Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who Classics The Master & Axon 2-pack

The early 70s could have been a disasterous time for Doctor Who. The Doctor was exiled to Earth and therefore unable to travel in the TARDIS, meaning that week after week the monsters had to come to him. Earth was repeatedly invaded by aliens and it was up to the Doctor and UNIT to stop them. The format could have become stale and repetitive quickly, but (in my own opinion) it had the best core cast Who ever had to stop that from happening. And a lot of that praise would go to Roger Delgado's original (and still by far the best) Master. And finally he has his own figure, following hot on the trail of the Anthony Ainley Master figure (which I still do not own, as I am hoping for a rerelease in his standard Traken costume).

The Master is an entirely new sculpt, in the all black costume Delgado wore for the majority of his appearances as the character and comes with his signature weapon, the Tissue Compression Eliminator. The headsculpt captures Delgado's likeness brilliantly, emphasising that calm, collected evilness all interpretations of the Master have lacked since. It's a simple figure, not requiring as much detail and/or colours as some of the figures in the line, but it's utterly fantastic. The Doctor's greatest single foe finally gets a figure worthy of his name. Hands down my favourite humanoid Doctor Who figure Character Options have produced.

The Axon is also good, but certainly not on the same scale. As far as big lumbering monsters go it's a fantastic figure (it also helps that the Axons are one of my favourite generic Doctor Who monsters, but there are a few little issues. Firstly, the figure is a repaint of the unreleased Krynoid figure from the 4th Doctor story The Seeds of Doom (which I think was originally going to be the Build-A-Figure in Classics Wave 2). While admittedly the Krynoid costume was a modified Axon costume, the changes were noticeable and to those with a keen eye and/or an eye for accuracy the figure is a krynoid painted orange. Compare the figure to photos from the series itself and you'll notice what I mean. Now I'm not particularly bothered about this - the figure still looks like an Axon and I don't particularly care for Krynoids, but as Character Options have seemingly been striving for accuracy down to the littlest detail on some of their figures, this may come as a disappointment. Secondly I think the colours might be a little too light...but that might just be me nitpicking.

In conclusion the set is worth the purchase for the Master alone. The Axon is merely a lovely bonus. Now my favourite Doctor has his main foe to be posed with. I am a very happy fan right now.

Custom Figure: The Last Dalek

"THE DALEKS SURVIVE THROUGH ME!"

I honestly think Character Options missed out not releasing this one. Sure they released versions of it that appeared later on in the episode - the 'Genetic Print' Dalek (pictured below) and the Mutant Reveal Dalek, but the caged 'Metaltron' version of the lone Dalek from 2005's Dalek is by far the most visually striking. Powerless and alone, the former last Dalek in existence used cunning and trickery to escape its captivity, proved that the Dalek plunger arm is more deadly than it looks and then went on to be more deadly and far scary than any other Dalek has been since the revival of Doctor Who.

This custom was made by first taking the Dalek apart and cutting/bending specific panels to create the battle damaged look it had in the series. Chunks were also carved out of the gun arm to replicate the damage. I used Humbrol Brass enamel paint on the body followed by a wash of very watered down black paint for the dirty look. The base colour is a mix of Citadel chaos black and mythril silver.

Anime REVIEW: Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop is a popular animated series, let alone anime. As well as hitting top spots in pretty much every "Top (insert number here)" anime lists, Bebop has also managed to hit a few general animated series lists too, one example being IGN's Top 100 Animated TV series from a few years ago. The series has been described as having "sophistication and subtlety that is practically one-of-a-kind" (themanime.org) and that "From beginning to end this may be one of the best anime ever...". Until now I've never even watched Cowboy Bebop. I think it might be time to see what all of the fuss is about....

Cowboy Bebop is a 26 episode (and one movie, but we'll come to that later) series set in the year 2071 and revolving around bounty hunters (or cowboys) Spike Spiegel and Jet Black, who are later joined by femme fetale Faye Valentine, androgynous computer hacker Ed (or "Radical Edward") and a dog named Ein who might be more intelligent than the viewer initially perceives. While the show does follow a fairly "bounty of the week" format, every so often the episodes are interspaced with insight into the characters' pasts (Spike as a former member of a crime syndicate, Jet as a former ISSP officer, Faye's mysterious forgotten past etc.), which (in Spike' case anyway) builds up toward an explosive finale.

