“EXTERMINATE!”
What? What else
am I supposed to use as a Dalek quote?
Lil’
Troublemaker has this stuffed Dalek that says three or four phrases,
the most commonly uttered of which is, “You would make a good
Dalek”, which is creepy at first but gets really old
after the thousandth time.
But that’s
neither here nor there.
Today, what is
here is the new tiny Dalek from Underground Toys. I saved this one
for last because it’s easily the best of the series and I wanted to
go out on a high note given how disappointing some of the other
releases were.
Over the last
few years of having enough disposable income to actually purchase
classic Doctor Who stories on DVD (they’ve never been cheap) I have
enjoyed the first revelation with “Genesis of the Daleks”,
“Remembrance of the Daleks”, “Resurrection of the Daleks” and
even “Day of the Daleks” (surprising given how little Pertwee I
had seen until recently). But none of those stories carried with them
the feel of the first time.
When I took the
time to think about it, I realized that the first story I saw a Dalek
in was one of the Peter Cushing movies – Dr. Who and the Daleks
or Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 AD.
When I was a kid
I wanted as much Doctor Who as I could possibly get (some things
never change). I don’t think I knew anything about it being a
British TV show. To me they were these movies that came on every
Saturday night. As such, I would look for them in the local video
store – at the time, Turtles. At some point I found both of the
above movies on VHS and gleefully rented them.
I could tell
these were something different. They looked too slick and just didn’t
feel the same as what I was watching on PBS every Saturday
night. I’m honestly not sure if I liked them or not and I also
can’t remember how I felt about the Daleks. I do remember my mom
liking the movies, though.
My point here is
that I don’t quite know how I feel about the Doctor’s greatest
foes.
I was excited
beyond words when Dalek premiered. It was so striking to see
that classic form – relatively unchanged – in the modern show.
And it still thrills me every time they show up. But I think all of
that is more related to how iconic they are than any personal
feelings about them. No matter how scary you think the Daleks are or
are not, you have to respect the fact that they transcended the
franchise they were born of. I am a huge fan of pop culture and of
anything that can break free of a genre or definition and appeal to
the masses. That’s exactly what the Daleks did.
They aren’t my
favorite of the Doctor’s foes and I don’t even find them
particularly scary. But there’s no denying their presence on the
screen and how well they have been built up in the universe of Doctor
Who. As such, they have earned their spot in the initial releases of
any new Doctor Who toy line.
Also, they just
make great toys.
First
Glance: It’s worth noting that this is the more
classic-looking Russell T. Davies-style Dalek as opposed to the
Skittles/Power Ranger/Teletubby/insert derogatory color-related term
of your choice here-style Daleks that Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss
introduced. I actually like that Dalek design quite a bit, though I
do think that the bright colors were a bit much.
Articulation:
This figure has as much articulation as you could want.
Head – swivel
Eye Stalk –
pivot
Arm Stalks –
ball joint
The head rotates
a full 360°. The eye stalk and weapons move as much as they need to.
There are
functional wheels underneath the Dalek’s chassis – a feature that
has been common among all Dalek toys since the very first ones
produced in the 60s. This figure has two stationary wheels and one on
a swivel, which allows it to roll in any direction. All three wheels
move easily.
Sculpt:
This Dalek is sized correctly to the rest of the line. The detail is
excellent, particularly for a figure of this scale.
The lines and
plating are clean and accurate. The mesh below the dome looks
excellent. All of the different parts of this cyborg have a certain
weight and shape to them that impart the menace of the species, even
at this smaller scale. The protuberances – the eyestalk and arms –
are sturdy and detailed nicely.
The individual
panels and spheres of the skirt portion are distinct and uniform. The
lower portion that covers the wheels has sections with sculpted
rivets.
The wheels are
recessed into the bottom of the figure so that they are mostly
invisible and it doesn’t sit up too high. It’s a great design and
works quite well.
Coloring:
This Dalek is the simple bronze of the RTD models, but I have no
doubt we’ll see variations in the future. Once you’ve sculpted a
good Dalek you basically have a whole line’s worth of variations;
whether it be colors or weapon stalks.
All of the
colors are applied quite nicely here. The translucent lights on the
dome look great. The detailing on the protuberances all looks very
good. The sucker and the eye stalk both have detail rather than
simply being silver – something that Underground probably could
have gotten away with on these smaller figures.
The gold spheres
and plating are quite well done and there’s no slop or bleeding
anywhere.
This figure
easily has the best paint job of the new line so far.
Accessories:
The Dalek is the only figure in this series of figures that does not
come with a stand. I’m fine with that – it doesn’t need one.
Then again, neither did the Weeping Angel. There’s really
not much the Dalek could have come with in the way of accessories
unless you were going to include alternate arm weapons or maybe an
interchangeable battle damaged piece. None of that is really
necessary, though, as a Dalek is pretty much always a great toy.
Packaging:
A simple blister card. The packaging is exactly the same across this
line except for the insert in the bubble. It’s eye-catching and
easy to open.
Value:
I think these worked out to about twelve bucks apiece, which is
absurd. This is a seven dollar toy at best.
Overall:
I can’t imagine this figure beign a whole lot better. It’s fun to
play with, it looks great, and if I were going to collect this scale
(and had a ton of money to throw away) I would want about a dozen of
them.
5
out of 5
I really don’t
know if these will show up at brick and mortar retail or not. You can
buy them from pretty much all of the online toy stores, though.
-Phantom
This week here on Needless Things will be dedicated to Doctor
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Finally,
be sure and come out to the HUGE 50th Anniversary Party
that TimeGate, Earth Station Who, the folks behind The Forgotten
Doctor, and (others) are throwing at the Holiday Inn Select; the
same location where TimeGate is held each and every year. There will
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Station Who immediately after “The Day of the Doctor” airs. You
will literally never have another opportunity to attend a party like
this!
That's a pretty decent looking Dalek and probably the only 1/18th figure I'd buy (maybe a weeping angel). My 5inch Who collecting is now limited to Daleks, new Doctors, and new companions, although I imagine we've seen the last of those. Still, lots of classic Daleks to buy.
ReplyDeleteI'm out of this scale. Just listed all of these on eBay. I'm terribly let down that we're not going to see any more modern releases in the 5" scale. Although I do think a 5" Paul McGann from Night of the Doctor would make a fantastic SDCC Exclusive for next year.
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