Alas, poor Eaglemoss. At the time of this writing, the company is essentially no more, and this was among my very last “new product” purchases from Eaglemoss before it folded. And it’s a welcome one at that – for one night only, this is what the heart of the Doctor’s TARDIS looked like, but for many of us, this version left an indelible impression, with its steampunk vibe. But it could be argued that, with its overarching, spider-leg-like girders (not represented in this otherwise neat little model), Richard Hudolin’s take on the TARDIS for the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie had a seismic effect on future iterations of the Doctor’s time machine. From Christopher Eccleston’s TARDIS onward, the notion of the console’s transparent center column reaching to the ceiling of a vast space, now held up by a number of spider-leg-like flying buttresses of one design or another, now seemed to be a fixed part of the design. Now that’s what you call an influencer.
The good news is that Eaglemoss’ lovely tiny model of that Jules Verne-flavored console gets the details of the console itself so, so right. The tiny dials and switches and levers are where they should be, and that’s a beautiful thing. The drawback, for some, will be that the console in isolation just isn’t quite as impressive without the surrounding superstructure. (Surely someone out there with a 3-D printer and an Etsy account will see this drawback as an opportunity: fabricate the surrounding superstructure that you want to see in the world.)
As is the case with the rest of Eaglemoss’ TARDIS consoles, there’s really no specific scale tying the various consoles together. This model is clearly a smaller scale than my Eaglemoss Hartnell/Troughton-era console, so it’s kind of a background piece by default: whether you’re pairing it with Eaglemoss Doctor Who figurines, or the much larger Character Options action figures, this console is a background item, not a foreground item. Get some forced perspective going for it, and it looks great.
Another thing that looks fantastic is the customary mini-magazine that accompanies the model, with text specifically detailing the design evolution of the console for the 1996 movie, the roads not taken with that design, and the factors that led to it being what was seen on screen… as well as the fascinating story of the console falling into the hands of superfan who has since made it available to conventions (particularly the L.A.-based Gallifrey One). But the overhead diagrams of the whole console will have those of us who remember the likes of the 1980s Doctor Who Technical Manual salivating. Whether you’re here for factual behind-the-scenes information or the fictional specifics of the legendary prop, the magazine packs a lot of both into just a few pages.
This was the final TARDIS console Eaglemoss released before going under, and has already become something of a rarity, sadly. (This also prevents me from including an ordering button.) Hopefully someone else revives Eaglemoss’ Doctor Who line, or the company itself in some streamlined form survives to keep that line going. Even though the long gaps between seasons of modern Doctor Who have meant the figurine line frequently delves into seriously deep cuts, Eaglemoss has proven far more adventurous than the cost-conscious, reuse-the-same-molds-until-they-fall-apart practices employed by Character Options. Eaglemoss has given us Krotons and Kandymen and, yes, consoles. Here’s hoping they return in some form.
(For the record: here is how this console scales next to Character Options figures.)