Review : 11th Doctor in Stetson Doctor Who 5 inch (Character Options) Wave/Series : Toys R Us, Autumn 2015 releases Released : November 2015
Price : £14.99
Originally the 11th Doctor in Stetson was released in 2011 as part of the original 5 inch range of figures from Doctor Who. In November 2015, he was re-released on a revised card back as part of a new wave of figures on sale exclusively at Toys R Us stores.
Unlike the "collectors" figures, which come boxed, the more basic range (although they are the same price) come on a carded blister pack. The card follows the basic design principle of the boxed versions, with a dark blue star scape blending down into an orange vortex design. The general Who logo is at the top of the card, with the character name slotted into a small insert at the bottom of the blister itself. On the reverse is a very old school check-list of other figures in this series - including the 10th Doctor, Weeping Angel, Dalek Sec, Rose and Sarah Jane Smith. These new cards remind me of the slimmed down Dapol cards of the 1980's and I wonder if that is deliberate to infuse a bit of nostalgia.
The figure itself is identical to the 2011 release. And the fact it is pushing 5 years old does tell. The sculpt is OK and it does look like Matt Smith. The hat does look OK and sits well enough, but up close you can see a visible gap where it is planted onto a peg in the head. The shirt is a very soft sculpt and the bow tie sticks out a little too much. The tweed jacked it nicely textured and comes complete with the leather elbow pads. Trousers are plain, and finish tucked in to the boots which again are a bit soft and undefined - although you can see laces.
The figure is neatly painted, but very one dimensionally. The face is neat, with the eyes captured very well. The hat and clothes are simply one colour, not even a feint wash to bring out the texture of the jacket. Neither is there any attempt to colour the buttons on the shirt or the laces on the trousers. Even the belt buckle, which you can see, is left the same dull black as the trousers.
Now all that is fine and is what is expected of the 5" Dr Who range, which at its peak was aimed squarely at kids and at a price point of around £7. The price however has now doubled, and these are being touted as collectors pieces - but with no real step up in paint applications, or indeed articulation as you will see shortly. With these all being re-releases and with only one true new figure in the combined carded and boxed ranges, this starts to feel a bit of a con
Articulation was starting to improve on the Who range towards the end of its life, although still very basic with pegs and sockets rather than the more recent joints and swivels. But this figure is even a slight step back from that. The pegged head rotates to either side, but has no up and down movement. The shoulders are pegged into the body and can therefore rotate around and above the head - there is no outward joint as has been seen on the more recent Clara and 12th Doctor figures. There is a bicep swivel, but with the arms being flattened to sit next to the body any rotation of the bicep looks odd. The elbows joint by means of a peg, and the head of the peg is quite visible round the side of each arm. The hands are pegged too, so these do rotate
The waist is jointed and can rotate to let the Doctor look side to side to a small degree. The hips are on a peg that allows front to back and side to side movement. Some of this movement is blocked by the coat tails, but essentially you can sit the Doctor down, or get him into the splits. Like the biceps, there is a swivel on the thigh, which you will use to turn the feet out slightly to allow the Doctor to stand. The knees are also a pegged joint, but thankfully the peg head is less visible on the black of the trousers. There is no movement at all in the ankles or feet, and although the Doctor does stand pretty well, it's that thigh joint that you will need to twist a little to plan the feet and keep the Doctor upright.
The only accessory, not that he needs anything else, is the Sonic Screwdriver. This is neatly done and it fits into the right hand of the figure. It is made of a slightly softer material, but this doesn't really affect it too much and there is probably more paint application on the screwdriver than on any other area of the figure - I count five different colours in a 1.5cm screwdriver.
So it's down to the hard bit now, the rating.
Had I been scoring this figure in 2011 and at it's £7 price point then I would have been pretty happy and gone a decent 4 out of 5. Sadly, in the last 4-5 years the figures in other ranges have moved on so much that they have left the Dr Who figures far behind. That would have been OK if these Who figures had come in under a tenner, but at £14.99 they are a tad overpriced for what you get. That being said if supporting this first batch means we can get new figures in a future wave then I still urge Who fans to take one for the team and snaffle up a few of these. As it stands, and all things considered, I am going to score Doctor 11 in Stetson a 2 out of 5.
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