Found Character Building Figures in Vegas

Remember those new Character Building Figures that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago? Yeah I found 'em in a Las Vegas Target over the holiday weekend. Picked me up one of the two soldiers, the uncommon version. I could feel the gun through the bag.

Nifty hunh.

The Budget Review: Character Building Micro Figure Series 1

Mini-Fig collecting is certainly a more niche field these days, but in contrast to the past, there's quite a few more lines available now than there ever have been. Lately I have been fascinated with the little guys, I suppose Lego's blind packaged figures have really made their impact on me, though I can't say I've been enamored of EVERY one of those figures.

The other day the wife and I were at Target doing grocery shopping, and as I usually do I hit the Trading Card aisle on the way out (because we know there's never any new GI Joes at Target) and I happened upon a new blind-bagged trading figure from our friends at Character Building, you know the folks who do the Doctor Who Construction Kits. Yup, following on the heels of Lego, Mega Blocks and Playmobil, CB is doing blind trading figures.

Here's the cool thing, they're a whopping TWO BUCKS at Target! AND there are three levels of rarity spread over 12 figures. These are perfectly compatible with the Doctor Who figures, as well as the previous Her Majesty's Royal Forces figures. This series is a bit mundane when you look at what's available, but what's here is pretty darn cool. Initially I only bought one figure, but I was drawn back to buy a few more just a few days later. I noticed that they're not available in every Target too, so if you're looking for these make sure to ask for them.

Character Building Micro Figures Series 1 Review

Packaging: 3 of 5

It's a foil wrapper, it's yellow. What more do you need? It's quite eye-catching and it shows off a couple figures. I didn't take a pic.

Instructions: 3 of 5

While what's here is totally adequate, a double-sided full color sheet showing all the figures available, complete with a rarity key, there could have been a BIT more, such as a catalog for their other products which are compatible, but I guess at this price point what you get is what you get.

Sculpt: 4 of 5

Each figure in this series is based on either a male or female buck, and they are different. The female body is slimmer than the male and has bumps in the right places. Take a gander at the female Red Ninja and Amy Pond and you will notice they are the same body, while the Doctor shares his body with the other boys. That's actually a nice touch that Lego and Mega don't usually do. The heads and accessories are the only real unique pieces in the series, and each one is done quite nicely.

I'll say this too, boy that picture makes Amy's head look humongous!

The most interesting aspect of the head sculpts to me is the way they designed the helmeted figures, it appears that they are several pieces sonically welded together, which saves money on paint I suppose. For example the construction worker's head is at least three pieces: the yellow cap, the brown hair and the flesh tone face and neck. The astronaut has his white helmet, a flesh colored face and a very tiny bit of brown hair. The Ninja though is only two pieces as the flesh part of her face is painted on, while the mouth covering is a separate piece.

Decorations: 4 of 5

MOST of the painting is done tampo style and it looks pretty good on these guys. The Astronaut is a real stand-out due to the intricate detailing on the breathing apparatus. Their shoes are painted on, and on a couple of them the paint work is a bit sloppy, but nothing overly terrible.

Accessories: 3 of 5

I admit that I'd like to see a stand with these guys, so that's one point knocked off. The second point is knocked off because not every figure HAS an accessory. There's a cool sword with the Ninja, and a pick-axe with the Construction Worker. The Astronaut gets a backpack, but the race-car driver gets NOTHING. Unless you count the visors on both the Astronaut and the Driver, but I don't. In a series like this, each figure should have SOMETHING extra, but at two bucks I guess we're lucky to get what we get.

Price: 5 of 5

TWO BUCKS A FIGURE! That's downright cheap. Lego figures are MSRP at $2.99, as are the Mega brand lines, and Playmobil is at $3.99, so you're getting a bargain here.

Overall: 4 of 5

Yeah overall I give these guys a 4 out of 5 mostly for the sheer fun factor and the solid price point. Let's face it, these guys are going to end up being different costumes for my Amy and The Doctor mini-figs, and that's fine by me. I've already got a couple of comic strips in mind, but I don't want to spoil them now.



