STRETCH GOALS NOW LIVE!
See below for details!
“The TARDIS is under attack by the Doctors’ enemies! Slitheen, Cassandra and Sycorax! But don’t worry, the Doctor can fight them off with his Sonic Screwdriver! Oh no! The Daleks have joined the battle! Time to get out of here…” Doctor Who Toy Advert, 2006
INTRODUCING GO FIGURE!
The ultimate collector’s guide to Character Options’s 5.5” Doctor Who action figures from 2005-2024!
Of all the merchandise launched by Doctor Who’s return to television screens in 2005, Character Options’s 5.5” figure line has been the most popular and enduring – with new releases still exciting collectors after almost two decades. From the original Ninth Doctor Dalek Battle Packs to the most recent online exclusives, the figure range has encompassed characters from across Doctor Who's entire history.
ROUNDEL BOOKS is pleased to present the ultimate collector’s guide to the range, covering more than 600 figures and over 300 distinct characters. With gorgeous new photography and detailed information about each figure, giving you the story of the most successful Doctor Who toy line of all time (and space).
This lavish book explores the range through brand new high-quality photographs by Doctor Who collector and YouTuber 'Stetson Doctor', RICHARD LLOYD, who also provides detailed release information on every figure highlighting the evolution of the range across an 19-year period. Over 50 of these figures are presented alongside their original factory prototypes, giving a unique insight into the production process.
Split across four chapters, covering all the figures released between 2005 - the book's publication in 2024, each chapter features a new introduction from CHRISTOPHER HILL of thespacemuseum.net, providing context and background to the range.
But there's more! Both the Hardback and the Deluxe Edition of Go Figure! also include more than 100 extra pages. These pages are made up of stunning 'mint on card' images, showcasing the figures as they appeared in the original packaging. These photos have been newly taken for the book by Christopher and Richard, highlighting the way the range's packaging has changed over time, providing a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
The remaining extra pages are an extra special treat; the Hardback and Deluxe Editions feature images of prototypes which never made it to release, including 10 fully-painted figures presented as complete turnarounds.
Edited by GARY RUSSELL and designed by WILL BROOKS, Go Figure! is a must-have in any collector’s library.
Richard, Gary and Will discuss the project in the video below;
COVERED UP!
Go Figure! is available in three formats, to suit any collector's budget;
The Softback Edition, just over 300 pages, contains the Figure Catalogue. More than 600 figures, presented with brand new photography and detailed information.
The expanded Hardback Edition includes the Figure Catalogue alongside an additional 100 pages, showcasing hundreds of figures in their original packaging, and turnaround images of unreleased prototypes.
The limited Deluxe Edition contains the same contents as the Hardback Edition, with a unique one-of-a-kind cover, featuring one of ten story-specific 'group shots'. These coveted books will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. The first backer will have their choice from all 10 of the available designs, the second from the remaining 9 and so on.
INCLUDES ACCESSORIES!
Alongside the main book, we’re pleased to present three additional supplements, available starting at the Wave One Tier and above;
- A 24-page, saddle-stitched book covering the 12" and 18” Remote Control Daleks (Available at the Wave One Tier and above).
- A 24-page, saddle-stitched book covering the sonic screwdriver toys, with detailed information provided by CONNOR ALLEN (Available at the Mint on Card Tier and above).
- A 40-page, saddle-stitched book covering the 3.75” figure range, which ran between 2013-2015 (Available at the Mint on Card Tier and above).
ALSO AVAILABLE!
As well as our in-depth publications, backers of the Wave One Tier and above will have access to a whole host of figure related goodies, including:
- A checklist booklet, so you can tick off your figures as you collect.
- A set of 10 Art Cards highlighting fan-favourite episodes with new group shots of their figures!
- A set of 7 postcards, featuring iconic covers from the Target books, recreated with action figures!
- Two A2 posters of the book cover, inspired by the classic Radio Times Tenth Anniversary Doctor Who Special ! One poster features the art from the front cover, while the other depicts the back.
- A set of 8 A4 art cards, featuring turnaround images of unproduced figures, including alternate costumes for the Tenth Doctor and Rose.
