Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who Figures

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Between all of BCS's factory hopping, I am absolutely SHOCKED that no one got a hold of/stole the molds and made KO figures. I imagine the third party stuff would have honestly been painted better than BCS, oddly enough.

If only the definitive figs got to tooling, then we may have seen them one way or another.
Honestly, I would jump at any KO figures or parts from the old line and definitely purchase ones of figures that were not released. Hopefully it does eventually happen.
 
Between all of BCS's factory hopping, I am absolutely SHOCKED that no one got a hold of/stole the molds and made KO figures. I imagine the third party stuff would have honestly been painted better than BCS, oddly enough.

If only the definitive figs got to tooling, then we may have seen them one way or another.

To be honest, it seems like the production never actually got as far as tooling the moulds for any of the pre-orders.
This is based on conversations with the liquidators and the fact that in the past, we always got behind-the-scenes pictures of the tooling and manufacturing in the 'Production Update' emails. The last ones we saw were the Peaky Blinders in production with the moulds and sprues shown, and as we know, they actually turned up eventually.
Staggering, we were never shown any behind-the-scenes manufacturing of the Definitive 4th given how long that had been in the works! Remember when we saw those huge crates filled with 3rd Doctor heads and accessories.

Everything we saw was just 3D printed prototypes and Geewhiz outfit prototype samples for China to copy.
 
I received an update from the liquidators about possible fraud....

They were surprisingly forthcoming:
"Thank you for your email below and for the information provided.
I confirm that the Joint Liquidators’ statutory investigations into the affairs of the Company, including but not limited to fraud, misconduct and misrepresentation; remain ongoing, and any new information contained within your email below will be duly considered accordingly."

I honestly thought they would have wrapped it all up by now, especially after they posted that Financial Position Report along with the 'Explanation of the causes of the Company’s failure' document too.
 
It’s still sad to hear how everything went down with BCS and I feel for all the customers affected. I stayed away from pre-orders as it took them forever to actually produce and then the subsequent discounts on items that you paid full price for. I had a feeling there was something off with how that always happened, so the last figure I ever pre-ordered was the 9th Doctor. The rest I purchased from them for a discounted price or eBay at below retail prices.
The collector in me does regret not getting their 13th Doctor as it was a nice looking figure, but I’m not too bummed as she was not a favorite.
Hopefully some things do start popping up from whatever tooling was done, but I’m not holding my breath.

Until a replacement company steps in, I’m having fun doing my own custom work.
Speaking of which, here’s the current progress of Captain Jack Harkness with a slight smile:
image001.jpeg
 
It's really disgusting how they incentivized paying in full on every preorder knowing they were never going to go into production. They could have at least ripped people off for a "non-refundable deposit" only. I paid in full for K-9 over 2 years ago and kept wondering how they couldn't even get one relatively simple plastic dog toy made. I suppose some Big Chief exec has all those one-off prototypes in his private collection now.

They did show one supposed "sneak peak" on the Fourth Doctor "in process", which was probably Gee Whiz's work. Socks, coat lining and scarf:

socks (2).jpg
 
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It's pretty depressing knowing right now I could possibly be putting down a deposit and using points on a 6th or Master. What the hell am I gonna buy before my points expire!?
 
I received an update from the liquidators about possible fraud....

They were surprisingly forthcoming:
"Thank you for your email below and for the information provided.
I confirm that the Joint Liquidators’ statutory investigations into the affairs of the Company, including but not limited to fraud, misconduct and misrepresentation; remain ongoing, and any new information contained within your email below will be duly considered accordingly."

I honestly thought they would have wrapped it all up by now, especially after they posted that Financial Position Report along with the 'Explanation of the causes of the Company’s failure' document too.
Hi, there!

I stumbled upon this thread because I was looking for any kind of update. May I ask who you emailed? I sent something to them that I filled out with hopes that MAYBE there was a chance we'd be able to reclaim the money they sat on. Now the email that I sent all that information to isn't working anymore. I'd love to be able to make sure I can be kept in the loop and make sure those that should have my information that I had the 4th Doctor and K-9 paid in full, actually DO have my information.

Thank you.
 
OCD strikes again. I wasn’t really happy with the painted Martha jacket, so I purchased some faux leather burgundy material (skirt), drew up a pattern and sewed a new jacket. It’s not perfected yet, so I’ll consider this v1.0.

View attachment 669693
why not use real leather?

btw how many figures did bcs released so far including other works.
 
With the spiralling out of control debts they were building up, they must have knew for at least a couple of years how this would play out. And that bankruptcy was the only way out.
this is why hot toys stick to marvel and disney. franchise fee isnt fun. 200k probably enough for less than a handful of franchise. james bond probably cost way too much.
 
Given all of these new revelations, it makes me even more pissed that I never managed to get a 4th Doctor. The Zavvi version was available last year and I could have jumped on it before it was sold out. I deliberately held off because I thought that the premium version was on its way.

Im a yearly attendee at Gallifrey one, cosplay as The Doctor regularly at comic cons, and have traveled thousands of miles to meet the cast at events. So needless to say, im a massive fan of the show. As corny as it sounds, this company's behavior isn't just a massive ripoff to us fans, and what must be some sort of crime; but also seems like it massively disrespectful to the show and everything it stands for. In some alternate reality, there's another company that got the license and we've got figures of all the Doctors. But now we never will.
i dont know much about the show but am impressed and happy with your dedication and annual outing.
 
why not use real leather?

btw how many figures did bcs released so far including other works.
For Doctor Who at least they did:

1st Doctor
3rd Doctor
4th Doctor
8th Doctor
War Doctor
9th Doctor
10th Doctor brown suit
10 Doctor blue suit
10th Doctor 50th anniversary
Series 5 11th Doctor
Series 7b 11th Doctor
Series 8 12th Doctor
12th Doctor with red jacket (I think)
13th Doctor
Amy Pond
Rose Tyler
Clara Oswald
Weeping Angels
Weeping Cherub
10th Doctor Tardis
11th Doctor Tardis

There was also a build a figure of 10 in his pajamas with a horrifying smiling head, pieces to make 11 in his cowboy get up and both Amy and the 4th Doctor had alternates heads you could buy.
 
