Captain America: 3.75" Marvel's Hydra Armored Soldier (variant)

After almost a month of posts of Captain America figures, thought I wouldn't be doing another for awhile. Then I got this. The variant Marvel's Hydra Armored Soldier figure.

The picture on the back of the card is of the regular movie figure. Speaking of which, you can see more of that figure here.

This figure has the same body and sculpt as the regular version. The main difference is the colours. Here he's in his more familiar comic based colours of green and yellow. He looks pretty good without any gear. The lenses of his goggles are light blue, which I think fits in with the other colours. Paint is generally okay. My figure has a patch of skin on his helmet though.

The accessories are the same. He comes with two blasters, painted green and silver instead, and a red missile. The regular version had a blue missile. I think the blasters are better looking, they don't look like plastic. His harness, which is removeable, is brown in colour. Would have preferred if it was yellow.

 

Articulation. He's got a ball joint neck, ball and hinge shoulders, swivel and hinge elbows, wrist swivel, torso pivot, ball and hinge hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and swivel and hinge ankles. Leg articulation is restricted by his "skirt".

The two Hydra Armored Soldiers side by side. This figure will certainly brighten up the shelf.

The harness that comes with the variant does not have the power connector thingy to his arm. And gone are the Hydra logos on the helmet and shoulder.

There's still two more Hydra soldiers in the line. They're from series four. The figure is called Marvel's Hydra Attack Trooper. There'll be a movie and comic colours versions. You can see a picture of the movie colours version at Big Bad Toy Store. 

A local collector has gotten a comic colours version and he was kind to let me use his photo.  

 

He says, "The noticeable differences between the two variants are the head sculpts, the harness colours, the right hand-type and the weapons."

That yellow harness makes a big difference.   



With this Hydra soldier, I now have an army of four. That's right, four. Hopefully, I can make that six. And then Captain America will be in trouble... or he'll break a sweat at least... maybe.

 

 

Captain America

The various Captain America figures that I have.

From the Secret Wars line produced by Mattel. Decent figure. Has the "He-man" kind of pose. To me, it looks like it was based on some old live action version of him, due to his mask which looks a bit oversized and has no openings for his ears. And also the costume which is clean and smooth, looks like spandex. Hes got five points of articulation. At the neck, shoulders and hips. He comes with a red, round shield which can be opened. You can put a lenticular disc in it. The discs are double sided and on it you can see images of Cap, Steve Rogers or an action scene. All figures in the line had a shield. The heroes had the same one as Cap while the villains had a silver square shield.

From the Marvel Super Heroes line produced by Toybiz. A poor figure. Has a bulky body with a narrow stance. I prefer the Mattel Secret Wars figure's look compared to this. The head sculpt is better though, and has slightly more detail like the scales in his costume. Hes got seven points of articulation. At the neck, shoulders, hips and knees. This figure is pretty fun to play with for the action feature. You can have him fire his shield using the launcher. The shield may also be directly attached to his hand. The clips are very tight and will rub paint off his gloves.

The next few Captain America figures up till the Marvel Legends Face-Off Cap were produced by Toybiz. The Cap pictured below is from the Spider-man Electro Spark line. The sculpting has improved. More detailed and more proportianate. Not sure about the angry expression on his face though. He is also overly muscular and stands near six inches tall, making him larger than most of the other Marvel figures released at that time. To give you a better idea, he's half a head shorter than the Marvel Legends Cap. He came with a hover jet and a shield with spark action. I have misplaced those accessories. The shield he had was very large and thick. You could pull a string to create sparks within his shield. The shield you see in the picture below was borrowed from another figure. This was the best Captain America figure at the time and I still use him for display with my five inch scale Marvel Universe. 

There were two other Captain America figures that shared the same mould but with some differences. They are from the American Heroes two pack with Bucky and from the Avengers United They Stand line. 

