In 2012, Big Chief Studios Ltd (UK) announced the start of a new line of 1:6 scale collectable action figures of The Doctor. These would be high quality replicas, akin to Hot Toys and Sideshow.
The first to be released was the 11th Doctor. This was followed shortly after by his companion, Amy Pond. The next to be released was the 10th Doctor and the 4th Doctor. There was also a 10th Doctor variant on sale at the official Doctor Who anniversary convention in London, sporting his Day of the Doctor attire. The latter is the most exceptionally rare.
Big Chief Studios have recently started taking pre-orders for Sherlock and Watson, as played in the 21st century BBC 1 reworking of Sherlock Holmes by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.
All have been released as 300 quantity signed editions and 1000 quantity unsigned editions. They are identical, with the only difference being one comes with an autographed plaque and the other does not. The 10th Doctor signed edition sold out in 30 minutes of the pre-order webpage going live! Both the 11th Doctor and 4th Doctor signed editions have now sold out, although at the time of typing, Big Chief Studios still had some signed Amy Pond figures in stock.
Additionally, Big Chief Studios have released a more cartoony-looking statue of the 10th Doctor, and a series of 50th anniversary prints.
(In pre-production are a replica of the 1st Doctor, a replica of a Weeping Angel, and accessories packs.)
Although I do not own one of the 11th Doctor figures (although I may at some point purchase one from a seller in Germany who still has some in stock), I did purchase the signed edition of the 4th Doctor and the unsigned edition of the 10th Doctor. And mighty fine they look too! So good are they that I do not want to take them out of their packaging and display them; instead preferring to keep them in their packaging as collectables.
Both come with some of the props that were synonymous with their eras. For instance, the 4th Doctor comes with his hat and scarf, his Sonic Screwdriver, his bag of Jelly Babies, his yellow Lumar Championship Yo-Yo, the Hand of Fear/Eldrad, the Key to Time locator, and the Key to Time itself. The 10th Doctor comes with his signature long coat, his spectacles, his 3-D spectacles, two versions of his Sonic Screwdriver, his Psychic Paper, and his water pistol. Each comes with a light-up base to stand the figures on, alternative hands, spare hand and foot joints, and a hardback cardboard TARDIS console room backdrop.
If there is any justice in this world, I hope they release the 7th Doctor, Ace, Captain Jack Harkness, The War Doctor, the Kandy Man…
* * * * * *
A few years ago, toy company Character Options released a range of 1:6 action figures of the 10th Doctor, the 10th Doctor in his orange spacesuit, Martha Jones, Sister Hame, Dalek Sec (in human-dalek hybrid form), Cybermen, a Clockwork android, and a Judoon. These were within the £20 range. Although cheaper than Big Chief Studios, most were very good for their price! Sadly, the 10th Doctor did not come with his trademark long coat (despite being advertised with it in pre-release publicity photographs), although I did later purchase a couple second-hand that came with high-quality fan-made replica long coats.
Also a few years ago, a collectable dolls company in the USA (whose name I have completely forgotten) released 18 inch tall dolls of the 10th Doctor, Martha Jones, Gwen Cooper, and Captain Jack Harkness. Unfortunately, the likenesses were poor and they did not come with all their trademark accessories. Also, if memory serves me correctly, one had to buy the Doctor’s long coat separately!
In the 1970s, toy company Denys Fisher released a small range of Doctor Who 1:6 scale (approx) action figures of the 4th Doctor, Leela, the K-1 robot (from Robot), a TARDIS, and a Cyberman.
* * * * *
Speaking of collectables, in 2000, I became obsessed with the Nintendo 64 video game “Perfect Dark”. In addition to owning two copies of the game (one to play, the other as a collectable), I bought all the player guides (including the one that came with its own comic), and religiously read the RARE games web site.
A couple of years later, in 2002, Blue Box International (BBI) released 1:6 scale collectable figures of the lead character, Joanna Dark; one in her distinctive blue and silver livery, and another in her leather catsuit. Both came with some of her signature guns and alternate set of hands. I bought two of each, one set for display and the other as collectables. I think they cost approximately £45 each.
I also own two 18 inch tall Captain Jack Sparrow collectable figures, complete with his trademark accessories. These were released in 2004 by NECA. I also have a complete set of the first wave action figures, which were also released in 2003, which includes both Captain Jack variants.
Somewhere in a cupboard at home, I also have a Predator which stands approximately 12 to 18 inches tall. I believe I also have a couple of MacFarlane Predator action figures and a MacFarlane Leatherface action figure in a cupboard at home.
(Do you want to know the difference between adults and children? In relation to toys, adults “collect them” whereas children “play with them”. Or at least that is what us big kids tell ourselves! 37 years old going on 12, me!)