These are being imported into North America by JDNA a Canadian company. I can only hope that in the future maybe I'll see the Doctor Who blind packed figures at Target. I can hope right?


NOTE: These figures were purchased by the reviewer. I am, however, more than happy to review whatever you like if you want to send it to me. Please email me at wmnoe@yahoo.com

Doctor Who Review - Story #1 - "An Unearthly Child"

I know it's been quite a while since I began the "Doctor Who Review" and I realize now that I made a mistake in not starting at the beginning. So I've gone back and that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Airing a mere one day after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the first episode of Doctor Who is entitled "An Unearthly Child" a moniker referring to the Doctor's Grand Daughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford). The show debuts in a junkyard, the "Foreman" junkyard at that, in an eerie scene with only the smallest hint of what's to come. We see a bobby pass by and we pan to a police box. Next we're whisked off to a London school where Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) and Ian Chesterton (William Russell) are discussing the titular lass and how difficult it has been to teach her. Even in this first exchange of dialogue we are treated to the overall arcing themes of the show, as Barbara says:

"She's waiting in one of the classrooms. I'm lending her a book on the French Revolution."

Ian replies "What's she going to do, rewrite it? Oh, all right. What do we do? Ask her point-blank?"

And there we have it, one of the major plot lines that runs through most of the almost 50 years of Who, can time be rewritten, and it's right there, in the initial episode. Either they decided that was going to be a theme early on, OR, more probably, the current writers and producers have watched a lot of old Who.



In any case, the two school teachers decided to follow Susan home after a weird conversation that they have with the 15 year old girl, and discover that she lives IN the Police Box with her Grandfather, the daffy old Doctor (William Hartnell). Soon enough the quartet is inside the box, which Susan informs them all is called the "TARDIS" or Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. In fact, Susan says that she made the name up herself! The old man is incredulous that Susan would bring these two outsiders into their lives, but somehow he understands their curiosity, he explains that he and Susan are aliens from another time and place, and that they have been around a lot longer than humans, but he cannot let them leave knowing what they know, in a panic, somehow the TARDIS is activated and off they go.

As we've discussed already, most of the pre 2005 Doctor Who episodes are multi-part stories, and this first one is no exception. The early episodes are all individually titled though, where later episodes are merely given a single over-all title with part numbers after. Episode 2 of Doctor Who is "The Cave of Skulls", episode 3 is "The Forest of Fear" and episode 4 is "The Firemaker". Once the TARDIS settles on a destination, our intrepid crew discovers that they've gone to prehistoric Earth, year unknown (The Yearometer on the TARDIS doesn't work properly), where they are soon captured by a tribe of cave people who are in search of fire. The next three episodes detail how the Doctor and his companions escape from the tribe and mediate a peace between the different factions of cave-people who then try to kill them.

It's actually pretty tame stuff when you get down to it. There's some caveman on caveman violence, and Ian acts like Prometheus by giving the Cave people fire, but in the end it's a pretty discardable story line. Though I wonder if the setting might be revisited at some point to see what's become of the newly fire-enabled primitives, who happen to speak with perfect British accents.

This first story is stark contrast to the current 11th Doctor episodes, in that there's practically no budget existent early on. Also the Doctor is, well, a dick. He refuses to actually tell Barbara and Ian the full story, and he also refuses to let them go. Of course within a couple of episodes they won't want to go home, but we don't know that quite yet.

Some interesting tidbits to note: there are actually THREE versions of the first 30 minute episode floating about. They're all relatively the same, though the second released version looks quite a bit better than the aired version. There's actually continuity with the aforementioned French book as well, as it will appear in a later episode. The first utterance of the show's title "Doctor Who" is in the second episode (Cave of Skulls), when Ian calls the Doctor "Doctor Foreman" - he replies "Doctor Who?" Since that's the major question going into next season's episodes, it's nice to see it all the way back at the beginning.

In the end while you'd think that the first episode is required viewing, sadly this is not. Other than the opening segment that is. The plot line of the cave people is about as disposable as they are. There's no one really to save, and the universe isn't really in danger at all, neither are our protagonists. Sure the Cave dudes get the drop on the feeble Doctor and his companions, but come on who couldn't outwit CAVEMEN who can't even start a fire. In fact, what the Cavemen call knives, we would call sharp rocks.

