Just this morning, I finally received the Regeneration Set from Character Options in the mail. As I have each incarnation represented (some, several times over…), I certainly had to get the Fourteenth Doctor played by David Tennant. You’ve probably heard of him — he was the lead in Casanova. He also played the gloomy, unshaven grump in Broadchurch, but I will not hold that against him. I’m sure he’ll do fine in this new role.

Anyway, doubtless you’ve seen the intro video by Al Dewar, showing off the window box and lid containing the finest Doctor Who logo in the show’s history. It’s delightful packaging. But what of the figures themselves?

In this day and age of advanced technology, computer body scanning, etc., there’s no reason for any figure’s likeness to be less than perfect, and this duo doesn’t disappoint as far as the sculpts go. Great marks, as they even add that interesting texture to Tennant’s coat. There’s a wonderful amount of detail on both of these.

As for the paint job, well, I’ve got to say, this is maybe the best version of Jodie they’ve ever put out. I have two others, and although they were okay, some bits, as far as details like her hair, lacked subtlety in the painting. This version is truly lovely. The fact that she’s dressed in an amalgamation of classic Doctor’s clothes is merely a bonus. The details of her hair and face are really quite beautiful. I’m actually stunned that they were able to get these fine details so perfectly and delicately rendered. 10 of 10.

As for Tennant, although the sculpt was spot on, getting the older Tennant’s features right, it’s the paint job which slightly puts off the likeness. Don’t get me wrong — it’s not bad, but I don’t think they took as much care with him as they did with her. I think the main issue was the very slight cross-eyed look he’s got, which is all down to the painting. Again, we’re talking about the smallest of micro-measurements, but when you’re dealing with the eye-line, it’s crucial to get it right. I actually went in with an ultra-fine-point Sharpie and gave the merest whisper of a tiny dot to his outer right eye (on the left as we look at him) and that made a difference. But all in all, a good job. 

I have noticed that Tennant’s never smiling in any of his 5.5 inch scale figures. I kind of wish he were.

It might have helped the sculpting detail. Peter Capaldi had two versions of his head sculpted. The first was for The Time of the Doctor regeneration set. In it, he had a smirk/smile, and it was a great sculpt, with a great paint job. So great, that I ended up buying four or five of those sets, because…

For every subsequent Capaldi figure with his various shirts and outfits, they used a different head sculpt where he was not smiling. The sculpt wasn’t bad at all, but without that smirk adding slight variations in the plateaus of his face, the paint jobs were horrible, and it didn’t even look like him. That’s why I had to get the extra The Time of the Doctor sets; for the heads. Ah well.

I’d say Tennant should maybe try smiling for a sculpt in future, but I highly suspect this is the last Doctor Who action figure mold he’ll be participating in, much like Capaldi.

Bottom line, this is a very well done set, and for those who like C.O.’s Doctor Who figures, I’d say this is a must get.

For my own collection, I’ve got a couple line ups of all the incarnations, so I might have to hope they bring this Fourteenth Doctor one back for the inevitable next regeneration set with Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa. I’m thinking that will be the last time we get such a figure, but at least I’ll have my second Fourteenth. 

Well done again, Character Options!

You can get the Regeneration Set from Character Options right now.