Review: Doctor Who B&M Exclusive History of the Daleks #21, Eve of the Daleks Executioner Daleks
- Mephitsu
- Aug 16
- 4 min read
"Daleks are such boring conversationalists"
The first of the 2025 Doctor Who Exclusive Collector Sets for B&M were announced and landed in the same week of August 2025, a reasonably well coordinated launch vs usual for the North of the country at least. The latest addition to the History of the Daleks line was number 21 and featured two new Daleks as seen in ‘Eve of the Daleks’, the New Year's special from 2022 featuring Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor.
The set followed the standard packaging design as established in 2023 for the 60th Anniversary and beyond, with a white base box featuring a TARDIS design in the bottom left corner and the current diamond Who logo in the top left. Each package features an accent colour for the era of Doctor it is taken from, with this the first from the 13th Doctor, who has been given a red theme design. The episode name is listed on the top right of the box, while the bottom right includes the numbering as number 21 in the History of the Daleks series. This does mean that we have skipped number 20 for the time being, but that is expected to follow in the second batch of 2025 B&M releases. The usual diamond call-outs to the side of the window confirm the figures as ‘Executioner Daleks’ and that these are part of the 5.5-inch Collector Series. We also get the gold foil ‘Limited Edition’ sticker now featured on the box with no defined window to the box.
Round the back of the box, we have a further splash of the red colour as a base border, a repeat of the diamond logo, and a large and in-depth text write-up about Eve of the Dalek,s including some behind-the-scenes facts around the shooting of the episode. The box is opened via the top flap, and the inner cardboard sleeve - with the standard blue vortex design - slides out along with the plastic tray. Like the newer Collector releases, there is no window to the box, and the plastic moulded tray around the Daleks is glued to the backing card, making this a collector set that can only be opened once, with the opening process damaging either the backing card, or the enclosing plastic window if you choose to cut this surgical to preserve the vortex background.
The two Dalek Executioners included are built on the established New Series Dalek body. In the episode, the props were more or less the standard bronze Dalek colour, but the Character Set has played a little with the overall look, giving the Daleks’s a darker chocolate finish, with a reddish hue as seen under the atmospheric lighting of the episode.
vs the 2024 Parting of the Ways Dalek (right)
This deeper rich bronze is contrasted by a lighter gold across the skirt hemispheres and the slats of the mid-section. The base of the skirt, and the mesh behind the mid-section slats, are a darker grey, with the red hued bronze returning for the dome with transparent lights.
The Daleks are fitted with the updated arms and guns seen during Eve of the Daleks, with a manipulator arm with a clawed grip end in black plastic. This arm is quite soft in terms of the base plastic, and one of my Daleks came with a warped arm straight out of the box. The Gatling Gun is cast in silver and is much bulkier than the usual Dalek gun-arm. Both still slot into the square sockets on the mid-section. The same applies to the eye stalk, with a silver stalk, translucent discs, and a black eye section with a blue iris.
While both Daleks are essentially identical, Character has included different decals under the eye stalk of the two drones, giving them a slight point of difference from each other.
Articulation is the same configuration as usual, with an eye stalk that raises up and down in its socket and a dome that spins a full 360 degrees. The two arms are in ball joint sockets, so they have a wider range of motion than the eye stalk within the extent of the square frame. The Dalek is sat on some small wheels under the base with two fixed at the back and a pivot on the front. This allows the Dalek to be pushed around while also giving it a slight lift off the ground for display.
It is great to see the Character line exploring the more modern era of Dalek appearances, with the Eve of the Daleks being a solid choice in terms of finally giving the 13th Doctor some ‘foes’ to face off against while also giving us a pair of Daleks that look and feel varied to the now well utilised Bronze New Series Daleks. At £22.99 a set, these still reflect great value for money, and hopefully the B&M supply chain will ensure sufficient stocks for everyone, and perhaps a few spare as I can see some customising options transplanting some of the older arm parts onto the standard bronze Daleks for some earlier 13th Doctor Daleks from Revolution.
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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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