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REVIEW: Hot Toys Captain America: The Winter Soldier - FALCON (MMS245)
A Movie Accurate Collectible with a Pretty Massive Wingspan...
Review and Photography by David Yeh
Every now and then when Hot Toys isn’t producing scores of Iron Man armor or variants of the core Avengers, we get a great character release that may not have gotten as much screen time as they deserved, but still played a pivotal role in the Marvel film(s). In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the title character befriends Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) who later becomes Falcon, a hero with no special powers but aided with a one-man military-grade flight suit.
Earlier this year Hot Toys released their take in sixth scale of the Falcon, a movie accurate collectible with a pretty massive wingspan. Falcon is currently shipping for the price of $250. It may seem steep but this figure comes with quite a lot.
Let’s start with the outer packaging, which looks no different than other releases from The Winter Soldier, only picking it up you will see just how much heavier it is. The box front, as well as the sides, feature Anthony Mackie as Falcon with his wings spread out, only the outfit on the box is not the actual version we’re getting. The figure itself is a lot more detailed and involved.
The back of the box celebrates the cast and crew of Hot Toys' Movie Masterpiece Series, although it should just say “Crew” since there’s no actual cast. Underneath the top lid we see an insert with a photo of the toy in an action stance. Beneath that are plastic trays stacked upon each other, each compartment holding various items. The figure and accessories are on the top tray while the wings and display base come beneath that.
What makes Hot Toys what they are, are the sculpts of the Masterpiece Series. The majority of the time, each piece knocks it out of the park. With the Falcon, they’re 95% there. Some angles work better than others but for the most part there is no mistaking who this figure is. The paint work on the head is always pretty dead on too and is no different with this figure. The line work is clean and Falcon is as lifelike as he can be.
Articulation is more or less standard across Hot Toys figures now and Falcon has about 30 points. The arms are exposed and he’s wearing short sleeves making it much easier to pose Falcon as well as pop off and on his extra hands. The boots are a little confining, but you will be able to make some decent flight poses.
The accessories are what you’d expect for Falcon, the biggest component being his flight pack that can be worn as is, or with the wings connected on. The wings themselves are articulated to fold down (not very far) or extend all the way out (very far). It’s great that there’s so many different ways to display Falcon, but he really isn’t Falcon without his wings.
The flight backpack also comes equipped with a LED light-up function with an included battery. The switch is concealed on the top of his backpack to activate the light-up feature. It’s a nice feature, but not at all necessary.
To assist with flying, Falcon comes with a diamond-shaped dynamic figure stand with nameplate, movie logo, and flexible pillar. The pillar can be positioned in many ways, making it a little easier to display Falcon in a way that works best for you. However, the grip itself however doesn’t lend itself too well to Falcon’s belt accessories and backpack, making it feel as if you’re damaging the figure.
Falcon only comes with four pairs of interchangeable hands, but he really doesn’t need more than that. He has one pair of fists, one pair of relaxed palms, one pair of palms for holding weapons, and one pair of palms for holding wings.
There’s also two submachine guns, one for each hand to recreate the scene in the film where they extend out from his wrists. When he’s not holding the guns in his hands, there are two sliding wrist bands with pegs to hold the guns.
The costume Falcon is outfitted in is for the main battle sequence towards the end of the film. There’s a dark grey and black vest, grey t-shirt, bicep guards, camouflage pants and shin guards and black boots. If you want to recreate the look from earlier in the film without the vest, you might be able to recreate it but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Falcon is a great release from Hot Toys and no doubt there will be an updated version for Captain America: Civil War, but for those who cannot wait, Falcon is now shipping. $250 does seem high, but it’s an amazing release with a number of display possibilities.
Review and Photography by David Yeh
Review Sample Courtesy of Hot Toys
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