The Doctor comes with one accessory: his Sonic Screwdriver. Made out of a soft bendable plastic, the screwdriver fits snugly into his right hand. It’s nicely sculpted for such a small item, and it resembles the show’s version pretty accurately, but there is one problem. They painted the light effects blue instead of green. I haven’t seen another 11th Doctor figure yet, but I’m hoping this mistake isn’t repeated on all of them.
Now, to the main reason I bought this two-pack: the orange Dalek. Orange? Why orange, you say? Well, this new breed of Dalek is color coded for easy identification. I’m not sure what each color represents yet, but the orange Daleks are scientists.
Even though the new Daleks have that same familiar feel, they are also very different from past versions. The most striking difference to me is how big they are. Standing at five and three quarter inches, these new Daleks are an imposing sight next to a regular figure from the toy line, not to mention the old Daleks. Not only are the new Daleks taller, but they’ve also bulked up with a longer body. I guess they were getting tired of being compared to trash cans.
There are also a lot of small differences between the new and old Daleks. The eye stalk is larger, with the center blue iris being replaced with a more eyeball looking device. The dome lights on each side are simpler, resembling clear rods instead of flared light bulbs. The gun and plunger arms have also grown, and are both connected to a more pronounced collar area. Also, the bumper at the bottom has gotten noticeably larger.
Even with the changes in the Dalek’s appearance, their mobility seems to be mostly the same. Like the older versions, these new Daleks have a swivel dome and a ball joint for each arm. Even though the eye stalk on the new one appears to connect to a similar ball joint like the arms, it’s actually just a hinge and can only move up and down. One place that did change was the wheels though. Unlike the older Daleks who had one swiveling wheel on front and two stable wheels on back, the new Dalek has three swiveling wheels. I thought this would allow for greater mobility over surfaces, but I was wrong. The wheels have a hard time lining up in one direction together, and even when they do, there’s some resistance to forward movement. Where I could slide the old Dalek across the floor, this new one only skids to a halt.
The Dalek’s paintjob is simple, but very effective. A lot of people have dubbed the new look “Dalek Rangers” because of the bright Power Ranger-like rainbow colors. Personally, I’m a fan. I think the thick orange is sleek, especially offset by the darker blacks and steely grays. If the rest of the figures come out painted this well, then I’ll be happy to assemble my team of Daleks with attitude.
Even with the few minor issues, I’m happy with this set. I bought it for the Dalek, and got a pretty nice Doctor figure to boot. Currently, Underground Toys is offering this two-pack on their website for a limited time to those in the US and Canada who didn’t make it to SDCC. It’s retailing for $40, which may seem a bit high, but you have to consider that his was an import and an exclusive. Plus, it’s orange!
Agreed on the better shoulders, but lose the hips? No way! DW have some of the best hip joints out there. Mattel’s range without that padlock look.
Ditto that. Even without ankle joints, the hips (in conjunction with the swivel thighs) allow for great action stances that the figure wouldn’t otherwise be able to achieve. Put the toy through the paces, Vault, and then tell me that they’re useless! ;D
I’ll have to play harder with my Who figures in the future I guess 😀
btw, I liked your website.
Thanks, Vault! It needs updating — hopefully that’ll happen sooner rather than later. 🙂
Uh oh, looks like I’ve started a controversy, lol.
I do like the hips,and you’re right about them being better than Mattel’s. But I’d really really love to have better shoulders. In a perfect world we’d get both, but that might push costs up. So if I had to choose, I’d pick shoulders over hips.
Understandable, I guess! But if I had to pick, I’d take the hips over the shoulders. With swivel-hinged shoulders and t-hips, you’re basically limited to standing poses with varying arm gestures. Your one other option for the legs (assuming the thigh swivels remain intact) is to have one leg thrust forward with the knee bent while the other remains straight (or thrust back as the sculpt allows), but swiveled so that the foot rests on its side. That pose is hideous.
With the current model, though, you still get quite a bit of arm gestures (unlike the legs, their usefulness isn’t limited by the figure’s need to balance on them) and can manipulate the hips to produce various crouches and “action” stances, since the allowable spread of the hips allow the figure to assume more natural-looking stances while still retaining its ability to stand. 🙂
That said, there are some figures in the line with more articulated shoulders (and swivel-hinged hips) that you might look into. Off the top of my head: any Sontaran, either Krillitane (they come in red and grey), any Cybus Cyberman (though the spread of the arms is significantly limited by the shoulder guards; also stay away from the battle-damaged one as it can’t stand), and the werewolf. I’d start with the werewolf — that figure is truly awesome, and at nearly 8″ tall it can fit in with almost any action figure line.
Cool, thanks for the suggestions. I’ll have to check those out.
Great review!Can you please make some Classics DW toy reviews in future????
I’m planning on getting that Eleven Doctors Box Set. Hopefully that will help satiate your Classics needs until I find more to spend money on.
man, that articulation is awful. hips aside, most of it is ugly and the RoM seems pretty limited… but come on, hinge shoulders? in this day and age? haven’t we evolved the game by leaps and bounds already?
Not everything can be Marvel Legends 😛
A) Love the Larfleeze pic.
B) You found the minimate Delorean? I hate you. :-p
A) Thank you.
B) You’ll have to check back for that review. I’ll try not to make it too awesome though, lol.
I love your avatar.
the colors for the new Paradigm of Daleks is
White: Supreme
Orange: Scientist
Blue: Strategist
Red: Drone
Yellow: Eternal
I’m looking forward to seeing as to how these subgroups will be used
also.. this is the first AMERICAN release of the new Dalek.. in the UK they’ve got both the red drone & blue strategist… I’m hoping they come out here soon…
Ah, thanks for the info Jedi. I was wondering what the other Dalek Rangers did.
What’s an Eternal Dalek though?
I knew there was a red one out in the UK, but I didn’t realize blue was also out. Damn, I’m already two behind.
Even Steven Moffat has no idea what an Eternal Dalek is! He said in an interview that he picked the name just because he thought it sounded cool.
That’s funny. Eternal Dalek: Cool as a bow tie.
must…fight…urge….to buy….more Who merch….
(looks at bank account)
oi….
ok, I’m fine now.
(weeps inside)
lol, I know how you feel. Between my monthly MOTU bill and DCUC, it’s making buying other random toys a little more difficult.
I didn’t bother with MOTUC, but glad I’m not seeing those newer MUs locally, as my will against them/anything non-6″ is slowly declining….. 🙁
LONG LIVE MARVEL LEGENDS!
Last spring in Jeff City GoHastings, I saw the Tom Baker for $16 and almost bought the 2pk of….geez, blanking now….was there a Davison/?? 2pk out towards beginning of 2010? It wasn’t TB….”Time Crash” set with PD+DT??
Anyyway, no price tag, but passed when it rang up at $40.
Might have bought it at $30, but not $40 when a single is $16.
–
YES! and after three days, DT’s first Xma$ special just now FINALLY finished DL’g!
WHEEE!!!!!
$40?!? That does not seem worth it in the slightest. Add on shipping and that’s bordering on ridiculous. I do like the Dalek, though. The new eye-stalk is a bit more imposing– like it could really exterminate you instead of just giving you a joy-buzzer type of shock. The other stalks are puny.