Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #11 Matt Smith in Series 7 costume

[Captain Britain]

This outfit is the best of the three main styles Matt Smith wore. I love frock coats, and his Chesterfield style is a fantastic variant of it; as someone who owns a coat like it (wool, grey, slight tweed pattern), I know just how awesomely comfortable they are.

That being said, my 1/6 collection is sorely lacking in Vibrant colors (Mechanic, Tyrion, custom John Wick, Star Lord is a bit better). The purple will really pop and stand out.

Think how it'll look with the fez!

 

[DioramaMaker]

My Eleven is already paid for, his spot in the display case is waiting, and I've already completed my kitbash Capaldi (based on his Time Heist look), who's just waiting for that pack in head sculpt to be made complete. So the sooner this one hits, the better in my book.

Oohhh share pics! Please! I'm scoping out recipes to build a Capaldi too. I kinda have considered going off the next season look because he has longer hair there, which is more in line with the sculpt we get.

Think how it'll look with the fez!

How right you are! I'm still deciding whether to have him wear it or not; I think it'll depend on the pose I go for.

 

[DVD1]

I'm in the same boat as the parrot. All set up and good to good.
I mentioned way back that I was building my Capaldi onto the space suit that he's used a couple of times now.
I like this release from an ensemble perspective. We get a great look for the 11th, the Handles prop and a whole new Head sculpt for a different Doctor. This is a win win release.

 

[Warpsmith]

With the anticipation for this release building, I couldn't hold off any longer and went ahead and ordered this set. I love the first 11th Doctor release, but this version is a big step up. I agree with the comments about having some vibrant colors to display for this line...(this is why I've always loved the 3rd Doctor in his dark red jacket) very important!

With all the extra head sculpts coming, I too am thinking about what I want to customize next. I haven't bought any 1/6 bodies in a while...does anyone have any recommendations for a quality body or two to pick up for the 11th and 12th doctors?

 

[DioramaMaker]

Search custom 1/6 narrow shoulder body v4 on eBay. They're pretty good TT surrogates. You can grab them for 20 bucks shipped from various sellers, but I know Kit from Onesixth kit definitely carries them on both eBay and their site store. Make sure to go for v4, as it has an improved skin tone.

 

[TheMajor]

The shipping date for the 11th Doctor is now 'End June - July 2015'. While the 12th Doctor has also been moved to 'End October-November 2015'.

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

The shipping date for the 11th Doctor is now 'End June - July 2015'. While the 12th Doctor has also been moved to 'End October-November 2015'.

Oh well, never mind - on the plus side, suppose it's good to have them spread out a bit...at least it won't mean a whole load of things arriving at the same time!

 

[TheMajor]

Quite right. This hobby isn't cheap, so I welcome gaps between releases, where possible. The 11th Doctor release hasn't really changed. Before this update, it was listed for a 'July 2015' release. They might surprise us by releasing it at the end of this month,

 

[spiderbo]

So is the new head sold separately from the series 7 figure?

 

[pixletwin]

So is the new head sold separately from the series 7 figure?

If by "new head" you mean the Stetson cowboy head, yes. It's a separate piece from the Series 7 figure.

 

[DarthTrafford]

Alter Ego Comics has a lot of BCS DOCTOR WHO items for PO on their site.
When did BCS start allowing outside companies to ship their items again?

 

[Liz10]

According to BC my heads have been shipped 3 weeks ago, they still have not arrived. Never took this long for anything I got from them or the UK in general. I don't have tracking numbers either, just asked for those again. Those heads cost me €120 including shipping which I paid twice since I got no reply when I asked if/how it can be combined. Seriously losing my patience.

Have to say I'm much more pleased with the customer service from QMx and my local shop, whenever I emailed those I got a helpful reply within 24 hours.

 

[pixletwin]

That sounds frustrating.

 

[Ex-Parrot]

Mine only arrived in Australia late last week, so don't give up hope. They seem to have sent the heads out internationally on the cheap, largely to their own financial benefit. I got both heads sent in the same package (without asking for it). That itself wouldn't be a problem, of course, if it weren't for the fact that not only did it actually cost them less than what I was charged for shipping on a single head, but that they still charged me the full international shipping cost quoted for sending both heads individually, with no refunds given for the, rather large, difference. In other words, the end result is that Big Chief charged me more than twice what it actually cost them to ship, and kept the money regardless.

Now, understandably, I wasn't overly happy about them pocketing fourteen pounds or so of my money for shipping costs that didn't even happen, particularly as a loyal repeat customer since day one, and because being an international collector is pricey enough as it is already, but I've sadly found that they don't seem very keen to bother responding to things that aren't somehow to their benefit, or if/when they do, tend to dance around such things for ages to no practical end result, other than a lot of wasted time.

