The Seventh Doctor and Axis Strike Dalek was released as an exclusive in B&M stores in the Spring of 2020. The set was based on the Big Finish Audio Series, and had been released previously in 2019. This 2020 version featured an updated paint job for the Dalek and a change to the 7th Doctor's head.
Packaging 4/5
The box for the 2020 sets remains identical to the 2019 sets with a window front broken by a section to the right containing the Doctor Who logo and the image of Sylvester McCoy from his title sequence. Character names are specified in the lower bar as The Seventh Doctor and Axis Strike Dalek. The Big Finish and Character Options logo sit bottom right and above them as a red flash in the window there is confirmation of the Big Finish Series on which the set is based. The front is finished with a circular metallic sticker on the window that states "Limited Edition".
The side panels are very nicely decorated with a montage image of Daleks and Characters taken from the Gallifrey VI cover on one side, and on the other an image of the figures themselves. The cover of the Big Finish audio is replicated on the reverse along with a very lengthy piece of background text.
"GALLIFREY SERIES VI - EXTERMINATION"
"Towards the end of his seventh incarnation, the Doctor embraced his Time Lord heritage, and agreed to work as a special agent for Lord President Romana, including the capture of renegade Time Lord the Eleven and collecting the remains of the Master from Skaro...
During the Doctor's absence, Gallifrey has fallen victim to the Dogma Virus, a mysterious infection created by the Free Time movement, that lies dormant in Time Lords until they regenerate. When they do, they mutate into zombies.
To find a cure, Romana and her friends Leela, Chancellor Braxiatel, K9 and CIA Co-ordinator Narvin escape to the Axis, a point which allows access to broken or terminated time lines.
The friends venture to various parallel worlds, until they become trapped on a Gallifrey populated by the Regenerators - Gallifreyans who are yet to discover time travel.
Romana locates a signal from the Axis and is able to make contact with it - until a familiar looking creature emerges... a Dalek! They have taken control of the Axis, and now nowhere is safe!"
The set slides out with the Doctor and Dalek inserted and strapped/taped into a clear inner tray. The tray is then sat in a cardboard surround which carries images of the time war with Dalek Saucers in a battle scene.
Paint & Sculpt 3/5
The Seventh Doctor in this set uses the existing smiling hatted head which has a passing resemblance to McCoy but it does suffer from heavy handed painting and the teeth in particular are far too pronounced. The eyes are squinty and the eyebrows above them a funny shape.
The body includes a brown jacket with red scarf and under it a red sweater. The Doctor is wearing a well painted pattern tie and other details include the chain of a fob watch and the handkerchief in his jacket pocket.
He is wearing very pattered trousers with a checkerboard design in shades of blue and beige.
The set does give the Doctor a different look to the 2019 version with darker jacket tones and the hat. But it does not really convey the older 7th Doctor from the TV movie and perhaps his more serious demeanor. The hatted head has always been the weakest of the McCoy sculpts and it doesn't fair a lot better in this set.
The change does however retain value/exclusivity for those who purchased the 2019 set - and also makes a stronger argument for the sets to be repurchased in 2020 for completionists.
The Axis Strike Dalek is the star of the set, utilising the most recent and best proportioned New Series Dalek sculpts. The bac dome and hemispheres work really well on the bronze body and each element is well painted and neat - including the silver slats around the midsection and the blue of the eye stalk.
The colours are laid on to look weathered and worn with some dirtying of the bronze base and some variations in the silver panels to give them a worn and distressed look.
The key difference to the 2019 set is the midsection, with silver now used on the panels and trim rather than gold. While the promo images did make the Daleks look very different in terms of the base bronze, it remains the same.
Accessories N/A
There are no accessories included in the set for either figure
Articulation 3/5
The Doctor has the standard 16 points of articulation for a Who figure. These do remain the basic plug and socket joints with the joints clearly visible around the knees and elbows.
Head : neck post swivel
Body : waist post swivel
Arms : shoulder post swivel, bicep swivel, jointed elbow, peg wrist
Legs : T-Joint hips, thigh swivel, jointed knee
Posing is limited with neutral stances only. And like all 7th Doctors from this mould, the feet are turned in and you will need to swing out the thigh swivel - throwing the pattern of the trousers - to have him stand.
The Dalek weighs in with a ball joint sucker arm and weapon. The eye-stalk is a pivot and moves up and down. There is no other articulation as such on the Dalek - not that it needs anything else - and it moves freely via two fixed wheels and a rotating wheel on the base.
Summary
The 2020 version of the 7th Doctor and Axis Strike Dalek feels a bit of a missed opportunity. While I am all for replenishing sets that are popular, tweaking them feels a bit of a cheat even if it does protect the exclusivity of the original sets. The 7th Doctor getting a new head and outfit update is much better than simple recolouring as has gone on with the other sets - but it could have been so much more with a wildly different Dalek colour scheme - even taking liberties with the original source, although that would be easy considering the source is audio only and the only visuals are the front cover.
I scored the first set a 4 out of 5. This one will be docked a mark for perhaps not going far enough, and because the smiling McCoy head is sadly inferior to the one originally used.
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...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, doctor who, dr who, B&M, dalek, big finish, seventh doctor. axis strike