Not that the self contained episode is a bad thing, because they each deal with very different things and have very different styles. From sinister assassins with childlike minds to a more comedic tale concerning Ed and some hallucinogenic mushrooms, Bebop's stories are a perfect blend of action, comedy and, usually, a deeper meaning.

The animation and writing quality isn't the only thing that really sets Cowboy Bebop apart from other animes though, this music also plays a significant part in creating the flavour that the show offers. Yoko Kanno (of Macross Plus, Escaflowne and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex fame to name a few) creates a score for the series that is like no other, assembling a band (called 'The Seatbelts') to create the jazz and blues style music throughout the series, and their hard work pays off to great effect. Music's influence over the series can also be seen in the episode titles, which either make use of a genre name (Cowboy Funk, Jupiter Jazz) or pay homage to rock music from the 70s/80s (examples include Hard Luck Woman [KISS], Toys in the Attic [Aerosmith] and Bohemian Rhapsody [Queen]).

This trend doesn't only follow in the series, but also extends to Bebop's movie, entitled Knockin' On Heaven's Door, set somewhere between episodes 22 and 23. While the film itself isn't quite up to the standard of the series, it's still a fun ride and a highly enjoyable movie, putting the Bebop crew up against larger stakes, resulting in a much more widescale plot and some fantastic action sequences. Kanno's score also continues to excel expectations.

A truly perfect series is a very rare thing indeed. But Cowboy Bebop is definitely one of those. With a perfect series length that doesn't drag nor feel too short, fully fleshed out characters, superb writing, an ending with enough ambiguity to keep the viewer second guessing about the fate of our heroes, along with brilliant animation along with a soundtrack like no other, there is nothing about Cowboy Bebop that is in need of bettering. This is something not only anime fans will enjoy, but one that has something for everyone. That's what all the fuss is about.

Reviews in Time & Space: The Daleks

Taking a short break from my summer quest to see a large portion of the Doctor Who stories I've never seen, I decided to come back a visit an old favourite of mine and I'm sure many other peoples'....the Doctor's first encounter with a race that would become arguably as popular as the Doctor himself. Of course, it's none other than the Daleks.

Following on instantly from the events of An Unearthly Child, the Doctor and his companions find themselves on a faraway planet covered by a petrified jungle. After discovering a futuristic metal city on this dead planet, the Doctor purposely sabotages the TARDIS so they they have no choice but to investigate the city. But the Doctor gets more than he bargains for as they are thrust into the world of the Daleks and their enemies, the Thals. Now the Doctor and his companions must escape from the Daleks and help to end a war that has been waged for centuries, and brought the planet Skaro to its knees...

Fans of the new series be aware, the early adventures of the first Doctor (as portrayed by the late William Hartnell) are very different from the Doctor as portrayed by Eccleston, Tennant, Smith and even some of the later 'classic' Doctors. Here the Doctor is both rash and selfish, his determination to explore the city of the Daleks resulting in him and his companions not only becoming prisoners of the Daleks, but also being exposed to highly lethal amounts of radiation. These early companions are also very different, with both Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) not choosing to travel in time and space with the Doctor and his granddaughter Susan (Carol Ann Ford), instead essentially being kidnapped by the Doctor after they discover the TARDIS and the secrets behind Susan and her grandfather. While they initially seem at odds with each other (which makes for very good viewing, especially when coupled with the prior adventure), their ordeal with the Daleks brings them closer together as a group (or a family even) and is much closer to the usual dynamic between the Doctor and his companions. This character growth is evenly spread out among the 7 episodes of The Daleks, which in turn gives plenty of time for the story to progress at an even rate, looking at the horrors of nuclear war and demonstrating some of the Nazi-esque ideals Terry Nation used in creating the Daleks. It just further emphasises to me how the new Doctor Who series would benefit from more episodes per story, not only to bring back the cliffhanger format but also to make stories with potential (I'm looking at you Victory of the Daleks) not look like rushed messes.

