Review of Agent Coulson - Avengers action figure

Introduction

Everybody wants - and buys - the big name characters from any license. When it's something like the Avengers, you know Iron Man, Hulk, and Captain America are going to sell, and sell well.  But it's the lesser known B characters that make your display something special, and far too often people overlook these jewels.

Agent Coulson is just that - a jewel for the shelf. He's not the sort of figure you're going to build a display around, but he is just the sort of figure that you need to have a complete cast. Hot Toys has been doing a great job with the Marvel license, giving us a wide variety of characters and looks, allowing us to develop a terrific collection. I have my fingers crossed that they'll do the same with the 1966 Batman license.

Coulson is shipping now, and originally cost a relatively reasonable $170 or so. He sold out quickly though, and you're only recourse now might be ebay where prices will be higher.

Packaging - ***
Nothing too surprising here, but I am a bit disappointed by Hot Toys recent drop in quality with the packaging. It's still collector friendly of course, and the box and sleeve should hold up to storage, but it's gotten much more basic. There's a sleeve and a window box, with a plastic inner tray. At least we got some basic instructions, although everything here is pretty simple to assemble.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This was a tricky category for me this time around. When I first pulled him out of the box, I was disappointed. It didn't scream Coulson to me, and fell below the standard I expect.

But after working with him awhile and viewing him from different angles and in different light, I decided he was actually a very solid portrait. When people see him on the shelf with the rest of the Avengers, they'll know immediately who he is.

Paint - ****
Hot Toys plus Paint equals Outstanding. While it isn't an automatic slam dunk, it's always a safe bet.

The skin tone is very realistic, with gorgeous eyes and a perfect hairline. The eyebrows are just about perfect as well, and while there's not a ton of paint on the accessories, what's here is very clean.

Articulation - ****
The base body is the usual exceptional TrueType, with some additional padding. More on that later.

The body is one of the very best on the market, and takes natural, flowing life-like poses. The costume, while not the most visually exciting, is certainly less restrictive than most, and allows the body to take just about any pose.

Accessories - ****
There's some great extras here, which is a really necessary feature when you're working with such a basic character.

Let's start with the obvious - there's the basic display stand, as well as three additional hands. With the included hands, you have a couple relaxed poses, a gun gripping right hand, and a couple gesture poses. They swap easily, and they've included a couple extra wrist pegs in case you have an issue.

There's several must haves for this character, including his ear piece. The small device pops into the ear easily and holds tight. The sunglasses look terrific too - getting glasses to look this good in sixth scale is very tricky. Also in the category of smaller extras is his watch, a silver job that fits nicely on his wrist. Just remember that it's there when you're swapping hands, or you may lose it.

A guy in his job needs to communicate a lot, so there's even more devices to do just that. There's his Blackberry, which fits nicely in his hands or in a pocket, as well as his radio. This can clip on his belt, although it takes a little effort.

What does he need to communicate about? Perhaps it's the top secret S.H.I.E.L.D. folder he's carrying. Unfortunately we'll never know, since the interior is blank.

His ID badge looks terrific, and comes with a very small clip that attaches it to his suit pocket.

There's also the set of Captain America collector's cards, wrapped in plastic. I still have mine wrapped, since I'm not quite sure what I'll do with them, but they are clearly a necessary addition.

Finally, he has his weapons. There's his standard issue Glock, complete with removable magazine and spring action slide. He also has the funky blaster he used against Loki. It fits perfectly in his hands, and is emotionally fitting, as he used it in his finest moment in the film. By using it in the display, he goes from 'dude in a suit' to 'cool hero'.

Light Feature - ****
The gun barrel lights up, with light filtering through several areas. The switch and battery compartment are up under the barrel, well hidden, and the light is very bright and clean. The color is good, and the included batteries are lasting pretty well...so far.

The reason I'm so enamored with this light up feature is simple - the gun is terrific without it, but becomes outstanding with it. What more could you ask for out of a light up feature?

Outfit - ***
This is the one area where I was disappointed. I had heard many, many good things about the suit, but it didn't live up to the hype for me.

My first impression, with the short tight pants and sharply pointed shoes, was that I had no idea he was the fifth Beatle. The shoes are actually great sculpts, and I can live with the too tight pants...if they were long enough. You can pull them down to get a little overlap on the shoes, but that creates a slight accordion effect. Had they been tailored slightly longer to begin with, with a proper fit at the shoes, neither issue would be there.

Under the shirt, they've added a soft padding to give him a middle aged guy look. I'm not sure it was necessary, and while it gives a very realistic look around the waist, it causes the shirt to do some weird things at the chest. That causes the too short tie to pooch out at odd angles as well, and getting everything to lay smooth was pretty much impossible.

And then there's the coat. The lapels are tacked in place, which I appreciate, but the shoulders don't lay quite right.I had a particular issue on the left, and basic futzing and readjusting couldn't correct it.

This is a figure that I'll have to completely undress, and may need a water treatment to get just right. I may also drop the padding, to allow the shirt and tie to lay properly. While that's not a big deal in terms of futzing, out of the box the suit isn't as nice as I'd hoped.

Fun Factor - ***
It's a guy in a suit, but with the addition of some terrific accessories, they added some fun back in to an otherwise basic character.

Value - **1/2
This guy was originally around $170, depending on the retailer. At that price, he's a solid value. Had he been closer to $200, like too many of the more recent releases, he would have taken a hit here. But with the number of accessories, including the cool light up gun, and the slightly lower price, he's a solid value.

Of course, that was when he was readily available. Sadly, if you skipped pre-ordering, picking one up now is probably going to cost you quite a bit more.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything here was solid and sturdy, and I didn't have any fear of damage with normal handling and posing.

Overall - ***1/2
My only real disappointment here was with the suit, and that's an out-of-the-box situation. I fully expect that with some real futzing, I'll get it to look the way I want, making it a bit more of a minor nit.

The portrait is solid, the paint ops are excellent, and the accessories make him stand out. He might just be a guy in a suit, but your Marvel shelf will be the richer with him standing with the other heroes.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow had him for $175, but sold out.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Hot Toys has done a number of Avengers figures so far, including Black Widow and Loki. Other key Hot Toys Marvel figures include the recent Iron Monger, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, the Mark V, the Secret Project version, the MKVI, the very cool War Machine, the hot chick Black Widow, Whiplash, the Mark III figure, Mark II figure, Mark I figure, and additional Tony Stark men's suit. There are also guest reviews of the Battle Damaged Iron Man and Mech Suit Tony Stark.

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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