The Avengers: Captain America Goliath Assault Tank

The Avengers 3.75" line has so far proven a little disappointing in the action figure department.  A lack of articulation at a high retail price is a off-putting.  Sure, the sculpts the are beautiful and the paint is pretty good.  Heck, even the packaging really pops on the pegs.  But when you get past all that, you get a figure less playable than pretty much everything out there, except some of those "new" (read: re-released) Star Wars figures with all of 5 points of articulation.


But lo!  Beneath the pegs and on the shelves, in boxes instead of cards, full of compartments and moving parts and every inch as great-looking as the 3.75" figures themselves, were the Avengers vehicles!  There's the Quinjet, Iron Man's jet, the Assault Armours, and this, the Cap's Goliath Assault Tank.  The problem is that their price points are also quite high.  And if it weren't for the Rangerlord finding this in Manila for 2/3 the retail price in Singapore, I would've gotten this much later.  So let's see whether it's as good outside the box as it looks in packaging!

Like: The squat, low design that's reminiscent of the Iron Man Rolling Battle Headquarters but smaller.  Also, it has none of that red and gold shenanigans the Iron Man base has, with a more muted red, blue, and grey colour scheme.  Also, the wheels, gun turret, cannon lip and view hole aren't moulded in black but a dark, sort of shiny brown.  It's kinda...funky?

If not for the Avengers logo at the front of the vehicle, the Goliath Assault Tank could even pass off as a GI Joe assault tank as is.

Like: It can fit 3 guys, albeit snugly.  The pilot's on his own, while the two at the back get to face backwards, with the one directly behind the pilot awfully close to the rear "monitor" which is an unmarked, unstickered, unpainted could-be-anything panel from a weapons targeting system to a really uncomfortable forehead rest.

Dislike: Lack of heft.  It makes the tank seem more like a cart for kids, you know, the Fred Flintstone type where leg power propels the vehicle.  Heck, even Fred's stone-made car looked a lot heavier than this tank feels.  Thankfully the plastic used is solid despite its weight.

Like: The little tampographed details like "no step," "access hatch, "caution," hatch-rotate locking pin," "power core access" and the little computer console for the pilot.  They serve as a reminder to everyone that Cap's super cool, especially when he's drivin' down the boulevard in his sweet ride.

Dislike: Wheels don't all roll on an even surface.  Only 3 of them rolled when on a smooth table, while 4 or 5 rolled in my light box studio.  I think rubber tyres on the wheels or at least a hard rubber layer would've worked better, not to mention add some of that heft that's sorely missing.

Like: Swivel/hinge cannons.  Tight as the joints are, they are there, contrary to some reviews I've heard of saying that the guns don't swivel.  The hinge involves both cannons and their perpendicular posts and is a 90 degree affair, with the cannons able to be positioned on top of the tanks or at the side equally well.  The swivels are heavily ratcheted and and can be hard to rotate.  You might wanna use two hands to initially "break" the joint and ease the stiffness.  After that, the rotation should come easier--this almost sounds like physiotherapy!

Like: The hatch.  You can't really put figures into the vehicle this way (unless you go nuts and have no regard for the condition of your toys) but it's a really nice touch that allows for some great play opportunities.  It also gives one more really nice option for posing.  It's a simple hinge and hatch but yet so much fun!

Like: Running boards with pegs.  The tank's got 2 of these, one on each side just in front of the two rear wheels.  So at max capacity the vehicle can actually carry 5 figures total, unless you have the guy in the hatch stepping on a couple of crotches. :P

Dislike: The lame excuse for a Captain America figure that's included.  It's only got 5 PoAs. Five!  In this day and age!

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 8/10 - Six wheels on a tank, two different cannons, and a ton of nice little tampographs.  Can't go wrong there.  Excellent sculpt, looks great next to any version of Cap, even the lame one that comes with the tank.  However, the vehicle does look a little plastic from lack of paint, though.  But the sculpt is good enough that if you simply sprayed it all black and dry-brushed the whole thing silver, it would look superb.

Poseability: 8/10 - Though it's from the Avengers movie line, the vehicle looks more comic series than movie series.  And it's looks and plays great with Marvel Universe figures, which are taller than the movie figures but fit better because of their better articulation.

Fun: 8/10 - Cap would drive this into battle, leap out just before, ramming it into the major big boss bad guy, then find a way to drop the tank right onto the unsuspecting baddie.  Best part is--it'll be all part of the plan right from the start.  Aww yeah.

On its own, the Goliath tank provides action figures with a really great base to work out of, whether it's as a display piece or for play.  It's got a nice large top that opens up, a small hatch for that gung ho hero, two movable guns (one of which fires), and rolls along like any decent wheeled vehicle does.

Oh, and there's also that nice battering ram in front for when you want to run over villains, fences, or your pet cat/dog.

Value: 7/10 - You're paying for the vehicle only, really, since it comes with a rubbish excuse for a Cap.  You do get two articulated cannons, and a detachable antenna.  But that's par for the course (it's a tank, for cryin' out loud.  It should have these things anyway.  Heh.)

On discount or clearance the Goliath Assault Tank is more than worthwhile.  I paid S$30 for it in Manila (thanks again, Rangerlord!), while it retails for S$49.90 here in Singapore!

Overall: 8/10 - It's a keeper! - Vehicles are the kings of accessories.  Good ones are worth getting if you have the figures for them.  great ones take on a life of their own.  I'm gonna say the Goliath Tank falls in the latter category.  It doesn't matter if you have Cap for this vehicle.  You could have any of the other Avengers and still get maximum enjoyment out of it.  In fact, you don't even need Avengers for that.  Heck, you could even buy this for your GI Joes and it would still be awesome.

There are hardly any downsides to the Goliath tank except for maybe the dud Cap and the retail price. But those are two things we know won't matter when this goes on clearance. But I wouldn''t recommend waiting too long, though.  If the CAGAT happens to make a cameo in the movie, it might just get snapped up real quick. ;)