The Daleks of this story are also very different from what they would become. Before a time where there were Dalek empires and Davros, before the Daleks had the ability to travel through time or even space there were these mark I Daleks, mutants trapped in their casings, unable to survive the nuclear fallout their war with the Thals had caused without them. Not only this, but they are also trapped within their own city, dependant on static electricity from the metal floors. These Daleks are far more vulnerable than they would become in the future, but this doesn't mean they aren't a threat. In fact, they are as equally, if not more so threatening then the fully fledged Dalek empires of the future. They may have obvious weaknesses - but they themselves know it, and this creates far less arrogant, more manipulative Daleks (a similar kind appeared in the excellent 1974 story Death to the Daleks). The original design makes these Daleks also feel a lot more alive and individual, each with their own distinct voice pitch and dilating iris in the eyestalk (a feature that was dropped when the Daleks first appeared in colour in 1972's Day of the Daleks and would not be returned to them until 2005's Dalek). Back then there was also the mystery of what exactly was inside the Dalek casing, a brief glimpse of the mutant only being seen at the conclusion of episode 3 'The Escape'.

As the DVD sleeve insert says, this is one of, if not the most important story in Doctor Who's extensive history, and that is no exaggeration. Without the popularity the Daleks brought to the series, Doctor Who may have been another flash in the pan BBC drama and it certainly wouldn't be famous for what it is today - the adventures of a time travelling alien battling monsters in time and space. When the series was originally commissioned the BBC's then Head of Drama Sydney Newman didn't want the series to fall into the generics of sci-fi strictly said "No Bug-Eyed Monsters (abbriviated to BEMs), and no tin robots." Six episodes into the series the Daleks were unleashed upon the world and, well, the rest is history. This story was not only the very first to be adapted into a novel, but also remade into a cinematic adventure starring Peter Cushing as Doctor Who (while admittedly this movie condensed the plot into a shadow of its former self, the Daleks have never looked better and therefore the two Cushing Dalek movies are particular favourites of mine).

The Daleks have been a staple of Doctor Who since the very beginning, being the only monster to have battled all 11 incarnations of the Doctor (8th Doctor Paul McGann has some excellent Dalek stories in both book and audio format). The series wouldn't be what it is today without them, so long may they continue to appear.

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who Classics 'Silver Nemesis' Cyberleader and Cyberman

After a good few weeks of Daleks and 11 Doctor boxsets, its time to round up my current splurge on Doctor Who figures with 2 more additions to my Cyber army....the Cyberleader and Cyberman as seen in the 7th Doctor 1988 story Silver Nemesis. This set is particularly exciting as it is the first official release of a Classic Who Cyberleader. As the Cyberleader himself would put it, "EXCELLENT!"

First thing to mention would be that these figures lack the chrome finish on the helmet and chest pieces their TV counterparts do, and while this is a shame here they blend in a lot better with current Classic figures (I find chrome to be a bit of a hit or miss affair) and do have some other nice touches to offer in place of this. The sculpt is far more divergent from the earlier released Classic Earthshock Cyberman figure earlier released, so much that it does begin to feel a lot more like an entirely different sculpt altogether (some comparison pictures with the Earthshock version can be seen below). Both figures also include some very nice blue tinted piping on the chest area, which looks really good in certain lighting. Personally, I find this design to prove a far better figure than the Earthshock version.

Unfortunately the same can't be said for these Cybermen's weapon of choice. Admittedly this is more by way of design and accuracy to the TV version, but these Cyberguns are just plain awful. They are incredibly difficult for the Cybermen to hold, nigh impossible to pose in an aiming stance and not long enough for them to be stably held in both hands. The Earthshock weaponry beats this hands down.

