Friday 24 June 2022

Top 5: Most Wanted Doctor Who Figures (Classic Series)


Despite some of the difficulties Character Options' Doctor Who toy line has faced over the years, thanks to the steady stream of B&M store exclusives it's regained enough strength that figure wish lists don't feel like a complete fantasy any more – particularly when it comes to the classic era. For this month's top five feature I'll be looking at the figures I'd most like to see come to the line, as well as giving brief reasons as to why. Some of these are pretty unlikely so truth be told I don't have too much hope of any of them happening, but even if one could become a reality that would be cause for celebration.

5. The War Machines
The War Machines

The days of big deluxe figures are probably long behind us but nevertheless, how fantastic would it be to get the War Machine in the line? The perfect example of 60s sci-fi simplicity, these tank-like machines would be the perfect addition to the steadily-growing range of First Doctor adversaries that are appearing in the line. Scale-wise you're probably looking at something about the size of the K1 Robot or Drashig hand puppet, which in an ideal world would be doable at a £30 price point. Out of all the things on this list this one seems the most unlikely to happen, but it's fun to dream.

4. Sea Devils (Warriors of the Deep
"Warriors of the Deep" Sea Devils

Now that Character Options have produced a Warriors of the Deep Silurian set, there's no excuse for this not to happen. The original 70s Sea Devil is one of the oldest figures in the classic range and is long overdue some sort of reissue anyway, so why not update to the 80s version just to make it a little more special? After all, what's not to love about Sea Devils in samurai armour? While Warriors of the Deep might be somewhat of a mixed bag, Doctor Who fans and collectors can all agree that seeing these classic monsters again was not one of its issues. The modern era Sea Devils would be a nice alternative too, but these would be the perfect companion piece to the Silurians.

3. Quarks
Quarks

I don't know why I have such a fondness for Quarks. Maybe it's just the fond memories I have running away from whilst (poorly) attempting to play PC game Destiny of the Doctors, but the boxy little robotic servants of the Dominators are such a wonderfully simply slice of 60s sci-fi kitsch that I simply can't get enough of them. It's great that I've been able to partially fill the Quark-shaped hole in my heart with the Doctor Who Figurine Collection release, but I still crave something a little larger and more articulated. It's a fair bit of tooling that the line might not be able to pull off in its current state, but maybe the simplicity in the design gives it an advantage in that regard?

2. The Rani
The Rani

While as a collector I personally tend to veer toward monster figures more than anything, that isn't to say there isn't room for human(oid) characters in my collection – and the Rani is the top of that list. We've had plenty of Doctor and Master variants over the years, but where's the love for the original evil Time Lady? Either her Mark or Time of the Rani costumes would be brilliant, since in this case it's likely to be whatever Character can effectively cobble together from pre-existing bodies.

1. Cybermen (The Wheel in Space)
"The Wheel in Space" Cybermen

At this point you're probably asking "out of all the classic Doctor Who characters that haven't had figures, why do you want more Cybermen?" It's a fair question, but ultimately it comes down to the fact that the lack of Wheel in Space Cybermen is a HUGE gap in what we've got in the line so far. We've had all the major Cybermen variants from across the years (save for a few more specific types, such as the Attack of the Cybermen Controller), yet we don't have this one? What's even more baffling is that it isn't that far of a departure from the Tomb of the Cybermen versions, so it's definitely within Character Options' current wheelhouse to produce the tooling required for these. While not my favourite Cyberman design it's certainly one of the more striking ones, with that iconic teardrop indent on the eyes at its most prominent. If we can get a multitude of Dalek sets every year, I think the least the line could do is complete the History of the Cybermen as well. 

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What classic Doctor Who characters would you like to see released by Character Options? Let me know, as well as any ideas you have for future top five pieces like this, in the comment section below!

1 comment:

Oar said...

Those particular Cybermen look even cute in a way, which I think would definitely make for fun figures.