Got mine yesterday and I adore this figure.
Everyone takes photos of the face super close up. That makes the lower eyelids and slight wrinkles there look very exaggerated. In hand the lower eyelids look pretty much like they do on Jenna Coleman. You would only see those wrinkles if you looked up very close in bright light (like, one imagines, with the real Jenna Coleman). They are there for accuracy! This is a figure where the close up pictures of the face almost misrepresent the sculpt, because those details on an otherwise smooth face appear larger-than-life. It looks like a miniature Clara to me!
I'll mention my niggles because if I didn't people wouldn't believe the rest of my gushing. It is possible to have niggles and still love a figure! There are very few figures in my collection that don't make me narrow my eyes at
some small aspect.
The eyes, as people have mentioned. If these were spot on this figure would be just stellar. The irises seem like they should be a touch darker. The irises need to be a consistent size. And a bit of darker eyeliner, to match how Clara looked on the show, would do wonders. Someone on a private FB group (which most of us in this convo are probably already a part of) tweaked these elements and it made a big difference. I don't have anywhere near the skill required so I will leave mine as they are.
I have a hint of jagged plastic sticking from the side of one of the snaps in the dress. I can fix this. This is a very minor issue, because the snaps are still barely visible, and the dress pattern tends to hide them even when they are. Big Chief sometimes use velcro and it doesn't quite work, and they sometimes use snaps and they don't quite work, but I honestly have no idea what the alternatives would be. The snaps here don't stick out or add bulk like they sometimes can so on this figure they're fine.
Some people don't like the thinness of the dress material but as long as it doesn't end up tearing on me at some point I'll step in and say I like the paper-thin material BCS have started using since Bond. You need it to get the look right for some of this cloth at scale. Compare Bond's thin and sleek shirt with the Capaldi figure's far too bulky shirt, when the Capaldi doc really needs a thin sleekness for his look. For me, the tailoring and clothing choices on War Doc and Clara prove just how advanced Big Chief are getting in this area. In some ways, for civilian and Victorian (AKA Doctor Who) style clothing, they are pulling ahead of the curve.
But yeah I love the sculpt. I love the tailoring. I love the overall silhouette. The accessories are fun, and if you pre-ordered early enough to get the incentive accessories, they are a nice addition. Companion accessories can be tough but the phone, the leaf, and the little books are all nifty. The confession dials are there.
I have so few figures in normal, everyday clothes, and normal, everyday clothes are so difficult to get right at scale. It's really cool to see a well done figure of a regular person there on my shelves next to my superheroes, Ghostbusters, monsters and time travellers.
It sounds as if this will be the last companion Big Chief ever do, bar Jack (who counts in part as a Torchwood figure, marketing-wise). That's a bit tragic, because there are at least half a dozen classic Who companions I
really want (ahem K-9, Brigadier, Ace, Peri, Sarah Jane, Jamie), and plenty I would be easily tempted by (Leela, Ian, Barbara, both Romanas, Zoe, Jo, Nyssa). At least they are ending on a high note with Clara.
In short, I think Big Chief have done really well here.
What is a post without pics (forgive the dust):
I think she looks better without the coat on.