- A giant, A1 poster inspired by the classic ‘5” Action Figures, the story so far…’ design.
THE TIERS
There are five tiers at which you can pledge to back Go Figure!
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Softback Edition - £30 - a 300+ page Softback copy of Go Figure!
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Hardback Edition - £50 - a 400+ page Hardback copy of Go Figure!
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Wave One Package - £100 - a Hardback copy of Go Figure!, plus a 24-page Supplement coving the 12" and 18" Remote Control Daleks, 10x Art Cards, featuring Group shots from 'Fan Favourite' episodes, an A2 poster of the book cover, 7x postcards inspired by iconic Target Book covers, and a printed 'With Thanks to...' credit in the book.
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Mint on Card Package - £200 - Everything included in the Wave One Package, plus an additional two supplements covering the Sonic Screwdrivers and 3.75" figures from Character Options, 8x Art Cards featuring unreleased figures, a 56-page checklist book and an A2 poster of the back cover
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Limited Collector's Edition Package - £300 - Only ten of these packages are available! Everything included in the Mint on Card Package, plus an A1 poster inspired by the '5" Figures - The Story So Far...' design, a unique one-of-a-kind cover featuring a 'Fan Favourite' Episode group shot, and your credit in the book printed as a special dedication.
STRETCH GOALS
Our packages are already bursting with goodies, but there’s even more we want to include if we can!
At £21k, we’ll produce a brand new A2 fold-out poster covering the Torchwood figures produced by SciFiCollector! Adding in these figures means that the Go Figure! campaign will include details on the 5” scale figures released for Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood. The poster will be included with all orders at the Wave One tier and above.
At £23k, we can expand the Sonic Screwdriver supplement to include the other ‘role play’ toys produced by Character Options, including Vortex Manipulators, Fob Watches, Voice Changer Helmets and more! All pledges at the Mint on Card and Collector’s Edition tiers will automatically receive the expanded edition. We’ll also produce a special folder to house the supplemental books, keeping them neat and tidy on your shelves!
At £25k, we’ll produce a supplement book covering the Character Building range of construction toys! Available at the Mint on Card and Collector’s Edition tiers, and bringing the total pages across all the supplemental books to well over 100!
At £26k we’re back in our traditional favourite VAM territory. All packages at hardback and above will get a new VAM DVD, featuring GO FIGURE: THE NEW WHO GENERATION. This is a brand new documentary by CONNOR ALLEN looking at the Character Options toys through the eyes of the fans who love them. Touring the country to meet with collectors and fans of the range, Connor will explore their stories and try to uncover just why these toys inspire such devotion and love. Expect a few other little treats in there too. You can find full details for the documentary below!
At £28k, we’ll expand our postcard offerings to include four new designs, recreating iconic Radio Times covers with action figures. These postcards will be added to the Wave One tier and above.
At £30k, we’ll introduce a final supplemental book to the Mint on Card and Collector’s Edition tiers, covering a range of Character Options other Doctor Who products, including Time Squad, Micro Universe and the 10” and 12” figures - and yes, that does include the Slitheen walkie talkie…!
All our backers on the £200 Mint on Card and £300 Limited Collector’s Edition tiers will automatically receive all these stretch goals as achieved at no additional costs.
‘GO FIGURE: The New Who Generation!’
‘Go Figure: The New Who Generation’ is a 60-minute documentary produced by Connor Allen, exploring the impact of the Character Options toy range on a generation of fans who grew up watching Doctor Who after the 2005 revival.
While fans of the classic years had DAPOL, Denys Fisher, Target Books and Dalek Death Ray iced lollies to keep them happy, Millennial and Gen-Z viewers see the CO range as *their* nostalgia, their gateway to specific memories and something to always remind them where they were at a particular moment in the life of both the show and themselves.
This documentary celebrates those 21st century fans and explores why these toys mean so much to them, how it drives their own creativity and what makes the toys, not just the figures, but everything Character Options have released so far, such an intrinsic and powerful passion for them.
Aside from CO’s output, there will also be fond recollections of Doctor Who Adventures, Battles in Time and of course, the legendary Doctor Who Experience, in which writer Joseph Lidster will also talk about the creation of the 2014 attraction.
