Doctor Who and LEGO® fans around the world received exciting news today as The LEGO Group announced that it would be producing a LEGO Doctor Who set.

The concept for a Doctor Who set came from the LEGO® IDEAS website where fans can submit ideas for a set and vote for their favourite idea to be produced.

The BBC launched Doctor Who in 1963 and it is the world’s longest running sci-fi drama. Starring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as his companion, the hit BBC One show has become a global phenomenon with a loyal and passionate fan base.

The Doctor Who concept from fan Andrew Clark received the 10,000 votes requisite for The LEGO Group to consider it for production.

A licensing agreement between BBC Worldwide and The LEGO Group will see the new set available in all of The LEGO Group’s key markets before the end of the year.

Andrew’s winning design featured a range of Doctors, companions and monsters across the show’s history, but fans will have to wait until later this year to discover what will be produced.

Marcus Arthur, MD of BBC Worldwide UK said:

“Both Doctor Who and LEGO enjoy a particularly close relationship with their fans and I can’t wait to see what LEGO produce.”

Emma Owen, UK spokesperson for LEGO Ideas commented:

“We’re extremely excited to announce that a Doctor Who and a WALL-E set will be released as our next LEGO Ideas fan based sets, congratulations to the designers Andrew Clark and Angus MacLane! After receiving over 10,000 votes from the online community and having gone through rigorous toy testing from our expert panel, these awesome sets are on track to be on shelves later this year. The final set designs, pricing and availability are being worked out as we speak, so watch this space for the final details!”

[Source: BBC Worldwide]

It's something DWO has been championing for years, but could the tide be turning to finally allow official Doctor Who Lego?

According to a recent update on the official Lego Cuusoo 'License Conflicts and Resolutions' page, it seems that the doors are now open for Doctor Who related projects. The update, posted yesterday, states: 

"If your project was previously turned down, archived, or deleted due to a licensing conflict that is now resolved, you may re-submit it as a new project. Supporters from past projects cannot be applied to a future project.

Resolved Past Licensing Conflicts

We now welcome projects based on the following licenses that used to have conflicts:

Doctor Who - February 2014"

Following the news, DWO caught up with Lego PR & Promotions Manager, Emma Owen, who simply stated:

"We cannot answer any Doctor Who related questions"

It's clearly a no-go subject for the company to discuss further at this point in time, but should any of the Doctor Who Lego Cuusoo projects get more than 10,000+ votes (and we very well expect them to), then the project goes to the consideration for production phase. As this would be a Doctor Who product with Doctor Who branding, Lego would therefore need a license to distribute the product.

There are some truly fantastic Doctor Who Lego Cuusoo projects up for consideration at the moment, and one of our favourites is Andrew Clark's 'Doctor Who And Companions' project. It currently has 1700+ votes and needs 10,000+ to be considered for production, so get your votes in here!

Back at the 2013 Toy Fair, however, Lego's position on Doctor Who was clear:

"Obviously we realise the popularity is massive in the UK for Doctor Who and as I've heard as well it's popular overseas but it doesn't have that complete global appeal, which obviously we have to have when developing a product. We don't develop products that are just one country specific. It has to have mass appeal because obviously the investment that goes behind a product business-wise, we're operating on a complete business sense"

Listen to DWO's 2013 Toy Fair interview with Lego's Emma Owen, below:

We then got in touch with Character Options regarding the future of their Character Building range and were told that the company cannot confirm anything past their projected releases (seen at Toy Fair 2014).

Either way, it seems there is a delicate situation in place where Lego have thrown their hat in the ring, and are in a position to allow products for consideration. It is unlikely that the market will allow for two lines of Doctor Who brick related construction toys, but without a solid confirmation from either company we have to play the waiting game for now.

More news as we get it... 

[Sources: DWO; Lego]

DWO attended the 2013 Toy Fair at London Olympia, and got the chance to sample some of the exciting Doctor Who products due out this year.

This year's range of Doctor Who products from Character Options were a joy to behold, with a real focus on the 50th Anniversary.

Past Doctors, Daleks and other monsters all feature in the 2013 product line-up, with a special Union Jack covered Anniversary Dalek (pictured-right). We're gonna dub this the 'Marmite' Dalek, as it will no doubt divide some sections of fandom with a more purist nature.

DWO grabbed 5 Questions with Mark Hunt (Character Options' Brand Manager) regarding the range:

1) 2012 was a fantastic year for the Doctor Who Character Options range, especially with the further development of the Character Building products. What does 2013 hold for the range and do you have any teasers we can look forward to?

After huge popular demand from fans, 2013 will see the launch of a range of new series 3¾ inch figures and playsets. The new collection will succeed the incredibly successful 5 inch figures portraying both characters and storylines from the new series including The Eleventh Doctor, his new companion Clara as well as many of the foes he has met over the past 50 years.

