Saturday 13 February 2021

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who Coal Hill School Set

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Release Date: November 2020
RRP: £19.99

2020 was the year that the B&M exclusive range of Doctor Who figures really kicked into high gear, and even after two impressive waves of releases Character Options weren't completely done yet. Just as the year was closing a further two sets were announced - one based on The Witch's Familiar from 2015 and another based on 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks. That latter release was the Coal Hill School collector figure set, featuring releases of both Seventh Doctor companion Ace and a standard Imperial Dalek - two popular and now highly sought after figures.

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The Coal Hill School figure set comes in the standard 2-figure sized packaging we've seen this recent slew of Dalek-themed B&M sets released in, along with the same generic Doctor Who design placement the whole range has had. The front of the box also denotes that this set is of course based on Remembrance of the Daleks, and that the story itself was released in 1988. On the back of the box there's some images of the figures along with a lengthy bio that goes into the story and production of Remembrance of the Daleks, but perhaps gets a little too hung up on pointing out the story's "glaring continuity errors". Things like the Doctor referring the The Dalek Invasion of Earth happening in the 21st century might be bothersome to some fans, but details like Totter's Lane scrapyard sign being misspelt or the Doctor pronouncing Spiridon differently are hardly continuity breaking. Inside the figures are neatly laid out on a moulded plastic tray, with the figures held down with string ties and the accessory taped down to keep it in place. Behind the tray is a nice little diorama background of the Coal Hill School, perfect as a display background or any photos you might have in mind.

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Remembrance of the Daleks is of course notable its depiction of an all-out Dalek civil war, but the Imperial Daleks featured in the story were all new-props that differed quite significantly from their predecessors. Not only did they feature the steeper skirt sections that had previously debuted in Revelation of the Daleks, but they also lacked the mesh detailing on both the shoulder slats and neck cage. Instead the neck was covered in golden punchinella, and the white section connecting each slat a solid piece. The appendage was redesigned to look less like a plunger - becoming more conical with slotted edges to allow them to interact with control panels. Finally the Imperials had all new dome lights, flat golden pieces with an illuminating ring wrapped around them.

Only a few of these details are represented in the toy itself. This is the third version of the Imperial Dalek released by Character Options (preceded by the Seventh Doctor/Dalek 2-pack and the Remembrance of the Daleks 4-figure set), and all of them use the standard Dalek skirt section. The 2-pack version had an elongated eyestalk, smaller gun and inaccurate manipulator arm. These details were fixed for the 4-pack version, however this version's eyestalk veered on the smaller side. This new version mixes details from both previous editions - sporting the smaller gun of the first version but a manipulator arm more along the lines of the second. The eyestalk has been taken from the Renegade Dalek figure released alongside the Seventh Doctor in 2013, and finally looks to be the perfect size. The eyestalk now has a black iris as opposed to the light blue of the previous two (neither are especially accurate, as silver would have conveyed the reflective quality of the iris best), and the shade of gold used slightly changed to be debatably more screen-accurate. However using assets from the 2013 Renegade Dalek has its downsides though, as this Imperial incorrectly has mesh detailing around the shoulder slats (all three have it on the neck section). Character Options have stated that this is because the original mould was altered to make the Renegade Dalek in 2013, and cannot be changed back. Your mileage may vary on how much this detail bothers you (because however you look at it, all three are far from screen accurate anyway), but for me the fact that Character can't even create/alter a new slat piece to fix this detailing highlights the state Doctor Who toys are currently in. All of these new B&M exclusive figures are exciting, but there isn't even the budget to fix inaccuracies that weren't even present on the original release. Despite all these new heads sculpts, every figure is reusing assets - be it from previous Doctor Who figures or elsewhere. Once upon a time the franchise was commanding huge displays at the likes of Toys R Us (RIP), and now its entirely contained with one chain store. It's quite sad, and I really hope the toys are able to bounce back to be more prominent in stores again one day. This new Imperial Dalek is nice enough and it's great for people who missed out on the previous releases, but a design as good as this deserves more.

