Character Toys revealed their 2022 Doctor Who Exclusive early in February, a new three-pack of Silurians as seen in the 1984 story 'Warriors of the Deep'. The set saw the debut of the Silurians to the long-running Doctor Who line and opens up the potential for future uses for these iconic creatures.
The set is packed in the same design of the packaging as the B&M exclusive line featuring a dark blue border and light silver panels with TARDIS artwork. The box is the same width and height as a standard 3-pack but is quite a bit deeper, more in keeping with the Dalek sets. As opposed to the gold foil 'limited edition' stickers we find at B&M, Character has added a built-in gold circle to the box that confirms this as a Character Toys exclusive. The positioning of the figures in the box is a little odd with the left-hand figure turned completely on his side and the right-hand Silurian facing away from his compatriots.
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The front of the box carries the Set name, 'Warriors of the Deep (1984)' with the Silurians themselves not namechecked as a species, until the back of the box. We do get a circle on the right-hand side of the pack that details the names of each Silurian; Icthar, Tarpok, and Scibus.
As we've seen with other sets, but not normally on 3-packs, the rear of the box is turned over to an extensive text write-up of the story from 1984, details on the Silurians themselves, and some behind the scenes information. As always there is a school of thought that this goes into too much detail - but it does demonstrate the Character Toys team's passion for Doctor Who, and particularly the Classic era.
As you open the box the reason for the depth of the packaging becomes apparent. Housing the internal plastic tray is a four-sided cardboard insert of the Silurian Cruiser as seen in The Warriors of the Deep. Unlike usual cardboard backing pieces, this one is almost 3D in execution with a section added with oval windows, beyond which we can see Sea Base 4. It is a nice touch and with some work could be utilised on display with your figures.
The figures themselves are tied in with white paper ties that do look a little unsightly for boxed collectors. Considering the pack is exclusive and shipped direct, theft is not really a risk and the white ties could have been dropped to aid the aesthetics.
The Silurians stand 6-inches high out of the box which does give them a bit of height over other figures which is appropriate for their stature. They are cast in a light brown plastic which includes sculpted texture including some scaled areas and some folded skin areas as we would expect from lizard-like creatures. The body is painted over with a brown wash in varying intensity, bringing out the details of the sculpt and creating a more realistic look to the skin.
The central torso carapace is a lighter sand-coloured plastic and is treated like a shell complete with the ridged section around the back. Like the body, there is a slightly darker wash applied for added realism and to match the weathered and worn look we see on screen. The final detail for the body is the grey communications device on the left forearm. It is sculpted as part of the arm and painted over in grey, with green panels and a silver drybrush.
The head sculpt is detailed and a good match to the 1984 prop, as we have come to expect from the Affable Design Company who handled the digital sculpt. It uses both the brown wash and a grey tone over the scaled cheeks. The eyes are painted in silver with black pupils - and the 3rd eye on the top of their head is picked out in black for two of the Silurians (Scibus and Tarpok).
While the promo blurb that announced the set talked about variances in paint jobs for the different Silurians, this is not really evident. All three share the same body and head sculpt and the only thing that changes is the 3rd eye - painted black on two figures, and red on the third who we assume is the leader, Icthar.
There is no issue with this level of re-use as the props themselves in 1984 were all pretty similar. Character could have left the names off the pack and called it a Silurian Army Builder pack and we would still have bought it.
The Silurian sculpt is not entirely new as the figure borrows parts, appropriately, from the original 2008 Sea Devil figure. The legs and upper arms are all taken from the Sea Devil's body while the feet and lower arms & hands look to be new.
The torso section is a full new piece with the Sea Devil lower legs plugging into it and the head and neck piece dropping into the shaped socket at the top of the torso.
Please accept our apologies for the images of a nude Sea Devil used for comparison
Articulation on the Silurian is comparable to any other Character Doctor Who figures with the pinned joints remaining consistent with all the other Who figures, meaning the Silurians slot seamlessly into a collection and do not look out of place with any figures released across the 14-year history of the line.
The Silurians have 15 points of articulation and this includes the pivot shoulder so the arms can be moved outward from the body and not restricted to rotating in one direction. The figure does miss out on a neck joint due to the Silurian head design, and the waist is held back to just a small range of rotation due to the shape of the shell section.
Because the feet are new, there is an added ankle joint which does help in balancing the figure not only in neutral poses but also in some more dynamic stances.
On our review set (purchased directly with Character) there was some splitting on the elbow joints, and one of the Silurians thigh joint was loose and with quite a large gap.
The Warriors of the Deep Collectors Set is arguably one of the more important sets of the recent era. It moves the range well away from re-uses and the odd resculpted head or hands to a brand new creature body and head that could well have uses in future sets either direct from Character or in the B&M line. While this is the only way to get the 1984 Silurians, it would be highly likely that we may see the body used again for the original 1970 Silurians in a 3rd Doctor era set. I have zero inside knowledge but if we stick a 3rd Doctor head on a Spearhead from Space Auton body then we could have a decent 'Cave Explorer' Doctor to pack alongside two Silurians...
The set is more expensive than the B&M counterparts, but still works out at £10 a figure which is good value in the current action figure market. It may be the same figure, but if that is what makes these sorts of sets viable then I am all for it. How great is it to have a classic era Silurian on the shelf and how great is the continual commitment from Al Dewar and Character to make these sets a reality.
The Warriors of the Deep is limited to 3000 units, and once it has gone it's gone. So if the Silurians are required for your Doctor Who display, do not hesitate and head over to Character to order today.
Click Here to buy the set directly from Character Toys
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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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