You might recall my recent post where I unboxed the new Fourth Doctor figurine from Robert Harrop Designs, so I won’t recount Harrop’s backstory again here. Suffice to say, it’s a great UK company which sculpts, hand-casts and hand-paints an array of interesting figurines but, naturally, my eye is on its new Doctor Who range which, thus far, comprises a Fourth Doctor and an array of baddies.
Today I’m unboxing a Cyberman figurine, based on the 1975 Tom Baker story, Revenge of the Cybermen. Not a story that sits high on many people’s favourite story list by any means, but a story which I find is still warmly remembered by some fans as it was the first Doctor Who VHS release, back in 1983 (at a hugely inflated price), and one of the first repeated stories they ever saw.
With the tape released again in 1984, 1986 and 1999 (and getting cheaper to buy each time), it’s a story that many Whovians had on their video shelves throughout the 1980s and 1990s. And hey, it’s an early outing for the Tom Baker Doctor and it’s got Cybermen in it so things could be worse.
So what do I make of the Harrop figurine from the story? Let’s get unboxing.
Here’s the outside of the box. Note that, like the Fourth Doctor, this is a series of 750.
On top of the box is a sticker which indicates what number your figurine is. Mine is #138.
Opening the box and here we see the limited edition certificate as well as the display tag.
Cracking open the packaging and the first thing I noticed was the angle of the figure sitting there in the foam, to accommodate the fact it has quite an animated pose (for a Cyberman!)
Free of the confines of his foam and cardboard cell, this Cyberman is ready to cause havoc!
Sideview, showing more of that classic 1970s Cyberman pose. I really like how they’ve done it.
And my traditional back shot, so you can see all the detail that’s been included in this release.
Underneath and, like the Fourth Doctor figurine, another sticker with hand-numbering on it.
And now in comparison to my hand to show that these aren’t small “action figure size” figurines. They’re even bigger than the popular 5″ range of classic era Doctor Who toys.
All up, I really like this figure. As you can see in the images, it has a “rough” texture and that’s because this is a proper hand-sculpted, hand-cast, hand-painted collectible. Yes, I daresay it’s easier to do a 3D scan and produce something in super smooth, mass-produced plastic… but that would be missing the point of what these figurines are. They’re not toys. They’re proper collectibles of the kind I’ve long wanted to see for Doctor Who — especially characters from classic era Doctor Who.
Would you like one? Harrop sells them for £50 and have really good postage rates. Airmail from the UK to Australia, for example, cost me £5. Remember, these are a limited edition and, I dare say there will be more than 750 Cyberman fans out there who would be happy to drop £50 on one.