The documentary features reminiscences and stories from numerous fans, including YouTubers Matthew Toffolo (Batmanmarch), Rees Marshall (GallifreyForever97) and Richard Lloyd (StetsonDoctor), as well as Macauly Cairns, Rebecca Adams, Kieran Highman and many more!
Additional features for the VAM DVD include:
a handful of shorts titled “Figuring It Out” in which past cast and crew members of Doctor Who react to the figures of their eras!
“Go Figure!” Book Trailer
“Go Figure!” Campaign Launch Discussion with Gary Russell, Richard Lloyd and Will Brooks.
THE CREATIVES
RICHARD LLOYD is a Doctor Who collector, writer, photographer and content creator. He is perhaps known for his Doctor Who themed YouTube channel dedicated to the show, which launched in 2014 and now has over 8,500 subscribers. He also writes for WhatCulture.
The Character Options action figures have played a big part in Richard’s collecting journey, from the moment his parents gave him the Utopia Gift Set in 2008. Sixteen years later, those figures of the Tenth Doctor, Martha, Professor Yana and the Master are still proudly on display, surrounded by the latest B&M sets and online exclusives.
Much of Richard’s online content has been inspired by the figure range – from stop motion ‘Figure Adventures’ stories, reviews, unboxings and collection updates on YouTube to an extensive portfolio of photography on Instagram and Twitter/X.
Richard has contributed the majority of photos for Go Figure! and corresponding text for every release.
CHRISTOPHER HILL has been collecting Doctor Who merchandise and related items for the past 53 years. A lifelong collector, Doctor Who became Chris' collecting passion when his dad brought home the first issue of Countdown comic in February 1971. From that point, books, records, magazines, games, and toys - pretty much anything featuring Doctor Who - was added to the collection. Today, the collection comprises around 12,500 items covering the entire history of the show, from the first BBC cast cards released in 1963 to the latest Character Options figure set.
In recent years, Chris has turned to writing about collectibles. He had a regular column when DWAS' TARDIS relaunched and has prepared several articles for Doctor Who Magazine, including authoring the Toy Stories series that appears in the Panini Doctor Who Chronicles. His collection was twice featured in full-length articles in SFX magazine during Doctor Who's 60th anniversary year. He also appears as an in-studio expert in the BBC Studios Doctor Who and the Collectors documentary series appearing on the Doctor Who Collection blu-ray box sets.
WILL BROOKS is a digital artist, who's work has appeared on lots of Doctor Who merchandise, including exclusive products for the Doctor Who Experience and on the covers of many Big Finish audio adventures. From 2015, Will was the resident digital artist for Titan Comics' Doctor Who titles, creating more than 160 covers over a four-year period.
He can distinctly remember picking up the first Character Options wave in the spring of 2006, and changes his answer to 'what's your favourite figure?' on an almost daily basis. Currently, he's enjoying staging a Dalek/Movellan war on the living room carpet.
Will is responsible for the design and layout of Go Figure!, as well as making all the rewards available for supporting the campaign.
GARY RUSSELL is is the Editor for Go Figure!. A writer, producer and director, he will be well-known to many Doctor Who fans having been involved in many different aspects of the series.
Gary's professional association with Doctor Who began when he became Editor of Doctor Who Magazine between 1992 and 1995 and co-founded Big Finish Productions in 1997. After leaving the company in 2006, he became a script editor for Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures after which he was the Executive Producer on many of the animated recreations of classic missing 1960's Doctor Who stories.
The inaugural winner of the Terrance Dicks Award for writing in 2022, Gary has also written scripts for many of the licensed comic ranges including the Eighth Doctor Radio Times strips, the Agent Provocateur arc for IDW Comics and Doctor Who and Torchwood Magazines as well as writing Inferno for Cutaway Comics, successfully funded via their recent Kickstarter.
GARETH KAVANAGH is Publisher and Commissioning Editor for Roundel Books. Gareth created the Cutaway Comics range in 2020 and has overseen the move into large format books. Go Figure! came out of a round of chats at a very busy Capitol convention in 2023, and it's a delight to see it nearing completion.