Review of Captain America sixth scale action figure

Introduction

This summer saw the release of enough superhero comic book movies to keep even the most devote nerd happy - Green Lantern, Thor, X-Men, and Captain America all made appearances. Which means every geek made their list of best to worst, and then spent many hours debating and defending the validity of their list with other equally compelled individuals in online forums around the world.

So, yea - here's my list.  The best of the bunch? X-men First Class. It was the most engaging story, the best overall acting, and the best mix of reality and comic book. Next up? Thor, of course! I never expected them to pull off such a mystical character in a real world setting, but they did, due in large part to Hemsworth. At this point you know what my third choice is, since everyone has the same fourth choice. Green Lantern is no where near the worst comic book movie ever made (have you SEEN Catwoman?), but stack it up against the other three and it doesn't stand a chance. Which leaves Captain America in my third best comic book move of the summer slot.

While it didn't keep me as engaged for the entire 124 minutes as the other two films, it was a fun, summer flick that gave the character the respect he deserves. Chris Evans was a believable Steve Rogers, and the movie, along with Thor, has upped my anticipation for The Avengers even more.

Hot Toys snagged the movie to include in its Marvel Movie series, but they've only announced Cap so far. I'd love to see a Red Skull, and I'm still hopeful that it might happen (I'm sure we'll see another Cap as part of the Avengers figures that Hot Toys is doing next year), because without him, poor Cap is a little lonely on the shelf.

The figure is now shipping, and runs around $160 - $180, depending on the retailer.

Packaging - ***1/2
I like the packaging, but there's nothing this time around that really sets it apart. It uses the obvious shield theme, but is a pretty standard shoebox style, with a couple plastic trays inside to hold the figure and accessories. Everything is safe, and everything is also completely collector friendly (easily removed without damage to the package), but it's also a bit basic for Hot Toys.

Sculpting - ***
We only get one head sculpt this time, which is a shame. An unmasked Chris Evans as Steve Rogers would have gone a long way to upping the overall impression of this figure.

The masked version is very realistic, and the attached and sculpted mask looks fantastic. As always, it's like you're looking at a real person, not a toy.

However, whether you can see Steve Rogers as portrayed by Chris Evans in there is another story. Something seems off about it to me - he's more a generic good looking heroic guy than the actual screen character. This seems to be a slip from the prototype, where I could really see Evans in the eyes, nose and chin.

You could argue that you shouldn't look at the masked head sculpt and say "Hey, that looks like Steve Rogers!", since if you did, the mask wouldn't be doing it's job. It is a disguise, after all. But for me, there should still be more of a recognizable movie likeness here than there is.

Paint - ****
This is a Hot Toys figure after all - we're all well aware of the punctilious nature of their paint work. Realism abounds, right down to the eerily human eyes peering out from the mask.

The paint work on the shield is also outstanding, bright and glossy to the extreme. It's also very consistent on mine, something I was concerned about before receiving it.

Articulation - ***
This is one of the lower scores I've given a recent Hot Toys figure, and it's not due to a failing of the general TrueType body - that's still one of the best on the market. All the usual articulation is here, but there are a couple wonky anomalies this time.

The neck has the double ball joint - one below the jawline, and one down inside the torso. It works great except...the neck keeps popping off. It doesn't stay attached inside the torso, and every time I reposition it, I also have to reattach it. It's not a deal breaker for getting good poses, since when you reattach it, it stays til the next time you move the head around, but it is annoying.

Likewise with the wrists. Any regular Hot Toys buyer knows how short the pegs are that fit inside the hands, and how, on some occasions, the hole they fit into is pretty deep inside the hand. That's the case here, but adding to this is the leather cuffs. This time, they fit over the wrist ball, with just a small hole cut in them for the post. That means there's a layer of material inside the wrist joint too, making the connection even harder to make and keep. Every time I repositioned the hands, I was reattaching them. This is, like the neck, not a deal breaker for getting a pose, but it was extremely frustrating, especially when I was working with the shield.

The rest of the joints work as you'd expect, and they are all tight and solid. No other major issues, and you should be able to find plenty of poses you like - getting them is just going to be more annoying than usual.

