws, just because of how much fun he is to mess around with.  However, the other two are pretty awesome too, and really neat additions to the Doctor figure.  My Doctor Who collection just went from 0 to 3 super fast, which is really nifty.