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REVIEW: NECA's The Avengers 1/4 Scale Captain America
Marvel's Sentinel of Liberty In Impressive New Large Size...
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Last year's largest grossing film, The Avengers, has garnered a variety of action figures and collectibles from a number of companies. However, if you want the biggest bang for your buck then look no further than NECA's new line of Marvel 1/4 scale action figures, including the newly released Steve Rogers: Captain America!
Standing 18" tall, featuring over 25 points of articulation, an accurate sculpt based on the character's film appearance and limited to only 7,500 pieces worldwide, this is easily the largest - and one of the most impressive - poseable Captain America action figures to date.
PACKAGING
Packaged in NECA's standard durable and attractive 1/4 scale cardboard window box, the 1/4 Scale Captain America package features an eye-catching blue package with attractive graphics, including the circular shield design across the bottom front and Cap's capital "A" and winged helmet design across the top front (above).
The package interior features the figure and accessories securely held in place by a lot of wire twisty ties which require wire cutters or a very patient hand to undo. As with all figures this size, the figure's mass can cause the collectible to move around slightly inside the package if not handled properly. The back of the package includes a number of pictures of the figure as well as credits to the creators and information about the Captain America character. Overall, the figure package is attractive and securely constructed, though buyers should watch for paint rubs on the nose and face due to the size and mishandling.
SCULPTING
Capturing the look of Captain America from The Avengers live-action film, this large-scale figure features a detailed sculpt that'll impress even fans like me who are critical of the costume. I personally prefer the costume design from The Ultimates comic book; however, the live-action film did a good job of realizing a realistic Captain America costume and NECA does an outstanding job of bringing that costume to life here.
The helmet, chest and body armor, pants and boots all bring to life the costume featured on-screen. Everything from the form-fitting helmet and ear covers to the protective collar, gauntlets and boots all help make this figure screen-accurate. Every minute details - individual zippers on the thighs and abdomen, the armor plates on the chest and back, the padded knees and the belt and utility pockets - are all present and sculpted here.
The lower, unmasked portion of the face accurately looks like actor Chris Evans, who plays Steve Rogers in the film. NECA has done a great job of keeping the figure screen-accurate, capturing the character as he appears in the film. My only real disappointment is the figure did not include an unmasked Steve Rogers head sculpt, which would have provided a completely unique look to the figure.
ARTICULATION
Unlike a lot of 1/4 scale figures, Captain America comes ready for action with a variety of useful articulation points, including a ball-in-socket neck, ball-joint shoulders, swivel biceps/hinge elbows, twist and hinge wrists, twist waist, twist and pivot chest, hinge and twist hips, cut thighs, hinge knees, and twist ankles. In all, the figure features over 25 points of articulation which provide plenty of poseability. The only negative aspect of this much articulation on a figure this size is the joints have the possibility of loosening and the figure's stability lessens.
PAINT APPLICATIONS
Wrapped in American flag red, white and blue, Captain America is easily distinguishable from the other Avengers and almost every other super hero out there. NECA has done an excellent job of keeping the eye-catching colors toned so they don't distract from one another or the sculpted details of the figure. The paint applications include flesh around the eyes and lower face, bold blue over a majority of the costume, red boots, gauntlets and stripes along the abdomen and white and silver highlights over the abdomen, biceps and shoulders.
There is very little paint bleeding anywhere and the applications all stay within their confined areas and spaces. Due to the individual pieces being painted and the figure featuring so many points of articulation, there's bound to be some paint flaking where the joints move; however, this is nothing to be concerned about and happens on every figure with poseability.
ACCESSORIES
Cap comes armed with his trusty circular red, white and blue shield, which features straps on the underside to allow the figure to hold the hold shield on his arm. Likewise, the figure also includes, besides the two fists, two interchangeable hands - a right "throwing/gripping" hand and a left "open, fingers spread" hand - to allow for a number of different poses. With these two hands, the figure can be posed in the act of throwing, dodging, catching or releasing the shield. Again, a disappointment is the figure does not include an unmasked Steve Rodgers head; however, all things considered, the inclusion of two interchangeable hands is greatly appreciated.
COST & OVERALL IMPRESSION
With a suggested retail price of $99.99, Cap can be found for around $84.99 - $94.99 fairly easily. With a detailed sculpt, smooth and eye-catching color scheme and paint applications, the impressive and plentiful articulation and the sheer scale and mass of the figure itself, this is an incredible buy for superhero fans. If you're a die-hard Captain America or The Avengers fan, this is a "must have" figure for your collection.
Something worth considering is the 1/4 Scale Captain America figure will soon be joined by a 1/4 Scale Iron Man Mk VII (May), a 1/4 Scale Thor (Summer) and - if NECA has their way - a 1/4 Scale Hulk after that. Personally, I'm just excited to have the "Avengers Big 3" in 1/4 scale on my shelf by late summer...but if we get a 1/4 Scale Hulk...I - and no doubt a lot of other fans - will have to find more room in our display cabinets! No doubt it's a great time to be a fan of Marvel super heroes and The Avengers and NECA continues to impress with their line up of 1/4 Scale The Avengers figures.
Be sure to check out over 60 images of the Star-Spangled Avenger HERE and order your own NECA The Avengers 1/4 Scale Captain America from one of our sponsors!
- photos and words by Jess C. Horsley