Then there's the TARDIS, the police box that's bigger on the inside. In her (yes I'm calling it a HER) first appearance she looks rather new I suppose. The inside is all pristine and smooth, with only a few human touches - such as the velvet chair that Susan spends some time sitting on. The console is familiar in it's hexagonal shape and the center rotor moves up and down in the old familiar fashion. The noises she makes are all very familiar also. And yet, it's not the same TARDIS that we all know and love. Even though we're told later that the Doctor stole her and that when he did she was already outdated and ancient, she looks damn good here. But funny, the Doctor can't really operate her properly, and oh did I mention the chameleon circuit? Well they don't call it that yet, but surely enough when the ship (for the Doctor says bluntly: "I use your own outdated terminology for any craft which does not roll along on wheels") doesn't re-configure itself upon materializing in the past both Susan and the Doctor are befuddled. Susan even points out a couple of her previous incarnations as a Sedan Chair and an Ionic Column. Perhaps the TARDIS is simply upset at the old Doctor for picking up a few more strays.

As the first companions Ian and Barbara are cemented in place in Whovian lore. They're the everyman/woman teachers that the BBC wanted to use as the viewers touchstone when dealing with time-travel. As such they're terribly smart and make good companions in this initial incarnation. Ian even quickly understands that if they're going to get out of trouble they need to rely on the fast-thinking wit of The Doctor. Susan is a bit more difficult to place and understand. While there's no mention of the Time Lords yet (that phrase wouldn't enter the lexicon of Who for a few more years) we have nothing put before us to say that she ISN'T his actual Grand Daughter. Over the years of course we would find out that the Doctor has had a family, but what becomes of Susan after she leaves the TARDIS during the second season (oh damn, Spoilers!) remains somewhat of a mystery. Seems odd that such a close relation would be all but forgotten, but unfortunately she is. Whether she is a Time Lord is also up to debate, as she shows virtually none of the later facets of being a Time-Lord other than traveling in the TARDIS. In the unaired pilot version she claims to be from the 49th Century, but that line is cut from the actual aired broadcast. In the opening episode of this arc she tells Barbara and Ian that she's been on Earth for about five months, and that before that she had a few other adventures with the Doctor.


Should you decide to watch the first Doctor Who story, you can do so right now! The video is available on several sites, though if you try to watch it on YouTube you'll miss the second part of "The Cave of Skulls". I watched most of it Here, and both versions of the pilot are on YouTube. You can also read a transcript of the episode Here.


As to merchandise for the episode, there's of course the First Doctor action figure with TARDIS, featuring his walking stick and funny little cap. A single carded version of the figure was a Forbidden Planet exclusive.

Note that the version of the First Doctor figure in the 10 & 11 figure sets is slightly different (he's wearing different pants), and the Black and White version is also a costume variation that is not on the same model. Character Building also has a version of the First Doctor in their 11 Doctor Set of Micro Figures in Lego Scale. Back when the Role-Playing game was produced there were miniature versions of Hartnell as well.

Other merchandise includes a Target Paperback adaptation written by Terrance Dicks, which I believe is actually still in print, though original copies are readily available for reasonable prices. There's also a comic book adaptation and the obligatory VHS/DVD sets. I'm sure there's more stuff out there, especially vintage pieces such as television guides and other paper ephemera, but after about 40 years the supply of old stuff dries up and becomes much more valuable.

Next time I'll continue the series with the first appearance ever of The Daleks!

Transformers Kre-O Jazz

After getting the Character Building Mini Tardis set in the mail I suddenly had a deep-seeded need to get more Lego and Lego-style mini-figures, so when I saw that Target had a sale on the Transformers Kre-O line of building sets I finally pulled the trigger on one of the small sets - Jazz. I chose him over the similarly priced Mirage because, well I dunno, I liked the colors on Jazz better. I guess I like the character better too, after all his original G1 incarnation was voiced by the legendary Scatman Crothers.

