Review: Character Options Doctor Who The Fifteenth Doctor

“And you wanna know my secret? There's no one like me in the whole wide universe. No one like me exists, and that's true of everyone.”

In late 2024, Character Toys relaunched their Doctor Who 5.5-inch action figure line with two new figures of the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday. These newer figures featured improved articulation, sculpting, and paintwork and would be offered across two formats. The Vortex Collection would be a Character Toys exclusive line, collector boxed and featuring enhanced decor or accessories. The standard line would then feature the basic figures, limited or no accessories, and be blister-carded for general sale at selected retailers. 

The General release figures utilise the same design principles as the slightly larger Vortex Collection boxes and as established through the BBC. The cardback starts of as a white base at the top left and bottom right corners, with a larger pink-purple hued vortex design then running through the centre and acting as the cardback for the figure itself. This colour scheme is being established by Character as Doctor-specific and across this line and the B&M series - this colour is assigned to the 15th Doctor seasons. The blister itself houses a side wrap and front insert, and it is in here that we find the current Doctor Who logo, the TARDIS image, and the character's name. The same diamond-shaped callouts seen on the B&M packaging over the past few years are also repeated within the blister insert, confirming this as an articulated figure release, the 5.5-inch scale, and the era from which it is taken  -although not the story. The back of the card is spacious with lots of white space with a diamond cut out image of Ncuit Gatwa’s Doctor, and a short paragraph about the 15th Doctor’s characteristics and his ‘sense for adventure’.

The Doctor is based on the outfit he wears in Space Babies, and includes an open-neck blue shirt with yellow, red and dark blue stripes. There are a pair of dark trousers in a deep blue colour and a pair of white and tan trainers with side stripes and sculpted lace detailing. Over all of this is the Doctor’s coat, a long soft plastic piece in red-brown with a wash of sorts to add texture and further paint detailing on the buttons and the buckle.

The head sculpt is an impressive likeness to Ncuti Gatwa with a more realistic finish than anything we’ve seen to date in the Who series without a full-on printed photo application. The hair is part of the overall sculpt and cut short with a crisp trim to the fringe and sides with no obvious paint errors between flesh tone and hair colour. The Doctor’s hands feature sculpted rings, each painted in silver, and he is also wearing a combination of necklaces, each individually picked out against the skin tone of his chest.

vs Vortex Edition (2024) right

This is the same exact base figure as the Vortex release, with the costume elements updated to meet that used in the Space Babies episode. While the Vortex Edition is reported as including improved decor on the standard line, this is not immediately evident - although, up close, the Vortex figure uses a more intensive wash on the coat and a slightly glossier skin tone.

The Doctor comes with his Sonic Screwdriver as a sole accessory. This is carried over from the Vortex release and is a tiny piece, scaled correctly to the figure. It is silver as a base colour with evident painted decor in blue and gold and visible Gallifreyan circle details on the front face in particular. The Doctor’s right hand is shaped to hold the Screwdriver in a natural position, although the grip is not fully secure, so be very mindful of your tiny Screwdriver falling out of the hand and being easily lost.

Articulation is 16 points overall, all now upgraded from pinned joints to the more modern internal joints - a huge improvement visually while the articulation itself is also enhanced. The legs feature hip, thigh and knee joints plus a new ankle rocker, which helps position the Doctor in a stable pose regardless of leg positioning within the confines of the lower part of his coat. The arms now include a shoulder as standard that moves up and outward with a full range of movement, and the elbows now bend and rotate, removing the need for the older problematic bicep swivel. Waist is a ball joint, cleverly disguised around the hem of the trousers, and the neck too is a ball joint fitting allowing more expression intot he Doctor’s head position including the ability to cock his head and look up and down.

I struggle to see an enormous variation in finish from the Vortex release to this standard edition, meaning neither figure stands out against the other, apart from the obvious change of outfit from one episode to another. The decor may be simpler in places, but that still includes a wash over the coat, painted buttons, and a striped design to the shirt - not to mention the painted jewellery across hands and neck. The Doctor even gets his sonic screwdriver, meaning the only piece not carried across is the Villengard Mine as seen in the episode Boom! At £17.99, these are higher in terms of unit price to the various re-releases and tweaks that come through the B&M line and are competitive against the wider collectors market of figures of a similar size and design.

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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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