Review: Doctor Who Character Building Wave 4 - The Eleven Doctors Micro-Figures

Hi everyone! I'm back for another Doctor Who review! Today I'm going to be looking at the 4th wave of the Doctor Who Character Building Micro-Figures, which features all 11 incarnations of the Doctor! Released to coincide with the upcoming 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, these micro-figures are all repaints of those found in the 1st CB Eleven Doctors set, albeit some with minor changes and all with excellent new decos!

I'll be going in numerical order, so I'll start with the First Doctor, as played by William Hartnell!

Searching tip: Feel for the cloak

The First Doctor micro-figure found in the original set featured the character's traditional Edwardian gentleman costume. This version however is much more specific, being based on the Doctor's appearance from stories such as An Unearthly Child and The Tenth Planet. Due to Hartnell's costume very rarely changing, this is one of very few variants that could be made of the First Doctor, but nonetheless it makes a very welcome addition to the collection! I've always been a fan of Hartnell's cloaked costume, especially on the 5" figure, and to own it as a micro-figure is very nice! It looks fantastic next to the original version, as well as among the other ten Doctors and their variants.

Up next is the Second Doctor, as played by Patrick Troughton!

Searching tip: A tricky one, but try feeling for the head & Sonic Screwdriver

The Second Doctor's first release featured his traditional costume. This variant however features quite a drastic change, in that the Second Doctor is jacketless (as seen in stories such as The Wheel in Space). Of the possible variants I think this is an unusual choice, given the popularity of the Second Doctor's fur coat costume, but in saying that it does seem very unique. For such a small figure, there is some very nice detail on the Second Doctor's braces, which include small flower, clover and crescent moon patterns. At this scale I'd have expected them to simply not do this, so props to Character for including this detail! Sadly it does not continue onto the figure's back, but who is going to be looking at his back anyway? Like the original release, the Second Doctor features a small accessory: the very first version of the Sonic Screwdriver! Only in Character Building has this accessory been released, and its nice to know that its being acknowledged! Due to its size, it actually fits in scale very well with the 5" Second Doctor figures, so if you feel inclined you can display him with it! Overall a very nice little micro-figure, its just a shame hes so difficult to find!

Moving on, we have my favourite incarnation of the Doctor! The Third Doctor, as played by Jon Pertwee!

Searching tip: Another tricky one, but try feeling for the head

Character had plenty choices when it came to this variant of the Third Doctor, and the choice they made is his costume from Invasion of the Dinosaurs (minus his cloak). I've always been a fan of this costume for the Third Doctor, so I'm very happy to see it get a release in figure form (although I would still love a 5" version). The detail on the costume is very good, particularly his frilly shirt. He also includes his iconic Sonic Screwdriver, though it is simply coloured silver; unfortunate considering the famous yellow & black stripes of the Third Doctor's Sonic, but forgivable considering it is very small! Being my favourite Doctor, I love this micro-figure, though I have to say that the colour blue seems to be a recurring theme in this wave of micro-figures, as we'll see later!

Next on the list is perhaps the most popular Doctor: the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker!

Searching tip: Feel for the curly hair and the scarf

The Fourth Doctor had quite a few costume variants for Character to base this micro-figure on. As you can see, they went with the costume worn by the Fourth Doctor during his final year (Season 18, The Leisure Hive-Logopolis). Although I am a fan of this costume, I do have to point out one major flaw with this micro-figure: the scarf. During Season 18, the Fourth Doctor wore his scarf with the loop down by his knees, while this figure has the loop of the scarf tight around his neck. This is due to the previous Fourth Doctor micro-figure being based on his Season 13 costume, which featured a shorter, and therefore tighter looped, scarf. I suppose Character simply didn't think it was worth the money to craft a new scarf simply for this release, which is unfortunate considering the popularity of this particular costume. Additionally, the scarf's paint apps on my version of this micro-figure have started to scrape off, so be warned! That being said though, I do still have a fondness for this micro-figure, as I'm a big fan of the Season 18 costume (not so much the season itself mind you, just the costume)! The Fourth Doctor also includes his trusty Sonic Screwdriver, although it remains unpainted and thus is identical to that of the Third Doctor micro-figure. Despite the scarf issue, this is definitely one of my favourite micro-figures from this wave!

Onto the next micro-figure! The Fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison!

Searching tip: Feel for the smooth long hair

The Fifth Doctor's costume only really had two major variants during his tenure. As the first variant (Seasons 19-20) was released in the original set, it makes sense that this release is the second (Season 21)! Aside from the head and Sonic Screwdriver (which is just the same as those previously mentioned), virtually every aspect of this micro-figure is different. The jacket is now a much lighter beige, and the cricket jumper features the much more eye-catching black and red stripe pattern. The legs do not feature the striped pattern seen on the actual costume, but are coloured a very pale red in an attempt to replicate it at such a small scale. The shoes are also a darker shade of cream, although I don't believe the shoes of the actual costume ever changed! Being a much more obvious variant, I definitely recommend you try to seek out this micro-figure! With an extra Sixth Doctor you can even make a custom Caves of Androzani regeneration figure out of it!

Speaking of the Sixth Doctor, played by Colin Baker, he is up next!

