When I spotted the
Signature Series
Spiderman Origins line
of 9” Marvel figures
during a recent shopping
trip to Wal-Mart, I was
extremely pleased to
find a Captain America
in the line-up. Granted,
he’s not 12”, but he
looks danged cool,
nonetheless. Since he
was the closest figure
in a Captain America to
what I really want, I
decided to pick him up,
and take him
home.
Packaging - ***
It’s kind of a
trapezoidal-type thing,
with a clear front so
you can easily view the
contents (Captain
America and his shield).
The package features
Spiderman/Captain
America graphics on the
front and a bio about
Steve Rogers (aka
Captain America) on the
back along with pictures
of the other figures
from this line.
Personally, I think the
whole action figure
packaging is over-rated.
However, if you’re a
“MIB” freak, the box
looks sharp enough I
guess. I had to cut
through 4 pieces of
tape, 5 twist ties and 2
rubber bands to free The
Captain from his
“prison”, but I think I
was still able to do it
in under a minute.
Sculpting - ***
The molded parts of
Captain A’s likeness
were fairly well-done. I
mean, I suppose since
I’m so used to 12”-scale
action figures, I might
be a little put off by
the features of the
Captain’s smaller
persona. His boots and
gloves are molded on,
and look sharp. His head
sculpt is decent, if a
bit generic.
Paint - **
The Captain is going to
get dinged for his paint
ops. There is quite a
bit of flesh-color
bleeding over onto parts
of his mask. The white
of his helmet “wings”
don’t seem to go low
enough onto his mask.
The big “A” on his
forehead looks pretty
tight though.
Articulation
- **1/2
Again, I am spoiled with
all the 12” figures I
own, and the
articulation they bring.
As a result, I am
disappointed by The
Captain. However, his
molded-on gloves and
boots are jointed at the
wrists and ankles
(respectively) and allow
for some decent poses.
He can’t kneel or look
up, but he can assume
several heroic-looking
stances.
Accessories - ***
Captain America
comes with his trusty
shield as his lone
accoutrement. It’s
good-sized, it snaps
right onto his wrist and
it features decent paint
work.
Outfit - ***
The good Captain comes
replete with his
bodysuit of red, white
and blue Spandex-esque
material. It fits the
bill well, and looks
great on the figure
itself. The suit is
stitched onto the
figure, so unless you’re
a decent seamstress, you
ain’t swapping his
costume to another
figure!
Fun Factor - ***
It’s Captain America,
for crying out-loud!
He’s got a shield that
can block imaginary
bullets, and he can kick
butt on all forms of
Nazis and Communists!
What’s not to love about
Captain America?
However, I take issue
with the fact that this
incarnation of The
Captain is smaller than
my entire World War II
action figure collection
(Kinda hard to kick Nazi
butt when they tower
over you by at least a
scale foot or two!)
However, as my
11-year-old son pointed
out, he’s just the right
size to do battle with
Bionicles! (As soon as I
figure out which
Bionicles are the Nazis
and which ones are the
Communists, Captain
America will go to work
on ‘em!)
Value - ***
I think he was $14.88 at
Wal-Mart. I didn’t think
that was a wholly
unreasonable price, all
things considered. There
were several other
figures in this series
that may be of interest
to other people. I just
bought Captain America
alone because I like the
subject matter. ($14.88
would have been the
perfect price if he were
about 3 inches taller!)
Things to Watch Out
For -
Nazi and Communist
Bionicles! (They are
diabolical little
suckers!) If you are
buying Captain America
at a retail store, you
might want to look at
several to find the one
with the best paint ops.
Besides that, Captain
America is a pretty
robust action figure and
can handle himself just
fine!
Overall - ***
I’m not going to
lie: I’m biased. I
really like the Captain
America character. This
particular figure is
danged impressive.
However, I think it’s
time someone made a 1/6
scale version of The
Captain! I’m talking
cloth suit, 30+ points
of articulation and
scaled to issue a
beating to the entire
Dragon, BBi and 21st
Century Toys lines of
Nazi figures on the
market. (A figure like
that would definitely
get 4 stars in my book!)
SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ***
Sculpt - ***
Paint - **
Articulation
- **1/2
Accessories - ***
Outfit - ***
Value - ***
Overall - ***
Where To Buy -
Wal-Mart is your best
brick-and-mortar bet. At
the time I’m writing
this, Kbtoys.com
is the one place I’ve
looked for them online
that had them.
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