Review: The Thirteenth Doctor's TARDIS (lights & sounds) from Doctor Who by Character Toys
- Mephitsu
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
"Hello, I'm the Doctor. I'm a traveller in Space and Time, and that thing buried down there is called a TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. You're going to love this."
Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor era saw a small resurgence in the Character Toys 5.5-inch Doctor Who Collector line with a wave of single, general release figures available at multiple retailers in 2020. Supporting these single releases was a stand-alone TARDIS release for the 13th Doctor. None of the rebranded line sold particularly well at the time, and the 13th Doctor’s era and companions would move over to the B&M line of exclusive sets later in 2020 and continue from there. While some of the figure shelf-warmed for some time (I still find the odd one around now), the TARDIS sold out fairly quickly and like the 12th Doctor release from 5 years earlier, it now presents as a sought-after and relatively pricy option on the secondary market.
The packaging design established for the 13th Doctor and used until the 60th Anniversary was that of a grey base design featuring a TARDIS illustration, overlaid with TARDIS blue panels and the Whitaker-era Doctor Who logo. For the TARDIS, this was a square box with an angular front panel to the left-hand side, and a large wrap-around window taking up two-thirds of the box front and most of the right-hand side. There are roundel 'call outs' around each face of the box, all carrying the same information to confirm this TARDIS has lights and sounds effects. The left hand side is turned over to a blue lined image of a TARDIS against the grey background. Then the back of the box transitions to the dark blue colouring with an image of the TARDIS itself, and a lengthy piece of background text about the TARDIS and the Doctor, but nothing specific to the 13th Doctor.
Inside the box, the TARDIS is attached to an inner cardboard tray and supporting plastic, shaped supports. The background to the cardboard is a bright blue sky and a green hillside base, as seen in many of the promo images for Jodie Whittaker’s first season.
The TARDIS itself is constructed in the same way as all the others from the Character Toys line, with a blue cast body with wood effect sculpted detail constructed around a square plinth base and with a shaped top section added to close off the piece and inclusive of the top light. This light is a translucent bulb surrounded by a blue frame and is the ‘light up’ function of the item, lighting and strobing when the take off or landing function is activated.
The blue base colour and the wood effect sculpt is a strong replication of the prop, with further darker washes evident to bring out that detail. Stickers are used to create the top signage for 'Police Public Call Box', and on the left-hand door sign that carries the Police Telephone instructions and the ‘Pull to Open’. The windows are white framed with eight panels through which is a frosted plastic. These are slotted into each of the sides, with eight windows in total.
The sound function of the TARDIS is the take-off and landing sequence from the show, and this and the light is turned on by way of a master switch on the back and then activated by a pressure button on the base, which is activated when set down on a surface for landing, and when released as the TARDIS is picked up for taking off. The sound is emitted from a visible speaker box on the back section, which also houses the battery compartment.
The TARDIS features opening doors which push back into the interior. They are spring-loaded with a clip that holds them open when pushed far enough back. The left-hand door can then be closed by hand, releasing this clip, while the right-hand door then releases by way of a switch built into the floor.
This is the first Modern Era TARDIS released without any internal detail. Everything inside is simply the reverse side of the blue cast side panels - there is not even a floor surface. The reasons for this were never explained. It could have been cost, or it could have been the secrecy around the new interior that was held back from the Character team to avoid spoilers.
13th Doctor interior is not included, and was supplied with the 2025 15th Doctor TARDIS
This ‘gap’ was filled this year (2025) as the B&M release of the Fifteenth Doctor’s TARDIS included a bonus cardboard insert that fit both in the 2025 model, or into this version to finish off the full look for the 13th Doctor. When the 13th Doctor TARDIS and the 15th Doctor versions are compared side by side, the construction is identical, but with a lighter blue on the 13th Doctor version while the 15th Doctor version also includes painted-on ridges on each side support columns.
compared to the 2025 B&M 15th Doctor TARDIS (right)
As mentioned earlier, the 13th Doctor TARDIS is harder to find on the secondary market vs the 10th and 11th Doctor versions, which were released in greater volumes. Secondary market prices are also high, but completists will always want (as was my wish) to have a full collection of Character TARDIS, and for me, acquiring this version puts me one away from finishing that display.
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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...