I'm still not quite over Character Options' decision to change the new series Doctor Who figure scale from 5" to 3.75", but I'm getting there slowly. From a business point of view it makes perfect sense, but certain areas of my collection are now going to feel strange - particularly my Cyberman display. After amassing a collection of 5" Cybermen through the ages, the latest incarnation from Nightmare in Silver is a bit short standing next to its predecessors. But that aside, is it a good figure?
There's nothing particularly unique about the Cyberman's packaging, as its a uniform card for each figure in the wave. The front features a picture of the TARDIS and the time vortex, while the back features images of the latest Who figures on the shelves. The Cyberman also comes with a single accessory - the stand included with every other figure with the exception of the Dalek.
Out of the package we have a bog-standard Cyberman, completely devoid of any weapons. There are two variants among this wave - one with an arm-mounted blaster and another with the blue chest piece lit to show the Cyberman is active, but both are considerably rare and limited edition. Despite it's short size, I'm extremely impressed with the level of sculpt detail on this guy - so much that I would consider it one of the most detailed Doctor Who figures so far. It may only be one colour, but every bit of metal panelling detail is sculpted in and the figure has been given a black wash to make it all stand out. Nightmare in Silver never really stopped to let us have a good look at this new model of Cyberman, so to see the sculpted spinal cord in all its glory is a first.
But despite all it's sculpted glory, the Cyberman falls into the same level of mediocrity as every other Who figure when it comes to articulation. There are a few ball joints on the figure - in the shoulders, thighs and possibly head (I say this because it can achieve a little up/down motion as well as left/right), with the rest being taken up by standard hinges. There's even a little articulation in the ankles! However despite this impressive array of joints, the Cyberman's armoured build means it can't really make the most of it all. Cybermen aren't exactly the most articulate of creatures, but a little more variety in posing would have been nice.
There's no denying that out of the three 3.75" scale Doctor Who figures I've bought that the Cyberman is hands down the best one, but even then it isn't quite a perfect figure...and for once I'm not harping on about the size. The blue-chest variant should have arguably been the standard release as that represents an "active" Cyberman, and the limited articulation is especially noticeable when there are no accessories to fall back on. Still, this is definitely a figure worth getting for the sculpt alone, and if ANY season 7 figure deserves a 5" version in the near future it's this one.