Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Review 1: Hot Toys 1/6 Captain America: Winter Soldier (Stealth Strike Suit) Collectible Figure

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier", released on 26 March 2014, is the sequel to "Captain America: The First Avenger" and following on from "The Avengers". It is the ninth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film finds Captain America and Black Widow going up against the assassin codename The Winter Soldier.

I'm a big fan of Captain America and I intend to collect all the significantly different costumes Chris Evans as Steve Rogers wears in all the films. In "Captain America: The First Avenger", Rogers wore three different costumes. His first costume is the classic uniform for the USO, the second was the USO uniform accompanied by a brown leather jacket and war pants which resembled the Ultimate Captain America uniform from the 1940's. His third costume is a mix of his Classic and Ultimate uniforms from the comics which I have reviewed on my toy blog HERE, HERE and HERE. In "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", Steve Rogers breaks into the Smithsonian and steals a variation of his Original World War II uniform (previewed HERE) for the climatic battle scene.


"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" also debuted the next stage of Captain America's uniform as it is modified once again as a stealth outfit for secret missions. The suit known as "The S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Stealth suit" is a new ‘stealth’ suit — a navy blue, utilitarian-looking suit that moves fluidly. And allows for his shield to be attached to the back with a small magnetic alloy. The suit is textured and looks more real world with a Kevlar-based ballistic component that would protect Captain America but at the same time function like a military black-ops uniform. Presumably the uniform is also able to mask Steve Roger's heat signature, making him undetectable to night-vision equipment. The uniform also has comm-link for communicating with other S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, including Black Widow.

This is the recently released Hot Toys MMS242 "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" 1/6th scale Captain America (Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. Suit) 12-inch Collectible Figure - see my January 2015 haul post HERE. This is the latest Captain America costume / uniform until The Avengers: Age of Ultron film is released May 1 this year.

Scroll down to see all the pictures.
Click on them for bigger and better views.


The standard box packaging is nice with Cap gracing the cover in style. Lifting the lid cover reveals another "inside cover" which shows off a photograph taken of the actual figure. The figure and its accessories lie beneath this second cover.


Captain America comes fully outfitted in his costume / uniform. The movie-accurate collectible is specially crafted based on the image of Chris Evans as Captain America in his Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. suit in the film. It features a newly developed helmeted head sculpt, finely tailored costume with embossed patterns, and a specially-made light blue metal shield. Seven extra gloved hands and a "metallic" handcuff is also included.


The instruction sheet included with this set also covers the Hot Toys MMS243 "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" 1/6th scale Captain America and Steve Rogers Collectible Figure combo set (see the preview pictures HERE). A simple advice to all collectors: Always read the instructions before doing anything else.


Instructions detailing how to wield the shield, store the shield on his back and wearing the handcuff are spelt out. As are the do's and don'ts regarding removing the costume and scratching the shield with a sharp object.


Besides the standard figure display stand with Captain America nameplate and the movie logo, One (1) metal circular light blue shield and One (1) metal-like handcuff are included. There are also nine (9) pieces of interchangeable gloved palms including: One (1) pair of relaxed palms, One (1) pair of fists, One (1) pair of palms for holding shield, One (1) pair of open palms, One (1) pointing right palm.


Hot Toys MMS242 "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" 1/6th scale Captain America (Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. Suit) Collectible Figure specially features: Authentic and detailed likeness of Chris Evans as Captain America in his Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. suit as seen in the film with New helmeted head sculpt, Movie-accurate facial expression with detailed wrinkles and skin texture. The figure is approximately 31 cm tall and although it was mentioned that the body has over 30 points of articulations, it is very much hampered in movement by the suit, especially the upper portion.


Captain America's uniform / costume as seen in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" consists of: One (1) dark blue embossed patterned uniform with silver star emblem and stripes on chest, One (1) pair of dark blue embossed patterned pants with pouches, knee pad, and red trims. One (1) brown leather-like back shield holder and body strap, One (1) brown leather-like belt with pouches, One (1) pair of black boots with brown straps.


I really like the uniform that is Cap's Stealth Strike Suit. I'm not sure why Hot Toys spelt S.T.R.I.K.E. as if it was a abbreviation for something. Maybe it's supposed to be "S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Stealth suit" where S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. I don't like any of the other Captain America outfits any less but being a fan of the character, I just like to see the different suits he has and what the costume designers come up with.

