REVIEW: Hot Toys Captain America: The Winter Soldier - CAPTAIN AMERICA & STEVE ROGERS

[JeffSaylor]

Cap's Alter Ego Exclusive To This Set...

Review and Photos by: David Yeh

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, released in 2014 is often regarded as one of the best Marvel Studios film to date, if not the very best. And while that film was released over a year ago, it takes just a bit longer before the stunning work of Hot Toys makes it to our grubby hands. Captain America, in his third major film appearance has been known to change up his uniform from Captain America: The First Avenger to The Avengers and now in The Winter Soldier, with his first appearance in his Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. (Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies) Suit. Not only has Hot Toys created a remarkably realistic Captain America figure from this latest film, they’ve also released a Steve Rogers figure exclusive only to this box set. You can still get Captain America in his Stealth Suit by itself, but this is the only way to get both!

The two figures come in a large shoe-box-type box and the front shows off photographs of the figures rather than going with a more graphic design usually found on Hot Toys packaging, but I like this. It works especially since there’s been so many versions of this character already, this is one way to convey what’s in the box. Lifting up the top you’ll find a card/sleeve with another photograph of the two figures. Underneath is the familiar tray of the figures side by side along with all of their accessories. Last but not least, you’ll find the shields and the display stands on the very bottom tray.

Getting down to what’s in the box, you will find two complete figures, one in full Captain America Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. Suit gear and the other is Steve Rogers in civilian clothes. The bonus with this pair is that their heads are completely swappable, but this is only favorable for one figure to display as an unmasked Captain America. The mask-wearing Captain America looks ridiculous in casual clothes so you’ll probably have to display them as they are or use the extra body for customization. The option is there for those who want and that’s the great thing about it.

Starting with the Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. Suit Captain America, you get a very authentic likeness of Chris Evans wearing his helmet. The costume is very well detailed and looks great when standing around. Unfortunately the finished result is a costume that is so heavily padded, extreme posing is made very difficult.

There are nine (9) pieces of interchangeable gloved palms for Stealth Cap including: one pair of relaxed palms, one pair of fists, one pair of palms for holding shield, one pair of open palms, and one pointing right palm. He also comes with a metal circular light blue shield that can fit in his hands or hang on his back.

Steve Rogers gives us a newly developed head sculpt with a great likeness of Chris Evans. Each head is hand painted by the way. Steve Rogers comes with four pairs of hands including: one pair of relaxed palms, one pair of fists, one pair of palms for holding shield, and one pair of open palms.

Steve Rogers also comes with the metal battle damaged shield, another exclusive item to this set. It’s a nice gesture but hardly film accurate. In the film, we can see Steve Rogers chasing after Winter Soldier from his apartment. The shield he uses is his standard red, white, and blue shield and at no point in the movie does the shield ever get so badly damaged to look like this.

Also included in this set is a Captain America helmet for use when using Steve Rogers head on the Stealth Suit body. The helmet is unwearable but simply a prop for those who want to display him holding the helmet. It’s a nice add in.

Both figures lastly come with figure stands with nameplate and movie logo.

As for articulation, both figures have approximately 30 points of articulation but your range for Stealth Suit Cap is very limited. Some poses may damage the uniform so play at your discretion. The body for Chris Evans I might say could use a bit more bulk to give a more accurate representation of Steve Rogers in the film, but it’s a minor quibble. Otherwise, both figures look fantastic for display.

This set is now shipping through Sideshowtoy.com for $339.99 (about $170 per figure). It’s a great set of figures and despite the limitations of the Stealth Suit, you won’t find a better Steve Rogers figure anywhere else.


Review and Photography by David Yeh

Review Samples Courtesy of Sideshow Collectibles

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