Character Options and their PR team have announced a new raft of 5.5 inch Doctor Who Collector Sets heading to B&M Stores in the UK this Autumn.
The sets do use the Summer 2020 sets as a base but adjust the figures to match likenesses in other stories. We start with a new set titled The Companions of the Third & Fourth Doctor which reissues the Sarah Jane Smith and Romana sculpts from the first 2020 set. Sarah Jane is now in her Monster of Peladon outfit, Romana I from Power of Kroll and Romana 2 from The Horns of Nimon.
Sarah Jane retains the same jacket and head sculpt as the previous 2020 release, while the legs are updated to those from a Sarah Jane Adventures figure with boots. The same SJA legs with boots look to be used again for Romana I with the existing head and a new tunic wrap piece for the torso. Romana II features the same red jacket and trouser/boot combination as before but re-coloured and without the scarf.
The Companions of the Third & Fourth Doctor set features new figures of Sarah and Romana 1 and 2 and spans the dates April 1974 to December 1979. This set includes Sarah Jane Smith in her outfit from 1974’s ‘Monster of Peladon’ story, Romana 1 in her outfit from December 1978’s ‘The Power of Kroll’ story and Romana 2 in her red outfit from the story ‘The Horns of Nimon’.
The Friends of the Thirteenth Doctor Set sees new variants for Ryan and Yaz and now includes another version of Graham. These use the same three bodies as before with repainted options. The promo blurb does not specify the episodes - but my view is that Ryan is from The Ghost Monument (2018) albeit the jacket is much longer and bulkier than the one worn. Graham is from It Takes You Away (2018) and Yaz from Fugitive of the Judoon (2020).
Staying with the ‘companion’ theme, is the Friends of the Thirteenth Doctor set with updated figures of companions Yasmin (Yaz) Khan, Graham O'Brien and Ryan Sinclair. These, most recent companions all feature in a brand new set of outfits inspired by their onscreen adventures.
The next set is one to delight 4th Doctor fans, with a Terror of the Zygons set that includes the long awaited Fourth Doctor in Tam O' Shanter - a prototype often seen online, but never released. The Doctor will come with two UNIT Troopers, one being Benton and the other being a generic trooper where a moustache looks to have been added to the Mike Yates figure. The UNIT troopers now feature more accurate sub-machine guns.
For many collectors, the arrival of the 1971 U.N.I.T Claws of Axos Set can’t be bettered but with the addition of the 1975 U.N.I.T Terror of the Zygons Set, Character Options has added what is possibly the most anticipated and eagerly awaited variant of the Fourth Doctor to the mix; decked out in his fetching tartan scarf and Tam ‘O’ Shanter hat. The set is completed by the addition of Sergeant John Benton, this time in camouflage fatigues and an additional U.N.I.T trooper, both with Sterling SMG machine guns as seen in the timeless 1975 story battling the shape shifting Zygons.
Moving to the Doctor and TARDIS set for Autumn 2020, we have another 5th Doctor TARDIS taken from The Visitation. The set will come with the 5th Doctor who is wearing his hat.
Next up is the updated release of the Fifth Doctor and TARDIS Set featuring detailing from February 1982’s ‘The Visitation’. The set comprises a crisp moulding of the Fifth Doctor with his floppy hat, while the TARDIS comes in a pristine blue livery.
And we have two more Dalek Collector Sets to look forward to, and these Autumn releases seem to indicate a chronological plan to these sets. Up first is Set #3 which is taken from The Chase. We have a Chase Drone along with the Chase Guard - an adjusted version of the movie Dalek that has previously only been released as a Sound FX Dalek.
“The Daleks’ Collector Set Number 3 comprises of a Twin Dalek Set and features the Daleks as seen fully in in 1965’s ‘The Chase’. This set features one of the ‘guest’ Daleks brought in from the Doctor Who and the Daleks film which appear in the Dalek Control room sequences of Episode 3
and one of the Standard silver drone Daleks.
Set #4 is from The Dalek Master Plan and includes the Black Dalek and a standard Drone with flamethrower arm.
"The Daleks’ Collector Set Number 4 features two Daleks as seen in The Dalek Master Plan from 1966. This set features the attractive Black Dalek with Grey shoulders, a silver neck bin and silver solar struts alongside one of the Silver Drones seen in the jungle sequences clearing foliage with a flame thrower device.
I will be updating my Doctor Who Database shortly with these new set details. They should start to arrive in B&M Stores in the UK around the week commencing 5th of October. The UK price is not yet confirmed, previous pricing was £19.99 per set - but this may change.
Like the last sets there will be US availability via Amazon and the Who Store North America. The US sales should start mid-October.
Al Dewar, Character Options’ Creative Director, said. “This is another first for the Doctor Who line
and good news for the fans in what has been a difficult year. We are delighted therefore to
announce this full second wave of figures being released which has comes in addition to our recent Internet exclusive.
“We were determined to give the fans something exciting and again hopefully we have genuinely
surprised them with the new additions that have been coupled with some of our previous released figures. The inclusion of a new Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Romana 1 will hopefully surprise everyone in what is an astounding number of new figures this year and hopefully we will continue to exceed the expectations of fans and collectors alike.”
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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