Doctor Who Classics: Figures we'd Like to See - Monsters and Villains - Part One: The Sixties

“There will never be a single carded Dalek”. “There will never be Classic Doctor Who figures”. “You’ll never see classic companions or Delgdo and Ainley, too many likeness issues”. Obviously these are paraphrases of just some of the statements made by Character and co since 2006, but now we are in 2013 and we have at least two variants of each of the eight classic Doctors. We have four different classic companions, each with their own variants and that’s not even including the Brigadier and his variants. We have two variants of Roger Delgado and also an Antony Ainley Master. Heck, we even have a figure of Count Scarlioni and in October we’ll have Marcus Scarman. Marcus Scarman. That is still surreal. Despite the fact that some of Character’s statements have since been proved invalid, there are of course certain figures we know won’t be made. Then again I had never contemplated a Marcus Scarman figure, but hey here he comes and that’s brilliant! That’s what makes collecting the Doctor Who Classic range so fun, surprises like that! (For those going “Who is Marcus Scarman?” I say “shame on you!  Go and watch Pyramids of Mars! Shame on you for having not seen it, it’s one of the, if not the best, episode of Doctor Who ever!”)

But there are gaps! Gaps where there should be no gaps! Monsters, villains and companions aching to be made into fully articulated 5” plastic loveliness!  Now I know there’s the “But so and so wouldn’t appeal to kids”, which is true. Hell, even I look at Katarina and Dodo and think “Meh”. But I honestly believe that there are monsters from the classics that are so darned cool that any child with half a brain cell would go “That would be really fun to play with my Eleventh Doctor!”

So this new feature will be a rundown of monsters/villains that I would like to see released, and where possible give an explanation as to how they could be released following the variant/re-release pattern Underground Toys utilises to pay for these sculpts. Obviously there are some that I won’t be able to do that and where this happens I’ll state “Never gonna happen”. But please join me over the next few weeks as I journey through a carnival of monsters from different eras of Doctor Who.

(Oh and for those wondering about companions and Doctor variants, well maybe I’ll do that another time.)

The Sixties

Daleks and Cybermen… that’s about it for the Sixties on our shelves. Hit hard because “Kids have no interest in black and white”, there are a plethora of creatures that are visually interesting or so iconic that they should have figures! So let’s go take a look!

Yeti
So we’ve been told it will not be released because it’s too expensive to produce. Now I assume that’s down to licensing issues with the writers who, from what I hear, have a tight hold on their furry creations. Probably why Big Finish have never used them either. But they NEED a figure! NEED it! They are so iconic! I’m sure kids would love them too, especially if they know the Yeti are linked to the Great Intelligence! “I can use that with my eleventh Doctor!” they’ll cry! Both variants would be nice, but a ‘Web of Fear’ version is preferred if they only released one.

Menoptra, Zarbi, Venom Grubs
Now I have no particular fondness for ‘The Web Planet’, but I would buy a set with this lot in a heartbeat! Think about how amazing these would look on the shelf! They’re giant bugs! Kids love creepy crawlies! What’s not to like here? The yellow of the Menoptra would really pop on the shelf alongside the sea of silver Daleks. The Menoptra could easily use a solid rotocast body and just head, arm and wing articulation. The Zarbi too could be rotocast, just with solid legs to support the weight. Using the rotocast technique would be an easy way to keep costs low. A rotocast Venom Grub would also be a neat accessory with no articulation at all. They could even repackage the Menoptra later down the line with chopped off wings as per the story. Maybe even an Optra would be possible at some point. Repaint and slightly retool the ‘An Unearthly Child’ Hartnell and you have a nice Vortis Doctor to go with them. Definitely a set of figures that need to be made!

Monoid
I would love this figure. If there is one monster from the Hartnell era I could have it would be this. I’m a big fan of the story and I think the Monoids are wonderfully bizarre! A cycloptic reptilian-humanoid sporting a Beatles haircut. Package it with a gun and a set of interchangeable number decals for their voice collars so we can army build a few.






Ice Lord
A few steps down the list, yes, but only because I’d rather see a few unique monsters before a member of a race we already have. This is an obvious one for its pure retool/re-release potential. Change the helmet, add a cape and belt and you have Izzlyr. Repaint that and change the cape and you have Azaxyr! That’s three sets! I’ll go into more detail about what the other two could be released with in Part Two, but retool the Ice Warrior to match their appearance in ‘The Seeds of Death’ and you're sorted.






Sensorite
I’ve always been a fan of this story (even if it does drag a bit) and a Sensorite would be nice to stick with Hartnell or even their interplanetary cousins, the Ood! One sculpt could be used to release the figure twice, one or two normal and another with a black sash signalling their leadership.

