Pros : Vision's outfit including the texture is very well executed
Cons : face is lacking paint apps and the cloak is too rigid and sits too high where it goes over the head
For those who have found their way straight to this Vision figure, this is a two part review and we have looked at the packaging and the Scarlet Witch figure in this previous review if you want to rewind a little before kicking off this look at Vision. If not, then here we go...
This is Visions debut in the MCU despite appearing in Age of Ultron and Civil War to date. This release is part of the Infinity War products, but as Vision has not updated his look across the three movies he is a perfect stand in for any display - meaning we get one step closer to the Team Cap vs Team Iron-Man face off.
We start with the head sculpt which is a good likeness to Paul Bettany. The issue is that it is not facial printing as far as I can see. That means it lacks any depth or detailing. The facial tone is a single pink tone, a shade too light and while the lines on Visions face are there in the sculpt there is nothing in terms of printing or painting to enhance them.
The green metallic elements around the head are also well sculpted and mostly well painted - there is the odd bleed of pink onto the green elements. The Mind Stone is visible but is quite dull and looks like a yellow spot rather than a gem embedded into his head.
From the head down Visions costume is extremely well designed. The proportions are good and the green sections are textured like scales. There are purple lines running through the suit where there should be and the whole thing has a neat metallic sheen. The wrist gauntlet pieces have been painted the same colour as the hands, when for me the hand should always be a touch darker.
The cloak is a solid piece and cast to be flared out from the body. It has a translucent effect to it with a gold hue and purple segments painted on the reverse.Where the cloak connects to the chest, the section just under Visions head doesn't quite sit right and there is a visible gap when viewed from most angles.
Vision has 19 points of articulation, and these are all the more maneuverable joints we get on most of the male figures in the line as standard. The head is ball jointed and under this there is a t-joint in the chest. The waist swivels and then the legs are ball jointed. There is then a thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle rocker. Vision stands OK, but the cloak does over balance him so I used a figure stand for most of our review.
Visions arm articulation starts with ball jointed shoulders with a bicep swivel sat underneath. This then allows the elbows to be double jointed and very mobile in terms of bending the arm beyond 90 degrees. The wrists are pegged with a pivot.
Vision comes fitted with a basic set of open gesturing hands, and a second pair of fists. These pop out easily and snap back into the arm.
For me Vision always looks best when levitating off the floor. Doing this with the figure is more difficult than it sounds as the solid cape does make attaching a waist clip of any kind difficult. From the stands I had the best posing I got was via a gripping stand where the upper grip can be placed around Visions thigh and hold him in a flying pose.
Once you've sorted the stand it is nice to see the articulation supports this posing with the toes in particularly fully pointing down when that ankle is bent.
After waiting so long for an MCU Vision, this figure fills the void but doesn't quite live up to the mark on a few areas. While Legends do not use soft goods, the cape on Vision may have been one they played with as the solid version hinders the figure in terms of overbalancing him and also being unnatural when Vision is stood neutrally. Considering this piece goes over the head and clips in place perhaps a second loose hanging version could have been included?
The head is also not up to scratch, not so much the sculpt but more the finish and when put next to the gorgeous Olsen head sculpt in the same pack they look as though they are from different lines, or are are a few years apart in terms of the technology. Vision is an important part of the MCU and deserves to be revisited again in a future release - if they fix the cape and head this will be a knock out figure, as he currently stands he is a little underwhelming and I score him 3 out of 5.