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Articulation-wise it's the same as every other classic Dalek figure, which means it does everything you'd want and expect it to whilst simultaneously not having anything especially exciting to talk about. The dome can swivel a full 360 degrees with a raising eyestalk, the appendages are both attached via ball joints and there are three wheels (two fixed position and one pivoted) on the base to allow it to roll across smooth surfaces. That's all a classic Dalek every needs to do, and since Imperial Daleks had fixed manipulator arms there isn't even the lingering want of it being telescopic. So even if the sculpt itself does leave a bit to be desired, function-wise there isn't a complaint to be had.

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The Ace figure was previously released twice in the line - first in 2013 as a Remembrance of the Daleks version and then again in 2014 as a Silver Nemesis version. This is a re-release of the 2013 version, which sported the same t-shirt print, jacket sleeves and backpack. The head sculpt has been somewhat refined, with sharper paint apps that convey the likeness of the character/actress Sophie Aldred far better. Both figures however have extremely well-presented paint apps on the jacket to convey all of Ace's various badges and patches. Even at this small scale they're all recognisable, even the ones you'd think Character would have to get likeness rights to have printed (like the Blue Peter badge for example). The backpack is optional and can be removed by first unplugging the figure's arms. Underneath you'll find an equally crisp paint app of the "Ace" logo emblazoned on the back of her jacket. The original figure also had the option to have a jacket-less version of the figure, and while the jacket is still technically removable on this version it does lack the alternate arms required to make it work.

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As one of the later figures released in the 5.5" collectors line's heyday, Ace has improved articulation that many other figures in the line lacked. Altogether she features.
- Head, bicep, hand, waist and thigh swivels
- Swivel hinge shoulders
- Single hinge elbows and knees
- T-joint hip
It's amazing just how much difference swivel hinge shoulders can make to a figure. The ability to stretch the arms outwards just adds so much more personality and playability to these Doctor Who toys, even if the rest of the articulation is lacking compared to other collector-orientated toy lines. That combined with the waist and bicep swivels at least gives the top half of the body plenty to offer. The bottom is a little less impressive though, as the leg articulation is hindered by the the soft plastic skirt and the small feet can make balancing difficult. With no ankle joints either, the legs are pretty limited to a basic standing pose without additional support from a display stand. 

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In addition to the backpack Ace also comes packaged with the British RPG launcher she uses to kill a Dalek in episode two of the story, complete with a removable rocket piece. This was previously included with the 2013 version of Ace, however that one also included alternate jacket-less arms, her baseball bat and three canisters of Nitro-9. The launcher is nicely detailed with plenty of paint apps, and can be held quite comfortable in Ace's right hand. Additionally the removable rocket can be held in Ace's left hand. Overall it's a nice piece and as always I'm happy when these B&M sets do include accessories, however I'm not entirely convinced it was the right one for this set. The scene where Ace blows the Dalek up with it is certainly memorable, but it's nowhere near as memorable as the scene where she attacks and blinds a Dalek with a Hand of Omega-powered baseball bat. That's arguably one of Ace's defining scenes in her entire Doctor Who tenure, and a Remembrance of the Daleks release without it just feels wrong. It's strange because not only would it be a smaller and perhaps less detailed piece than the RPG launcher, but it's also compatible with the backpack that is included here - there's a socket for it at the top which has to remain conspicuously empty. 

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Overall the Doctor Who Coal Hill School figure set is perfect for anyone who missed out on either (or both) Ace and the Imperial Dalek on any of their previous releases, but it's a particular reminder of the current state of Doctor Who toys. An inaccurately shaped Imperial Dalek which fixes previous inaccuracies whilst creating all new ones, and an Ace with an improved head sculpt but stripped of a lot of great accessories. It's great in the sense that it's going to take years for the History of the Daleks sets to get around to Remembrance (if it even manages it at all), but not the best offering from this invigorated B&M range thus far. The exclusivity of these sets to B&M combined with distribution and the constantly changing COVID-19 lockdown situation in the UK can also make their attainability problematic for some collectors. A solid, but flawed release.

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