“Time
travel is damage. It's like a tear in the fabric of reality. That is
the scar tissue of my journey through the universe. My path through
time and space. From Gallifrey to Trenzalore.”
One of the
deciding factors in my purchase of these new, smaller Doctor Who
figures was the Doctor’s purple coat. I love a purple coat. I very
badly want the Abbyshot Clothiers replica of the Doctor’s purple
coat, but it costs $430 and I can’t spend that on a purple coat.
Especially not after just spending a bunch of money on a new couch
and love seat set. Imagine that conversation:
Mrs.
Troublemaker: We need new couches in the living room. The sofa falls
apart a little bit more every day and is possibly actively trying to
murder us. The futon is… well, it’s a fucking futon.
Me: Yeah, but I
want this new Doctor Who coat.
Mrs.
Troublemaker: I am going to stab you in the face.
Me: Hey, we
should go look at sofas!
Unfortunately
the Doctor is tinier than I would have liked, as it’s 3 ¾” scale
rather than 5”. But there are plenty of fantastic figures being
produced in this smaller scale (mostly by Hasbro). Perhaps Character
Options/Underground Toys could produce something special and awesome.
First
Glance: Nope.
Articulation:
I do have to give Underground credit for mostly retaining the level
of articulation from the larger figures. While the Doctor isn’t
nearly as poseable as a modern GI Joe or Star Wars figure, at least
he does better than the old school five points of articulation.
Head – swivel
Shoulders –
swivel/pivot
Elbows –pivot
Wrists –
swivel
Waist - swivel
Hips – swivel
Knees – pivot
Ankles - swivel
All of the
joints function as well as they need to. The hips might’ve had the
swivel/pivot function of the larger series, but the Doctor’s coat
would have limited the usefulness of the pivot.
Sculpt:
This Doctor is an entirely new sculpt. And it is very simple.
Not inaccurate, necessarily, but lacking in detail.
The head sculpt
is a very general representation of Matt Smith. The hair and face are
the correct shape. Everything else is left up to the paint job.
Unfortunately.
The shirt,
bowtie, vest, and coat are all part of the torso. None of these have
any texture whatsoever and the figure looks quite cheap as a result.
The actual shapes of all of these items is quite good, though. The
vest has buttons and button holes with the bottom one undone. The
bowtie is fine and the coat has sculpted lapels and button holes. It
is the right length and shape and the arm holes are snug enough that
no torso shows through.
The arms look
pretty good and function well. I will give Underground credit for
sculpting shirt sleeves sticking out of the coat sleeves. The hands
look very much like Matt Smith’s, with lanky wrists and slightly
knobby-looking digits.
The trousers are
the right shape. They have details at the top – pockets and such –
and wrinkles and folds. The boots look more like little old lady
boots than what Matt Smith wears.
Coloring:
Blargh. This is where the figure really disappoints.
There was an
attempt to make the head look good. There’s shading on the skin and
hair. The lips are pretty well done. But the eyes and eyebrows and
hair just look so blobby and flat.
Everything else
on the figure is one color with no detail. It is all precisely
painted and there are no errors or blotching or anything, but man –
it just looks so cheap and plain.
Accessories:
The Doctor comes with his trusty Sonic Screwdriver and the absolute
bottom of the barrel of action figure accessories – a stand.
The Sonic
Screwdriver looks decent. It has the right shape and the details are
pretty good for this scale. It has four colors, but no green for the
crystal. The figure can hold it just fine.
The stand is a
stand. I don’t like stands because what they say to me is that this
figure is not going to stand up on its own.
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 am massively disappointed in this figure. It’s mostly the lack of
painted detail. There’s no doubting it’s the Doctor and I suppose
kids will be okay with this one, but it’s not anything I want to
own.
2
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
The
next two weeks here on Needless Things will be dedicated to Doctor
Who. I have Guest Posts, Toy Reviews, and more on the way. The site
will be jam-packed – relatively – with content. Please share
these links wherever you can and spread the word. And if you’re so
inclined, throw a few dollars at the Needless Things family. I have
to send you to the podcast homepage because Blogger doesn't want this
sort of thing. Just check out the widget on the bottom right
here.This
is all out of pocket for me, so anything I receive during this time
will got to site costs, hosting, and possibly new merchandise if I
get really ambitious.
Also,
you can buy the Limited Edition NeedlessThingsSite.com Luchador vs.
Owlbear t-shirts here.
I can’t say they’re selling fast, but once this style is gone,
they’re gone forever.
And I do intend on being famous one day, so wouldn’t it be cool to
have the first shirt I ever designed?
Remember
to check in every weekday between now and the 23rd for
new, original content.
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
be panels, games, Whovian carousing, and a LIVE recording of Earth
Station Who immediately after “The Day of the Doctor” airs. You
will literally never have another opportunity to attend a party like
this!
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