The Judoon Captain, complete with her mohawk, was first seen in the Doctor Who Series 12 episode Fugitive of the Judoon. The figure was announced shortly after, and was released in March 2020 along with 3 other single packed figures of the Recon Dalek, 13th Doctor and Graham O'Brien.
Packaging 3/5
The 2020 single figures comes with new packaging, albeit using the same design principles and colours as the more recent B&M releases. We have a shaped blister card with the new series Doctor Who logo atop. The backing for the figure is the grey lined artwork of the TARDIS and this wraps around the right hand of the blister. Like the Dalek, the Judoon blister is deeper than other figures and therefore we get to see the double doors of the TARDIS in this side insert along with the blue call for assistance panel.
The character name is also wrapped inside the blister at the base of the figure and names the figure as Judoon Captain. There is no episode sub heading, instead the sub heading is "Action Figure (5.5"/14cm Scale"). There is a red insert above the character name that confirms the figure comes with a pistol, reader and translator accessories.
The back of the card carries no bio's or story details or text of any kind. Instead we get a checklist of the other releases in the wave via images of each of them - and a look at the 13th Doctor TARDIS that has been released at the same time.
Paint & Sculpt 4/5
This is the same Judoon Captain figure we first saw way back in 2006. There are of course updates, with the mohawk added to the figures head. The chest piece, which was designed to be swapped out back in 2006, has been updated too with a revised chest socket for the translator.
The Judoon Captain sculpt was always a good recreation of the on screen prop with the ridged skin of a rhino and that snarling mouth. The 2020 releases reverts to the lighter skin tone of the 2006 original figure and not the darker shades of the later re-releases. The horn and hair are painted neatly as is the figures left eye - the right being plain white, which some may think is a paint error but is actually replicating the scarring as seen in the episode. The scar itself, which was quite small, has not been painted in.
The outfit, with the updated chest, is cast in black with paint app applied around the collar and the belts and straps. This silver paint application is very detailed with rivets picked out on the armour and skirt section and straps around the belts, wrists and boots.
The figure retains the holster and the sockets on the belt to hold the translator and reader accessories.
Accessories 3/5
The figure comes with three accessories, although two are not initially obvious as they are packed attached to the figure. The one that is obvious is the pistol which is packed separately in the blister It is cast in red plastic with a touch of black paint on the grip. It is the same sculpt as the original figure and remains accurate to the episode, although the Judoon Troopers did use a revised rifle type weapon.
The pistol will slot into the Judoon's right hand and when not in use can be seated in the holster on the right side of the belt.
The other two accessories are plugged into the Judoon belt - these are the translator and the reader. Both are quite small and come with plugs on the side so they slot into the belt. Their colouring is silver, with some purple paint applied - albeit not overly neatly due to the scale.
These fit into either hand for posing and they both fit into the figures chest piece as their ends are shaped to fit into the oval socket on the chest.
Articulation 3/5
In line with the rest of the long running 5.5 inch Doctor Who line, the Judoon Captain has the basic level of articulation as has been the norm for a number of years with 15 points of articulation in total.
Head : nil
Body : waist swivel
Arms : peg shoulder, bicep swivel, single elbow joint, wrist swivel
Legs : T-Joint hip, thigh swivel, single joint knee
Due to the size and shape the head is not articulated. The body can be rotated at the waist. The arms work only in one direction and can't be moved outward from the body. You can use the bicep swivel to create outward movement for the lower arms.
The legs are hidden behind the skirt area, so you wont use them much. The knees can be bent to kneel and the hips to sit, but the skirt prevents this. The figure stands fine on its own, with no ankle rockers to speak of.
Summary
The Judoon Captain may be a re-release with tweaks, it is a figure tha makes sense in terms of its appearance in Season 12 and sufficient adjustments have been made to make it episode specific, particularly when the chest piece could have been ignored by Character and left as per the original release.
The packaging is good, but a blister pack does pose an issue for those who may want to open and then repack. It also has weak glue on the hanging tab and anyone hanging this up on display will want to keep an eye on this adhesion.
The sculpt, even though it is 14 years old, remains strong. And it is good to see that the Character team re remaining consistent to the scale, look and feel of the Who figures and not making big changes even though we have been running for over 15 years and seen big strides forward in action figure technology.
I score the new 2020 Judoon Captain a 3 out of 5.
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 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...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, doctor who, dr who, dalek, judoon, TARDIS, 13th doctor, character, toys, options
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