Searching tip: Feel for the curly hair and lack of accessories

This was the first micro-figure in this wave that caught my eye! He is such a drastic change from the original variant, being based on the Sixth Doctor's appearance in the online webcast Realtime. As I mentioned, blue seems to be a big theme in this wave, and nowhere is this more obvious than here! Virtually the entire costume is various shades of blue, and its also interesting that the pattern of the costume remains the same as the first, and more recognisable,  release. I do very much like the Realtime costume however, mainly due to it being such a radical departure from the Sixth Doctor's garishly coloured TV costume. No accessories are included with this micro-figure, but it doesn't bother me as I'm happy to see this costume being acknowledged! This micro-figure is well worth looking for, as its a very unique take on this Doctor's costume!

We now come to the Seventh Doctor, as played by Sylvester McCoy!

Searching tip: Feel for the hatted head and the umbrella

The Seventh Doctor's variant is another great departure from his original release. While the version from the original set featured his cream jacket (circa Seasons 24-25), this version features both his brown jacket and his long duffle coat (as seen in The Curse of Fenric). The Curse of Fenric is one of my favourite Doctor Who stories, so naturally I'm very happy to see this variant of the Seventh Doctor! His costume is not 100% accurate, due to the small number of stripes on his jumper, but I don't mind that due to the figure's small size! Accessory-wise he includes his trusty question mark umbrella, but sadly like the Sonic Screwdrivers, it is unpainted. However I'm sure this can be corrected with something as simple as a black Sharpie! A very welcome variant to this line, and I believe one of the rarer figures in this wave! Now can we please have a 5" version of this?!

Now we come to Paul McGann, AKA the Eighth Doctor!

Searching tip: Feel for the dip in the middle of the long hair

The Eighth Doctor sadly only had one TV appearance, so where could Character have possibly found another variant of his costume? In my opinion they did the right thing, and based this micro-figure on his costume from the pages of the Doctor Who comics. Personally I've always preferred the Eighth Doctor's blue coat to his TV costume (there we go with that blue again), and its just generally great to see the comics getting some recognition! I'm sure many people would have wanted to see the Eight Doctor in his dark Eyes costume, but without a newly sculpted head it just wouldn't have looked right! The Sonic Screwdriver is once again included, but guess what? Thats right, it isn't painted! This doesn't detract from the rest of the figure though, I still love it! This is definitely my favourite micro-figure in this wave (so naturally it was the last one I found)!

Time to enter the realms of the New Series! Here is the Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston!

Searching tip: A very tricky one, but try feeling for the smooth head

The Ninth's Doctor's variant is virtually identical to the 5" figure found in the recently released Toys R Us 2 pack that I've previously reviewed. If you've read my review, you'll know my thoughts on this costume variant! While I do like it, it does result in a very dull figure. The use of grey for the jumper instead black does add a tiny bit more visual appeal, but the Ninth Doctor still looks rather dull when compared to the other much more colourful micro-figures in this wave. Another unpainted Sonic Screwdriver is included with this micro-figure, however it is naturally the newer model that was first introduced with this incarnation of the Doctor; something he was never without! The Ninth Doctor may not be my favourite figure in this wave, but I have always been very fond of his character, and he is obviously essential to the completion of this collection!

Time for all the fangirls to rejoice! Its the Tenth Doctor, as played by David Tennant!

Searching tip: Feel for the hair, long coat and Sonic Screwdriver

Again, the Tenth Doctor had a fair few variants of his trademark suit for Character to base this micro-figure on. They kept things simple though, and released him in his brown suit and coat combination. I'm not very fond of the first micro-figure release of the Tenth Doctor, but this one I'm very much a fan of! Compared to the first release, this one seems much brighter due to the lighter shades of brown used. That sound like a silly thing, but it definitely makes this micro-figure superior to his previous release! Once again I have to repeat myself though, due to the inclusion of another unpainted Sonic Screwdriver! Although I'm not to fond of him as a character, I do like the Tenth Doctor as a microfigure! If you find him, you won't be disappointed!

Finally we have the most recent incarnation! The Eleventh Doctor, played by Matt Smith!

Searching tip: Feel for the hair, but he is very common!

The Eleventh Doctor has had four different variants already, so I wasn't exactly thrilled to see that this one would simply be the tweed jacket costume again. However, upon closer inspection I was pleased to see that this is actually an entirely new variant! Obviously it resembles the Mirror newspaper exclusive version with the blue shirt and bow tie, but the jacket is a much lighter brown similar to the CB Series 2 variant. I would have much preferred this variant to be based on the Eleventh Doctor's most recent Series 7 costume rather than the tweed jacket costume, but a new variant is still much better than a straight rerelease! Do I really have to mention the whole unpainted Sonic Screwdriver again? Well its there, albeit its obviously the Eleventh Doctor's Sonic this time! I believe that this microfigure is the most common in the wave, so you'll probably have little trouble finding him! The fact that he is a new variant though means hes a very welcome figure to my collection!

So there you have it for the 4th wave of Doctor Who Character Building microfigures! So it was such a long review! Overall I love these little guys! They are a great bit of 50th anniversary merchandise, a great thing for collectors, and a great way to introduce kids to the older, Classic Doctors! If you can find these anywhere, then definitely pick a few up! Obviously they are blind bagged, so you won't know which one you're getting, but you won't be disappointed when you open them (unless you get a bunch of the same figure, that is)!

I hope you've all enjoyed this review! Feel free to leave you thoughts on these figures, and stay tuned for more Doctor Who reviews in the near future!