Review of Captain America Heavy Artillery
The First Avenger action figure

Introduction

The final big budget super hero movie of the summer of 2011 will be hitting the screens on July 22nd - Captain America.

I've been pretty clear that of the three super hero films coming out this summer - Thor, Green Lantern and Cap - I was most looking forward to Cap. The reasons are pretty simple - while Thor had somewhat of an unknown in Chris Hemsworth as the lead, and Green Lantern has some pretty cheesy previews, Cap had the strongest overall cast and story. Now that Thor has came and conquered, we'll have to see if GL and Cap have what it takes to boot him off the hill.

The battle of the toys has been heating up too, but Cap is very late to that party. While the Thor toys have been available for what seems like months and the Green Lantern stuff has been easy to find for several weeks, there's still almost no movie based Captain America items to be found.  Unlike the other two, however, the Cap toy series has a strong supporting set of comic based figures and toys, something I know fans of the other characters would have appreciated.

The figure I'm looking at tonight is from the 4" scale comic series: Heavy Artillery Captain America. Don't pay much attention to the name, and I snagged this guy because I felt he was the most iconic modern comic representation in the series.

You should be able to find these at most major retailers, like Target, Toys R Us and Meijer. Expect to see even more product hitting the shelves as we get into the middle of June.

Packaging - ***
The packages have a movie look, but these do mention that they are part of the 'comic series'. Sticking with a consistent look across the release is a plus for MOCers.

Another plus is the small size and lack of waste. Obviously they aren't collector friendly, but there aren't any twisty ties inside there to annoy you, either.

Sculpting - ***1/2
These are the small scale figures, coming in at around 4" tall, very similar to Marvel Universe of course. 

This is a comic version, not a movie version, so don't look for a movie likeness. Instead, they've gone with a fairly traditional square jawed appearance, which works fine for the period of this costume design.

The costume has a ton of texture detail, and the proportions are right on. No pin head, no stumpy arms or legs, just a properly scaled hero.

He stands terrific on his own, and his hands are sculpted to work with the accessories.

Paint - ***
In person, as is often the case with smaller scale figures like this, the issues are less obvious than in macro photos.

Still, it's plain to the eye that the red stripes on the shirt are a bit sloppy, with bad edges and even some bleeding and running over into the white. The white wings are also on the weak side, with uneven coverage and poor definition.

The rest of the paint work is fairly solid, however, especially around the face and eyes. Again, keep in mind that this little guy is only 4" tall, making it a bit more difficult to perfect the tinier details.

Articulation - ***1/2
The articulation is superior to the previous Marvel Universe Caps I've picked up in a couple ways, but has two minor issues that hold it back from a perfect score.

I like the ball jointed neck, although there's not a lot of tilt and lean action going on. There's enough though, considering the scale, to add a little extra personality to most poses.

The ball jointed shoulders work well, and there are pin (actually pin/disc, so they turn too) elbows and double pin knees. There's no cut waist, but the high chest joint turns and tilts quite well.

He also has pin/disc ball ankles which work well and are very sturdy, along with cut thighs, a joint that previous versions really needed. He still has the crappy hips though that limit how much his legs can really do, but at least the cut thighs help.

The two nits that I mentioned earlier are the lack of any wrist joints and the softness of the pegs in the knees. The knee joints need to be a bit stronger to hold up to intense play, and there's no excuse to not at least have a cut joint on the wrists at the top of the gloves.

Even with those two nits, I think this figure is an improvement on the Marvel Universe versions that have come before, and shows just how good Hasbro can be at this scale.

Accessories - ***
This particular Captain America comes with two accessories and a projectile, but it's really only his shield that you'll care about.

The shield has a traditional appearance, with the more modern silver color. The high gloss finish looks terrific, and it fits neatly on either forearm with a small hook. However, this hook also folds down against the back of the shield, and a peg sticks out, making it possible for him to hold the shield in his hand or (more importantly) attach it to his back. There's a peg hole for the post right in the center of the star between his shoulder blades. This double duty is a nice touch.

This version also has a spring loaded projectile weapon that can fit on either arm. The missile snaps in easily and the button on top launches it, but not very far or very strongly. The cat has nothing to fear.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
With plenty of useful articulation, a great sculpt, and some decent accessories, you're getting a real toy that kids can have some serious battle fun with. If everyone making figures in this scale would just copy Hasbro, we'd all be a lot happier.

Value - **1/2
You can find these guys for $8 each without a lot of effort, which has been the going price for figures in this scale for awhile now. Add to that the better articulation and quality that we get from Hasbro figures in this scale than from other manufacturers at the same price, and you are certainly getting an average value, if not slightly better.

Things to Watch Out For -
The leg pins, especially at the knees, seem a bit soft and weak to me, so take some are when using those joints.

Overall - ***1/2
I'm really looking forward to snagging a few of the movie themed figures in this scale, as Hasbro knows how to do it right. I'm especially looking forward to the movie Red Skull, a character that Hugo Weaving should have a ton of fun playing.

Until then however, this comic based Captain America is a great addition to my collection, and a real improvement over the previous Marvel Universe versions I had picked up prior. It's also nice that Hasbro is giving us both comic and movie based figures at the same time, and hopefully this will help fuel some additional interest in the print version of the character.

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

Where to Buy 
These are a mass market release, and I've seen this particular character at every store I've been to. Expect to pay around $8 at most places.

Related Links -
Other Cap reviews include 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.

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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