Review: Doctor Who Impossible set

When it was first announced that Character was changing the scale of their Doctor Who figures to 3 3/4" there was panic. Would this render long-time collectors' figures obsolete? What would happen about the new characters? Would we never get 'old scale' figures of new characters such as the 12th (or 14th, depending on your numbering) Doctor and Clara?

Turns out that we collectors are safe. Thanks to Underground Toys the 5" line continues, albeit in a lessened form compared to the 3 3/4" 'main' line. So while we won't get figures of every character in the current series of Doctor Who (Strax, for example, is looking very unlikely) we have at least got Clara and hopes are high for a 'proper' Capaldi Doctor (a regeneration figure is on the way to make do for now).

For some reason UT have decided to go with Clara from her first appearance as...well, a dalek called Oswin. I can only imagine that we can expect Clara in a bunch of other outfits in the future. Unlike the pretty horrendous 3 3/4" Clara, this 5" figure bears a good likeness to the actress. In what I think is a first for the Who line, she comes wearing a rubbery dress, which worries me a tad as rubbery materials aren't famous for their ability to hold up over time. She comes with a single accessory, though one essential to this version of the character: a souffle.

The Doctor comes from his appearance in the 2012 Christmas special (Clara's 2nd appearance, I think). He looks rather grand in his Victorian clothing and it makes a nice change from his usual tweed suit. He comes with his standard sonic screwdriver. A word of warning: one of the Doctor's on the shelf in the shop I bought mine from had a dislocated hand. This isn't something immediately obvious in the box, so I'd ensure you carefully check both figures before purchasing.

The packaging deserves a mention. On one side of the box there's a display of Clara, then turn it round and there's Clara peeking out from within a dalek eyestalk. Nice idea, but I wonder how many shoppers are going to be completely clueless about the inclusion of the second figure while the set is sat on a shelf.

This is a puzzling set. Having both figures come from the Christmas special would surely have made more sense. Or include two different Clara figures, demonstrating her impossible-ness. But having the Doctor from one episode and Clara from another...well, it baffles me. Having said that, both figures are excellent and well worth the purchase. At £30 for the set, the price isn't dreadful either, especially when you compare it to the Ace set released at the same time and the upcoming Regeneration set.