Review: Doctor Who Vortex Edition Season Seven Set with Liz Shaw and Primord, part of the Yeti Collect-and-Build Wave for 2026
“Just because they're an alien species, that doesn't mean we have to kill them.”
The Doctor Who Vortex Edition Season 7 set is the third release in Character Toys' Yeti ‘collect and build’ series for 2026 and the first based on Classic Who. It was released in early September 2026, sold exclusively via the Character Toys website with 24-hour early access for anyone who purchased the earlier sets. The set sold out within 48 hours of going on sale, the fastest of the three released so far to do so.
The packaging remains as established for the Vortex Edition, with a white base box including a cut-out top right corner. The front design includes the base white overlaid with a TARDIS image in the bottom left corner, and the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary logo in the top left. The large window, which displays the two figures, is surrounded by the coloured vortex design, which is unique to each Doctor era. This orange/red Vortex for the 3rd Doctor was established with the 3rd Doctor & Sonic Screwdriver set in 2025. Around the vortex pattern are a number of diamond callouts that talk about the set's scale as 5.5 inches, that they are High Deco Vortex Edition releases, and the accessories being included. The 3rd Doctor era is confirmed with a red diamond that sits alongside the confirmed set name as the Season Seven Set from 1970 and including Liz Shaw and a Primord. Just above this to the right is the Yeti collect and build image, and it confirms the Yeti right arm is included in this release.
The two side spines are both predominantly white, with the Vortex colouring extending at the base. The left-hand side has the wrap-around of the TARDIS and further confirmation of the 3rd Doctor era. Above this, in the white section, is the BBC and Doctor Who logo. This same text logo is used on the right-hand side, but on the angled section above is the pictorial Doctor Who diamond logo. At the back of the box, we have the top two-thirds turned over to the background information for the set, talking us in great depth about Liz Shaw and her interactions with the 3rd Doctor. This goes on for 90% of the blurb across six paragraphs, with only the final sentence referencing the Primord and the story Inferno. The usual proofreading issues exist with the misspelling of the word “purview”. The text is surrounded by the same diamond call-outs as the box front. Under this, the final third of the box is the Yeti collect-and-build info and shows a full image of the completed Yeti and background text for both the Yeti figure itself and the original story, The Abominable Snowman from 1967.
The figures are packed into the usual inner plastic tray, which is released by the bottom flap of the box as the easiest route, considering the cut out in the top corner. The figures are tied into the box with cotton ties, which are both unsightly and feel unnecessary considering this is a delivered item only, and these ties are predominantly designed to make theft more difficult. Behind the figures is an illustrated backdrop of the Doctor’s laboratory in UNIT headquarters, with the TARDIS in the corner. This is a neat backdrop for the set and the included characters, but would require some substantial work to be used as a diorama on display.
Liz Shaw is making her debut in the Doctor Who line, and completes a full lineup for companions of Jon Pertwee’s Doctor alongside the previous releases of Jo Grant and Sarah-Jane Smith, as well as the figures of The Brigadier, Sergeant Benton, and Captain Mike Yates. She is designed to be wearing the red turtleneck dress from The Silurians. This dress is a softer rubber sleeve placed over a generic torso and then flowing down into the skirt piece. The chain belt is sculpted as part of this dress section and painted in gold. The arms are new and match the dress, with skin-tone hands that also include a sculpted ring on the right hand, which is touched in gold. The legs are re-used from the 2013 Jo Grant release and feature a darker skin tone to reflect Liz wearing tights. The knee-high boots are painted in black and include a stiletto heel at the back.
The headsculpt is new and is a strong reflection of actor Caroline John. It is a crisper sculpt than perhaps we’ve had previously, with painted eyes and lips while still remaining consistent with the long-running line and other human characters. The hair piece, added separately over the head sculpt, is Liz’s impressive 70s style from The Silurians, with a front fringe, a ribbon tying the hair back, and then curled bangs that hang over her shoulders and down her back. The ribbon is painted a darker brown, while the hair is a two-tone decor, with auburn plastic and lighter streaks painted through it.
Liz only has 14 points of articulation, less than a standard Character Doctor Who release. Two joints are lost in the arms, removing the often unsightly bicep swivel and replacing it with a rotating pinless elbow joint. The shoulders, too, are the new version, which can rotate in the socket and be raised up and away from the body. The arm articulation ends with a plug-in wrist that can rotate the hands.
