A Rose by Any Other Name…
I was very much on-the-fence about the newest Doctor Who Companion Martha Jones. Her character was certainly engaging, capable, attractive, and dynamic. However, there was something about Martha that bugged me. I finally realized that the problem was her puppy-love for the Doctor and his constant dismissal of her. The Doctor and his companion should be best friends facing life and death together. The best duos always have; Tom Baker and Lis Sladen, Jon Pertwee and Jo Grant, Patrick Troughton and Jamie. Martha, by the end of series three, finally came into her own as a character and still has great untapped potential. With her interesting character growth I found myself eager to get the Martha action figures. Character Options has released 5 inch and 12 inch versions. This week’s review unveils the 12 inch Martha.
SCULPT – I like this Martha sculpt a lot. The likeness is not 100% dead-on, but resembles Freema Agyeman reasonably well. The hair style, I must confess, resembles a chicken’s head somewhat, but it does on the real Freema as well. So, CO gets extra points for quite accurately sculpting old chicken head Martha. The hands are rather simple sculpts with a youthful smoothness (i.e. no veins). There are rings sculpted on several fingers, which adds some character to the character…The top of the hair (chicken part) looks to be a separate piece that has been glued on. A pink and silver speckled hair band is sculpted up there as well. In a way the head band looks rather like a bunch of lady bugs roosting. CO is famous for covering screws on their figures with plugs. Martha's back is no exception. Luckily, Martha wears more clothes than say...Peri.
ACCESSORIES – None unless you count the removable costume. It consists of blue jeans, maroon shirt, and maroon "leather" jacket. The jacket is very well made and does not restrict movements much at all. Martha’s shoes are molded on and are not removable, though. I generally hate non-removable shoes on a figure – it’s the perfectionist in me (or more likely it adds to the customizability of a figure). The jeans are low riders and when Martha runs around your custom 1/6 TARDIS shirtless (and you collectors who will do this know who you are….) her “panties” will be seen above the waistband of her pants. The shirt hides the visible panty line normally, though. The jacket, shirt, ans jeans all feature that famous Velcro closure toy companies just love these days. It works fine, but I really hate Velcro on 1/6 figures because it adds bulk to the costumes.
PAINT – The face paint is simple – some have complained too simple. It should be noted, however, that Martha does have less lip paint than many male figures on the market. The makeup on the face is sparse and this may be an intentional choice by CO to make Martha an "action figure" and not a "doll." I have a feeling this relates to the old machismo programming that “boys don’t play with dolls.” The rings on the fingers are adequately painted silver as are the molded (to the head) earrings. I didn’t find any paint slop on my Martha at all. Although, the rings could be a problem for the child slave labor…er, I mean, “youthful, well-paid employees”…who may have shaky hands with a paint brush.
ARTICULATION/ACTION FEATURES – CO has created a really nice 1/6 female body for Martha. The joints are really nice and tight too. This body actually rivals CY Girls in terms of sculpting and breast size (no “Dolly Partons” on this Martha, thankfully). I really like this body as it’s shorter than 1/6 male bodies (as it should be – women are “supposed” to be shorter than their men folk!). Martha looks great next to the CO Doctor Who figure. The only oddity is that the biceps appear to be sculpted so that when turned to match up evenly (at the cut joint) the elbows are the wrong place facing sideways. Under the leather jacket it’s not noticeable, but without the jacket the bicep joints are out of alignment. Martha’s pelvis has been painted black to simulate sexy black granny panties. Martha definitely should be opened from her box, or at least have her neck restraint (i.e. twist-tie) removed because it's so tight it digs into her neck. My Martha has a permanent groove from the stupid twist tie. I’ve never understood the need to tie figures in boxes with 27+ different twist ties. Next to molded shoes and Velcro twist ties are the most evil invention in the twentieth century. Totally evil!
RATING – 10 out of 10. I really like this Martha figure. It has some flaws, but they are nothing compared to the average Sideshow figure that always has 12 things off. In fact, CO’s 1/6 Martha rivals any female figure on the market. Of course, I could be seeing Martha (now one of my favorite companions) through Rose-colored glasses (not THAT Rose). A friend of mine summed up Martha simply; “To be nit-picky though, her skin is too light and barely looks black, her make-up is barely applied (she always seems glammed up to me on the show) and her eye lashes are barely on, and her being sculpted smiling like in her more famous press photos ruins my displays of her being threatened, dammit! Neutral or grim, please!!!”
Where to Buy - WhoNA and Alien Entertainment both have Martha for $29.95.
