How Very Ood!
I’ve come to believe there’s a certain beauty in simplicity. And in the opening scenes of “The Impossible Planet” audiences were introduced to, what I thought” were rather simplistic looking aliens called the Ood. As the episode progressed, however, we were treated to glimpses of a rather complicated race that longed to be in the service of others; a race of willing slaves. Even though we never learned why this race desired servitude, they quickly became fan favorites. The Ood are simple, clean alien designs that are also ever so slightly creepy. For a one-off alien race it was also ood…er, odd that Character Options chose them for their 1/6th scale action figure line. As it turns out, the Ood were a perfect choice because fans have come to love 'em.
SCULPT – Character Options has an uncanny knack for creating 1/6 head sculpts. I don't know who they employ as sculptors, but it's safe to assume they are underpaid. These gorgeous sculpts are a bit unnerving because we are getting fantastic figures for at least 1/2 the cost of figures released by Sideshow, DC Direct, Dragon, etc. Even thought CO figures are aimed at the mass market (i.e. kids) they are not skimping on detail or quality. Their 1/6 figures are fantastic and the Ood is no exception. The head is a near-perfect 1/6 replica of the Ood masks seen on Doctor Who. It's full of fine lines and wrinkles giving it a realistic detailing (as realistic as a fake alien race can be). Honestly, I’ve not seen this kind of detailing on any other figure by any other company. The tentacles on face are a separate piece glue on that is made of slightly softer plastic, which makes them slightly rubbery and completely icky. The hands are sculpted gloves with minimal detailing, but so were the gloves seen on the actors. In the palm of the right hand is buried a magnet to attach the Ood’s speaker ball. The fingers are static with no articulation.
ACCESSORIES – The Ood comes with a standard orb translating device that sticks to the magnet in the right hand. It is a separate piece with a flexible hose firmly glued into the mouth (or whateve the Ood have under those tentacles). This is one of the coolest accessories I’ve seen come with a figure. The clothes, although not technically accessories, are removable as are the boots. The suit is perfectly tailored, but made of a rather thin material. However, the thinness does not distract from a great costume. As usual, there is an ugly piece of Velcro that closes the jacket which is distracting, but only bcause Velcro on action figures is a pet peeve of mine. It’s the thinner Velcro seen on Barbie clothes (or so I’ve heard since I’ve…never…bought…). A nice touch is that the suit is two separate pieces; a jacket and a jumpsuit. CO didn’t skimp by making a jacket and pants, but gave a full sleeveless body suit under the outer jacket. Even the pocket on front is a real pocket.
PAINT – The head is molded in an off-white plastic with minimal paint details. Although the paint is light it matches pretty closely to the actor’s masks. I imagine the masks themselves were a rather plain, dull white in order to take advantage of the darker lighting and shadows used on the set in “The Impossible Planet” and “The Satan Pit” and the color scheme is duplicated on the 1/6 Ood nicely. The eyes are painted a rather nondescript red with tiny black irises. The tentacles are painted a sort of shiny “wet” looking washed-out blood red color – really creepy looking and they resemble hanging intestines. The best part of the paint scheme are the “liver spots” on the top of the head. The spots give the Ood and rather ancient look. There was no sloppy paint on my Ood. In an attemtp to get a more shadowy-looking figure, fans are customizing the paint schemes on their Oods. Custom paint does bring out the excellent sculpt even more (see below).
Custom Paint Schemes
ARTICULATION/ACTION FEATURES – CO’s standard 1/6 male body is relatively decent with plenty of articulation. It is most closely reminiscent of standard "Dragon Toys" bodies. However, a real sore point is the elbow articulation; the elbows are designed in such a way that it limits upward movement. The arms cannot actually bend all the way up. It’s a bit irritating, but not a huge problem. The Ood can easily hold his orb translator in a variety of poses. This is the same body as used on the 1/6 tenth Doctor and is also molded in the standard flesh tone. The Ood body is not pale white under his clothes. However, since the clothes cover the entire body, it’s not an issue. The body joints are mostly tight, but with heavy play (as is intended for this figure) I can see them becoming floppy.
RATING - 10 out of 10. The only thing wrong with the Ood is really just the pet peeve stuff; the Velcro and limited elbow articulation. However, it is important to keep in mind that the CO 1/6 figures are meant to be affordable and fun. They are not high end collectibles like a "Hot Toys" or "Medicom" figure, but certainly rivals (or even exceeds) both companies for value and screen-accurate details. The Ood is my favorite 1/6 figure released by CO thus far.
Bottom Line - if you don't have a 1/6 Ood, get one NOW.
Where to Buy - There is finally a company distributing the new Character Options Doctor Who toys in North America and all sorts of online retailers are getting loads of new toys in.
Who North America has unmatched customer service and prices. They have the Ood in now for $19.95
Alien Entertainment also has him in stock for $24.95
