Custom Figure: 'Dr Who & the Daleks' Movie Red Dalek

Official 5.5" scale movie Daleks are something Doctor Who toy collectors have dreamed of for years (or more specifically, as long as Character Options have been producing the toys), but the licensing kerfuffle that comes along with them meant most of us assumed it was never going to happen. The silver and blue Daleks' split second appearance in The Chase was able to let the Jungles of Mechanus set happen, but sadly the red and black Daleks would need to remain potential custom projects for fans themselves to work on. Thankfully the aforementioned Mechanus set provided a perfect base figure to do that just that, and with a few spare sets in hands I finally went about fulfilling that dream of having the Dr. Who and the Daleks movie Daleks as part of my display.

Custom Figure: 'Dr Who & the Daleks' Movie Black Dalek

Continuing what seems to be a big year for getting back into custom Dalek figures, I turn my attention away from The Curse of Fatal Death for a moment and back to something everyone has wanted to see in Character Options' toy line for some time now - movie Daleks. While it was obvious that Character's licensing didn't extend to the two Dalek movies (Dr Who & the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth - 2150AD) of the 1960s, the wonderful loophole that was the props appearing in The Chase did lead to the Jungles of Mechanus collector set release last year. Of course you can't have Dalek drones without a proper chain of command, so having bought multiples of the set for exactly this in mind it was time to get to work on the black Dalek itself.

Custom Figure: "Doctor Who & The Daleks" Blow Torch Dalek

Doctor Who action figure collectors waited so long for Character Options to produce movie-style Daleks, and just when we all finally accepted it was out of their remit they managed to exploit a loophole and surprise us all. 'The Jungles of Mechanus' set was one of my favourite toy releases of last year, and you can bet that I snapped up plenty to ensure I could work toward painting up a full range of movie Daleks. Among the denizens of Skaro's city is a blow torch Dalek, which appeared in Doctor Who & the Daleks when the TARDIS crew attempted their escape from the Daleks. After locking themselves to await an elevator out of the city, the Daleks summoned this special variant to help cut down the door so that their prisoners could either be recaptured or exterminated.

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who "The Jungles of Mechanus" Dalek Set

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?

Custom Figure: Dr. Who & the Daleks (Movie) Black Dalek

For the last of my three Character Options Dalek figures I recently acquired to do customs with, I decided to do something a little more popular. The 1960s Dalek movies starring Peter Cushing boast some of the most impressive looking and colourful classic-style Daleks out there, but sadly for whatever reason they’ve been overlooked by the current Doctor Who toy line. While previously I’ve done a simple base/light swap to make a Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150AD standard Dalek, but that definitely wasn’t enough. Time to bring in the big cheese himself - the Black Dalek from 1965’s Dr. Who and the Daleks.

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who "The Chase" Sound FX Guard Dalek

After what feels like an eternity of waiting (I'm fairly sure they were first revealed back at Toyfair 2013, which was this time last year), the second wave of Character Options' sound FX talking Daleks have finally hit retail (albeit seemingly very limited at the moment). Possibly due to the decline of Doctor Who figures in the 5" scale, the wave has sadly been made much smaller than initially expected, dropping a number of Supreme Daleks to make up a wave consisting of:

• Standard Dalek from The Dead Planet/The Daleks
• Standard Dalek from Genesis of the Daleks
• Guard Dalek from The Chase
• Special Weapons Dalek from Remembrance of the Daleks

Once again the majority of these are variations that have been previously released without sound FX as part of various sets (not that I'm complaining - Dead Planet Daleks are ideal custom fodder), so this review will be looking at the one brand new variation - the Guard Dalek.