What's in the Wes Box?: The Avengers 6" Captain America! (Walmart Exclusive)

Walmart Exclusive 6"

The 3.75" Retail Version

"What's in the where???..." you ask?

Well, some weeks back, my ol' buddy-in-arms from the Articulated Discussion days Wes Dennis scored me some Walmart Exclusives--and the box arrived this week, much to my delight! (Big shout out and thanks to Wes of Scary Crayon!)

The Avengers movie 6" Captain America was the first figure I pulled outta Wes' Wonder Box of Plastic Goodness, and with 3.75" avengers Shield Launcher Captain America the only figure in that line in that scale I have on the review burner, I've decided to make this a double-header!

Ok, ok, so I haven't gotten around to Avengers 3.75" Hawkeye yet though I got him some time back now.  But I certainly couldn't help not reviewing my first 6" Avengers figure right here, what with it being a Walmart Exclusive and all.  And since I'd taken individual pictures of the 3.75" Cap, I thought a comparison review would be a great idea.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy a double dose of movie Captain America goodness! ;)

From here on out, it's gonna be a game of "Spot the Difference."  Are you ready?  Here's a clue: ears. ;P

Like: 3.75" Cap's colours--they're more movie accurate, with a lighter than usual blue.  The 6" has a deeper tone but having said that, I do like the white under the 6-incher's arms.  It's nice and crisp.  Also, the bolder blue and red combo pops a lot more on the shelf.  But I do think that a lighter blue would've had a similar effect for the the latter.


Like: The proportions of the 6" Cap.  He's leaner around the waist compared to the smaller scale figure and has longer legs compared to the rest of his body.  His shoulders are broad and it really makes him look like he's got Chris Evan's frame.  The 3.75" figure, on the other hand, looks rather stout because of the short legs and the thicker waist.  They also make him rather short compared to the other figures of the line, let alone the taller Marvel universe figs.


Like: The detailed sculpt of the 6" version. From the texture of suit, grooves in his uniform, to the separate belt piece.  If anything there's so much detail that they couldn't afford to pick out all of it in paint.  But the essentials are there--the silver rank (I think) on his shoulders and the buckles of his belt and boots, the sculpted and painted wings and the "A" on his forehead.  And of course, the silver star on his chest.  The 3.75-incher is decent in the detail department, but no where near level of the larger figure. or even some of the recently released Marvel Universe figures. 

Dislike: The poor articulation of the 3.75" Cap.  No chest/waist, no ankles, and no wrists. At least he's got double hinge knees. :/

Like: The superb articulation on the 6" figure. He's got a great chest pivot, new hinge/swivel "shoe peg" joints in the ankles, and a ball/hinge head.  The double hinges for the elbows and knees are also simply superb!

In addition, the posts of the swivel/hinge leg ball joints are connected horizontallly to each other through the crotch instead of toward the lower abdomen.  This makes for excellent leg joints which you won't have to twist and swivel like a Rubik's cube to make sure they move how you want them to.  Instead, you can move the legs any which way you want to and they'll comply!  It's almost like telekinesis--but with your hands! :P

Four-finger push-ups? Done!

3.75" Accessorize!

6" Cap Shield

Like: That the 6-inch Cap has a shield that has adjustable straps!  You can tighten or loosen each of them by up to 3 degrees each way.  But if you want it to be secure, you'll have to pull the straps all the way till it's tight, then hide the excess straps behind his forearm.  So whether it's in his hand, worn like a backpack, carried like a handbag or even strapped to his bum, you'll get that extra secure look. ;)

The other small issue I have is that the shield is cast in a dull red in an attempt to look metallic and it doesn't come off the best.  It's not bad, but the 3.75" shield actually looks much better because it's painted and hence more shiny.

Dislike: That the 3.75" Cap's shield has hardened plastic handles which only allow it to be held in hand.  And while that's not too bad for the scale, I think most would still prefer the elastic band attached to the shield for that added tightness and versatility.

I like to have Cap wear his shield on his back and with elastic bands, the 3.75-incher would at least be able to do that.

Dislike: That both have rather bland expressions on their faces.  Give them a frown, a smirk, a smile--give them anything and they'll look better for sure in any one of his poses.  This is often an issue with many an action figure.  Why go plain when just about any other expression would give the figure a whole lot more character?

(6" Smile.  Sort of.)

(3.75" Scowl.  Well, sort of.)

Like: That the 3.75-incher comes with a non-removable holster with a removable sidearm.  It's one more accessory and a place to store it when the action isn't so hot.  Trouble with this though, is that it isn't movie accurate at all.

Like: That the 6-incher gets this right--there's no holster and no sidearm.  But this also means that there are less accessories.  He may come with a nifty connectible base of hexes (from the Heroscape superhero tabletop game) and I like it quite a bit, but that's nothing compared with an extra semi-automatic rifle or two.  He does use one in the movies, after all.  A switchable unmasked head would be great, but it would also be asking a bit much, wouldn't it? ;P

RATINGS

Aesthetics:

6": 8.5/10 - Great tooled detail on the sculpt but equally, this guy's proportions are right.  He's also in scale with the rest of the Marvel movie 6" crew like Thor, Iron Man Mk VI, and Nick Fury (who's a little tall.)

