Welcome to our review of the Captain America 2018 release from the 10 Years of the MCU Civil War 2-pack. The figure is an update of the original Civil War release with two new head options. He is packed with a brand new Crossbones MCU figure and you can checkout the review of that half of the set here.
Pros : Fantastic Chris Evans head sculpt on both heads. Costume colouring has been muted down from original release.
Cons : Shield accessory is a touch too big. Waist looks a bit too slim. Torso joint already feels a little loose
2018 is the 10th anniversary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and to celebrate Hasbro have launched a side line to their Marvel Legends line called "The First Ten Years". These are a range of individual releases, up to three figure box sets, each set revisiting a movie from the past 10 years and bringing characters we thought "missed" into the 6" Legends MCU range.
All 10 sets have pretty much hit at once, so we will be picking these up on a priority basis and this one was top of my list as I loved the visual look of Crossbones from Civil War, and the promotional images indicated this was finally an MCU Captain America that looked like Chris Evans.
The packaging separates itself from the main Legends line and comes in a rectangular black box. The Marvel Studio 10 Year logo is front and to the left, with a smaller Legends logo across the other side. The figures are presented in a red trimmed window and under this sits the character names "Captain America" and "Crossbones. The Civil War movie logo is placed under the window to the right.
The right side spines of the boxes on these sets combine to make a wider piece if you are collecting them all boxed. The left spine is a red panel with white text that talks about the events of Civil War.
Around the back is a very new format for Legends collectors with no figure imagery and instead a circular head shot of each character with a short multi-lingual bio underneath. To the side of these sits the movie poster and above this the set is numbered as #9 and from 2016.
This is all set against a montage of MCU scenes in black and white over which the larger First Ten Years and smaller Legends logo also sit.
The figures are accessed in the usual way via either of the two side spines which are taped closed. The inner tray slides out inside its own cardboard insert which formed the backdrop to the figures in the window.
The figures are clipped into the inner tray with no ties, with the alternative heads to either side and Cap's shield in the centre.
It is worth recognising the MCU panel artwork that is repeated from the main box on the cardboard insert with imagery from all of the MCU movies to date - including a large image of Thanos from Infinity War.
I have been of the opinion that since the MCU figures started around 2012, Hasbro have not given us a good MCU Captain America. The Avengers version was too generic, the First Avenger version too short and the Winter Soldier one too lanky. The more recent Ultron and Civil War versions were on the right track - but the Chris Evans likeness, either unmasked or eve under the mask eluded them. Even with face print technology the 2018 Infinity War Cap was a poor likeness.
This figure however restores my faith. The masked head, the one that comes fitted on the figure, is a brand new piece and it used face print technology on the exposed skin areas. The sculpt and this digital printing make it look like an MCU Cap with a thicker set jaw and Capt's blue eyes behind the mask.
Other detail (which has been sloppy on other releases) are crisp and neat including the silver A, the side wings and the chin strap.
The body is a re-use of the Civil War 2016 Captain America. Sculpturally this body is impressive with a good level of detail in the costume and its various panels and straps. The body has always looked a little slim waisted to me, particularly when you compare it with other characters of similar build.
The paint job is slicker on this version with a more muted red and the stomach piece more matt grey than bright white. There are still some errors though with some red bleeding on the legs and the brown straps not painted fully on one side leaving a blue stripe from the cast plastic underneath.
Detailing includes the silver on the star and on the buckles. There are also two avengers decals, one on each shoulder. The final part of the outfit is the belt, which is an individual piece that can slide up and down the midriff. There is a waist joint on this figure which can be a little wide and the belt should be positioned to hide this as best it can.
Cap of course comes with a second head, an unmasked Captain America. This is an easy swap out by popping off the original from the peg and snapping the new one in place.
While the unmasked head was excellent, this unmasked version of MCU Cap is spectacular and uses the face print technology to the highest level. You cannot deny this head is Chris Evans and with the printing you get a very crisp set of blue eyes, neat eyebrows and pursed lips. The hair too is much improved from the usual one tone we have been getting, and is a brown base coat with a lighter coat over the top to add depth.
The unmasked head elevates the whole figure once in place and we now have a Captain America figure worthy to head up our Civil War team.
We had the 2018 Infinity War Cap to hand during the review, so here are some comparison shots. It is amazing to think that these figures were released in the same year - the 10 Years version looks streets ahead. These comparisons who how crucial it is to get both the sculpt and dimensions of Chris Evan's head right.
Articulation is the same on this release as it was on the original, 21 in total - making the Cap body one of the most poseable in the line. The trunk of the body has a pivot ball joint head with a ratchet T-joint in the chest and a swivel waist as mentioned under that belt.
Arms are ball jointed at the shoulders, with a rotating bicep, double jointed elbows and pivot wrists. Legs are also ball jointed at the hips, with a thigh cut swivel, double jointed knees, rotating shins where the boot ends and an ankle pivot. Cap it relatively easy to stand, but if you need stability for action shots he has feet holes and can drop onto a Protech stand.
Like the original 2016 figure the joints do feel a touch loose in places and I worry about long term stability, particularly the torso and hip joints.
Cap comes with his shield, and this is also a re-use of the 2016 model. The outside is high gloss with good definition between the red, silver and the inner blue panel and silver star. Round the back and the shield is left as the grey cast plastic and has two flexible straps glued into place - one wider than the other. These slot over Cap's arms to hold the shield. Unlike other releases of Cap there are no alternative hand options but the fist hands provided do hold the shield on either hand.
If you compare the dimensions of the on screen shield and this accessory, then the shield is a touch too big for the scale of the figure by perhaps 1cm in its circumference.
With the articulation there are plenty of posing options for Cap and his shield
The other figure in the set is Crossbones and we will be looking at him separately.
The two figures do work really well together, and there is plenty of scope to reflect their showdown in Lagos from Civil War.
This is "the" MCU Captain America we have been missing in our cinematic universe displays. While it may be a 2-year old base figure, it has been elevated by a muted paint job and two spectacular head sculpts. Articulation is also top notch and there are multiple posing options for the First Avenger. There does remain some gripes with the shield being a touch too big, and Cap's physique a little exaggerated with that tiny waist.
As a standalone figure I score the "First 10 Years" Civil War Captain America a 4 out of 5.
The set itself creeps into a 5 out of 5 thanks to the Crossbones figure and that box artwork and design. Read the accompanying Crossbones review here. Click Here to visit the other part of this review where we take a look at Crossbones