Sculpting - ***
The sculpt is... well, I'm beginning to think that all the toys were designed before the final monster designs came through.  This one looks a lot more like Chitauri in the movie than the Hasbro figure, but the mask isn't quite right - and I would have loved to see one with an exposed face like in that one famous close-up.  Ah, well, beggars can't be choosers.

The Chitauri is wearing his impractically skimpy cyber armor, though he's missing that all-important wire in the back of his head.  He's also got five fingers on each hand - three and two thumbs, which is different from the Hasbro version's six.  Does anyone want to look at the DVD and see which is better?  Aside from the inaccuracies, it's a good sculpt with decent textures and proportions.

And of course, one unavoidable complaint: Being Marvel Select, it's in a seven-inch scale and thus is not going to fit in with any of your six-inch Marvel Legends.  It definitely towers over Loki!  This is standard for Marvel Select, though, and really only avoidable with figures like Hulk or Juggernaut who are meant to be huge.

Paint - ***
The paint, although kind of skimpy, is up to Marvel Select's usual standards.  Gold, gray, silver, and purple for the armor, and his skin is white or gray - though the paint job loses a whole point for the flesh tone.  It's way whiter than anything in the movie, and should have been gray.  It's a little low on the purple, too, but that's no big issue.

Articulation - ***
The Hasbro figure featured HORRIBLE articulation.  No elbows, no knees, and stiff arm and leg movement!  This figure is a much-needed improvement - ball-jointed shoulders, elbows, wrists, head, hips, double knees, swivel ankles, and a ball-jointed chest.  It's all very good and blends nicely with the figure, except for one issue.  The articulation is stiff and a lot of its movement feels restricted (especially in the shoulder).  I don't know if it's just me, but one of the legs feels slightly stuck.  The Chitauri is best in zombie-poses, and won't be able to keep up with your hyper-articulated figures, but overall it's a definite improvement over the other toy.

Accessories - **1/2
Just like any Marvel Select figure, the Chitauri Soldier has a base!  And I admit it's a really cool base, but... well, maybe I’m being hyper-critical.  It's a gigantic section of balcony railing, just like what someone might see outside an older building in Manhattan.  Hawkeye also comes with another section that interlocks with this, but.... that's all there is.  It's just the fence, with nothing for the Chitauri to actually stand on.  It's sculpted well, and the dirty paint job is very good, but that's all there is.  The Chitauri himself comes with no weapons, and no way to hold any, either.  That's sad, as even the Hasbro figure gave him a halfway-decent rifle!  All of the Chitauri soldiers in the movie held something, whether it was a gun or a stick or whatever.  Instead of the base, they could have made the best of both worlds with a chariot, perhaps?  I can't really complain about what the Chitauri has, except that it could have been so much better.

Design/Quality - **1/2
As I said, it seems to be based on outdated concept art, so it doesn't really look like any of the movie Chitauri.   The quality control is good, though, as it's a pretty sturdy toy.

Fun Factor - ***
It's the only halfway-decent Chitauri figure available (did that Hot Toys one ever come out?), and it's probably the most child-friendly, too.  So I'll give it points for being kind of fun, if bland.

Value - ***
Mine was $22, which appears to be standard for the figure.  And you know what?  An 8" figure with a massive display base is relatively good at that price, even if it stings a little.  In this day and age, 6" figures with sub-par articulation and paint and no accessories go for almost as much, or sometimes more, depending on the company.

Things to Watch Out For -
Nothing comes to mind.  It's durable, and the paint is too simple to mess up.

Overall - ***
For all my complaining, this isn't a BAD figure.  It's just that there's no way it deserves a fourth star.  Everything about it is just a little under par, but the overall package is quite nice.  I complained a lot about the figure and the Chitauri in general, but hey, they aliens look cool, and the figure is close enough to how they appeared in the movie.  And it is way, way better than the 3 3/4" figure.

Score Recap:
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - **1/2
Design/Quality - **1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - ***
Overall - ***

Where to Buy -
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Big Bad Toy Store

- Urban Collector

- or you can search ebay

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