Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who 'Creation of the Daleks' Collector Figure Set

Release Date: December 2022

RRP: £24.99

After radio silence for much of 2022 Character Options' Doctor Who toy line bounced back at the very end of the year with two waves of B&M exclusive figures hitting immediately after one another in the Autumn and Winter. While History of the Daleks has become a staple of these waves every so often an additional special Dalek-themed set joins them, and in the Winter selection it was the turn of the 'Creation of the Daleks' Collector Figure Set. This Genesis of the Daleks themed set takes us back to the seminal 1975 story, featuring one of the original Dalek drones featured as well as their maniacal creator – the Kaleds' chief scientist Davros.

Despite the History of the Daleks packaging changing to something slightly more environmentally friendly in the last few waves, the Creation of Daleks set comes in the familiar rectangular packaging with full transparent window. The design of the box is the same blue and off-white TARDIS artwork the figures have been using for the last few years, and the back features a lengthy synopsis of Genesis of the Daleks alongside some behind the scenes info. Curiously no images of the figures themselves though, which does make the back seem oddly bare despite the massive wall of text it contains. Inside you'll find the two figures neatly stored on their plastic tray alongside another thing omitted from the last few releases – a cardboard backing card diorama! This time it's of the outskirts of the Kaled bunker where Davros first tests the Dalek weaponry at the end of episode one, which is a little dark but full of detail to make your displays or photos pop a bit more.

The big draw of this set is of course the inclusion of the original iteration of Davros, who hasn't been seen in the line since his original release as part of the Genesis of the Daleks set in 2011. This is a re-release of that same figure with some slight deco changes, including new black wires around his head (as opposed to the original's blue), revised chair control panels and a scratched/battered finish on the wheelchair fender. While the wires on the head are still much too thick to be entirely screen accurate, they still look much better than the original's and overall the deco changes enhance what was already an extremely good-looking figure. The head sculpt is definitely the crowning glory though – doing a brilliant job of capturing all the detail in the original mask as worn by Michael Wisher. Similarly the body has plenty of fabric folds moulded into it to give it a bit more depth. Barely any part of the Genesis Davros is the same as the Molloy Resurrection/Revelation moulds, which just goes to show how good of a job Character Options did when making their Davros figures as screen-accurate as possible.

Davros might not be a Dalek, but as a crippled scientist he actually has less articulation than his own creations! The figure features swivel joints in the shoulder, bicep and wrist as well as a hinged elbow for full right arm articulation, but other than the usual wheeled based for gliding action that's pretty much in the way of poseability. Even the head doesn't seem to have much movement to it, possibly due to all the wires and structures attached. But hey – Davros wasn't very mobile on the show either so as long as that arm can move about then the figure is pretty much golden. But on top of articulation the wheelchair also has a secret feature – pressing down on one of the hemispheres on the right-hand side results in a panel of the chair coming loose, revealing some moulded technical detailing inside. While the paintwork is just a basic silver wash but the moulded is surprisingly complex. It's a nice little feature, adding some further playability to the figure.

The second figure in the set is a brand-new Genesis-era Dalek, which is one of the first classic Dalek figures Character Options released all the way back in 2008 in their first Dalek Collector Set (and then again in their Genesis of the Dalek set in 2011). As per most of these new B&M exclusive releases though this version is CONSIDERABLY more screen-accurate, sporting a completely new shade of grey (officially "Rover Tempest Grey" for anyone interested) as well as a silver eyestalk and a more vibrant shade of brass used for the gunstick. The fender also has the same worn deco as several other History of the Daleks releases, further enhancing the screen accuracy as well as highlighting just how battered these props could get. Genesis of the Daleks featured several slightly different Dalek props, the others of which are featured in the History of the Daleks #11 release. Overall it's a pretty fantastic figure, and next to the previously release Day and Planet Dalek drones you can really see the subtle differences and how the shades of grey evolved on the props over time.

Dalek articulation remains as standard as always, with this variant able to pull off exactly the same things as all the previous releases in Character Options' rather extensive range. This includes a fully rotatable dome, pivoting eyestalk, ball jointed appendages and free-rolling wheels on the base to allow for Dalek-esque gliding across surfaces. Not a great deal of articulation in the grand scheme of things, but then Daleks aren't exactly very articulate beings either. They have what they need and they manage quite fine with that alone.

But the big thing that sets this apart from other Dalek figures is the way the appendages have been moulded, as well as the accessory pieces that go with them. On a standard Dalek the plunger and gunstick are separate pieces that slot into the ball joints, which in turn are fastened into the figure and can't be removed with disassembly. Here the appendage and ball joint are one single piece which can be pulled out of the figure, leaving a moulded cavity in its place. Not only is this more accurate to the story (where the Daleks often trundled around without their weaponry), but the joints also have a plug socket at the back. From there you can attach the included wire piece accessories, making the loose appendages even more screen accurate. These can then either be posed hanging out of the Dalek, or held by Davros or any other figure as a loose accessory. It's such a little change but makes a HUGE difference to the play value of the Dalek. Best of all it doesn't even affect the moulding like the Planet Daleks' opening heads did, so the figure remains as screen accurate as ever.

It's fair to say that Character Options have been on a real roll with the Doctor Who line the last couple of years, and the 'Creation of the Daleks' Collector Figure Set is another stellar release that would still be desirable at twice the price. Not only is it a second chance to get the much-coveted Genesis of the Daleks/Michael Wisher Davros figure, but it also provides fans with a far more screen accurate Genesis Dalek – impressing both with its improved colour scheme and brand-new play features. Although this perhaps could have been the Genesis entry in History of the Daleks rather than its own separate release, this is definitely the highlight of the line's Winter 2022 line-up.