Pros : Stunning head sculpt. The paint apps are much bolder and tighter than the original
Cons : This is still just a re-release with new head sculpt. Articulation remains limited, and the hips are very wide for posing
Following hot on the heels of two waves of Avengers Infinity War figures are a variety of multi-packs, starting with the movies' power couple - Vision and Scarlet Witch. The set was originally made to be exclusive to Toys R Us (in the US at least) and stocks internationally have been arriving with the silver circular Toys R Us exclusive sticker in place.
The packaging uses the same colour scheme as the Infinity War single releases with a yellow movie logo and figure back drop, and purple artwork and character name bands.
The box retains the usual scalloped sides as any Legends release with the left holding a nice purple hued image of Scarlet Witch, and the right a brooding looking Vision. Round the back and we move to images of the two figures along with some text around their origins and their link to the Mind Stone.
The figures slide out via either of the two side flaps, and are tucked into the inner plastic tray without any frustrating twisty ties. This tray itself sits in the yellow card insert which has an Avengers "A" built into the explosion design.
In this review, having looked at the packaging we will look at Scarlet Witch.
Wanda has the new face print technology and is one of the best likenesses I have had in hand to date in the Legends line. This is a uncanny resemblance to Elizabeth Olsen including the subtle shading around the eyes and the blusher on the cheeks. The whole head sculpt is a thing of beauty. The hair is cast to frame the face, and appears to be a separate piece. While it may be a touch too bright, the auburn colouring is accurate to her hair in Infinity War.
The body is a direct re-use of the 2016 Civil War Scarlet Witch. This is not a bad thing as the body and details are pretty good from the flared coat to the leather look top and the stitching down the front.
The hands retain those spell catching poses with the individual fingers posed into a casting pose on both hands.
If you compare this 2018 Wanda to her 2016 counterpart you can see where the paint applications on the clothing are tighter with more depth to the coat and the top. The legs remain plain black right through to the boots, and still sit a bit wide legged for me at the hips.
The necklace remains but is painted a darker colour, it does have a touch of flesh flowing into it on the version I am reviewing.
Being the same body as 2016 means the same articulation - 16 points in total. The head is ball jointed under that hair and still moves quite a bit to either side. It can also look down. These movements do pull the hair out of line so they can look a bit unnatural.
The arms start with ball jointed shoulders with full movement. The elbows are the scaled back rotating single joint, which is a shame as there are some "summoning" gestures Wanda uses that would need double jointed elbows to achieve. The hands are pegged to pivot and rotate.
There is a ball joint in the chest which allows Wanda to lean forward, although doing so pushes the coat tails out. The legs are ball jointed at those wide hips, with a thigh swivel. Knees are double jointed and ankles are on rockers. Despite the wedged heels, Wanda stands perfectly well.
The magic FX pieces have been totally overhauled for this figure. Now they are the swirling energy rather than huge plug in flame like pieces. These are cast in a semi-transparent pinky red in a very soft plastic.
It takes a while to wrap them round the arms and have them stay in place but once there they look as good as any FX piece I have seen to date.
As was my overriding though with the first figure, the same applies here in that Wanda really comes into her own once in a flying pose. Drop her onto a flight stand of some description and she is now an impressive sight as she levitates on your Infinity War display.
While this is more or less a re-issue, Scarlet Witch has got a huge overhaul in the looks department with that face print head, adjusted hair sculpt and colouring and deeper richer colouring of the costume. The FX pieces are upgraded too and work pretty well.
The figure still suffers from restricted articulation and those ugly hips which are far too wide and why she seems to look better posed in her levitating pose than stood on the ground. The Legends bar has been raised a notch or two over the 2017 and into 2018 and while this figure is updated, its still not enough for top marks and I hold her score at 4 out of 5.
