Name: The Doctor
Series: 1 from Bif BangPow!
Availability: October 2011
Just before Toy Fair 2011, Bif Bang Pow1 announced that they secured the rights to produce figures from the classic series. Naturally this announcement excited me, as one of my ‘holy grails’ is a Mego 4th Doctor and Leela figure from the 70’s. At toy fair, prototypes for the first four figures (4th Doctor, Sontaran Styre, the Master, Cyberleader) were on display. Despite an oversized noggin on the Doctor, I felt pretty good about these figures, particularly after having a chat with the folks behind Bif Bang Pow!. The first wave of figures were finally released at NYCC a few weeks ago and I received my fourth Doctor and Styre figures today.
The figure comes carded; with a cardback design similar to the one recently unveiled by Underground Toys at SDCC. This is not surprising as the BBC has wanted to maintain consistency with the package designs for Doctor Who product (DVD packaging excluded). Fortunately, the design is quit sharp with a blue diamond scheme and images of the first wave figures right on the front of the card. The Doctor was very nicely contained in the bubble – with plastic inserts keeping his hat in place. Unfortunately on my sample the bubble was mostly unattached already – but as I’m an opener, this wasn’t a cause for concern.
Once freed from his constraints, I was very pleased with the figure. The likeness is quite good; not perfect, but vastly improved from the prototype. His clothing includes shoes, pants, shirt, vest, tie, jacket, the essential scarf and a hat. I was really impressed with how good the clothes looked and fit. It’s nice to be able to move the scarf around and try other looks. The body underneath is very well articulated, with joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, ribcage, waist, hips, knees, ankles. As a result many action poses are possible. The Doctor also includes a sonic screwdriver accessory, which is not a surprise. It’s nicely done, with a little bit of paint around the emitter. The only thing that I’m not really feeling is the hat; the figure just looks better without it. A swappable head would have been a better way to have a hatted / not hatted look – but I’m not sure how practical that’d be. In the end, I’m just going to go hatless.
If you’re a Doctor Who who’s also a fan of ‘retro’-styled or Mego figures – you’re going to love the new line from Bif Bang Pow! I’m really impressed by the 4th Doctor and Sontaran Styre (expect a write-up on him tomorrow). As far as comparisons to the classic Underground Toys line – I’m not going to bother. They are very different lines, with different (and even complimentary) aesthetics. Neither is better – they’re both different. If you’re not a fan of ‘retro’ figures; then this one isn’t for you – and you probably didn’t make it to the end of this spotlight. But if you are a fan, you probably don’t want to delay in scoring one – these will be fairly limited – so head off to Entertainment Earth and order yourself a set!
Check after the jump for a few more images
