Awesome Toy Blog

Bif Bang Pow! tweeted a toy fair preview today, and blew my mind. One of their releases for their Doctor Who line is a TARDIS control room playset with K9. That’s right – a TARDIS control room playset with K9.  In line with ‘retro’ aesthetic the playset is constructed of thick cardboard. This piece is posted for preorder now from Entertainment Earth and is due for release in October. Just a bit over a week for full toy fair coverage here on AwesomeToyBlog!

Despite being released in Australia, the ‘Seeds of Doom’ set has now been announced by Underground Toys. This set includes a 4th Doctor (most similar to the 11th Doctors set) with sword, a Krynoid (a repaint / remold of the Ax0n) and Seed Pods. No release date has been posted yet, but should be soon based on the availability in Australia. 

Updated: expect this set in the states late March, 2012.

Name: Cyberleader
Series: 2 from Bif BangPow!
Availability: October 2011

As part of the initial four figures released at last year’s NYCC – The Cyberleader is the final figure to get a chance to shine in the figure spotlight. Just yesterday I raved about how awesome the Master is, how does the Cyberleader stack up?

While the Master stands out my favorite of the first group of four figures, the Cyberleader is the most frustrating. The figure is so close to perfect – but one detail just stands out and mars the figure. Using the same basic body – the Cyberleader is based on a well articulated and high quality body. The cyberman outfit is fantastic – I love the printing on the outfit at the elbows and knees giving it a corrugated look. The chest apparatus is niced sculpted with great detail. The head sculpt is amazing, it nails the look of70′s Cybermen.

Where I stumble with the figure is with the where the head attaches to the shoulders. While it maintains neck articulation, it results in the head floating up above the shoulders and just looks off. I would have happily given up the neck articulation to have the head sit closer to the body – its not like a Cyberman has ever turned his neck on screen! To illustrate my point a little better, check out this ‘what if’ picture:

If this one detail was tweaked, I’d be over the moon with this figure – which is why I find it to be the most frustrating of the first four. It could just be incredible, instead of just good. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid figure and definitely worth picking up if you’re a fan of classic Who. Both the Cyberleader and the Master are still available from Entertainment Earth. Overall, I’m impressed with the first four Doctor Who figures from Bif Bang Pow! The have a great blend of the retro aesthetic with attention to detail and screen accuracy. The head sculpts on the Sontaran and Cyberleader are beyond top notch! I can’t wait for the next batch to be released from Bif Bang Pow! later this year.

Name: The Master
Series: 2 from Bif BangPow!
Availability: October 2011

As part of the initial four figures released at last year’s NYCC – The Master is the latest figure to get a chance to shine in the figure spotlight. While I’ve had the 4th Doctor and Styre for quite awhile now, I only picked up the Master and the Cyberleader this past Christmas – making them new to me.

Given that I’ve previously talked about the other Bif Bang Pow! Doctor Who figures, I can really get this review going. In fact, I believe the Master to be the best of the bunch released to date. I mean, he’s fantastic. The articulated body that serves as the basis for the figure is top notch, well articulated but never floppy. The costume, albeit quite simple, is excellent. The material used looks gauzy, very similar to the television costume. A nice touch is that the hood has wire in the hem, allowing you to bend and drape it as you see fit. I’ve fiddled with it a bit, and still haven’t gotten it quite right. The Sash of Rasillon also adds an essential bit of pop, but is also removable. The Master’s head sculpt is on point – with a creepy, bug eyed expression the Master looks like he just popped right out of ‘the Deadly Assassin’. Sure, if you haven’t seen the episode, the figure head sculpt might seem a little goofy, but it’s pretty close to screen accurate.

I have to say that, as a whole, the figure is so good it looks like someone got a hold of the Master’s TCE (that’s a Tissue Compression Eliminator) and shrunk him down, plopped him on a card and sent him to my house. If you want one sent to your house, you can pick him up from Entertainment Earth.

