Crystal W
13 January 2020
First of all, don't anyone whine about the "high" price of this core set, as what you get inside the box would cost you well over €/£400 if you had to buy the contents individually. Inside, you get a beautiful set of counters, a rule book/construction instructions book combined, and 10 major character figures, plus a vehicle and some terrain, all packed away neatly in zip lock bags that can be re-used for other purposes, so keeping the environmentalists among us happy :-) Getting to the major interest for myself, as a figure modeler more than actual gamer, the figures are beautifully cast in grey plastic, but as said before, there are some small pieces that need careful handling, due to the sheer size of them. Quick tip for anyone new to making multi-part figures: Place the part to be clipped off the sprue firmly into a bed of blue/white tac, and use a pair of flush cut modeling clipper to cut the part off close to the surrounding sprue (DON'T twist/snap the pieces off, as that will seriously damage the detail on the part, needing some serious repair, if not re-sculpting or replacing), then carefully sand the excess down with some smooth wet & dry paper, or a nail file/needle file, and have some liquid polystyrene with a brush applicator handy to clean any scratches off the surface of the part, and for attaching it to the figure, as it melts the plastic, forming a stronger bond than model/super glue, and is great for dealing with blemishes on plastic parts :-) The main Avengers figures seem based on the Marvel Ultimates/Movie Universe characters, with Captain America having the un-winged helmet and webbing equipment, and Captain Marvel bearing a very strong resemblance to Brie Larson. Personally, I like the Captain America with no wings on the side of his head, but the Captain Marvel face/hair is going to be partially re-sculpted by myself, to look more like the long haired Carol Danvers in the comics, and painted a darker blue with the tiny stars glittering on her costume. Personal preference there, as the actual figure is amazing, with good detail, a very nice face/hair, and very dynamic in pose. The erst of the figures are equally beautiful, and the Spider-Man figure has already had his "Web-wings" attached by using car body mesh by myself, as they are not cast onto the figure for gaming purposes. That's just something I wanted to do myself, as well as attaching the figure to the wall of one of the terrain pieces, angled downwards, to make him much more dynamic/detailed, and took a lot of time and dry fitting, believe me. Not for the short-tempered among us, I admit, but then I'm a modeler more than a gamer, and don't think the extra webbing would stand up to the rigours of gaming/storage. The Dr Octopus figure is my favourite in the set, as he's a little on the tubby size, and his octo-arms are just screaming to be drilled out and wired up for being lit from within the palms of the grips. Same with his belly light, but again that's from a modeling perspective, not a gaming one, so don't take umbrage, I'm just pointing out the potential for other advanced modelers like myself, who like to take their hobby to the next level. The rest of the figures are good, but I'd have preferred the Red Skull figure to be more like the comic version, in a uniform, wielding a Luger pistol rather than the cube he has in the kit (Again, just my own preference, not a criticism). I'm not familiar with the other character figures to comment on them, apart from how ell they're cast, with amazing detail and good poses, and can't wait to paint them for my own collection. I'm already well on my way to buying five of the Hulk figures, just so I can have the Incredible Hulk (Green), Red Hulk, original Grey Hulk, and then convert the rest into Weapon H (The "Wolverine/Abomination/Hulk character) and the aged Mentor (Old man Weapon H) Hulk with long hair & beard. I may even get time to actually PLAY the game one day, you never know :-D In the end, a superb set of figures/terrain/vehicle, beautifully published rule book/instruction manual, and so much inspiration for taking the entire set further all in one gorgeous box. Worth the money, with follow up figures coming out around €£35/45 each, and having 10 figures plus terrain and a vehicle in the box to get you going, I'm not going to criticize it. I only gave it 4 stars due to the Captain Marvel figure looking too much like Brie Larson for my taste, which is NOT a problem, as I get to practice my sculpting skills again, so don't take it too hard :-> Best game core set I've ever seen, to be honest, and I'm looking forward to getting the rest of the figures/terrain/vehicle kits on the way.