To travel from one adventure to another, no new series would be complete without a TARDIS. The new 3¾” scaled Spin and Fly TARDIS has motion-activated interactive sound effects to bring the action to life. We also have some very special 50th Anniversary product for later in the year…but that is top secret!

2) What was the catalyst behind the decision to reduce the size of the figures from 5" to 3¾?

This is the 50th anniversary year of Doctor Who and we wanted to create something that was new for the brand and refresh our product offering, and create some demand amongst both avid collectors, fans and children. 

Our market research showed that many children today are collecting smaller figures and boys action figures across the market are moving to this size.

The new size also allows us to bring a more affordable price point that we would not be able to at this time with a 5-inch figure. This again is reacting to the market conditions and makes the figures more accessible to more fans. Again in such a special year it was important that we cater for as many as possible. 

3) Do you have a particular favourite Doctor Who product since you joined the company?

I’m a massive Tenant Fan! 10th Doctor all the way!

4) Will Character Options continue to produce Exclusives through Forbidden Planet and Toys R Us, and if so can we continue to expect a mix of classic and new series exclusives?

We have some very exciting 50th Anniversary product that should please all fans as they will be available across all retailers. Overall our product range will have a good mix between classic (5-inch) and Series 7 Part 2 (3 3/4-inch).

5) Finally, if you could have one round trip in the TARDIS, anywhere in time and space, where would you go and why?

After our trips to Hong Kong and London Toy Fair...my bed!

* * *

With so many great products coming out, DWO have compiled a list of upcoming products for 2013 from Character Options, below:

Character Options 3¾" Action Figure Range

- Series 7 Action Figure Assortment, new action figure size (3¾").
6 to collect, including; Weeping Angel, Dalek, Clara Oswin, The Doctor & Cyberman.

- Series 7 Action Figure Playsets, each comes with an exclusive accessory and can be interconnected.

- Doctor Who 'Spin & Fly TARDIS', in-line with new 3¾" range.

Character Options - Other Doctor Who Products

- Sound FX Daleks (Wave 2), (5").
Supreme Dalek (The Dalek Invasion of Earth) (1964), Guard Dalek (The Chase) (1965), Supreme Dalek (Planet of the Daleks) (1973), Supreme Dalek (Resurrection of the Daleks) (1984), Supreme Dalek (Remembrance of the Daleks) (1988) & Ironside Dalek (Victory of the Daleks) (2010).

- 50th Anniversary 'Iconic Scenes Collector's Sets'. Includes; The Invasion (2nd Doctor), The Invasion Of Time (4th Doctor) & Asylum Of The Daleks (11th Doctor) sets. (5").

- 11 Doctor's figure pack re-issue. (5").

- Sonic Screwdriver re-issues; 3rd, 4th, 10th & River Song sonics.

- Limited Edition 50th Anniversary Collector's Dalek. Features Lights, Speech and Sound FX.

- Doctor Who Mashems. Launchable, twistable, squishable character heads, foil packaged in a blind bag. 4 to collect; Weeping Angel, Silurian, Dalek & 1 other Monster TBC.

- Doctor Who Q.L.A Device, Cleric Wars Gun & App.

Character Building Doctor Who range

- Character Building 50th Anniversary, 11 Doctors blind packs.

- Character Building 11 Doctor's figure pack re-issue (variation).

- Character Building 'Monsters' Micro-Figure Multi Pack.

- Character Building 'The Ponds In New York' Micro-Figure Multi Pack.

- Character Building 'Cyberman Speeder' Mini Set.

- Character Building 'Dalek Skimmer' Mini Set.

Before Character Options came out with their Character Building range, DWO contacted Lego on numerous occasions to recommend Doctor Who Lego sets, owing to the demand we get from our visitors - in fact, it's one of the most popular merchandise requests we get on the site.

We paid Lego a visit at this year's Toy Fair and spoke to Emma Owen (Lego PR & Promotions Manager) and asked her about Lego's position on Doctor Who product:

"Obviously we realise the popularity is massive in the UK for Doctor Who and as I've heard as well it's popular overseas but it doesn't have that complete global appeal, which obviously we have to have when developing a product. We don't develop products that are just one country specific. It has to have mass appeal because obviously the investment that goes behind a product business-wise, we're operating on a complete business sense"

You can also listen to our brief Lego interview with Emma Owen below:

Look out for some other great products this year too. Paul Lamond Games will be releasing the first Doctor Who DVD game, which promises to challenge even the most dedicated fan! Star Cutouts will be releasing some fantastic new cutouts and masks, featuring characters from both the New Series and the Classic Series. Zeon have a rather extensive range of products coming out this year, including, USB devices, Mugs, Teapots, Cookie Jars, Money Boxes, Watches, Alarm Clocks, Keychains, Mint tins, Keychains and Pens (to name just a few).

More on all of these products as and when we receive more details. 

[Source: DWO]