Earlier today my brother and I were discussing the different versions of the Doctor Who Cybermen and it occurred to me that I haven't ever reviewed the current Cyberman. He's shown up in a few figure reviews, but I haven't actually reviewed him. With new Cybermen on their way, I decided now would be as good a time as any to review the current series Cybermen.


Doctor Who
Cyberman
5 Inch Scale
By: Character Options
2006
$10.00

The Cybermen are some of the oldest Doctor Who villains. Next to the Daleks, they've appeared more times than any other recurring baddies. What makes the Cybermen slightly more interesting than the Daleks is how often their design changes. Additionally, Daleks change their design too, but it's usually not as drastic as the Cybermen's changes. Daleks from the 1960's look relatively the same as the Daleks of today, whereas Cybermen of the 60's don't look like Cybermen of today. This a review of the 5 inch Cyberman of the David Tennant 10th Doctor era.

Packaging:
This is an older figure and comes on a standard bubble card, not a clamshell. The bubble is the Tardis design. It shows off the figure nicely and would be great for MOC collectors as the Tardis shaped bubble stands out. Inside are a few twist ties you have to "delete" before he's free. I should note that the packages say what "Series" this figures are from, but that basically translates into what season of the TV show. So don't go thinking that all the series 2 figures are the second series of figures, they're just figures from the second season.


The front has a nice picture of the Cyberman from the TV series on it. He's got his blaster arm ready to fire. There were two versions of this figure released, the earliest didn't feature the blaster arm and had two open hands. That's a pretty rare figure to find these days.


The back of the package shows off some of the other figures in the series. To signal just how old this series is, it still shows the first Rose figure on it. This version of the Cyberman comes from nearly the inception of the Doctor Who line, although it has been re-released numerous times.

Sculpt:
Although the current design of the Cybermen isn't the most popular, it's probably the most imposing. It looks very realistic and removes a lot of the cheese from the earlier versions. This toy shows off just how good Character Options is at mimicking that on screen look as this Cyberman looks almost as if he's waltzed right out of the television set.


His blaster arm has a nice detail and it's a better look at the blasters than we really have gotten in the show. The elbows even have little bolts on them and all the wires and doodads are present as well. The design itself might be a little dull, but it's well replicated here.


The back features a pretty big copyright stamp, which is a bit of a bummer if you let that sort of thing bother you. Personally it doesn't effect me too much, I'm pretty conditioned to seeing that after years of buying toys in my youth and them all having writing on their butts.


The feet have the steel grooves on the bottom and this guy looks like he weighs a ton. The Cybermen make a lot of noise when they stomp around and I definitely get the feeling that this figure would too. He stands up nice and straight which is a real plus. Only a handful of Doctor Who toys have trouble standing, which seems like a minor thing but you'd be surprised how many toys out there today can't do a basic thing like STAND straight up. It's annoying. Thankfully there's none of that here.

Paint wise he's pretty basic since there isn't a lot of color on a Cyberman. Character Options did do a nice job adding in some dark black wash to give the figure some different highlights. The silver is quite reflective too and that helps different parts look shiny even if they aren't.


A modified version of this figure was released known as the Cyber Controller. He had a see-through head with a brain, a cool throne and a slightly different chest piece. He also came with two regular Cybermen. Perfect for army building.

Articulation:
Doctor Who figures have an ever evolving articulation scheme. Instead of making every figure have the exact same articulation, they basically do things on a case by case basis. As time has went on they've upped the articulation in a lot of basic figures as well. Despite being one of the earliest toys, this guy packs a decent amount of points.


Seeing as how the Cybermen are big metal robots, they aren't intended to have a ton of articulation. The real Cybermen move like big robots, so the toys reflect that. Still you get quite a decent amount of articulation, all things considered.

He has a ball jointed neck, ball jointed shoulders (with somewhat limited movement), elbow hinges, cut wrists, knee hinges, a bit of a cut at the upper torso which allows just the tiniest bit of movement but not enough to seriously consider it a point, ball jointed hips that are very limited and ball jointed feet. Again the feet are a bit limited, but not as bad as some of the others. The ball jointed neck is perhaps the most impressive, as it's actually at the neck instead of the head giving him a more expressive range of movement.

Accessories:
Unfortunately this is where most Doctor Who figures fall short and the Cyberman is definitely one of those instances. The Cyberman comes with nothing. Older series Cybermen usually came with guns, but since this Cyberman's only weapon is attached to his arm, he gets nothing.


Generally I complain about lack of accessories, but I can't think of a single thing that would even make sense for a Cyberman to come with. They don't use anything really. So while it's a bummer value wise, it's pretty logical.



Value:
As an older figure, this guy is a bit cheaper to find. I'd say he runs about $10 and you can even occasionally find these Cybermen in US Toys R Us locations. Not that I would be so lucky, but I have heard of people seeing them at TRU, FYE and a few other spots. Otherwise it's probably best to check online.


Score Recap:
Packaging - 8
Sculpting - 9
Articulation - 6
Accessories - Nothing
Value - 7
Overall - 8 out of 10


There's little for me to complain about with most Doctor Who figures and the Cyberman is another perfect example of this. Certainly you normally want some accessories with a figure at this price point, but there just isn't much the Cyberman can come with. His legs could have a bit more articulation, but he mostly fits the bill of what he's supposed to. Some nice paint shading and a great sculpt makes this guy a solid value and a good buy. Now you just have to start army building. I need like 100 more.