Koquillion
So not a monster, but a villain with a monstrous visage that I think would be the selling point. Just look at that spiny spikey face! It’s just… weird and horrifying! ‘The Rescue’ has a bit of a place in my heart as it’s one of the first Hartnell stories I saw as a child and I thought it was a nice little two-parter. It would be nice to see him released with his claw-spanner-weapon-thingy, but I would forgive them if they didn’t allow the mask to be removed to reveal Bennett beneath in a Scooby-Doo fashion, or if it was an interchangeable head. Stick him with Vicki or Sandy the sand beast!






Macra
We’ve had a glove puppet Drashig and massive Fendahleen, so why not a Macra? A large rotocast crab shouldn’t be too much of an issue, and the fact they made a sort-of appearance in the new series could only be a benefit!

The Meddling Monk
It will never ever ever ever happen. But he is such a charming rascally rogue that he should have a figure. Stick him with a re-release of Vicki or a Dalek!

The Celestial Toymaker
Never happen, but it should. A one off appearance on TV, but the character has had a lasting legacy. Stick him with the toy Robot in rotocast form, that would be fun!

The Voord
Okay, so they’re just guys in scuba suits with odd shaped heads but I think they still deserve a place in toy form. They got a fair bit of coverage back in the day, along with the Zarbi, and of course they were reimagined in that odd comic where they turned out to be ancestors of the Cybermen… yeah don’t ask. Give it a knife and package it with a Susan for him to terrorise before falling into a pit of acid! They could even retool the figure with a cloak a la ‘The Daemons’ Master for a Voord in disguise as Arbitan!








White Robot and Toy Soldier
Another fun one! A funky design, but I’m not sure if an all-white figure would be too interesting to younger buyers. A toy soldier would also be a nice one to add to the mix. Make it rotocast because they can barely move in the story and the limited articulation would work in this figure's favour.

Kroton
I'm not a fan of this story at all, but a couple of Krotons would look pretty funky on the shelves! Again, the rotocast method would be a fine option here as they have no legs and are pretty blocky looking. Artistic license should be made so that the toy counterpart can hold the weapon with ease.

Quark
Another one that will never happen. Licensing issues with the writers (the same writers as the Yeti creators) means that these little guys are in limbo. Despite being from a story I don't like, they were a big part of the Troughton comics and featured regularly. Plus they'd make cute little toys!

War Machine
A block of hollow plastic with the only articulation being the hammer arms and the radar dish. Not on the top of my list but certainly would be cool. Again, interchangeable number decals so we can army build.






Mavic Chen and the Alien Delegates – Mission to the Unknown/ The Dalek Masterplan
Again, it’ll never happen. But they are such a visually interesting bunch that they’d make awesome toys! Now I know their appearances alter between stories and individual episodes but that’s not a problem, just mix it up.











I’ve added Mavic Chen to this one simply because he’s got no chance either, but he’s such a charismatic nut job played wonderfully by the late Kevin Stoney that in an ideal world he’d be an action figure. If the Editor can get a figure, then Chen should!

Chameleon
Not one I’m overly fussed about, but it would still be nice to add some variety to the earlier part of the Troughton shelf. Very unlikely to happen given the missing nature of the majority of this story, but stick it with Jamie, or Ben and/or Polly and it could be a nice little set.




The Slyher
Again, not too fussed, but it would make a nice rotocast figure and I am sure the folks at Designworks Windsor could add some creative license to make this particular monster look scarier than it really is. Package it with an Invasion of Earth Drone and a Roboman.

Cyberman - Wheel in Space
"What!?" I hear you cry! "Why so low?" Well it's because I'm bored to buggery of Daleks and Cybermen! Even if they are my favourite foe! In fact I wasn't going to stick this one on the list, but it's the last real variant and we know one has been sculpted. Put us out of our misery and get this one on the toy shelves!

EDIT: 

Thanks to TheObsessedWhovian95 for bringing two key characters to my attention! So here they are: 

Emperor Dalek

This one has done the rounds a lot. Are they? Aren't they? Well, no they aren't. Apparently such a figure has never been in development, but we have to ask ourselves why not? Look at it! It's a great design and it only requires articulation at the head and eye stalk. An easy rotocast for sure. Another must have! 

Tobias Vaughn

How did I forget him when I listed Mavic Chen! The wonderful Kevin Stoney (thanks to all who pointed out my dippy mistake of putting Kevin Spacey!) oozes with charm in this role. An easy reuse of Primeval's suited figure with a bit of tooling here and there. Stick him with a Cyberman or even a Cyber Director! 

So that’s the Sixties! Let me know if you agree! If there is something I have missed and you think it should be made into an action figure, post below! See you next week when I delve into the monsters and villains of the Seventies!