Doctor Who materialises in Lego form

The Doctor has regenerated once again -- in Lego form. Well, not actual official Lego, but a new range of Doctor Who building toys called Character Building by celestial toymakers Character. The bricks have studs. Studs are cool.

Some very cool armed forces figures and vehicles are available in the same studded-brick building format. The army and Doctor Who sets come in packs of various sizes, starting with individual figures in mystery packets costing £2.

They come apart, allowing you to mix'n'match different elements of each character, such as eleventh Doctor Matt Smith's jacket and shirt, and companion Amy Pond's incredible shrinking skirt. The latest versions of the Cybermen, Silurians and Daleks also inhabit playsets including a Cyber-factory and a giant TARDIS interior.

Great news for long-time fans: there is a Lego-sized version of the eleven Doctor set, featuring all your favourite old-timey Time Lords from Hartnell to Tennant. They even grip sonic screwdrivers, allowing you to put the Lego in Logopolis.

The Who building sets will launch in April, when the show returns to our screens. We had a look at the action figures for the new series too, but the BBC is keeping them under tighter guard than Rassilon's underpants.

In fact, these aren't the only Who toys materialising over the next year. Matt Smith's fezz-fancying fizzog is festooned over everything from dartboards to inflatable Daleks. The BBC is certainly getting its licence fee's-worth from the show: that's not to mention the games for iPad and iPhone and Wii -- complete with Sonic Screwdriver Wiimote. 

When the series returns we'll finally get answers to the show's burning questions: why did the TARDIS explode? Who is River Song? Will Neil Gaiman's episode be any good? Can Amy Pond's skirt get any shorter? And most important of all: How tall is Doctor Who?

Doctor number 11 is joined by all 10 previous incarnations in one box set.

Army of Dalekness. The studded bricks of the Character Building toys are compatible with another leading studded construction toy -- mentioning no names, but it sounds a bit like 'Meglos'.

That was a joke for the over-30s -- we're talking about Lego. The biggest playset is a multi-level TARDIS interior, which will cost around £50.