It is interesting to note that this is not the first time that Hasbro has attempted to do building brick versions of Transformers toys, in the early 2000's they came out with a line called "Built-to-Rule" which actually had better transformations between modes. This set, like all the Kre-O sets cannot actually be transformed, you have to take apart the models and put them back together. And then you'll have some parts left over. For the car mode you can practically put a Jazz torso together with the left-over pieces. The robot mode omits the fenders amongst other pieces.

Kre-O Jazz Construction Kit Review

Packaging 4 of 5

I like these boxes, they could be a bit more sturdy, but they are nicely colorful and have all the information that you need to make an informed purchase. They don't lie on the box either, you know right up front that you have your choice of modes and that the product doesn't convert. The side panels are cool as well, one side shows you the actual size of the enclosed "Kreon" figures (the main selling point for me) and the other looks like it could go on a book shelf as part of a collection. There's a gold foil hologram sticker on the front which tells you that this isn't a bootleg toy.

Instructions 3 of 5

I didn't find anything especially exciting about the instruction booklet, other than it's rather thick. Then again it has to be because it has two different modes to help us build. There's the obligatory parts list, and a couple of pictures of other bots available in the line. I would prefer an actual line-wide catalog I suppose, and honestly the instructions are at times rather obtuse.

Construction 4 of 5

In each mode there are pluses and minuses in the construction. Let's start with the vehicle mode since that's what the instructions start with. Originally Jazz alternate mode was a Porsche 935 turbo, here his alt-mode is some sort of boxy car that vaguely has a sports car shape. It's certainly NOT a Porsche. Because of the dual nature of the kit there's an awful lot of parts that in a Lego kit wouldn't really be used. However, it's because of this extraneous piece use that the car itself once finished is a hefty little toy. The real rubber tires roll freely and there's space inside for the driver Kreon figure to sit, he can ever get in the vehicle via the doors or the roof which both open. Articulated "mirrors" on the side are a nice touch, but they'd be better if they articulated from side to side rather than up and down. Also the doors have sort of a "roll cage" effect with a long studded piece on top of the door, making it look rather silly when the doors are actually open.

I definitely like the lines of the front and rear though, and the "Jazz" license plate is a nice touch. The automobile version of this toy is totally the best feature so far.



Once you finish the car mode, you might be tempted to make the robot once. Go ahead and do it, but once you're finished you're going to want to put him right back into a car. Why? Frankly the robot mode stinks. Oh sure, it has a great head, but that's only because the head is a completely separate piece unused by the car mode. It's also made out of a more pliable rubber substance, which provides for better detail and it has two pretty decent paint ops in the eyes and the face.

In fact, the entire torso of the bot isn't bad at all, and the arm articulation is fairly good as well. So why does the figure fail in so many ways? The legs and the hands. Well, more specifically the lack of knee articulation in the legs and the lack of actual hands make this thing look like more of an after-thought rather than an actual toyetic design. It looks to me like the larger kits have better articulation than the smaller kits and also have better designs, so I'll chalk this one up to the size of the kit itself.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the blocks themselves, which STRONGLY resemble the patented LEGO brand, with the exception of a single "dimple" on one of the studs of practically every piece, which while you think might be useful for plugging in the included weapon for the Jazz Kreon, really isn't at all. It reminds me of the original 12" GI Joe's backwards thumbnail and his facial scar, i.e. details included only for legal purposes. The plastic used is nowhere near the quality of LEGO either, while the Character Building set's are really close, Hasbro's attempt isn't much better than their earlier BTR sets. Also the gray pieces tend to show stress lines or other imperfections that are never shown on LEGO pieces. They do fit together nicely though, but I wonder how they will deteriorate over time compared to Lego (though I notice on some of my more recent LEGO kits their plastic isn't always the best).

Decorations: Stickers 2 of 5

I don't like stickers, I don't know of too many LEGO fans who do. The stickers included in this kit are flimsy and hard to put on the toy (well difficult for me with my fat fingers). One of the rear fender stickers even ripped on me as I was pulling it off the sheet. I know it's too expensive at this price point for tampo, but come on Hasbro, step it up!