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For Doctor Who at least they did:

1st Doctor
3rd Doctor
4th Doctor
8th Doctor
War Doctor
9th Doctor
10th Doctor brown suit
10 Doctor blue suit
10th Doctor 50th anniversary
Series 5 11th Doctor
Series 7b 11th Doctor
Series 8 12th Doctor
12th Doctor with red jacket (I think)
13th Doctor
Amy Pond
Rose Tyler
Clara Oswald
Weeping Angels
Weeping Cherub
10th Doctor Tardis
11th Doctor Tardis

There was also a build a figure of 10 in his pajamas with a horrifying smiling head, pieces to make 11 in his cowboy get up and both Amy and the 4th Doctor had alternates heads you could buy.
seems like if they didnt ran into money trouble they would keep making new figures. too bad they only made a handful james bond figure after paying so much for the license.
 
For Doctor Who at least they did:

1st Doctor
3rd Doctor
4th Doctor
8th Doctor
War Doctor
9th Doctor
10th Doctor brown suit
10 Doctor blue suit
10th Doctor 50th anniversary
Series 5 11th Doctor
Series 7b 11th Doctor
Series 8 12th Doctor
12th Doctor with red jacket (I think)
13th Doctor
Amy Pond
Rose Tyler
Clara Oswald
Weeping Angels
Weeping Cherub
10th Doctor Tardis
11th Doctor Tardis

There was also a build a figure of 10 in his pajamas with a horrifying smiling head, pieces to make 11 in his cowboy get up and both Amy and the 4th Doctor had alternates heads you could buy.

On addition to that, there's also the Sherlock line. I truly love the Abominable Bride set.
 
For Doctor Who at least they did:

1st Doctor
3rd Doctor
4th Doctor
8th Doctor
War Doctor
9th Doctor
10th Doctor brown suit
10 Doctor blue suit
10th Doctor 50th anniversary
Series 5 11th Doctor
Series 7b 11th Doctor
Series 8 12th Doctor
12th Doctor with red jacket (I think)
13th Doctor
Amy Pond
Rose Tyler
Clara Oswald
Weeping Angels
Weeping Cherub
10th Doctor Tardis
11th Doctor Tardis

There was also a build a figure of 10 in his pajamas with a horrifying smiling head, pieces to make 11 in his cowboy get up and both Amy and the 4th Doctor had alternates heads you could buy.
That's a lot of Doctors! Most weren't very well made, but Big Chief did commit to the project and somehow delivered over many years. We can say what we want of Big Chief today (in hindsight and with knowledge of how they recently fell), but they did dedicate themselves to some great licenses. Even as recently as 18 months ago they were still firing along on a few rusty cylinders. Don't forget they made a a great line of unique 1:6 Gerry Anderson figures - Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet! I wonder if that project ate up their finances.
 
That's a lot of Doctors! Most weren't very well made, but Big Chief did commit to the project and somehow delivered over many years. We can say what we want of Big Chief today (in hindsight and with knowledge of how they recently fell), but they did dedicate themselves to some great licenses. Even as recently as 18 months ago they were still firing along on a few rusty cylinders. Don't forget they made a a great line of unique 1:6 Gerry Anderson figures - Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet! I wonder if that project ate up their finances.
i think big licenses like james bond did. and they only made 6 bond figures. not enough to cover the license.

also dr. who might be more catered towards uk fans. i dont know about the pricing of dr.who but james bond figures are on the high side.
 
i think big licenses like james bond did. and they only made 6 bond figures. not enough to cover the license.

also dr. who might be more catered towards uk fans. i dont know about the pricing of dr.who but james bond figures are on the high side.
Just about all of Big Chief’s licenses were UK-centric. Not just UK, or Euro, but I’d say very retro-focussed. That’s what I liked about their projects: like Executive Replicas and Kaustic Plastic Big Chief also focussed on licenses that were niche collector-friendly - regardless of where those collectors were - but still iconic and they did this without being slaves to big budget North American blockbuster film licenses.

They actually made it to 8 Bond figures releases over 4 years, between Goldfinger, Live and Let Die and Dr No.

Bond was quite a fumble for Big Chief and clearly the beginning of their end. It started out very strong in 2018 with the Goldfinger line (despite the problems with their Connery Bond figure) with 3 solid releases that sold well, and appeared to be moving at a good pace to Live and Let Die, which also rendered 3 figures, but may not have sold as well. I think 3 figures from any district film is probably a good number to respectfully cover any license demands. Not just random Bonds and villains from various films, but a good cross-section of 2-3 character figures from each individual film before moving to secondary and tertiary characters. Had the project remained feasible and continued I suspect they could have proposed another couple from the Dalton, Brosnan and Craig films before dialling back to revisit more of the classic Connery and Moore films.

Funny, isn’t it? Thinking back to how amazing everything felt in 2018 with Big Chief finally committing to some real licensed high-end Bond figures that would help us put to rest our old Sideshow figures. There was plenty of optimism about the project and Big Chief delivered with the most premium of options and incentives for their Bond line. They put their best efforts into it, but sadly everything seemed to fray last year when the Dr No line didn’t quite make the grade. Clearly Big Chief’s problems were beginning by spring of 2022 and having an effect on the Bond line. If only we had known, but we couldn’t have seen it at the time.
 
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