Review of Diamond Select Toys Marvel Select Avengers: Infinity War Captain America

Captain America
Avengers: Infinity War
Marvel Select
Diamond Select Toys
Sculpt by Gentle Giant
Retail: $22.99

Captain America is about as iconic as they come. He represents the best of humanity and is a hero in every respect.

The Diamond Select Toys Marvel Select Infinity War Captain America figure is very well done. He is a hero in his own right.

He comes in the Marvel Select bubble packaging that we are accustomed to. The figure is well displayed in the packaging and most of the accessories are visible as well. The back of the card gives us a synopsis of Infinity War and a brief description of the figure.

The figure itself is rather nice. The face sculpt is decent, but is a little soft. The bearded face is a new look for Cap in this movie and I think Gentle Giant did a good job sculpting the facial hair. I also like the little details like the battle damaged areas on his uniform.

I really like the articulation on this figure. The packaging states 16 points of articulation, but I am going to be a bit more generous as some of the points are double jointed. I am saying 23.

• Ball-and-socket joint at the neck (x1)
• Swivel hinges at each shoulder (x2)
• Swivel joints at each shoulder (x2)
• Hinge joints at each elbow (x4)
• Swivel hinges at each wrist (x2)
• Ball-and-socket joint at mid-torso (x1)
• Swivel joint at waist (x1)
• Swivel hinges at each hip (x2)
• Swivel joints at each thigh (x2)
• Hinge joints at each knee (x4)
• Rocking hinges at each ankle (x2)

Accessories are fairly standard here, but there are a few character specific items that are really cool. He comes with four sets of interchangeable hands, two retracted shield cuffs, two expanded shields, and a stand.

The expanded shields are kinda cool as they have can extend and retract as well.

He can be displayed without the shields and shield cuffs, too.

Breakdown:

• Playability – 5 out of 5. I think Cap has some really great playability! He does run a bit on the collector end of things, but I can totally see him battling Thanos.
• Packaging  – 5 out of 5. The bubble packaging is fairly standard for Marvel Select, but everything is well displayed within the bubble, the images are nice, and the breakdown on the back is neat.
• Paint and Sculpt – 4 out of 5. The face sculpt is a bit soft. He reminds me more of Jake Gyllenhaal, but the likeness is almost there. I do like the facial hair sculpting and the little details in the uniform.
• Standability – 5 out of 5. I am happy to say this guy has some good standabillity. His legs are solid and the ankles are tight. Plus, he comes with a stand.
• Articulation – 5 out of 5. 23 is a good number. It makes for some really nice displayable poses.
• Accessories – 5 out of 5. While fairly standard, the swap-ability of the shields/cuffs and the expandability of the shields is really cool.
• Affordability – 5 out of 5. $23.99 is a nice, affodable price point for such a detailed figure.

Overall impression: 34 out of 35 is a home run for DST on this figure. I would highly recommend it for collectors and players.

** Captain America, Avengers, and Thanos are owned by Marvel and Disney. These images are for hobby only. Also, the background images were found on the internet. If one of the images belongs to you, I will gladly give credit. **

Action Figure Maniac Reviews: Mattel: Batman v Superman: 6 Inch Aquaman

DC Comics Multiverse: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: 6 Inch Aquaman
Mattel
Retail: $19.99 @ Target

It seems all of my lamenting about not being able to find Mattel’s Batman v Superman 6 inch Aquaman was for nothing! I found him, and then I found him again, and again. He’s everywhere now!

Aquaman comes in the second wave of 6 inch BvS figures from Mattel. The other two are ‘Nightmare’ Batman and Lex Luthor.

As with the others, Aquaman comes in a fairly attractive window box. The only difference between the package from this series and the first is the inclusion of the new wave of figures on the back of the packaging. We also get teased with a yet-to-be-revealed 8th figure in the line. The silhouette is very reminiscent of Superman.

Aquaman is easily a diamond-in -the-rough in this line. Although he had little actual screen time, Mattel put a lot of effort into him. He has a great likeness to Jason Momoa, including the scar in his left eyebrow.

Again, we get a lot of detail on the body of this figure. The tattoos look really solid and all of the gold armor looks good. Weird fact: I am obsessed with the stitching on the inside of his gauntlets.

He has 20 points of articulation:

• Ball-and-socket joint at the neck (x1)
• Rotating hinges at each shoulder (x2)
• Swivel joints at each bicep (x2)
• Hinge joints at each elbow (x2)
• Swivel joints at each wrist (x2)
• Swivel joint at the waist (x1)
• Swivel joints at each hip (x2)
• Hinge joints at each hip (x2)
• Swivel joints at each thigh (x2)
• Hinge joints at each knee (x2)
• Hinges at each ankle (x2)

The bits of disappointment with the articulation have been seen in other figures in the series: neck is hard to articulate because of the solidly sculpted hair, no mid-torso articulation (he’s a swimmer for goodness sake!), and no rocker ankles.

Compared to the others, he looks really cool. Seeing them together makes me excited to see what the team looks like in the Justice League movie.

He comes with his trident, which is silver, not gold, and with two articulating grapnel hooks for the collect & connect piece.

Breakdown:

• Playability – 4 out of 5. He’s a good looking figure. A bit more articulation would make him a perfect play piece.
• Packaging  – 4 out of 5. I’m still disappointed that we don’t get some type of character bio, but it looks really nice.
• Paint and Sculpt – 5 out of 5. Home run for Mattel on this one! He looks like Momoa and all the tattoos are cool. He is a little hunch-backed, but I can overlook it.
• Standability – 4 out of 5. No rocker ankles means that truly dynamic poses are difficult, but he still stands well enough.
• Articulation – 3 out of 5. Missed some points here for the ankles, torso, and hair – although his neck is more forgiving than Wonder Woman’s.
• Accessories – 1 out of 5. He has an accessory! Yes! But it’s silver! Dang! I feel better about completing the grapnel now, but it adds no true value to the figure in my opinion.
• Affordability – 5 out of 5. $19.99 works well here. He is very affordable for collectors and fans alike.

Overall impression: 26 out of 35. Not bad, not bad at all! I like this figure a lot! If it weren’t for the points off on accessories and articulation, he would have made one of my top figures lately. I wish Mattel had taken him to the next level, but he’s still a great figure!

And just because I was getting creative:

 

** Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Aquaman, and all related characters belong to DC Comics. Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice is owned by Warner Brothers. These images are for hobby only. Also, the background images were found on the internet. If one of the images belongs to you, I will gladly give credit.