This figure was a long time coming. When characters from the eleventh Doctor’s (Matt Smith) run on the show made their way to plastic, we got the Doctor and Amy Pond right away, but it took considerably longer to get Rory, Amy’s fiance/husband/the Doctor’s second key companion. So for what felt like an eternity, we had that gaping hole on our shelves where Rory should have been. Many collectors filled that gap with the Roman soldier that was part of the Pandorica wave, but that wasn’t a very satisfying place holder because it really didn’t look like Rory even though he did wear that getup for a bit. It began to look less and less likely that we’d actually get a Rory because, let’s face it, not every character makes its way to figure form as per Character Options’ MO. But Rory was a pretty major character, right? They simply had to make him, right?
Right. When Rory was finally announced, a collective “FINALLY!” could be heard across Who-dom. And it actually looked to be a pretty solid version of Rory to boot. Now, Rory had a lot of looks throughout his tenure on the show, so as far as “iconic” looks go, that is something that’s highly debatable. I would have liked him in his medical assistant scrubs first, but what we got was just generic enough to work for almost any collection.
Adding him to my shelves proved to be a bit bittersweet because he’s likely to be the last “new” figure I’ll pick up for my collection of 5-inch Doctor Who figures. The line is transitioning to the 3 3/4-inch scale later this year, so aside from an older figure here and there, Rory basically completes my collection. And I hate that. But the good news is my collection is loaded with holes, so I can still build my collection; I’ll just have to spend more time on eBay is all.
The figure itself is remarkable in the way that it is totally not remarkable at all. This is not a figure that’s going to leap from your shelves and demand your attention, but it is a decent likeness of the character and it just plain feels good to add him to the display next to Amy and the Doctor. And that’s really the appeal of these figures — it’s a tangible representation of the emotional connection we have to the show and the characters. They’re not great figures, but they don’t have to be; they just need to be a reasonable representation of their respective characters and our needs are basically met as a result.
It’s a great sculpt, but the Doctor Who figures have always been lacking in the articulation department. What we get is very basic and doesn’t really allow the figures to get in many dynamic action poses. There really isn’t much you can do with them aside from very vanilla poses. I’m basically fine with that, however, because when it comes to Doctor Who figures, I mainly like to just pose them around the TARDIS, and over the years I’ve learned what to expect from a Doctor Who figure, so it feels like Rory fits right in.
Since this is the only version of Rory we’re going to get in the five-inch scale, aside from a repaint or two, this feels like a good choice in terms of possible versions. Sure, I’d love a Roman soldier Rory or a nurse Rory, but this version displays well with either Amy Pond we got, not to mention the Doctor and River Song. I really feel a sense of “completeness” now that I’ve added Rory to my collection, so it would have been a crime for Character Options to not release him, so I’m very happy they finally got around to it.
I can’t tell you how nice it was to snap these pics and have the gang all together. Rory is something that’s been missing for years, so I couldn’t be happier to add him to the display. And I can’t believe how long it took me to finally get around to buying him! He’s been out for months, but most of my usual shops sold out right away, so I missed the opportunity to put in a preorder. Amazon still has him in stock, so I ordered one through them, but I ended up getting a damaged one. Ugh. But then I happened to find him at my local comic shop (Things From Another World in Portland), so I snatched him right up.
If you’re even the most casual Doctor Who collector, then Rory is a must.
