Captain America The First Avenger 3.75" Captain Britain

 **Hey all! Just wanted to slip in a quick reminder to enter the contest from earlier this week if you wanna win free stuff!  See previous post for the details! ;)**

I've wanted a Captain Britain since his initial Marvel Universe release.  I wanted him bad just so I could complete my United Nations of Super Heroes.  You know, Captain America and U.S. Agent for the USA, Sunfire representing Japan, Guardian for Canada, Union Jack and Captain Britain for...You guessed it, Great Britain!

Jack of many and master of all? Wot?

Though I saw the first MU single carded release on the pegs in September last year and the Captain Brit pics from the 2-pack with Spiderman that turned out to be the old school costume, I wanted neither.  Funky as the latter and classic as the former was, I wanted a modern Captain Britain, dammit!  All it took was a movie to be made.  And it isn't even about the good ol' British Super Soldier himself--it's about duh, Captain America, of course!

But just to get you guys who are not from "across the pond" or are not from a country that's been a British colony before in the mood for some right ol' jolly good toy reviewing, we'll sing the world's most recognized national anthem, God Save the Queen!

Feel free to belt it out along with the video:

God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and Glorious,
Long to reign over us;
God save the Queen!

Yes, right chaps!  Now that we're all in the mood, did you know that the most recognized flag in the world is the Union Jack?  Cor Blimey!  It's a wonder that Captain Britain isn't the most recognizable character in the world!  Maybe after this review he'll become the most recognizable action figure in the world.  Load of codswallop?  We'll just have to take a look, shall we?

 

Like: I'm completely chuffed with he modern design!  Compared to the 1st version from MU, the old school one with Spidey in a Comic 2-pack and another old costume from the Captain America 3-pack with Red Guardian, this one has a very nice helmet/visor combo and those lovely pouches.

Like: The awesome swivel/hinge ankles.  Similar to those found in SDCC 2010 Captain America, Doctor Strange,  and Modular Armor Iron Man just to name a few, the feet have got posts that attach the hinge joint towards front of foot.  The beauty of this new and improved ankle is that it mimics real ankle movement!

Whatever foot position you want can be achieved--fully pointed toes, inwards and outwards rotation, rotating while pointing or pivoting (which even human feet can't fully do).

Now if that doesn't make you pleased as Punch then I don't know what does! ;P
 

Like: The paint's the bee's knees, it is.  There's so much of it, so detailed, so shiny, so...precious...And nothing says modern costume more than shiny!  I'm even really impressed with the non-metallic colors like the white they've molded most of him in.  Perhaps because most of him is shiny, the plastic looking white looks great on him.

I have to say that finding one with good paint wasn't too difficult,  His eyes are generally well done, with white painted pretty deeply into his helmet on a dark wash.  In terms of areas to watch out for, you'll want to make sure the red of his helmet doesn't spill excessively onto the part of his face that's revealed.  You also might want to watch out for the white edges on the red parts of his costume--those tend to be neat but can be slightly pink like in the one I got.

Dislike: The paint. I know, I know.  You don't have to throw a wobbly just because I both like and dislike his paint.  There's benefits and drawbacks, you see, old chums.  With the amount of articulation he has, the paint tends to come off easily after twisting and turning the guy a bit, especially around the joints.  Case in point: the top portions of his legs that attach to his lower torso via swivels.  Yes, I learned my lesson the hard way a had a huge chunk chip off on me.

Weird torso, chipped paint and awesome pouch!

But keep your pecker up because since I've taken care to watch out for over swiveling, no extra paint has come off.

Like: The new hip/leg articulation.  Like all the other figures I've reviewed from the Cap movie line so far, Captain Britain has to same great leg articulation at the hips/legs.  You can check out a picture "tutorial," so to speak, in the Ultimate Cap and Movie Cap figure reviews. :)

Like: Excalibur!  I always like me a good sword.  It makes me chortle that when almost every other figure in the line comes with a shield and guns, Captain Britain comes with a sword and a brobdingnagian (Click it. I dare you! :P) monstrosity of an arm blaster-cannon-missile-shooter.  Excalibur is a great contrast of old and new with Brian Braddock's modern costume.  It nicely ties his powers back to the mystical roots of Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, and the land itself.  It's also a great touch because Cap Britain has been part of the UK mutant super hero group Excalibur since the beginning till it was disbanded a few years back.

Dislike: The mismatched upper torso to mid-torso at the chest pivot.  It looks as queer as a nine bob note but is saved by the scrumptious utility belt, a fact which I'm sure those cheeky buggers at Hasbro were banking on!  Unlike the other figures from this line, this bloke's chest pivot is practically swivel-only.  It's down to how they sculpted the upper torso that restricts movement over the lower torso.

Like:  The pouches!  It's a remarkably detailed and separate piece with eight compartments molded in a matte black.  They've also picked out the buttons and buckle in silver.  It's actually a very nice touch in an already popping figure and adds that little bit of extra that toy fans always look for.  Well, what can I say?  I'm either a huge fan of pouches or was a kangaroo in my past life.  Perhaps even both. ;P



RATINGS

Aesthetics: 9.5/10 - Simply delightful.  The best of the Captains Britain!  The perfect shine for the perfect pop.  Throw in a nifty utility belt and Bob's your uncle, a magnificent specimen of 3.75" British glory!

The only issue I have with him is the mismatched chest joint.  It's one of those things that you wouldn't notice until you looked closely, then it'll be at the back of your mind gnawing at it.  Thank the Queen for the distraction of the utility belt!

Poseability: 9/10 - Ankles, thigh cuts and the new Captain America line hip/leg assembly already make this a standout of this line.  But throw in his wrist swivels, which not all the figures have, and you've got yourself an excellent model of articulation that's wonderfully poseable.

And let's not forget the awesome accessory in Excalibur that makes this guy stand out from your average gun-toting superhuman.  Captain Britain also has two gripping hands so he can be, how do you American say it, "pimped out" with two swords or a sword and a shield!  Heck, if you like, you can even make him a cackhander!

Fun: 9/10 - What makes this figure truly fun is the inclusion of Excalibur for the posers like me and the gigantic arm blaster and missile for the kids/people who like to shoot stuff at the eyes of their friends.  For the latter, the BFG is quite powerful, probably the most powerful I've seen so far.  For fellow sword-lovers like myself, 3.75" scale swords are always a joy because while there are tons of guns and even katanas in this scale, but there's probably only a handful of western blades.

The only other swords I have is from the Grail Knight of the Indian Jones line.  There are also a couple of rapiers from Fandral (Thor movie line) and Mutt Williams (Indy Jones again) but none have been, well, Excalibur. :)

Value: 8/10 - Two accessories, but one's a giant arm cannon.  Still I'm chuffed because there's some great paint apps and tooling that feels like I got bang for my buck.

Overall: 8.9/10 - It's very much a keeper!  By Jove, calling Captain Britain "rather lovely" would be understating it.  He's by far the best Captain Britain out there in 3.75" scale right now and you'd be off your trolley not to think so.  And it'll be yonks before Hasbro will come up with a Cap Britain that can trump this one!