Bloggiversary Special: Denys Fisher's Doctor Who Toys by Tony K

My loyalties have always been entrenched in the Jon Pertwee, Doctor Who era, however, I felt the Tom Baker tenure came a close second with some cracking productions, such as Robot, Horror of Fang Rock and Genesis of the Daleks, etc.

In the mid '70s, Denys Fisher Toys (partnered with Mego), famous for Spirograph, The Six Million Dollar Man and Cyborg and Muton, amongst many other childhood greats, gave kids a colourful cast of iconic Doctor Who characters based around the adventures of Tom Baker's forth Doctor.

The 9.5 inch articulated line-up included, The Doctor, Leela, Cyberman, Dalek, Giant Robot, the TARDIS and lastly K-9, who trundled along a year later, as the solitary sentinal of the so called second wave.

Produced as toys for '70s kids to play with, good examples prove challenging for toy collectors to find in fine condition. Notably, the Doctor's sonic screwdriver is usually missing. The Dalek's fragile gun is often broken or replaced with a redundant Phillips screw. The frail finish to the Cyberman's silver suit has commonly deteriorated into a threadbare onesie. Leela's knife is usually absent and her hair morphed into a wild synthetic bramble bush. The cardboard and plastic TARDIS playset, with its recycled the Mego Star Trek spinning Transporter mechanism, is often found wrecked and immobilised. Although late to the party, K-9 didn't escape the destruction either. His dainty ears and tail were effortlessly broken off by sausage fingered kids who we probably rubbed shoulders with at school.

The figures are fun, curious and beg awkward questions of their own. Was a celestial trickster at play during their production! Why did the Cyberman have a nose? Why did the Dalek have a red lid? Why was the Giant Robot the shortest of the bunch? Hard to believe he could take out an Action Man Scorpion Tank. Then there was the debate about the Doctor's head-sculpt... was it Tom Baker or some other avenging all-action actor? Why was K-9 the lone figure of the second wave? Were other favourite friends and enemies planned for the second wave? If so, who were they and why the heck didn't we get them?

I never set out to complete the Denys Fisher set. I won the Dalek at an Astons auction, over 25 years ago. Then came the Cyberman 5 years later. The others materialised individually over time, with K-9 still trundling along, to completing the set just over a year ago.

For me, they're a joy to look at. I'm glad I put the set together. They represent fantastic examples of '70s toys at their most enjoyable, enhanced with some very cool box art conveying a very British line of sci fi.

 Jelly Baby, anyone?

Tony K

UK