The fourth wave of Doctor Who toys was released in late 1999, and for the first time – at least so far – Dapol released a wave of figures which did not include one of the main Doctor or companion characters. Wave four concentrates solely on the villains and monsters.
The Sontaran Captain figure is merely a paint variation reversing the colors of the garden-variety Sontaran. The Sontarans are a cool and welcome addition to the plastic pantheon of Doctor Who enemies, with their removable helmets, but a minor nitpick: they came out too tall! The cloned warriors are hideous precisely because they’re short and squat, and their heads spread out into a rather disgusting dome shape. A total of six Millennium Daleks were released with a semi-translucent “glittery” finish (the other four Daleks’ coats were red, blue, black and silver; for budgetary reasons, I only bought the Daleks which came in colors that hadn’t been done before). With the purchase of all six Millennium Daleks, Dapol offered a special display case for them. Other than the paint job, however, these Daleks are identical to those released in wave one.
Another new addition is the Melkur figure, an evil statue from season 18’s The Keeper of Traken, which reintroduced the Master into the series’ mythos. This figure’s paint job is not complex, but it does feature an interesting, “stony” texture – a thoughtful detail on Dapol’s part, and justification – if any be needed – that action figures need to be broken out of their blisters and appreciated, like little sculptures.