Just a quick update on a rumor reported here the other week ago. The ‘Seeds of Doom’ set has now surfaced in from an Australian website. There’s conflicting reports on if this is the final set, as there may be changes to the 4th Doctor figure in the set. We should find out more when the figure is offered up to US and UK retailers later this week. In the mean time, enjoy the picture below.

Also bouncing around the message boards are rumors of a ‘Pyramids of Mars’ set including a Sutekh figure. Finger’s crossed this one’s true – but wouldn’t a Sarah James Smith (with shotgun) and Mummy be a fantastic two pack?

2012 is quickly becoming a banner year for Classic Doctor Who figures. The rumor mill was abuzz this weekend with rumors and an (now disappeared!) image of a ‘Seeds of Doom’ set. This set featured the long-rumored Krynoid figure (a repaint of the Axon), a 4th Doctor (from the 11 Doctors set) and 2 seed pods. As soon as the set is officially announced, I’ll update with pics.  Happy times to be a Whovian, indeed.

Clearly Underground Toys knew that I could do with a pick-me-up this morning as they announced a pair of new releases in their Classic Doctor Who line.  First up, from ‘Attack of the Cybermen’ is Peri in a pink top and a rogue Cyberman – featuring a removable faceplate. This is the pink Peri that had been floating around on ebay last year, solving the mystery of what she’ll be paired with.

The second announcement today made the rumor from earlier this week official.  From ‘Rememberance of the Daleks’ come the destroyed Dalek and Davros as the Emperor Dalek. The destroyed Dalek looks really great!  Check out images of both sets below. As soon as preorders or release dates are identified, I’ll let you know.

With a slew of releases on tap – its a great time to be a fan of Underground Toys’ lind of Classic Doctor Who toys.  Right before the holidays, I was fortunate to recieve the ‘Keeper of  Traken’ set from them for review.  Based on characters from the pentultimate 4th Doctor adventure this set includes a jacketless 4th Doctor, a decayed Master, the Melkur and the Master’s TARDIS disguised as a grandfather clock. The set is packaged in a window box with a diorama scene for the episdode which looked great – but as I open my sets; this was short-lived.

Let’s start off by addressing the cynics who gripe about repeat figures in the boxsets – in this set you do get another 4th Doctor figure and decayed Master figure – but each is different then previous releases. The 4th Doctor figure is most changed from previous outings as he’s taken off his outer coat revealing a fantastically deco’d vest.  He also now features ball jointed shoulders – enabling new ranges of motion. This release of the 4th Doctor really is a new figure.  The Master figure has changes that are more subtle than the Doctor’s.  Despite the Master’s appearance remaining relatively unchanged between ‘The Deadly Assassin’ and ‘The Keeper of Traken’ there were differences in the costumes and actor playing the role.  Not content with a complete reissue of the ‘The Deadly Assassin’ Master from the first wave of Classics, this release features a new head sculpt; evident by the nose.  This wasn’t something that Underground Toys had to do – but it really does add value to the set.  A fantastic touch!

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As the avalanche of new Classic Doctor Who figures continues; a youtube video gives credence to one of the rumors on an upcoming set.  The video (with a screen capture below) shows a packaged sample of a damaged Imperial Dalek and Davros as the Emperor Dalek from the 7th Doctor episode “Remembrance of the Daleks”. Of course, nothing is official until announced (or at least solicited to retailers) by Underground Toys; but it’s pretty likely we’ll see this set in the future. Personally, I’m thrilled with this set.  And wouldn’t that  destroyed Dalek would also be a fantastic pack in with an Ace figure?

Underground Toys today took to their twitter feed to announce a new release in their Doctor Who Classics line.  This newest release is a multi-pack from the 4th Doctor episode “Image of the Fendahl” and includes Leela, an adult Fendahleen, an infant Fendahleen a skull and a stand for the skull. Availability for this set in both the UK and US has been confirmed, however, a firm release date has not been communicated.  The last 2 months have been quite busy (and exciting) for the classic Whovian, and I can’t wait to see what else is up their sleeves.