12th Doctor's 2nd Sonic Screwdriver

It's been a long time since I was sent one of Character Options' Doctor Who products to review ... but at last they come through with the 12th Doctor's second Sonic Screwdriver ...

This first appeared in the last episode of season 9, 'Hell Bent', and was something of a surprise when the Doctor produced it from his pocket.

The main immediate difference from its predecessors is that there is no 'focussing' element at the end, instead there is a crystal-like structure which on screen reminded me a little of a Metebelis crystal. Otherwise it's the usual tube-like device with various bits and bobs on it - though different bits and bobs here to previous screwdrivers.

The operation here is a single push/pull switch on the side. Pushing it once and holding it activates a green light and a buzz, while pushing it twice and holding it makes it flash green with a whine sound. Pulling it once and holding it activates a blue light and a different buzz, while pulling it twice and holding it makes it flash blue 'chasing' around in a circle with yet another whining sound.

It's pretty cool, though it is quite hard to activate the 'two push/pull' functions. My thumb was hurting from the effort of holding the switch in place to make them work. It's also not obvious that there even is a 'two pull/push' element - I had to actually read the packaging to find out what it did! Perhaps the activation contacts could have been bigger and easier to connect to, or maybe just having four little buttons to press would have been a lot easier to navigate.

It might also have been nice if there were a couple of other manual functions to the toy - like the way that the old ones had an extending shaft and so on. However I guess that this would have pushed the manufacturing costs up.

It's a smashing looking toy though, and as the Sonic Screwdrivers have, over the years, become synonymous with the Doctor, it's nice that the newest one is available to buy in toy form.

The toy should be in the shops 'within weeks' Character say, but I'm sure there are some retailers around who will be taking pre-orders very soon.