What is Warlord Games’ Into the Time Vortex range? A Collectors View…

January 30, 2018

As a collector of Doctor Who merchandise, every year I try to get my hands on all the latest products, be they 5” scale action figures, books and magazines. I even have a full-sized Dalek in my spare bedroom! The Doctor Who brand is almost, like the show itself, infinite – a rich and diverse history of characters, monsters and scenarios. A collector’s paradise!

When Warlord Games announced a series of small scale collector models and a tabletop battle game I was intrigued. We’ve had board games, puzzles, an interactive DVD game, but a battle game? Clearly this was a gap in the market.

Warlord Games are a UK-based company that sells historic and futuristic plastic and metal soldiers, mostly 28mm scale, designed for use as armies on the table top or simply buying to construct, paint and display.

Above: The Into the Time Vortex website brings news, new releases and articles for
Doctor Who gamers and collectors alike. A redesigned homepage is just the
start of plans to add more features.

With Doctor Who, the potential figure choices are huge. Warlord have designed this range to include characters from every era, be they robotic Quarks from the 1960s, Plant-like Vervoids from the 1980s or the terrifying Fisher King from the most recent Twelfth Doctor series. The range plans to cover everything and aims to release every single Doctor alongside their various companions.

The scale, approximately 40mm tall for a six-foot character, and proportions are photo-realistic – a far cry from the squat 28mm tall caricatures provided by previous companies attempting to produce Doctor Who figures. Warlord’s models really are easily identifiable as their on-screen counterparts.

From a collector’s point of view, these look pretty awesome all lined up on the shelf. The character names engraved on the bases are a nice touch too. The figures are supplied unpainted, in their raw pewter forms. Having zero talent in the painting side of things, I would never attempt to try and paint these myself, but you’d be surprised how many professional painters can paint them for you for a fee.

Another option, which is very simple to do, is to ‘ink wash’ your figures. Simply coat the figure in a 50/50 mix of water and black ink, leave it to dry and you end up seeing all the detail, the faces jump out at you, the detailing in the costume pop out. It also gives the models a rather fetching ‘antiqued’ look.

Above: Original, inked and painted versions of a Vervoid miniature

However, gaming also appeals to me, so I decided to give the Exterminate! game a go. It has been designed to be readily accessible for the ‘non-gamer’ with clear, easy to follow rules, so you can be up and playing in no time at all. Much like a traditional family game such as Cluedo or Scrabble, you can sit down as a whole family and play the game together. You can now recreate your favourite moments from the show from the comfort of your own home!

You get everything you need in the Exterminate! boxed game. Plastic Daleks and Cybermen, which click together simply – they have been designed, so you can start your battle straight away, although you can glue them form more durability if you like. The rules are fairly simple, although I would suggest reading the booklets in full before you start your first game.

They have been designed in sections, so if you have any trouble with certain in-game elements, everything is easily explained. Helpfully, the official Into the Time Vortex Facebook page contains an additional FAQ section and the game creators are on hand to answer questions about gameplay as well as showing off previews of forthcoming releases. Dice, tokens, ruler and a full-colour double-sided games mat are also included – you simply need a flat surface, such as your dining room table, to play.

The main Exterminate! boxed game allows you to pit two of the Doctors most feared foes against one another – the silver-armoured Cybermen against the deadly Daleks. Two of Doctor Who’s most enduring alien races fighting one another on the tabletop – surely a dream come true for fans?

The game is expandable to cover a menagerie of monsters and humans. Battle cards are now available for characters already released, so imagine a scenario where the Slitheen are pitted against the Ogrons, The Sea Devils versus the Movellans? A dream monster mash-up for any fan!

 

For collectors looking for something bespoke, look no further than the collector’s sets Warlord have started to produce. The first of these is Nightmares in Silver – ten incarnations of the Cybermen down the years. There are even display stands designed with the collector in mind. We’ve been told more sets are in the pipeline and I’m eager to find out what they might be!

The Doctor Who Into The Time Vortex range from Warlord Games is available now and is constantly expanding with new releases each and every month. Recommended for children and adults over 14 years of age.

Doctor Who: Into the Time Vortex 

Also in News

Store news

Black Friday Doctor Who Offers

November 27, 2019

Warlord Games has got a huge range of models and games to choose from and throughout this Black Friday period, you can expect updates each Monday, Wednesday & Friday with new specials and fresh offers.

Read More

Doctor Who Range 2019 Preview

January 31, 2019

Our Doctor Who Into The Time Vortex range goes from strength to strength in the coming months as we unleash all-new Doctor, Monster and iconic character packs.

Read More

Doctor Who’s Sergeant Benton (John Levene) Visits Warlord Hq!

November 28, 2018

This August we were absolutely delighted to welcome a Doctor Who legend to our Warlord Games HQ in Nottingham – John Levene!

Read More