The History of the Daleks line is a Doctor Who series of figures created by Character Toys and sold exclusively at B&M Stores in the UK. It features two Daleks from a particular Dalek story and since its launch in2020 it has been working more or less chronologically through the various Dalek stories of the Classic Doctor Who era.
Set number 8, released in the Winter of 2021, is the second set from the Jon Pertwee 3rd Doctor era, and is the first set to be classified as an army builder with two identical Daleks in the box rather than two variant versions. It is taken from the 1973 story Planet of the Daleks in which the Doctor lands on Spiridon and uncovers a Dalek Army frozen in ice.
The box design remains the same since the line launched with an angled front panel that does partially obscure one of the two Daleks in the set. The core colour for the box headers and footers is a deep blue with the other areas covered in a grey/silver design with TARDIS artwork.
The rear of the box is turned over to a history of the episodes taking the reader through the entire story from start to finish before moving on to some interesting details of the Dalek props used at the time. This is a lengthy read and does perhaps cover too much rather than teasing the premis of the story and encouraging new fans to go and seek out the story and watch it for themselves.
The box card back insert carries an illustrated backdrop from the Story, specifically the Dalek saucer in the jungle on Spiridon. This artwork is bright and provides a good contrast to the dark of the Dalek Drones - it would need a bit of work to be used outside of the box as a display diorama piece.
The Classic Dalek figure as a base has been around for some time now and is well proportioned and allows for the various amendments through the years like new eye stalks, guns, suckers, midsection grills, and skirts. The 1970's 3rd Doctor era now saw the Daleks shown on screen in colour and the props moved from the contrasting blue and silver to more muted black and grey tones that people perceived the Daleks had been all along.
Out Planet of the Dalek drones are cast in a metallic grey which is similar to the Drone we saw in Set #7 for Day of the Daleks. The hemispheres on the skirt are painted gloss black matching the black of the very base of the skirt. The ears are transparent white plastic, while the eyestalk, gun, and sucker are silver. The eyestalk includes the four blue rings and black eyepiece, while the sucker is finished with a gloss black sucker piece.
Like previous Dalek releases, there are a couple of fo places on the base where the paint has been patched up in the factory, and these vary across sets - some much worst than others so try and select carefully.
Like all Character Toys Classic Daleks, we have a rotating dome section complete with an articulated eyestalk on a pivot allowing it to move up and down within the slot on the dome. There is further articulation with the sucker arm and gun which are plugged in on a ball joint allowing them to move with a full range of motion.
The base of the Dalek has a three-wheel system built-in - two fixed at the rear and a front castor. This not only allows them to be pushed around but also raises them up off any surface ever so slightly.
This set is unique in Character Toys Dalek history being the first to come with a new feature allowing the dome section to be lifted up. This additional feature was not advertised, nor is it listed on the box. The hinge is placed at the back of the dome and integrated into the neck grills and lets the whole dome be raised upward while still retaining the ability to move and rotate.
The principle of the feature is to expose the Dalek mutant within, although this is not something seen in Planet of the Daleks. The opening function reveals an applied sticker underneath depicting the Dalek mutant who is watching a screen on which the 3rd Doctor can be made out.
The sticker looks OK, but is just a flat sticker. There have also been no changes made to the interior of the dome so the screw heads and plugged-in ears are visible. As a play feature, it is a neat addition and enhances the Dalek model without detracting any external visuals for future releases.
The History of the Daleks Set #7 does what it says, giving Who collectors an Army Building Set of classic 3rd Doctor era Daleks - and even throws in a new feature with the opening dome the first substantial change to the Classic Dalek since 2008. For the £19.99 price point, the set offers good value for money and the only negative is more around what the set could have been - potentially giving us a re-release of the much rarer Dalek Supreme and the Invisible Dalek.
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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...