Monday 12 October 2020

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who 'U.N.I.T. 1971 - The Claws of Axos' Set

Doctor Who UNIT 1971 - The Claws of Axos Set 01

Release Date: July 2020
RRP: £19.99

As the Doctor Who toy line begins to retrieve its lost strength through the now staple B&M Stores exclusive range, fans are seeing a steady supply of both new characters and re-released (albeit slightly altered) versions of popular and sought after characters from the line’s heyday. One such example is the U.N.I.T. 1971 - The Claws of Axos three-pack, based on the third Doctor story and featuring both old and new releases. Alongside Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart are Captain Mike Yates and Sergeant John Benton - staples of the Doctor’s earthbound adventures and arguably companions of the Doctor in their own right. 

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The U.N.I.T. 1971 - The Claws of Axos set comes in a long rectangular box identical to that Character Options introduced with their previous wave of Doctor Who exclusives, featuring a blue and white colour scheme with a TARDIS stencil and the current series logo. Given all the effort that’s gone into the History of the Daleks sets it’s surprising to see the back of these boxes so bare, completely lacking any sort of bio and only featuring images of the figures and explaining which characters are in the set. Open it up and the three figures are laid out on a moulded plastic tray along with their accessories. The figures are held down with elastic ties whilst the guns are taped in, but the main thing I noticed is that this tray is deep. The figures themselves are really sunken into their respective shapes, making it a bit of a struggle to pull them out since the plastic is too thick to be pushed up from the back. The best way to do it is to lift the legs up and pull, as that way they come free of the packaging easily and shouldn’t suffer any damage and/or paint scuffing.

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The Brigadier is a re-release of the figure previously included in the 2013 Claws of Axos set (which included him alongside Jo and a humanoid Axon), albeit with some slight deco changes. The beret and trousers are now a slightly different shade of green, whilst the gloves are now a burgundy colour as opposed to black. The skin tone has also been slightly altered to differentiate the two releases even further. The Brig had a few different looks over the years so it’s hard to call any of them a default or iconic look, but this ensemble is probably the one that comes the closest. The sculpting on the jersey is particularly good, and the colours ensure every detail on the uniform stands out. It’s the centrepiece of the set, and overall the sculpt and paint quality does not disappoint.

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Compared with the Brigadier previously released with in The 1970s set you can see there's been a HUGE improvement with the quality on these B&M exclusive figures. This new figure is far more in line with the  original 2013 version, especially when it comes to the paint apps on the face. Not only to the eyes and face look considerably better, but the UNIT badge on the beret has actually been applied properly rather than just being an ugly grey circle. What Character did with the 1970s Brigadier was pretty clever considering it's the body from a different figure, but if you missed out on any of the original releases from the Underground Toys/Forbidden Planet days then this is definitely the version of the Brig you'll want to add to your collection.

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The Brigadier has the following points of articulation;
- Neck, bicep, wrist, waist and thigh swivels
- Swivel hinge shoulders
- Hinged elbows and knees
- T-joint hip with forward and outward movement
The hips on this figure are particularly strange, as while they may be basic T-joint they function a lot like ball joints would, giving them a wider but still somewhat limited range of motion. This version of the Brigadier is also one of the bodies lucky enough to benefit from the swivel hinge shoulders - something that was implemented quite late into the line’s original run so isn’t actually present on a lot of the figures. For the Doctor Who line it’s a reasonably well-articulated figure, but compared to other lines it’s pretty antiquated. The sculpt breaks the bicep and thigh swivels cause is pretty ghastly, and the lack of any sort of ankle joint limits how precisely you can pose the legs.

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Another aspect that shows Character have stepped up their game with these newer releases is the inclusion of accessories! Each of the figures included have a weapon, and in the Brig's case it's a handgun - the very same one that also came with the original Claws of Axos set. Being a handgun it isn't an especially large piece, moulded in black plastic with simple moulded and no paint apps whatsoever. It isn't much, but it's inclusion definitely makes a difference in that these sets feel far less budget-restrained than their predecessors. Although there is a holster moulded on the side of the Brig's belt, this is simply a display piece and not compatible with the gun itself. A shame, but since this isn't really something the line has done in the past it's not all that surprising either.

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The Brig might be the star character of the set but for longtime Doctor Who figure collectors the big surprises are actually his subordinates - both of whom are not only completely new to the line but also feature some brand new tooling. Sergeant Benton and Captain Yates both share the same base body (presumably that of the Brigadier’s) but with a scarf and new soft plastic jacket piece placed over the top. This essentially makes the whole thing feel like a brand new figure, and one that was so good that they had to use it twice in the same set! Other than the head sculpts (both of which are reasonably likenesses of actors John Levene and Richard Franklin), the only difference between the two are the additional Sergeant stripes on Benton’s right sleeve. Though perhaps not 100% accurate to their appearances in The Claws of Axos they are certainly extremely close approximations to the point where you’d have to go through the story very carefully to pick out inaccuracies. The quality of paintwork here is just as good as it was on the Brig - with the uniform sporting a number of different shades of green along with grey, silver and burgundy. The pair also have the U.N.I.T. logo on the beret properly painted with the lettering present, as well as an alternate logo on the left sleeve. It’s surprising to see these two characters released ahead of all the other companions that have been crying out for figures for years, but the reuse potential of a soldier body makes them a perfect option for the line in its current form. The Third Doctor fanboy in me certainly isn’t complaining either.

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Though the body itself is very different in terms of sculpt the pair actually have the same articulation as the Brigadier, giving them a decent range of movement but still a fair bit behind what most other collector lines are delivering these days. The main difference to note is that because of the soft plastic jacket covering the body, the rotating waist is completely nullified on these two. It’s a little disappointing, but doesn’t have too much effect on the amount of poses you’d be able to get out of the figure anyway. It’s the lack of an ankle joint that really makes these figures suffer, and it’s a shame that the line still isn’t in a position where proper new sculpts can be built. Especially when so many of the bodies being used are so obviously dated.

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Yates and Benton both have identical automatic rifles as accessories, making them a little better armed than the Brig himself. These weapons are actually newcomers to the Doctor Who range, having previously been used in Character's Primeval range. Probably not accurate to the time period Claws of Axos was set then, but a nice bit of asset reusing from Character and the guns certainly look the part. The hands on the figures have been moulded so that the guns are held right-handed and this works well, with the right hand locking into the grip with the trigger finger stretched outward and the left hand holding the front grip. When removing from the weapons from their hands I did notice a little bit of paint run from the gloves, but the grip is so tight on both hands that you're unlikely to notice any lasting damage. Much like the Brigadier's handgun these pieces could have very easily been left out and the set would still be a success, but seeing them here makes it feel like a far more polished product overall.

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The U.N.I.T. 1971 - The Claws of Axos set is another winner from Character Options, and a further example of how much smarter they're playing the Doctor Who range even on a limited budget. Benton and Yates are characters probably no one was expecting figures for any time soon, but the repeated body use is a clever way to get a effective yet low cost set out with new tooling and the pair make the perfect companions to the Brig. All three head sculpts are great, and the bodies even throw in a bit of army building potential for those who might want to build up their U.N.I.T. ranks. It’s hard to say whether this will be a red hot seller like the rest of this wave of B&M exclusives were, but it’s an impressive set nonetheless.

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