 

From the Marvel vs Capcom line. He came in a two-pack with Morrigan. I wasn't going to buy this. I was looking out for a shield for my Electro Spark Cap and this was the easiest to get out of my options back then. The figure is similar in height to the Electro Spark Cap. He has a more youthful and animated appearance as you would expect. The body is slanted slightly. And the legs seem a bit too long. He has good articulation. Neck rotation, ball and hinge shoulders, hinge elbows, waist rotation, peg joint legs, hinge knees and hinge ankles. 

On to the Marvel Legends versions which are six inch scale. From series one. This is one of my favourite figures. He's got the classic look. Its like he came straight out of the comics. Love the face sculpt. Great articulation. The skin colour on my figure seems to have faded. But he still looks great. He came with his shield of course, a diorama set consisting of a wall and a tank turret base and the American flag. 

From Marvel Legends series eight. This figure is the Ultimate version. His face bothers me. His lips especially. They look like an old man's. Also the lack of paint on them (on my figure) doesn't help. I also don't like the mismatch blue colours of his torso and legs. Still, this is a great figure. Has great articulation and has more detail than the ML1 Cap. The scales are sculpted on his costume. There are seams on his leathery like mask and also wrinkles. The paint overall is solid too, on the gloves and boots especially. He came with his shield, a base with a stand.

From the Marvel Legends Face-Off two-pack. This is the best Captain America figure. It's similar to the ML8 Cap. He's wearing his standard costume and so has the necessary changes in parts and paint. Would have preferred if he had a plain belt instead of this one with pouches. Great detail and articulation.  One complaint is that he has very weak knees. This figure will be in my collection for a very long time.

From the Marvel Universe line produced by Hasbro. These figures are 3.75" scale. From left to right are Secret Wars and Ultimate Captain America. Both are nice figures. Good sculpt and articulation. The shields have straps and a clip so they can carry it on their wrists or back. I still use Secret Wars Cap in my display.

From the Captain America The First Avenger line produced by Hasbro. These are also 3.75" scale. From left to right are Battlefield, Midnight Air Raid, Fortress Assault and International Patriots Captain America figures.

You can see more of Midnight Air Raid Cap and International Patriots Cap by clicking the links.

Battlefield Captain America is based on the Ultimate Captain America in his World War 2 costume. Nice looking figure. Lots of articulation, or there should be. The figure has many joints but its tough to move some of them as they are pretty stiff. The elbow and knee joints are very thin which make him unsightly, especially from the side view. He comes with a badge-shaped shield, a rifle and a pistol.

I bought Fortress Assault Captain America more for the accessories than for the figure. The figure is cool looking wearing all the gear. When the gear is removed, he's looks like the Ultimates Captain America from the same line. This figure has some colour difference and the articulation is not the same. He's got a ball joint neck, ball and hinge shoulders, hinge elbows, wrist swivel, ball and hinge hips, thigh swivel and hinge knee joints. He comes with body and leg armour, a helmet, a black and red shield and a battering ram launcher with "battering ram" missiles. 

And finally, the movie version of Captain America or as he's known on the pegs, Super Combat Captain America. The figure has a decent likeness. Its spoilt by poor paint application around the face. There's noticeable splotch of blue on his nose. That's what happens when you order online, its your luck on how good a figure you get. Solid costume. Great detail. It looks thick, from certain angles, he can be mistaken to be overweight. Good paint on the costume.   

Articulation. He's got a ball joint neck, ball and hinge shoulders, swivel and hinge elbows, wrist swivel, torso pivot, ball and hinge hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and swivel and hinge ankles.

 He comes with a helmet, a pistol and of course his shield. The A on the helmet is not centered, it can be a bit annoying. Like that he has a holster for his pistol. It fits nicely in it too. The shield is red, silver and blue in colour. Its made of softer material than the International Patriot Cap's shield. There's only two short straps for him to carry with his hand. He cannot carry it on his back. The inside of the shield is shiny silver. It'll be useful should he encounter Medusa. The one that turns people into stone that is, not the Inhuman.   

Can't wait to catch the movie ! Have read good things about it. It opens locally this Thursday. 

Captain America 3.75" Red Skull

Captain America's arch-enemy, the Red Skull.