If I wasn't such a whore for Who, and didn't enjoy collecting these so much, after the above (and a couple of other issues that I won't bother going into), I would have already walked away from the company, given my own experiences, as that's what I usually do when I feel poorly done by as a customer. But they're the only source for this stuff, and I really do like what they make and want to keep collecting it, so not much choice but to just take my lumps along the way when they happen.

Does make me a little frustrated occasionally by certain cheerleaders who constantly praise Big Chief's customer service, and who shout down anything they see as dissent, as happens in certain places (not here, thankfully), as for all they may get right on the actual products, Big Chief still have a long way to go, and a lot to learn, on the customer service front, at least in my view and experience, anyhow.

Still, at the end of the day we makes our choices and we takes our chances, I guess.

 

[Liz10]

The matter has been dealt with. My heads will be shipped together with my 11 that's supposed to arrive in July. I requested combined shipping for the 2 heads and they thought I wanted them combined with my 11. I was told the heads had been shipped so I waited and got worried, turns out they're still with BC. Still confused about the shipping though as what I already paid should be enough for a shipment containing a figure and 2 heads so imo I shouldn't get another shipping request once the 11 is in stock. We'll see.

 

[Captain Britain]

Mine only arrived in Australia late last week, so don't give up hope. They seem to have sent the heads out internationally on the cheap, largely to their own financial benefit. I got both heads sent in the same package (without asking for it). That itself wouldn't be a problem, of course, if it weren't for the fact that not only did it actually cost them less than what I was charged for shipping on a single head, but that they still charged me the full international shipping cost quoted for sending both heads individually, with no refunds given for the, rather large, difference. In other words, the end result is that Big Chief charged me more than twice what it actually cost them to ship, and kept the money regardless.

Now, understandably, I wasn't overly happy about them pocketing fourteen pounds or so of my money for shipping costs that didn't even happen, particularly as a loyal repeat customer since day one, and because being an international collector is pricey enough as it is already, but I've sadly found that they don't seem very keen to bother responding to things that aren't somehow to their benefit, or if/when they do, tend to dance around such things for ages to no practical end result, other than a lot of wasted time.

If I wasn't such a whore for Who, and didn't enjoy collecting these so much, after the above (and a couple of other issues that I won't bother going into), I would have already walked away from the company, given my own experiences, as that's what I usually do when I feel poorly done by as a customer. But they're the only source for this stuff, and I really do like what they make and want to keep collecting it, so not much choice but to just take my lumps along the way when they happen.

Does make me a little frustrated occasionally by certain cheerleaders who constantly praise Big Chief's customer service, and who shout down anything they see as dissent, as happens in certain places (not here, thankfully), as for all they may get right on the actual products, Big Chief still have a long way to go, and a lot to learn, on the customer service front, at least in my view and experience, anyhow.

Still, at the end of the day we makes our choices and we takes our chances, I guess.

I think that's a great post Ex-parrot, and I've been accused a number of times of being one of those 'cheerleaders'.

There are two issues here, the over-charging and the cheerleading. With regard to the over-charging I think BCS ought to deal with it, for numerous reasons, one of which is that it's making them look bad. And this annoys me because on the whole I think their products are very reasonably priced - almost no price rises on figures since 2012, the heads were great value at £35, the postage on full figures is very reasonable at £8 couriered in the UK, the new Matt Smith figure will be packed with extras... but all of this gets forgotten when something dumb like the postage overcharging happens (which makes me think it's a ****-up). It's also frustrating because everything I know about them suggests that they're not a greedy company at all. Look at when they made the extra Ten figures available at retail - they were going on eBay at twice the price and they could easily have found a way to get more money for them. But they didn't, and lots of fans got them who had missed out. So I'm pretty sure this is just a mistake and eventually they'll deal with it.

However, the cheerleading is pissing me off. I totally support your right to raise the over-charging issue Ex-Parrot, and I'm getting pretty disillusioned myself with the way discussion of BCS is going. When Daron was alive we used to talk to each other about being 'supportive' of BCS as a company but that never stopped us raising issues or expressing ourselves when we thought something could be improved. Now there's a kind of cult quality to fans and no one ever makes any constructive criticism in case people think they're haters or troublemakers. My most recent acquisition, Hartnell, was a superb figure, but there was a slight QC issue I noticed which I also saw in a Sherlock figure I recently bought - but I just didn't feel like saying anything about it, even though I think its something they need to address. I just self-censored it. There's a FB fan group run by one Jon Wesley Huff of these parts and this used to be great but it has been completely taken over recently by one individual, a mate of BCS who stamps on any dissent at all, calling people moaners if they're vaguely critical, aggressively countering any criticism at all of the company and boasting about all the cool stuff that's coming which he knows about but can't talk about (yawn)... he's even been shooting his mouth off about the BBC, which is really NOT a good idea. The FB group has become his mouthpiece and it's just not possible to have a discussion with opposing points of view because only supine adoration of BCS is permitted. Thing is, I've spent almost a four-figure sum on BCS products this year and I don't appreciate feeling that I can't engage in a reasoned discussion about the products of a company that I have supported with my cash to this extent.

