i'm writing this series of 3 reviews to give my honest opinions of the 3 baf waves that i have just recieved. these are my experiences and my opinions. others may have better or worse opinions/experiences. my main motivation is to be honest and precise. after writing a review for the torchwood figures, i got the feeling that some people felt i was biased towards character options, and too hard on scifi collector. well, here is my unbiased reviews of character options 3 latest baf waves.
ladies and gentleman, the age of steel.
first a preface. i wasn't going to get this set. i was already spending a ton of money(in my life) on the vespiform wave, and the gelth wave. when it came in, though, i had the urge and had to get it. i have to say that i am a classics fan and a current series fan. some people say they like one or the other, or tolerate one, but i love both. i grew up watching the classics, the black and white reruns, the color shows, up until survival(pbs, what do you mean this is the last doctor who????
) even though for the time being i have more current show figures and accessories, i also love to get anything classic. i have the remote control k-9, which is great. the first classics line which in my opinion is perfect, and even timecrash. and now, all the old cybermen.
this baf set gets a 100/100 score from me. why is this set perfect, you may ask. first, the baf, the cybercontroller is great. it is an additional figure. i don't think's it's as perfect as the k-1 robot was, but it's great. then, there are the 4 figures you get with this set. the only one i think shouldn't have been in this set is the cyberleader from the next doctor. since the other 3 figures are from the classics series, and even the baf is from the classic series, it makes me wonder why they couldn't put another classic in this set, and just release the cyberleader with the regular series figures.
the cybercontroller baf is a little hard to put together. the legs use stiff joints to put on, but at least they won't break. the arms are not quite as stiff, so be carefull putting those on. the head slides right on. the only part of this figure that uses the "cheap" joint(referred to in my gelth and vespiform figure reviews) is the waist. the package says it is only a one time snap on, but mine came out right away(at least it didn't break like the gelth). i put it back on and it was just fine. even if i have to glue his waist on, it shouldn't hurt the figure. it has mobility in the arms and legs, and hands. remember, they cybermen are like the tin man from wizard of oz, not a lot of articulation and mobility. other than that, it's a great sculpt, paint job, little wires, everything.
my first figure review is the tenth planet cyberman. this shows the amount of detail that character options is putting into the classic series. everything from the giant radio on his chest(whatever you want to call it), his human hands, his face, all the wires. everything looks great.
next up, the tomb of the cybermen. this one shows how in just one year the production of the show, and the evolution of the cybermen advanced. this is where the cybermen start losing articulation, but it's also the begining of when they start being more robot and less men. great sculpt, great paint job, all the little wires. i even think the cybermats look good. i was never a big fan of them, so i'm not too picky on their sculpt.
the invasion cyberman is the one i remember. this time they are almost finalizing their classic look. while the first two can almost just be used in first and second doctor figure stories, this one can be used up until the fourth(in my opinion he's close enough). he comes with a rifle which he holds really well(who needs stupid guns attached to the side of their arm?). great sculpt(my ears aren't too big), paint, everything. even when you investigate and find out that they put a jacket on him over the chest base, under the radio thing. that's the attention to detail i like. not a whole lot of articulation, but that's because at this point they are almost to a giant tin can.
the last is the cyberleader from the next doctor. it's the same sculpt from the new series cybermen that we've seen before(it's not the cyberleader sculpt, because it had little rivets where the figure could attach the throne). the new paint job on the face is good. you can see the brain through the face of black. i'm sure it looks just like the show, and is a great addition to the new line of figures. not much articulation, but i think that's good, keeping with the more robot than man.
this, my final review, is my favorite, and i'm so glad i got these. just like the classics line, every figure is a hit, the baf is great. no misses, no major complaints. so far, i've had nothing but joy from the classic series line(side note, i never got the classic daleks, and now i'm wishing i had). i'm a cyber fan, and this range shows how man different revisions they went through over the years. if you're a fan of the classic series, and of the cybermen, get this set. you won't be disapointed. the only thing that makes me sad is thinking of all the money i'm going to be handing over come sdcc time. but so far, they have all been worth it.