Figures: 4 of 5

For me the selling point of these toys are the included "Kreon" figures. The little versions of the Autobots and Decepticons are adorably cute and on models for the G1 counterparts. Jazz comes with removable helmet, blaster and wings, while the oddly colored generic human "driver" figure has a ball cap and helmet. While the "kreon" figure works well for the robots, it utterly fails for the humans. The heads are not rounded all the way around, which is fine for a robot, but looks WEIRD on a human. Plus the arms are all the same with huge shoulder pads and forearms, which again work well for robots but look odd for humans. Still it's nice to have two figures on a kit this size, and you can always put your driver into the car and forget about him.

Articulation on these guys is even one step better than the Character Building figures as well, since Kreons actually have ball jointed hips that work well. They also have the waist twist, along with ball jointed shoulders, swivel head and cut wrists. The ONLY drawback on the Jazz figure is that his wings (i.e. the 'doors' from his car mode) are really wide and make him look a bit silly (and also don't let him in the Tardis.)

Price: 5 of 5

I got this kit for just under $10 at Target, which is a great price for 177 pieces and two mini-figs. Considering that similarly sized LEGO kits are between $20 and $30 at retail, that's not bad at all.

Overall 3.5 of 5

Despite the somewhat mediocre overall score (which I average out from the individual scores) I really like this kit, and I'll actually be looking to purchase at least one of the larger kits at some point. Hasbro really needs to take a page from Mega Blocks and Lego and sell the Kreons in blind bags, which if they did they would sell a buttload.


Wow, two posts in two days, I'm on a roll! I even have another post up my sleeve for either later today or tomorrow (saw my first packs of Topps 2011 Baseball Update yesterday, so I have to post on them). Also I have decided to CONTINUE yesterday's comic strip and have constructed a couple of new figures for the ongoing saga

My FIRST Comic Strip

Created using Comic Life, iPhone 3G & Mac Mini.

Click to embiggen.

Character Building Doctor Who Tardis Mini Set Review

Building the Tardis

I think that just about everyone who was born after 1965 has had something or other to do with Lego, either watching their kids play with it, or more than likely, playing with Lego themselves. I wish I could count myself as a first-generation Lego kid, but alas, that's not really the case. Lego has been around since the late 40's, and their iconic construction bricks first appeared in 1964, but I started playing with them in the mid-70's.

Which is all really cool, but this article isn't really about Lego. I will have something on Lego next week, as we are planning our first trip EVER to California Legoland this weekend for Kaylee's 5th birthday, but SHHHH...that's a surprise.

Nope, this article is about the Doctor Who Character Building line of toys, which isn't at all Lego. Though it looks a LOT like Lego, and feels a lot like Lego, it's really not Lego.

That's OK, there's a LOT of brands that are "not Lego." Even back in the day there was Lock Blox and Mega Blocks, which is not really the same brand as the current Megablocks. Today there's dozens of "off-brand" or clone Lego bricks each with varying levels of quality. I've played with quite a few of them over the years, and I've personally invested quite a bit in the Mega Blocks line of Pyrates and Pirates of the Caribbean sets. NOTHING usually compares to Lego. UNTIL TODAY.

Character Options has had the license to create Doctor Who toys since the stalwart BBC series was revived in 2005, creating a vast line of 5" scale figures, role-playing toys and all sorts of toys and ephemera based on the entire realm of Who and isn't slowing down any time soon. This year they decided to try Construction Toys, as the price of plastic seems to be irrecovably tied to the price of oil (gee I wonder why) many toy companies are looking for ways to expand numbers of skus while contracting the amount of plastic involved. Hence, smaller is better. We've seen this before by the way. Part of the popularity of the original Kenner line of Star Wars figures was that they were cheap to produce and to purchase, so kids could have a lot of them. Their sub 4-inch size was 50 to 75% smaller than other popular toyline sizes at the time (Mego's 8-inch line of figures and Hasbro's 12" GI Joes).

The new line of Doctor Who toys is branded "Character Building" which is actually it's own line of toys, as there are Non-Who building sets and figures that are also available (mainly in the UK) that are compatable, so if you really want to build a military UNIT type squad to accompany your Doctor figures, you can. It's quite cool.

