ShartimusPrime takes a look at the new Hot Toys Captain America Civil War Movie 1/6 Masterpiece Captain America figure.
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If you're a Hot Toys Captain America completionist, this could possibly be your 7th or 8th Hot Toys Captain America figure. How does the Hot Toys Captain America Civil War MMS 350 1:6 Collectible Figure stand out from the rest? Well true believers, keep on reading to find out!
PACKED UP
Hot Toys is fairly clever with their packaging, and this piece is no exception. I like how the outer sleeve of the package resembles the comic covers of Marvel's Civil War comic series by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. We have a beautiful wrap image going across the top depicting #TeamCap going into battle. Funny that the lovely and ever so powerless Sharon Carter is leading the effort. Hey, without her, Cap and Falcon wouldn't have the necessary gear to take on #TeamIronMan. After removing the gorgeous sleeve, we can see the figure inside and the rest of the package is blue and white with a shattered pattern throughout with some hints of Cap's shield.
ALL THOSE WHO CHOSE TO APPOSE HIS SHIELD MUST YIELD
From what I understand, there are 2 versions of this figure. The exclusive version (which I don't have) is supposed to include a different base that includes some rubble and bricks, along with a different battle damaged shield with the infamous Black Panther claw marks. The base for my figure is pretty standard with the appropriate Captain America shield design, spot varnished movie logo, and shiny plaque. No dynamic posing stand for this one, just the regular taint tickler . . . or gooch cradle . . . or whatever you want to call it. We get the Crossbones helmet (seriously, wasn't he awesome?) which has some impressive paint, especially for an accessory. The figure has 7 interchangeable hands. Pointing finger for the right only, fists and shield holding hands for both sides, relaxed hand for the left, and wide open hand for the right. Extra wrist pegs included. There's a love/hate relationship with the shield. LOVE how it looks, HATE putting it on the figure. I actually fault the hands more than anything. I wish Hot Toys would change their wrist peg system, especially when import companies like SH Figuarts, MAFEX, and Figma do it so much better. The straps are incredibly annoying to deal with and it does take time (about 15 minutes) to properly getting him to hold his shield. Unclip this, detach that, slip this through there, reclip that and wait, it won't stay? Well you need to unclip this and that, and it's just frustrating and not fun! But I will say I like how the small straps detach and you can then attach a small black clip to the shield that will attach to Cap's back. While quite wobbly, it does look cool. We also get interchangeable faces and heads, which I'll touch on . . . NOW.
The helmeted head sculpt doesn't look too different from the previous Age of Ultron Cap figure, but the big difference here is TEETH!!! Yes, I love that we can swap the lower half of his face with the teeth gritting expression of the second lower face. These stay on via magnet, and they both fit perfectly. The teeth face looks so intense, and for me it just takes the figure to another level. What better to get the figure in an intense pose while also having an intense facial expression. We also get a "helmetless" Steve Rogers head sculpt that is, again, very similar to the Age of Ultron version, but the eyes are looking more centered, which I like. Swapping the heads takes some effort, and the first time taking off the helmet head, the bottom half stayed on the body and I needed needle nose pliers to remove it and super glue it back together. Very annoying but not the worst. The fabric looks great on this figure. I love how it reflects light and it just gives it a very high quality look that fits the ranks of someone like Tony Stark. Oh man, they're so ready to fight. Some very small stitching slips have occurred but the weird thing is the back flap on the figure. I still don't totally understand the point of it, but after learning how to tuck it in under his pants, it's not much of an issue. As always, Hot Toys applies some awesome paint to the boots on Cap figures, and this is no exception.
With articulation like this, of course he can! I love the articulation on this figure. I haven't had more fun posing a Hot Toys Captain America figure. I've reviewed the last 2 releases (Winter Soldier and AOU), and I truly love how easy it is to get this guy in the poses that I want him to. Also, I haven't experienced any damage or ripping from articulating the figure. The full range of head movement works great, I love that the arms can move all the way forward, I feel like that's something new and different compared to the Age of Ultron figure. There isn't much of a mid-torso joint, but the waist joint provides all the mobility I really want. Legs are well articulated with double jointed knees and awesome ankle pivot, which we did see on the Age of Ultron figure.
HEIGHT
When comparing this figure to my First Avenger Cap figure, this guy stands very tall, however this isn't unusual compared to the more recent Cap figures from Hot Toys. When comparing this guy to my Hot Toys Mark 45 Iron Man, I think they scale nicely together, and I'm looking forward to getting the figures into more battle poses.
CHOOSE A SIDE
#TeamCap all the way! I wish Hot Toys would hire someone to play with their figures. Have someone that doesn't work on the figure to try to get the figure to do the things it's supposed to do. A little outside perspective could have an effective on how the end product comes out. There just seems to be a little bit of gap somewhere in the design process that doesn't seem to thoroughly check the functionality of certain aspects of the pieces. Switching the heads and hands is irritating, and with a price tag breaching $200, that stuff should be sorted out. That being said, I love the figure. Yes, I LOVE the figure. It looks so badass when I get him into dynamic poses, and the exposed teeth just kick up the intensity and realism to a level that I wasn't expecting. After dealing with all the QC BS, I have to say I'm very happy. Judge as you wish, and please leave a comment below and let us know what you think.
Excelsior!