So what does this mean for a rating? Well weapons aside these figures are fantastic and as far as I'm concerned worth the £24.99 price tag. However I will say that in reality these are really only for the hardcore Doctor Who fans and collectors. Casual collectors would be far better buying 2 Earthshock Cybermen (at around £7 each) and merely repainting the handlebars on one to create their own Cyberleader. Yes I said these figures feel different altogether to their Earthshock counterparts, but to casual collectors they'd not really feel that different. To summarise - great figures, but their place in your collection really depends on your stance as a collector.

Custom Figure: 2005 Emperor Guard Dalek

Since there are a few Daleks from seasons 1 to 4 of Dr Who I've given up hope of Character Options ever releasing, I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. Using a cheap new series Dalek bought from B&M Bargains (if you're in the UK I recommend checking out your nearest one....cost me £3.99!) I went about creating a type of Dalek that made a very brief appearance in 2005's Parting of the Ways. The dome was painted using Citadel's Chaos Black paint, and the scanner arm appendage was made using the plunger arm (with the plunger cut off), a silver ball accessory from a Robot Wars figure, and paper clips and a key ring for the wire structure. Scratch-building isn't my greatest talent, but I like to think this came out okay.

Once my other NS Dalek arrives I'll be turning my attention to a far more ambitious project...

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who Dalek Ironside

After 4/5 years of great Dalek figures, this very likely is the last use of the RTD Dalek mould. We've seen a mutant reveal Dalek, a genetic hand print Dalek, the Cult of Skaro, Damaged Dalek Thay, an Assault Dalek, a Crucible Dalek, the Supreme One (and probably some I've forgotten to list!) but it all ends with this one....the Ironside.

And what a swan-song it is. From its army green colouring and British flag insignia to its canvas ammunition pouches - the Ironside is one hell of a good figure. The ammunition pouch isn't revmovable unfortunately, but the detailing more than makes up for it. Its at such a level it makes the 2010 New Paradigm Drone Dalek look cheap in comparison. After so many bronze (and now brightly coloured) Daleks its also nice to see the Ironside in a more dull and subdued colour - it reminds me a lot of the 70s grey Daleks from Genesis of the Daleks and such and it makes me wonder how the new series Daleks would have looked had they first appeared in more military colours.

It may be smaller and less colourful - but the Ironside in this reviewer's opinion is leaps and bounds better than what we've seen from the new Dalek toys so far and I'll be sad to stop seeing this kind of Dalek on shelves. Goodnight evil exterminator - you shall be missed.

Toybox REVIEW: Doctor Who New Paradigm Dalek Drone

My opinion of the new Dalek design wavers everyday - one day I'll think its a fantastic homage to the 1960s Peter Cushing Dalek movies and a great update to the classic design, others I'll criticise it for its lack of detail in comparison to its predecessors (the RTD era Daleks) and that it suffers from a significant hunchback. One thing I'm certain is that yellow and orange are awful colour choices, and red is also a bad choice for a standard Dalek drone. But whatever my opinions are, these are the Daleks we'll be seeing for the forseeable future so I'd better get used to it. That aside, let's have a look at what is the first of undoubtedly many uses of this mould to come.

There's not really a lot you can say about a Dalek figure - it has four points of articulation (head, eyestalk, gun, plunger) and has wheels. All of these are as good as they can be, although I'm disappointed that the eyestalk can still only move up and down (as it's now on a ball, I was hoping it would have 360 degree movement or at least go left to right). The sculpt itself, which less detailed than the RTD Daleks is excellent and extremely faithful to the design shown in the series. It even manages to make it look a lot less hunched back! Not only that, but you can really see how big the new Dalek design is - it towers over older Dalek figures and makes their weaponry look like peashooters! It's also a very nice shade of red.

Now I own a lot of Daleks (this is my 74th in fact), and while the drone is a really nice figure at the same time it feels like a bit of a let down. Maybe it's that I'm still sad that the Ironside will probably be the last we see of the RTD design (as a toy I will miss it), maybe it's that these new Daleks haven't fully settled in yet or maybe I just feel spoiled by the sheer amount of fantastic classic Daleks that have been released over the last few years. Whatever it is, it's definitely missing something. That something could, however, be it's colourful brothers....