Accessories - ***1/2
He's a little light in this department, at least when compared to other Hot Toys releases.

He comes with two traditional weapons - the Colt 1911 and the Thompson 1928A1 submachine gun. Both have removable ammo mags of course, but the slides and/or actions don't move this time around. The sculpts and paint are excellent as is the scale.

He also has his shield of course, since he wouldn't be much of a Captain America without it. It's plastic, but with a VERY bright plated paint finish. Mine doesn't have any rub marks or damage, but you'll want to be careful with yours to avoid chipping the paint work.

There are two straps on the back of the shield that hold it in place on his arm. The larger can slip all the way up to his elbow, while the smaller can fit around his forearm or through his hand. There's a buckle on the smaller loop to make it simpler to get in place.

The shield can also be held on his back with the use of an S clip. The instructions show how to set it up, and it does the job just fine.

There is a leather belt with two pouches that he slings around his shoulder as well - I'm counting this as an accessory, but it can easily be considered a part of the outfit instead.

There's a general assortment of hands, including closed fists, grasping fists, relaxed grips, and wide splayed hands. With these eight sets there is also a single right hand with the index finger extended, useful for either a pointing pose, or for holding a gun with the finger outside the trigger guard.

I've already mentioned that swapping the hands is too easy - they fall off with the slightest touch once you start swapping them around. I didn't have any fear of breaking the posts, but if you do, they've included a couple extras.

Finally, there's the usual display stand, useful for those that want consistency in their display.

Outfit - ***
One of my favorite aspects of the film was Cap's uniform. It combined the best of the comic book look and actual fatigues. Hot Toys has done another bang up job capturing the look, right down to the stitching on the shoulders and the buckles on the belts.

All the material is very high quality, and it works pretty well with the articulation. The arms were a bit restricted, but I could live with it.

Just like with Indiana Jones, the boots on Cap are a highlight. While they don't have the actual laces that his did, they look fantastic nonetheless. Even better, they stopped the pants at the top of the boots, so that you aren't constantly fighting with them slipping out.

So if I'm loving the outfit so much, why the B average score? I had a quality issue that brought down the overall impression, at least for me.

The holster has a knob closure that the flap should pop on to. This knob should fit inside a hole in the bottom of the holster, but mine isn't properly cut, so it popped right out when I tried to open the flap. It's a bit hard to explain, so I've included a photo - that sort of quality issue is always a minus with a figure that costs this much.

Fun Factor - ***
For me, the reason Hot Toys figures are so great is that they started with the concept of a sixth scale 'toy', and then improved on it and grew it into something that could also be called 'art'. They never completely lost track of the roots of the figure, and because of that the final product is still a whole lot of fun, even for us older kids.

Value - **
This is a figure that lines up better with the usual $150 Hot Toys release than a $175 release. The accessories are a smidge light, although the costume is a bit more complex than some. I docked them a half star off an average value here, assuming you end up paying closer to $175 than $150.

Things to Watch Out For -
Be particularly careful with that holster - you can see in the photo I included how the post wasn't even entirely encircled by the leather on mine, making it almost impossible for it NOT to pull loose.

You should also follow the included instructions when it comes to posing the arms - over doing it could cause damage.

Overall - ***
This is a good figure - solid overall work. But with the issue with the holster, the issue with the neck and wrists, and the slightly off head sculpt, it adds up to a slightly lower than usual score.

He does fit in really well with the rest of the Marvel figures, and he has me itching to see what Hot Toys has planned for us as part of the overall Avengers line.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***1/2
Outfit - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- he's available at Sideshow, where he's a little higher at $170.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Captain America figures include:

- DST did a nice Marvel Select pair, with Cap and Red Skull.

- other cap items include the figures by Hasbro, this look at him and the giant sized Skrull, this Marvel Universe version, a guest review of the Sideshow PF, a guest review of the old school 9" Hasbro version, and a guest review of the Marvel Legends version. 

- and if you like Hot Toys Marvel movie figures, check out their Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Thor, and any one of the million Iron Man movie figures.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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