“You must surrender. The Earth woman must come with us. It is futile to resist.”
The Summer 2023 Doctor Who Collector Sets at B&M stores were somewhat reduced in quantity compared to previous years, bringing us the obligatory Dalek sets and a Doctor & TARDIS but with an obvious gap on any new figure 3-packs. The sets also saw a packaging update - most likely dictated by the BBC - marking the end of the Blue & Silver design that has been running since 2019. The new packaging is very much themed for the 60th Anniversary and features a plain white box, the 60th Anniversary Classic Blue logo and what appears to be a new colour accent scheme that varies by Doctor.
After skipping Resurrection of the Daleks, and giving us a surprise The Five Doctors release instead, the 14th History of the Daleks set from Character is from Revelation of the Daleks. The box is constructed the same as previous releases, with the recent adjustment from a windowed box that could be opened and resealed, to packing the Daleks onto a blister card within the box - making it impossible to open without significant damage. It uses the new white 60th Anniversary colour scheme, with the gold accent colour assigned to the Sixth Doctor as well as the familiar diamond call out’s to confirm the sizing and content of the set and the gold foil ‘limited edition’ sticker.
The rear of the box follows the same principles as all the other History of the Daleks releases giving an in-depth overview of the story and some behind-the-scenes details of the Dalek props themselves. Once out of the box you may need to set about straightening a couple of parts using hot water or gentle heat as the restrictive blister will put an added bend into the eye stalks in particular and may warp the arms if they were not packed straight from the factory.
The set is another Army-Building set with two identical Revelation Drone Daleks included. This is perhaps a slight disappointment for those hoping for Character to tackle the albeit complex glass Dalek from the series. The Necros Dalek has had two prior releases in the 2011 Revelation box-set, and the 2013 exclusive Doctor and Dalek 2-packs. This 2023 release of the Necros Drone uses the same base Classic Dalek but has seen Character Toys tweak the construction and update the aesthetics, notably adding an additional neck piece beneath the first of the neck rings to give the Dalek a touch more height and presence.
Other updates include a new pair of headlights, a new longer eye stalk, an updated gun arm without the ‘squashed’ centre, and a new central mesh panel with more definition and closer gaps between panel and mesh. The base remains the same size, but the two parts are now split 50:50 where the old release had a deeper black segment. There is also a decor change with the new Daleks featuring a deeper richer gold colour throughout.
The Daleks include the standard moving parts with articulated eye-stalk that can move up and down, and ball jointed gun and sucker arm. The head can also rotate 360 degrees and a set of three wheels on the base allow for some ‘play’ features whilst also giving the Daleks the impression of levitating off the ground ever so slightly.
The History of the Daleks #14 Collector Set has a couple of issues from the offset, neither of which are its fault. The change in packaging will frustrate 'in box' Collectors with sets 1 through 12 having one design, and the last few sets of the Classic era now changing considerably. The recent switch to removing the inner tray and replacing it with an internal blister may also be seen as an issue with those who retain their packaging and wish to repack sets at a later stage. Putting this aside the Revelation of the Dalek set does exactly what it needed to do bringing the Necros Dalek back into the line, but with sufficient changes so as not to fully devalue the original 2011 and 2013 releases. The new version is clean and crisp and looks fantastic on display as a pair as seen in the episode, or as a wider group for those who want to buy more than one set. Sadly, availability will work against collectors with B&M not having an online ordering platform, working to very loose release and merchandising dates, and with scalpers buying these in bulk to resell for inflated prices. There are stocks out there, so bear with it and you won't be disappointed once you have the set in hand.
Keep Track of all the Doctor Who figures from Character Toys at our comprehensive
If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports
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...