UPDATE: S.T.R.I.K.E., an acronym for Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies, is a fictional, comic book counter-terrorism and intelligence agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. The organization, that often deals with superhuman threats, and was introduced in Captain Britain Weekly #17 as the United Kingdom's version of the United States' S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. S.T.R.I.K.E. appears in the film "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" as a S.H.I.E.L.D. counter-terrorism team with Brock Rumlow and Jack Rollins as members, but later revealed to be composed of Hydra infiltrators.


The bold red stripes on the comic book costume has been reduced to just red trims on the sides, with navy blue being the most prominent and dominating color. The whites have been replace by silver and they form the star emblem and stripes on his chest. The suit is textured with layers of material and is quite intricate in its design which is really very nice but the thickness of the suit has hampered the figure's articulation a great deal, especially the upper body.


The belt is connected to the pants via fasteners at the sides so that it doesn't run or become misaligned which is quite a smart move. The belt buckle cannot be unfastened and the molded pouches do not open. The brown leather-like back shield holder allows Captain America to store his shield on his back.


There's a S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem on his right shoulder and American flag on his left shoulder


Close-up pictures taken of the Hot Toys MMS242 "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Captain America (Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. Suit) 1/6th scale head sculpt (it's a new helmeted head of Chris Evans as Captain America). The likeness is amazing and the resemblance is uncanny. Hot Toys has once again done a stunning job on this head sculpt which clearly reveals who it is underneath the mask / helmet. Everyone knows who Captain America is so why does Steve Rogers need to have his name tagged on his left upper arm? Who else is going to wear this uniform / costume?


The helmet straps in the movie were of a much darker shade of brown compared to the light brown straps of this Hot Toys Winter Soldier Captain America. It's nice that they kept the "wings" on the sides of the helmet, even though it's subtle.


Scroll down to see the turnaround views


Here's Hot Toys MMS242 "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" 1/6th scale Captain America (Stealth Strike Suit) 12-inch Collectible Figure with his shield on his back. Unfortunately, the shield does not attach itself via a small magnetic alloy as in the film but is attached to the back via a "S-shaped" clip which is included with the set. Check out the rest of the iconic images of Cap with his shield on his back.


I took a shot of Hot Toys 1/6th scale Captain America (Stealth Strike Suit) 12-inch Collectible Figure with his shield on his back (see above picture) to compare it with the movie poster version (pic below). The shields are different in color but the scale and size of the shield definitely looks right.


NEXT: Captain America wields his shield!

Related posts:
November 17, 2014 – Review of Hot Toys MMS241 "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" 1/6 scale Winter Soldier Collectible Figure HERE and HERE
January 22, 2013 – Hot Toys "The Avengers" 1/6 scale Captain America 12-inch Limited Edition Collectible Figure posted on my toy blog HERE, HERE and HERE

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Blue and white shield was in the opening scene, where he infiltrated the boat. The "flaking" shield that comes with Steve Rogers was only ever on promo posters, though.

Anonymous said...

Not sure if its the lighting, but the helmet and suits are of different shades of blue. The promo pic from HT doesn't show the different shades... kinda stick out awkwardly IMHO.

BTW, fun fact: S.T.R.I.K.E. is the acronym for Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies.

Matt said...

here's the info for S.T.R.I.K.E. aka Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.T.R.I.K.E.

Unknown said...

Hi bro. I like all your work. I don't want to hurt you, but please watch the movie again. Cap uses the blue shield in the first part of the movie, when attacking the ship. There are lot of scenes where you can clearly see, especially when he fights Batroc.

alex teo said...

Thanks guys for the prompt replies and clarification regarding the different colors of the shields. I stand corrected. That's what I love about this hobby - there are so many passionate collectors who are quick to respond and offer help :)

alex teo said...

Regarding the color of the helmet and the suit: the difference is far less obvious on the actual product in hand. There is definitely a slight difference in colors due to the different materials used but it isn't that bad as it looks.

Super-Duper ToyBox said...

I love this outfit- I think they did a good job in all the movies with Cap's gear