[Trivial Psychic]

In the middle of a move, so there won't be a bunch of shots, but just wanted to share some thoughts on the new Civil War Walmart Exclusives in case any of you might be interested.

Falcon: As I'm sure all of you might have guessed, Falcon is the stronger of the two figures, and is an inside the park home run. I say inside the park, because there's a few issues that keep him from being an upper deck blast. The figure itself is pretty good, with a good range of hip motion, a dead on sculpt of Anthony Mackie that's just about perfect, and a color scheme that actually looks much better in hand than it does in photos and videos. The gray plastic is actually much darker in color in person, and has a TON of sculpted detail, and is really only a simple black wash away from being truly amazing.. I could also not find any re-used parts anywhere, which to me might signify why Hasbro decided to make this the exclusive...much cheaper for them if you have to make less of them right? The wings plug in well, and the backpack stays put on mine with them on, although as expected, they do make him a little top heavy, so the figure is prone to fall over with them on. Use care when perching him on a shelf behind other figures.

The bad with Falcon comes from the lack of proper weapons, not to mention some curious issues with the figure. For example, MCU figure or not, the hands on Falcon seem freaky tiny, and he had issues getting most of the guns I had lying around to fit in his hands properly without it looking like a NERF gun in them. The smaller Glock pistols that came with Agent Venom (that most of us have donated to our Black Widows) work well, but anything else really stretches out the hands, and gives Falcon issues in holding them. The backpack works well as I mentioned before, but be careful when inserting the wings, especially when doing them over and over, as the plastic that the wings peg into can easily warp and tear if you are too eager with them. (If you watch Shartimus Prime's review of the figure, you can see just exactly what I am talking about as that part of the backpack actually breaks during the review.)

Another issue I had is in the construction of the figure itself. I'm not sure if it's my own, or a running thing, but the joints on Falcon were SUPER tight, especially on the arms at the shoulder. Since the sculpted shoulder armor is raised, it also catches on the body, causing paint rub and dents. Be careful when moving them. Lastly, Falcon has some freaky skinny elbow joints, which I am not sure why, but they are made of a softer plastic. Exercise care when bending the elbows, as these thin joints could possibly tear easily if you force them.



Winter Soldier: Another strong entry that looks much better in hand. A lot of people are writing this off as a repaint, but truth be told, there is a lot of new parts on this guy. The head and torso are new, and I believe the left arm is as well. Bucky is well painted, and like Falcon, is only a simple wash away from being outstanding. There is a nice wash on the metallic arm, the star is nice and crisp, and the head sculpt (which looks A LOT more like Sebastian Stan this time) is nicely painted and even has some drybrushing on the hair. The fleshtone is really good, but if you can find him in the wild, be mindful of the eyes. It looks like Hasbro used a decal for them as opposed to painting them, and some of the figures I saw out there had eyes that were kinda trailing off the eyeball and into the lower eyelid and cheek.

The only issues I had with this new Bucky lie also in his accessories. They suck for him. Period. Bucky's hands are simply not ideal for the Scourge set of weapons. The pistol fits loosely in his hands and is actually a bit big, while the knife doesn't fit really into either hand at all, since BOTH of Bucky's hands were sculpted with trigger fingers (they forget them on the Punisher, but give WS two of them. Way to go Hasbro...) Bucky also can't aim the pistol straight in either hand due to him not having a roll of the dice swivel, so you'll have to cheat by bending his arm a bit at the elbow to get it to look right. In addition to these oversights, Bucky has no storage options for either of them, making the belt on the figure seem kinda pointless. You're gonna want to find him some weapon replacements quick...



Oh, and while it doesn't bother me so much, I know some of you rage over it so I'll mention it...sculpted, irremovable guns on the shoulder holster.



All in all though, a great set of figures. With the exception of the QC issues mine seemed to have, Falcon was a hit, and I really like the Bucky a bit more this time than I did his original Winter Soldier figure. I'd go as far to say that this new Bucky is probably top 3 or 4 for me when it comes to the MCU stuff we've received thus far (just behind Falcon, MCU Spidey and Black Panther, who's easily #1.) Happy hunting everyone...