This is the movie version. He looks pretty good. Nice head sculpt but I can't help but feel something is off. He reminds me of a Star Trek Ferengi for some reason. His uniform is a modified look of the German uniform. Like the black outlines. Add a Hydra logo on his belt buckle and it would be great.

Accessories include a pistol and a firing rocket launcher.  

And also the cosmic cube with energy emanating from it. Its pretty cool but it looks more like a fireball or magic spell.  

Articulation. He's got a ball joint neck, ball and hinge shoulders, swivel and hinge elbows, wrist swivel, waist rotation, ball and hinge hips, thigh swivel and double jointed knees. The lower part of his uniform restricts his leg articulation. He won't be able to run or sit. 

Comparison with the Marvel Universe version. Prefer the MU Red Skull, he looks more sinister.

He's a bit short...

... let's see if we can find him a new body. I always wanted a figure of him in a suit. So tried a head swap with the GIJoe SDCC James McCullen figure. The head is loose fitting. And don't think the stripes suit him. Maybe the regular release ROC Destro would look better.

This is a nice figure. Hope we get one in his black uniform from the trailer.

Captain America: The International Patriots

This is a Kmart exclusive. In this pack we get a new version of Captain Britain, a Captain America repaint and a new character in Red Guardian.  

  

I'll start with Red Guardian. All I know about him is that he fights for Russia. So, after a quick Google, I found out that the figure is based on recent appearances in the comics (Darkstar and the Winter Guard). He carries a shield that has a double eagle design which is said to resemble the Russian Coat of Arms. Its supposed to be made of Vibranium. The figure's accessory of course is made of plastic and mine is bent and warped due to how it was packaged, The rubber band holding it in place was also very tight. Like Captain America's shield, theres a clip and a peg for Red Guardian to carry it on his wrists or on his back.

The figure looks a bit like Ultraman. With the fin on the top of his head and the circles at the sides. Even the colours are quite similar. On a more serious note, the head sculpt is unique. Can't think of too many Marvel characters that look like that. The belt is a bit different, besides the various pouches, there's also a water canteen attached on the back. Poor paint application aside, the figure looks pretty good. He's a bit short but proportionate.

Articulation. He's got a ball joint neck, ball and hinge shoulders, swivel and hinge elbows, torso pivot, ball and hinge hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and swivel and hinge ankles.

This Captain America is the same figure as the Heavy Artillery Cap. One difference is the paint. The scales on his costume on the upper torso has some specks of white on it rather than a uniform blue colour throughout. 

Articulation. He's got a ball joint neck, ball and hinge shoulders, swivel and hinge elbows, torso pivot, ball and hinge hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and swivel and hinge ankles.

I still prefer the Midnight Air Raid Cap. This figure will be donating his shield accessory to him.

I wasn't aware that Captain Britain wore this costume. So after Googling again, found out that this figure is based on his appearance in the Captain Britain and MI13 comic. I'm not used to this version, his costume to me resembles that of a Winter Olympics participant. The boots the exception. The figure looks too chunky and stumpy for my liking. He suffers from poor paint application and mines bleeding from his left hand. 

He comes with  the sword Excalibur. It has nice detail on the hilt. The plastic used for it is pretty hard, its not going to warp easily. This sword is the same as the one that comes with the standard card Captain Britain. This sword has a grey hilt while that one is gold. 

While I don't like his look, he's got great articulation. He's got a ball joint neck, ball and hinge shoulders, swivel and hinge elbows, wrist swivel, torso pivot, ball and hinge hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle pivot and hinge.

Was there a zombie Captain Britain ? This figure could be used to make that version.

My favourite Captain Britain is the Marvel Universe version.

Captain Britain is the tallest of the three while Red Guradian (not taking the fin into account) is the shortest.   

I wasn't going to get this three-pack at first but I'm glad I did. Red Guardian will join the collection. I prefer this Captain America over the Heavy Artillery one, plus I get a shield for my Midnight Air Raid Cap.  Captain Britain will need some getting use to. And I prefer the grey hilt Excalibur over the gold hilt one.