Following Lego's massively popular Blind Packed Figure Series the Doctor Who line is available in both set form, and blind packs. Complete with chase figures. Joy. I managed to find the Tardis MIni-Set online for just about $20 shipped. More on that later.

Character Building The Tardis Mini Set Review

Packaging: 4 of 5

The box is nice and sturdy with the current BBC Logos and nice glamour shots of the actual product. The back has a short write up on the series and the TARDIS and introduces the Doctor and Amy. As if you needed that. We're also shown the figure's actual size twice. So that's something.

Instructions: 4 of 5

The booklet is quite nicely illustrated much in the style of current Lego instructions. They pictures are not quite as good though and there are a couple of instances where even an adult might get confused, but for the most part, it's well done. There's also a parts list, but that's about it. There also weren't any other inserts other than two sheets of stickers. I suspect there's only supposed to be one sheet, as you really only need one sheet, but I got two.

Construction: 4 of 5

The TARDIS is a box, let's not forget that, so as such it should be pretty easy to build, and it is. Though there are a couple of tricky spots with the doors (those TEENY TINY prongs that form the hinges are very small and could be easily broken. Plus they are difficult to put in their pegs). Once your doors are in place, you definitely don't want to open them inside (as the Doctor always does) because they're very difficult for big fingers to pull out. The size is also extremely deceptive. This TARDIS is tiny on the outside and inside. The entire height of the box including the light on top isn't much more than 3 1/2 inches tall, and it's barely 2 inches wide. In Lego parlance, it's 6 w x 6 l x 9 t.

The bricks themselves feel very close to Lego plastic and appear to be made with the same or similar quality control. There are a couple of unique pieces that I've not seen made as Lego before (namely the top of the TARDIS , the light bulb and the panels of the Police Box). The model itself is very simply constructed with nothing really difficult about the engineering. It's simple enough to not need any additional tinkering either.

Decorations: Stickers & 'cardboard': 4 of 5

The stickers are well printed, especially the front plaque, but they're still stickers, and for adult fingers they can be a pain to put on. There's also a cardboard insert that goes inside the box which gives the illusion of it being "bigger on the inside". It's a nice piece and doesn't detract from the overall aesthetic, but it can be difficult to get 'just right' in the box.

Size Comparison: Mini-mate, Amy Pond, Toy Story Alien Lego, Musketeer Lego, 11th Doctor

Figures: 5 of 5

Here's where the set really shines, the Amy Pond and 11th Doctor figures are simply superb. They are virtually the same size as Lego, and infinitely more cute. Plus they have slightly better articulation with the addition of a waist swivel that Lego can never duplicate. They're certainly different than Lego as well, they're much more about curves and roundness with sculpted uniqueness rather than uniformity of Lego. The tampo printed torsos are very nicely done on both figures, each depicting very small details such as buttons and belt buckles. The faces are cute as can be as well, with the Doctor showing a smirk that he knows something you don't know. Plus the Doctor has his Sonic Screwdriver. Very cool. The figures can both sit down, Amy isn't even hindered by her vinyl skirt. I'd love to have more 'accessories' but really what do you need besides the screwdriver?

Price: 3 of 5

I purchased this set from Langton Info.com for just over $20 shipped. There isn't anywhere else cheaper on the Net right now. MSRP on this is somewhere between $15.99 and $19.99, which I would consider as pretty pricey. A comparable sized Lego set runs about $12 at retail, and the other clone brands are even cheaper.

Overall: 4 of 5

I LOVE this set, and I was excited to both order it and to receive it. Especially since I ordered it directly from the UK. I don't know if there's any differences between the UK and US versions, I highly doubt there are, but if so, mine's original! Even though I consider it more expensive than it should be, it's still a great small set, and I can't wait to get more. Problem is you can't find these things at retail AT ALL! I would imagine that they were available to Comic Book stores through Diamond Distributors and that at some point they'll be available widely in the US, since they're being advertised on the BBC America broadcasts of new episodes. I sure hope so. I haven't seen the blind package mystery figures yet either.

MORE Adventures in Ebay

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