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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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