Thursday 21 March 2019

Warlord Games The Master

In this post I'm reviewing the five figures from the I am the Master boxed set as part of the Warlord Games' Doctor Who  range. These figures represent the Master in five of his incarnations.
At the far left is the first incarnation of the Master (played by Roger Delgado) and he was first encountered by the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee). Charming but deadly and adept in disguise and mind manipulation, this iteration of the Master failed in an attempt to destroy humanity by forging an alliance with the Nestenes. He reappeared several times, striking alliances with the Sea Devils and Daleks amongst others. The Doctor and the Master would often be forced to work together after the Master's allegiances didn't go according to plan.
In The Deadly Assassin, the second version of the Master (played by Peter Pratt and Geoffrey Beavers) returns, arriving on Gallifrey for a final showdown with the Doctor. After faking his own death, the Master steals the Sash and Rod of Rassilon, which would allow him access to the Eye of Harmony, the centre of a black hole once captured by President Rassilon. He seeks to absorb the power of the Eye to grant him a new regeneration cycle, knowing that this act would result in the destruction of Gallifrey. Although his plan is foiled, he escapes the Time Lord Citadel in his TARDIS disguised as a grandfather clock.
The third Master (played by Anthony Ainley) appears in The Keeper of Traken, where, emaciated, he assimilates the appearance of Nyssa's father, Tremus of Traken, to renew his body without the need for a new regeneration cycle. In Planet of Fire, the Master re-establishes psychic control of his robotic slave, Kamelion, who has been travelling with the Doctor, and the android briefly takes on his appearance. The last appearance of this Master is in Survival, where, after a battle with the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) he is left for dead on the failing Cheetah Planet.
Having had his true identity returned by the Chameleon Arch, a regenerating Master (played by John Simm) steals the Tenth Doctor's (David Tennant) TARDIS and hides away on Earth under the guise of Prime Minister Harold Saxon. His plan to subjugate the human race is foiled when time itself is reversed, creating the year that never was. In The End of Time, the Master once again tries to bring the human race under his control, in an elaborate plan to restore planet Gallifrey, destroyed in the Time war. We last see him on a colony ship where he plots to bring about the genesis of the Cybermen, facing opposition from both the Doctor and Missy, his own future incarnation.
A female incarnation of the Master, Missy (short for "Mistress") (played by Michelle Gomez), first reveals herself to the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) in Dark Water. Having founded the 3W Institute, Missy explains that she has been storing the minds of the recently deceased to the Nethersphere in order to convert them into an army of Cybermen. A Cyber-converted Danny Pink ultimately defeats her army and Missy is seemingly destroyed by a shot from a rogue Cyberman. This end and her next on Skaro are yet more ruses and, after being spared execution at the hands of the Doctor on a faraway world, she is held captive in a vault on Earth, guarded by the Doctor, to whom she has promised she will become a better, good person. Despite some internal conflict, Missy stands with the Doctor against her past self on the colony ship, Mondas, but is ultimately fatally wounded by the former Master.
This is a great set to own. The Master is just as iconic as the Cybermen and Daleks. As you would expect from this range, all of the figures are superbly sculpted and are great likenesses of the actors and actress who played the various incarnations of the Master. My favourite Master is Roger Delgado, closely followed by Michelle Gomez. This boxed set of five figures costs £22.00 from the Warlord Games webstore.

15 comments:

  1. Roger Delgado the one true master !!!

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  2. Another blockbuster of a “Doctor Who” posting, Bryan, albeit I personally wasn’t a fan of this particular set as I understand “Warlord Games” used different sculptors for some of the minis a, imho, that inconsistency shows. I too am a Roger Delgado fan, and the mini is awesome. I was though somewhat disappointed in the choice of costume for Ainley’s incarnation and the model’s height.

    However, you’ve clearly had a tip top time painting these figures, and that’s the important thing. I haven’t yet had a chance to use any of the Adventure cards which come with this set, so wondered on your thoughts as to whether they convey the different personalities well in the game?

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    1. Thank you most kindly, Simon. I, too, thought that the Ainley master was very tall but I still like the sculpt. I didn't know they were sculpted by different sculptors.
      Yes, I did enjoy painting them. I have considerably reduced my pile of "Doctor Who" figures that needed painting. As for your last question about the cards I'm afraid I can't answer that as I haven't played with these figures. I don't like playing with unpainted figures and these only got finished last week.

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  3. Great renditions of a timeless classic Who villain, I felt each person to play the master brought something new to the table, and all had a big part to play in his lineage

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    1. Thanks, Dave, and I wholly agree with you 100%.

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  4. He was always interesting as each actor brought his on spin to him, nice paint job Bryan :)

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    1. Too true, Frank, too true! Thank you for the kind words.

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  5. What Phil said! Ainley second

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Many thanks, Roger. It seems many people like Roger Delgado best of all. I have no problems with that.

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  6. The Wargame AddictFri Mar 22, 12:29:00 am GMT

    All excellent renditions of The Master Bryan, but I'm afraid my vote goes to The Mistress - I thought she brought some interesting twists to the established character, and trying to work out the implications of getting killed by yourself from another timezone STILL gives me a headache :-)

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    1. Cheers, Greg. I agree with your comments about Missy and it was a very close call between her and Roger Delgado as my favourite Master.

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  7. The Master was always an annoyance to me getting in the way of the story. Amazing how much I feel I have changed since those days many years ago! Good job on brining this evil one to life.

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    1. Much appreciated, Clint. Yes, our opinions certainly can change over the years.

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