Doctor Who Tardis Electronic Playset

Do I love Doctor Who? Yes! Am I a Big Kid? Yes! So I think it's clear to say that when a younger neighbour of mine passed me down her Tardis Playset she no longer wanted, I was overjoyed! Okay, I had no intention paying the average £20 for the playset brand new from the shops, and as this one was in perfect condition anyway, I was most pleased!

Doctor Who is a sci-fi television show suitable for the whole family, which has been running ...
...Lord named the Doctor. The Doctor travels around the universe, sometimes with a companion, saving the innocent from the clutches of the evil creatures and aliens trying to take over and attack. In 2005 the show returned with Chris Eccleston playing our nineth Doctor, alongside companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). David Tennant took over as the tenth Doctor when he regenerated, with companions Rose, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Donna Noble (Catherine ... more

Do I love Doctor Who? Yes! Am I a Big Kid? Yes! So I think it's clear to say that when a younger neighbour of mine passed me down her Tardis Playset she no longer wanted, I was overjoyed! Okay, I had no intention paying the average £20 for the playset brand new from the shops, and as this one was in perfect condition anyway, I was most pleased!

Doctor Who is a sci-fi television show suitable for the whole family, which has been running on and off for many years now. It is all about the adventures of a Time Lord named the Doctor. The Doctor travels around the universe, sometimes with a companion, saving the innocent from the clutches of the evil creatures and aliens trying to take over and attack. In 2005 the show returned with Chris Eccleston playing our nineth Doctor, alongside companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). David Tennant took over as the tenth Doctor when he regenerated, with companions Rose, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) over the course of three series. During this period of four series, the BBC decided to release a wide range of toys aimed at the younger fans of the show.

My neighbour took the set down in bits, all bundled inside a carrier bag. When I emptied it out, I could see there was an awful lot of pieces there to put together - where would I begin?!Thankfully, right in the middle of the pile there was a little instructions booklet which would help me construct the Tardis interior. The writing on the booklet was quite brown and faded, so it wasn't all that easy to read. However I did manage to figure out what this tiny writing was instructing me to do. I read over the check list to make sure all the parts were there. Tick! Just before you start to build there is a little bit of information about the Tardis, telling you that it stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It was once able to change its appearance to fit in with its surroundings when it landed but a problem arose when the Doctor landed in the 1950s and it has been stuck in the form of a blue public call police box ever since.

After my light reading, I decided it was time to get to work building up the Tardis. The first thing I did was check if the batteries had been left in. Under the central piece of the Tardis, the Tardis Console, there is a little flap you need to unscrew open. Here you will need to slot in 4 AA batteries for it to work. Thankfully for me, these were already provided by my lovely neighbour!

Following the instructions to piece the set together is fairly straight forward, with just one or two points a little challenging to get your head around. Assembling the base is your first job, which is actually quite hard. Its easy to follow, but when you are told to click bits together, they simply do not want to click together! So unfortunately I now have a wobbly base to my Tardis! You need to slot in the Console next, which is as easy as anything, followed by connecting the frame to hold it all together. This was quite simple.

After that you need to add on the cardboard walls to a third of the playset, which on the other side surrounds the door to the Tardis, as if in outer space. This is quite a nice touch and makes playing more fun! With the set you are also provided with a few accessories for the figures; a moving seat, a hammer, and a hat stand. Although these can get in the way at times, they do provide more involvement when playing.

With the Tardis all set up, there was only one thing left to do; test the Console. I fumbled for the switch, which is located under the rim of the Tardis and takes a little getting used to locating. When I found it, I was greeted by a green light from the Console to assure me the batteries worked. From there I followed the instructions to discover the eight different sounds the Console made. Four of the panels on the Console can be pushed or suchlike twice, creating two different sounds, the light moving up and down in the Console too. We are also told that one of these sounds is most important as it was pressed by the Master to control the landing and taking off of the Tardis (Series 3, Last of the Timelords) which is always nice to know!

With the Tardis in perfect working order, the large set sitting centre of the floor (!), what else can you do except go to play with it?! This was modelled for the collection of 5" figures released by the BBC and Character Options. In all honesty, I wasn't exactly going to play with this, but I decided to slot a few of my figures in to see what it looked like. They are not actually able to bend their legs enough to perch on the seat, but you can prop them up against it. They can fall against the Console too, but other than that, it is hard for them to stand. I suppose though, if you were playing with it, then you wouldn't really be having them staying still, but moving them around a lot.

So what's the verdict? It's safe to say that this is a fun and entertaining Tardis play set, suitable for any young fan of the show, though I'd say suitable for three years and up due to small parts. It's a great way for children to play with each other, though can be enjoyed alone too. It's not too difficult to build; it took me about half an hour to get it all together. The sound is quite powerful and the light bright, so it's certainly worth the money if you were to buy it in the shop. However if you are offered if for free like I was, take it!

© Amy 2008 

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