Cap's also got some nicely sculpted and picked out detail, making him very movie accurate.  One glance and a 3 year-old would know it's movie Cap.  Heck, maybe even my 1 year-old can tell! ;)

Cap's boots, face, and mid-torso are painted and are sharp, with no spills, smudges or fuzzy lines.  It's some of the best paint I've seen in the 6" scale, though there's actually very little painted parts.

3.75": 7/10 - He's a little stocky for my liking but he's got the right shade of blue on him.  His face is kinda neutral but the rest of him still looks nice and sharp.



Poseability:

6": 9.5/10 - His articulation is near perfect as I mentioned above and he comes with an accessory that can be strapped on to just about anywhere you want.  What sets him apart form the usual 6"action figure are his horizontally-connected legs posts, his swivel hinge head, and his hinge/swivel ankles.

While I'm not sure if ML has adopted swivel/hinge heads or the "shoe" ankles in their recent "Return Of" offerings, I'm pretty sure the legs are unique to the Avengers toy lines.  All the new movie 3.75" figures have them (Hawkeye, Black Widow, Ultimates Thor), so it's nice to see them carry it over to Cap in this scale.

As for the ankles, if you thought they worked great in the MU 3.75" scale, well they work even better on 6" Cap.  The joint is nice and tight and rotates smoothly but also looks great--on Cap, you can hardly tell that he's got anything other than hinges on his ankles, so when you do rotate the foot, it looks pretty seamless and extremely life-like!

As far as swivel/hinge heads go, Cap is par for the course so no complaints about an excellent, well-hidden joint here!

3.75": 7/10 - Stiff.  That's what comes to mind.  Still, with his double hinge knees and leg joints similar to the 6-incher, he can pull off a pretty pose or two.  But when it comes down to the bread and butter poses like punching, throwing, or even running, cap struggles to look the part.  I can understand that ankles might have cost a little too much to include, but wrists?  Come on, even I can add them on easily, what with my grand total of two customs under my belt.  Lol.



Fun:

6": 10/10 - Nothing beats a figure that looks good on a shelf, feels great in your hand, plays like a dream, and captures a popular character in a popular movie/show/series.  This Cap America checks all the boxes and then some.

3.75": 7/10 - Nothing is more disappointing than a figure that looks a little off (he's a shorty; not the female type), feels like a child's toy, is stiff, and yet captures one of your favourite characters in a popular movie/show/series.  I'd like to say this guy checks all the boxes but that would make it sound like it's a good thing, and this Cap isn't all that great.  He does have the shield launcher that he can actually hold and fire like a bazooka though.  Oh wait, that's not a good thing either.

Value:

6": 9/10 - Sure, he could've come with a gun or two, but 6-inch Cap has all that tremendous articulation and the detailed tooling.  Throw in some careful, albeit minimal, painting and an inter-connectable figure stand/base and it's very hard to say that he's not worth the S$28 (US$22.50) I paid, which includes shipping.  The fact that he's a Walmart Exclusive makes him all the more valuable--I would've been happy to pay up to the S$10 more I can find him for here in Singapore if Wes had not jumped in so quickly to snag Cap for me!

3.75": 7/10 - No that I think of it, I'm not sure if he's worth getting at retail for the S$19.90 (US$16) I paid.  For S$10 more, I managed to get 6" Cap.  Hmm.


The thing is that he's rather hard to find in these parts.  All of the movie costume figures are.  The pegs here continue to have Sword Spike, Battle Hammer, and Shock Strike Thor, Super Shield and Rocket Grenade Cap, Heavy Artillery and Reactron Armor Iron Man. While I wouldn't say stores are loaded with these (since the line moved well at retail), they are the peg-warmers.  3.75" Cap is definitely not one of them, so I guess being movie accurate has its value to the general public and to kids as well.

Overall:

6": 9.25/10 - Maybe even as recently as a year ago I was more in favour of DC Universe 6-inchers because the line had been great.  Also, I was into the Marvel Universe 3.75" line, so to start buying into the 6" Marvel Legends line seemed a bit repetitive for me.  I was only ever going to get the movie 6-inchers, you see, because I felt they were more unique and invariably linked to the time when their movies were released.  But with the death of DCUC and if Marvel keeps making 6" figure the way they've made their movie Caps (I have the First Avenger Movie Cap as well), I'm gonna have no choice but to start an ML collection.  I say collection but I really wanna play the hell outta every Marvel 6-incher I get, just like The Avengers Cap here.  Why?  Because they are just that damn good.  AllI have to do is wait for the characters I really want, like the recently SDCC-revealed Ultimates Cap.  (Yes, I am an Ultimates freak, thank you.)  ;)

3.75": 7/10 - A straight 7 is what this guy is simply because he's just slightly better than meh.  In every category there's potential that goes unfulfilled--A good sculpt that's painted well but could be slightly more proportionate; A couple of good PoAs in the hips and the knees but no articulation whatsoever in the wrists, chest, and ankles; a good accessory in a well-painted shiny shield but no other way to use it than held in his hand via the stiff plastic straps; a "Big Friggin' Gun"/shield launcher.  Really.  Keep the launcher, give us some PoAs.  So yeah, all in all not a bad figure, but hardly great either.