Post by donlock on Sept 13, 2008 11:04:39 GMT 1
This is probably an item ideally obtained off the shelf or by post. You can thus avoid my experience at Argos where, when my order arrived at the despatch point, the girl shouted out “Number 356, Snot-Taran Strategy Gift Set”. Naturally all eyes in the shop were on me as I went to collect my prize, eager to ascertain what a “Snot-Taran” was and who would buy such a creation!
The set contains four 5” figures, being a Sontaran Trooper, General Staal, Commander Skorr and Donna Noble. Included accessories are two guns, Staal’s swagger stick and two battle helmets (the Trooper comes with helmet permanently moulded in place). Character Options seem to have raised their game once again, as all of the figures and are very nicely modelled and bear a good likeness to the TV characters.
The Packaging
The collector friendly lozenge-shaped box puts in another appearance, with the lid secured by a single strip of Cellotape.
Once removed the figures and accessories, attached to a contoured packing piece, can then be lifted out. A spacer at the rear of the packing piece must be pulled free to access the twist ties; one for each gun and four per figure, secured at calves and elbows. These are easily removed and the figures extracted. The helmets and swagger stick are push-fitted into packaging recesses, with the latter item secured by a small Cellotape strip.
Donna Noble
I wasn’t expecting much from the facial likeness, but it’s not bad actually! Donna is articulated at ankles, knees, hips, waist, wrists, elbows, biceps shoulders and neck. The parka and patterned shift are moulded in soft vinyl. I was impressed with the attention to detail, with her necklace locket being picked out in silver and the chain in gold. The jeans are also done well, with a representation of slight fading at the creases.
The Sontaran Trio
The battle armour is moulded in a light blue metallic colour with dark blue shoulders, neck ring and helmets, and captures the ‘well-‘ard’ look of the full size costumes. The heads for Staal and Skorr are very well modelled, with the two characters being easily distinguishable. The detachable helmets are a good fit onto the neck rings with a little gentle wriggling. Close inspection reveals the battle suits to have been slightly dirtied down, and the guns have dry-brushed weathering to highlight the details. The Sontarans have comparable articulation to Donna, except that there is no neck movement.
So, anything not to like?
No, actually. CO have throttled-back on the weathering and shading of these pieces to good effect. As applied to this set, it enhances the figures rather than detracting from them, as has sometimes been the case in the past. Conceivably some might want to tint or paint black the inside of the clear eye pieces set in Staal’s and Storr’s helmets, and there’s the usual problem trying to get the figures to grip the guns, but I really can’t find anything to gripe about!
Conclusion
I’m really impressed with the Sontaran Stratagem Set. It looks good, the figures are accurate representations, it’s reasonably priced and you can get at the contents without suffering an aneurism. Two Thumbs Up.
As previously mentioned I got my set from Argos. They charge £19.99, but throw in loud, public, misrepresentations of your purchase for free.
The set contains four 5” figures, being a Sontaran Trooper, General Staal, Commander Skorr and Donna Noble. Included accessories are two guns, Staal’s swagger stick and two battle helmets (the Trooper comes with helmet permanently moulded in place). Character Options seem to have raised their game once again, as all of the figures and are very nicely modelled and bear a good likeness to the TV characters.
The Packaging
The collector friendly lozenge-shaped box puts in another appearance, with the lid secured by a single strip of Cellotape.
Once removed the figures and accessories, attached to a contoured packing piece, can then be lifted out. A spacer at the rear of the packing piece must be pulled free to access the twist ties; one for each gun and four per figure, secured at calves and elbows. These are easily removed and the figures extracted. The helmets and swagger stick are push-fitted into packaging recesses, with the latter item secured by a small Cellotape strip.
Donna Noble
I wasn’t expecting much from the facial likeness, but it’s not bad actually! Donna is articulated at ankles, knees, hips, waist, wrists, elbows, biceps shoulders and neck. The parka and patterned shift are moulded in soft vinyl. I was impressed with the attention to detail, with her necklace locket being picked out in silver and the chain in gold. The jeans are also done well, with a representation of slight fading at the creases.
The Sontaran Trio
The battle armour is moulded in a light blue metallic colour with dark blue shoulders, neck ring and helmets, and captures the ‘well-‘ard’ look of the full size costumes. The heads for Staal and Skorr are very well modelled, with the two characters being easily distinguishable. The detachable helmets are a good fit onto the neck rings with a little gentle wriggling. Close inspection reveals the battle suits to have been slightly dirtied down, and the guns have dry-brushed weathering to highlight the details. The Sontarans have comparable articulation to Donna, except that there is no neck movement.
So, anything not to like?
No, actually. CO have throttled-back on the weathering and shading of these pieces to good effect. As applied to this set, it enhances the figures rather than detracting from them, as has sometimes been the case in the past. Conceivably some might want to tint or paint black the inside of the clear eye pieces set in Staal’s and Storr’s helmets, and there’s the usual problem trying to get the figures to grip the guns, but I really can’t find anything to gripe about!
Conclusion
I’m really impressed with the Sontaran Stratagem Set. It looks good, the figures are accurate representations, it’s reasonably priced and you can get at the contents without suffering an aneurism. Two Thumbs Up.
As previously mentioned I got my set from Argos. They charge £19.99, but throw in loud, public, misrepresentations of your purchase for free.