So yeah, I am still a huge fan of what BCS do, and I wish them nothing but success, but the atmosphere around them has become unhealthy and that takes a lot of the fun out of it - and it's never good for a company when the fun goes out of collecting their products.

 

[pixletwin]

BCs discussion would be more positive if a certain Facebook poster didn't feel compelled to comment on nearly every post.

 

[Ex-Parrot]

I know exactly the user you guys are talking about, I left the same group not long ago, because I got sick of that individual, their attacking of anything with even a hint of dissent, their constant boasting about what they know but can't say, and the constant and repetitive cheerleading. Being a fan is one thing, but when it stifles actual debate, conversation, and constructive criticism, it does more harm than good. Particularly when it also causes other users to self-censor just because they don't want to be misrepresented, or get drawn into some big thing every time they dare state an honest viewpoint on something that isn't wrapped in endless praise.

Now I should say I never had any personal issues or run ins with the person in question, but I just eventually got sick of the way they behaved towards others, and it always seemed to go down the same way, and with more and more frequency as time went on. There's some good people there, but it just wasn't a place I wanted to be a part of any longer due to how some people, and some views, were treated. I didn't contribute much, but I think the last straw for me was when, in response to someone's legitimate issue with a BC product, they were told point blank that they should just be grateful that Big Chief were making these things to begin with, as if just the mere act of them doing so should automatically insulate them from any complains whatsoever. Even from a paying customer, no less! Upon seeing that I just shook my head in disbelief and promptly headed for the exit and quietly left the group.

Like I said, I'm not into putting the boot into Big Chief, I've spent damn near two thousand pounds on their stuff so far (significantly more if I were to count international shipping!), I've pointed a lot of people towards their products since that first Smith figure, and I want them to be successful and to continue to make the kind of stuff that I like to buy, but no company is perfect, nor beyond criticism. And acting as if one is, in the long run, actually does more harm than good, and risks lowering standards, rather than helping push them into always trying to learn and improve, which is what all such companies should be aiming for, anyway.

 

[DioramaMaker]

I've had payment plan issues in the past on both my 10 and 11, and while email didn't solve anything, getting in touch with them via Skype (affordable way to do it from the US) had my problems fixed in minutes. From the sound of it, because all 3 times I've had to call, I think they only have one customer service representative. That would explain why email is so slow/seemingly unfruitful. Not cheerleading or knocking, just sharing an experience to add to the discussion.

 

[pixletwin]

I know exactly the user you guys are talking about, I left the same group not long ago, because I got sick of that individual, their attacking of anything with even a hint of dissent, their constant boasting about what they know but can't say, and the constant and repetitive cheerleading. Being a fan is one thing, but when it stifles actual debate, conversation, and constructive criticism, it does more harm than good. Particularly when it also causes other users to self-censor just because they don't want to be misrepresented, or get drawn into some big thing every time they dare state an honest viewpoint on something that isn't wrapped in endless praise.

Now I should say I never had any personal issues or run ins with the person in question, but I just eventually got sick of the way they behaved towards others, and it always seemed to go down the same way, and with more and more frequency as time went on. There's some good people there, but it just wasn't a place I wanted to be a part of any longer due to how some people, and some views, were treated. I didn't contribute much, but I think the last straw for me was when, in response to someone's legitimate issue with a BC product, they were told point blank that they should just be grateful that Big Chief were making these things to begin with, as if just the mere act of them doing so should automatically insulate them from any complains whatsoever. Even from a paying customer, no less! Upon seeing that I just shook my head in disbelief and promptly headed for the exit and quietly left the group.

Like I said, I'm not into putting the boot into Big Chief, I've spent damn near two thousand pounds on their stuff so far (significantly more if I were to count international shipping!), I've pointed a lot of people towards their products since that first Smith figure, and I want them to be successful and to continue to make the kind of stuff that I like to buy, but no company is perfect, nor beyond criticism. And acting as if one is, in the long run, actually does more harm than good, and risks lowering standards, rather than helping push them into always trying to learn and improve, which is what all such companies should be aiming for, anyway.

Spot on. Rep'd.