NECA kicks off its new line of 18” Marvel Super Hero figures with the new Avengers movie Captain America. Being a huge Captain America fan and wanting to see what NECA was able to accomplish with this line, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this figure to see how it turned out. Captain America is actually the very first 18” scale figure I have ever owned, so I don’t have a big frame of reference for comparison. Nevertheless, join us as we take a detailed look at this big guy to see if he’s worth adding to your collection.

Check out hi-res images for this figure in our GALLERY below.




Packaging - The figure comes packaged in a rather large window box designed to look like Captain America’s uniform. Cap’s “A” with wings as seen on his mask are displayed on the front of the box at the top, and a picture of his shield is at the bottom with the Avengers logo on it. The sides have red and white stripes at the bottom to look like the mid-section of Cap’s costume. The top has the Avengers logo again and the name of the figure. The back features a brief bio for Cap and the names of all the people who worked on this figure. The box is pretty basic looking (no cool comic book or anything), but it clearly displays the figure so you can see what you are getting before making the purchase.

Sculpt - NECA does a pretty amazing job with the sculpting on this figure. The likeness is very true to Chris Evans, the actor that plays Cap in the movies. The detailing on the costume is also very nice. Everything is sculpted on instead of just painted, including the “A” on his helmet and the star on his chest. They seemed to have captured every detail of the costume as it appeared in the movie. Sculpting and detail are categories where NECA products often tend to shine, and it’s no different with this figure. The figure is all plastic but with the texturing, it is very hard to tell that you are looking at plastic not leather. Speaking of plastic, this thing is very solid and heavy. This guy ain’t fragile, in fact he’s already taken a couple tumbles off my shelf onto the floor and held up just fine. I would recommend displaying him someplace safe, so if he were to fall he doesn’t land on any small animals or such - he is a good couple pounds in weight.

Paint - Like with the sculpting details, the paint job on this is very good and detailed. It also seems to be very durable. Again after taking a couple large falls onto the floor, he doesn’t seemed to have suffered any kind of scrapes or paint loss. I did have a few paint chips come off when switching out the hands but that seems to have been more of some paint excess rather than anything else. The detailing on this figure is just astounding, even down to little things like the eyes. Obviously with a larger scale figure like this it’s easier to work in the tiny details, but NECA does not disappoint at all with the job they have done here.

Articulation - So this is the area where I have some issues. Now I will mention again that this is my first 18” figure, so I don’t have a lot to compare. I have to think for a figure this size, the amount of articulation on this figure is actually pretty good. It’s certainly not on the level of a Marvel Legends figure or even a Hot Toys 12” figure, but it’s still pretty nice. My issues with the articulation don’t really have anything to do with the amount it has, but with how it just doesn’t seem to work well in certain areas. The biggest problem area is at the feet. The feet are attached at the ankle area with a ball joint which allows you to turn the feet 360 degrees around and some forward and backward movement. The problem is because the figure is so top-heavy, the figure tends to fall forward very easily due to the give in the ankles. I love having movement in the ankle area but unfortunately on a figure of this size and weight, I am just not sure it’s practical. I applaud NECA’s efforts in trying to give this thing as much articulation as possible, but going forward with these figures they might want to think about working in some more support in the ankle area.

I couldn’t pop the head off and didn’t want to risk breaking it, but it appears to be attached with a ball joint. It can be turned 360 degrees and has decent movement downwards with some backwards movement. Because of the collar sculpted with a soft plastic, it has some restriction looking up.

The figure has swivel-hinged shoulders and elbows. The hands swivel and can be popped off and exchanged with an alternate opened-handed pair. There is a swivel joint at the torso and waist. The way the legs are attached to the waist, you can put the figure in a partial splits position. The legs have some forward and backwards movement but the way the joints are cut, they can’t go all the way back or forward enough to be put in a seated position. It has swivel hinged knees. The hinge joints are covered by the knee pads on the costume.

Another possible downside to the articulation is potential looseness in the joints with frequent use due to the weight of the figure. Other than the ankles I haven’t had any serious problems, but it is something I would recommend you be wary of over time.

Accessories - He comes with his shield that has two small straps that fit on his arm nice and tight. Some kind of larger strap would have been nice so he could wear the shield on his back, but Hot Toys didn’t provide that option on their 12” figure either so I guess it something hard to do with these large scale figures. The straps on this shield are made with what appears to be actual leather which is nice because they are firmly attached to the shield. I had issues with the straps breaking on my Hot Toys figure if you pulled on them too hard.

The figure also comes with a pair of interchangeable hands. One set of hands are close-fisted, and the other are open.

Overall - Other than having to be careful about the figure tipping over, I think this is a great figure to have. The details and look of it are incredible, and the figure is a lot cheaper than most higher end 12” scale figures. The 18” scale does present some minor problems of its own, as it takes up more shelf space. At least for me, I don’t have much else to display with it. Still as a Captain America fan, I am more than happy to find a spot for it all on its own and think this figure makes a great addition to my collection.

Score: 4 out of 5


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