The torso still includes a waist joint under the rubber dress sleeve, which can still be engaged to rotate the whole hips to the sides. The neck is similarly jointed down into the torso underneath, so it can rotate the head within the turtleneck collar, although the hair makes the head difficult to rotate much past the forward-facing position. The legs - having been taken from a much older figure - include hip joints, thigh swivels, and pinned knees. These all have to work within the confines of the skirt, leaving Liz little mobility other than neutral stances. Despite the stiletto heels, she still stands perfectly well. There is, however, an issue when the knees are bent, as when you do move these it exposes the skin-toned plastic beneath and makes it look like Liz has ripped her long boots.
with 3rd Doctor figures (not included)
Liz is a strong figure in terms of likeness, accuracy of costume, and articulation, although it does blend the newer Vortex Edition joint format with some from a much older figure. She looks great with the Doctor (although at the time of the review we didn’t have access to any Season 7 Doctors to pose with Liz)
The Primord is the second figure in the set, and is based on the appearance of Professor Stahlman when he transforms into a Primord during the events of Inferno in 1970. It is, however, not accurate to the episode, as while Stahlman does wear a lab coat over a tweed suit & tie, by the time he changes fully to a Primord, he had changed out of the suit and lab coat into a protective suit.
The Primord is built using a sculpted torso featuring a white shirt and a painted brown patterned tie. Over this sits a rubber jacket that makes up not only the lab coat, but Stahlman’s waistcoat. The main piece is cast in white while the waistcoat is then painted in light brown with black on the buttons. The lab coat appears washed to give subtle ‘grubbiness’ to the finish, particularly at the edges and into the recessed folds of the sculpted plastic. The outfit concludes with a pair of brown trousers that bunch at the bottom around a pair of darker brown shoes.
The head and hands are new, cast in green plastic and with brown painted fur on the hands. The head appears to be two different halves, with a front face and full beard, and a sculpted hair piece that flows around the head and to the nape of the neck, lining up with the beard at the sides. The exposed face in green includes painted red eyes and a sickly brown colour to the eyebrows and nose. Under the eyes and around the lips is a dark red finish, with the exposed gritted teeth painted in white. This mouth sculpt is a little tame in terms of the exposed fangs and snarl we see on the prosthetic worn in the show. However, aside from this, the overall look is a good match to the 1970s headpiece.
compared to original 2007 Doctor Constantine figure (right)
Character have chosen this non-accurate look purely on the availability of a donor figure in the shape of the 2007 Doctor Constantine figure, which is used almost entirely to create the Stahlman Primord figure.
The Primord comes with 14 points of articulation, all the same as the original Constantine figure, and as this was very early in the Who line, it is quite basic in how it all works. Despite a neck peg, the head is locked into place by the hair running down over the figure's collar. Down from this is the waist joint, which allows the lower half to be rotated. The arms include a simple plug-in shoulder that only allows rotation, with a bicep swivel halfway down to allow the arm to move out from the body, although doing this cuts the line of the sleeve and looks off. From here, the arm flows to a pinned elbow that bends to 90 degrees and ends in a plug-in hand that rotates at the wrist.
The legs have a hip joint that allows the legs to swing out and to the side, within the confines of the coat tails. The only other leg joint is a pinned knee, which bends to about 45 degrees. This leaves the Primord limited in leg positions, relying mostly on neutral stances.
The Primord, in terms of the head sculpt, is excellent, but it needed a much better body. They could have used the Bracewell lab coat figure to allow better articulation, or gone with a white jumpsuit-type body like the Delgado Master or even an Ood, which would have been more screen accurate
The set includes two accessories, neither of which directly relate to the figures in the set, and only one of which is a Season 7 inclusion. The first is the Metebelis Crystal as seen in The Green Death (1973) and again in Planet of the Spiders (1974). This is a long blue crystal piece in translucent blue, with tapered ends that are cut to a point. The crystal is proportioned in scale with the 5-inch figures and can be held in most figures' hands where a grip is available; this does include Liz Shaw and any 3rd Doctor figure.
with 3rd Doctor figure (not included)
The other accessory is from Season 7’s Spearhead from Space (1970), the Auton Energy Sphere, which is a non-descript large translucent pink unit with indented round circlets. This is a world-building piece, so it can be displayed as scenery in your collection, or as interacting with a character. It can be held by figures including Liz, the Doctor, or, most accurately, the Autons.
We have had the Auton Energy Sphere previously in the line as part of the Enemies of the Third Doctor set from 2011. That piece was similar in colour, but much smaller than this revised 2026 version, rather than there being any direct reuse.
with Auton figure (not included)
The Season 7 set also includes the third piece of the Yeti collect-and-build figure, the right arm. Like the Torso and Head from the first two sets, this is a hard-sculpted piece with deep, defined fur texture. We will be reviewing the Yeti in full when all five sets have arrived.
The Vortex Edition Season 7 set retails at £44.99 with free UK postage. That breaks down to £22.50 per figure, which is not too far out of line with other 5-6 inch lines. The Liz Shaw is a welcome addition and is particularly well done and gives Character the head sculpt for further Liz figures in the future, with the ability to plug in different hair pieces to match the story. The Primord head is impressive, but the accuracy and body choice are disappointing. I can, however, see the head getting re-used as well onto a UNIT soldier body as a minimum. The added accessories expand the 3rd Doctor world-building, with the Metebelis Crystal a nice accessory for the relevant 3rd Doctor figure.
We now look to set four and the Fourth Doctor and how the Character Team will justify this single figure release as a £44.99 set?
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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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