Release Date: September 2020
RRP: £24.99
Between a wave of new modern series releases and their current slate of B&M exclusives Character Options have really impressed Doctor Who toy collectors with their 2020 offerings, but I don’t think anyone was fully expecting what they’ve pulled out for their latest Character online store exclusive. The 1965 story The Chase featured a number of Daleks not native to the television production, and were in fact borrowed from the forthcoming Dr. Who and the Daleks - a colourful movie adaptation of the first Dalek story. Though they originally appeared in the story sans fender and with smaller lamps as “Guard Daleks”, the final episode featured blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameos of them in their full movie glory. And it’s because of this technicality, that Character have been able to release The Jungles of Mechanus exclusive Dalek set - 2-pack of colourful and unique Daleks that definitely appeared in The Chase and aren’t in any way simply movie Daleks. Really, who could have seen that coming?
The set comes in slightly modified packaging to that of the standard History of the Daleks sets, extending the box so that both Daleks can be both forward facing and completely visible through the window. The design itself is identical to that of the B&M sets though, with the only real difference being the gold “Character Online Exclusive” medallion that adorns the front on one side (as well as the back). On the back of the box you’ll find an image of the two Daleks alongside a fairly lengthy synopsis of The Chase, followed by a second paragraph explaining how these two movie Daleks came to be in a television serial - or more importantly how Character can get away with releasing this set. Inside the two Daleks on attached to a plastic bubble via paper ties, which itself is taped to a diorama backdrop of the Mechanus jungle. It’s a little differently designed to the ones included in the B&M set because of the box shape, featuring a raised base and solid cut-corner piece. Said corner is modelled as the TARDIS, but is hilariously out of scale with the Daleks themselves.
Official 5” scale movie Daleks produced by Character Options, who ever thought we’d see the day? This rather momentous set features two Dalek drones from The Chase Dr. Who and the Daleks, recognisable by their gold-banded silver body, darker blue hemispheres with matching dome, deeper baby blue fender and larger red dome lamps. The colours aren’t quite as metallic as the onscreen film versions so aren’t 100% accurate, but certainly have the accuracy where it counts - the dome lamps especially look fantastic with all that additional texturing on the translucent red plastic. There’s no mistaking this is anything but a movie Dalek, and as such commands a real presence even alongside its TV brethren. Although the History of the Daleks sets have each featured Daleks with slightly different eyestalks, it’s worth noting that both Daleks in this set are completely identical.
Despite the paint job being extremely similar there are some minor differences between these figures and the previously released Guard Dalek from 2013, other than the obvious cosmetic changes like the enlarged fender and dome lamps. While the Guard Dalek lacks the blue tint of the silver body paint, both the blue and gold have a more noticeable metallic sheen to them - something more accurate to the screen props but not so significant that it spoils these new releases. The movie Daleks also have simplified gun sticks lacking the spikes of the original 60s version, and eyestalks that have a blue circular piece where they connect to the dome. Both version of the Dalek look superb though, and the little differences between them are nice because it makes each variant feel more unique.
Articulation is the same as any other standard Dalek figure, so altogether you have a fully rotatable dome with moveable eyestalk, ball jointed appendages and a three wheeled base (two fixed wheels at the back, one pivoted at the front) to roll along smooth surfaces. That’s pretty much everything a classic Dalek needs, since these designs didn’t have rotating mid-sections or anything fancy like that. At a stretch you could wish for an extending manipulator arm, but as this scale and price point that might be a little difficult to achieve. Not to mention these new releases are mainly trying to keep the new tooling to a minimum, so if the Dalek toys haven’t had them for the last decade they aren’t going to start now. And honestly they don’t really need them either, but everything else is pretty perfect as it is.
Character Options have already completely exceeded expectations with their Doctor Who output this year, but it’s hard to imagine them releasing anything better than this Jungles of Mechanus exclusive Dalek set. Nobody ever thought we’d get movie Daleks because of the licensing nightmare it involved, but a five second cameo was all it took for this to happen. These are some of the finest Daleks Character have ever produced, and even though it’s a shame we’ll probably never get the Black and Red Daleks (or any from Dalek Invasion of Earth - 2150 AD), this has at the very least given customisers a far more accurate base to work off of. If you’re able to make or get a hold of some claw appendages too (mine were purchased from the fantastic @NDWDesigns and designed by the talented @ThePrydonian) then it just makes these figures even better. Given the fanfare when they were announced I’m amazed they’re even still available at the time of writing, so be sure to grab some while you still can.
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