Hot Toys Ant-Man figure review Captain America Civil War MMS 362

It’s still crazy to me how much I enjoyed Captain America: Civil War. Beyond Captain America and Iron Man’s conflict, it provided unexpectedly amazing showcase moments for Black Panther, Spider-Man and Ant-Man.

I held off on grabbing the Hot Toys movie standalone version since I liked the updated Civil War costume better. And now my patience finally paid off. Let’s see how Hot Toys handled this version.

Packaging:   Hot Toys outdid itself with the Civil War comic book tribute. I dig the wraparound style capturing various moments of that amazing airport fight. Ant-Man’s packaging showcases him in a particularly great moment as he’s shrinking down to better fight Black Widow. The packaging sports the familiar blue Team Cap inner box.

Likeness: Part of the reason I liked this version more than the solo film attire is it looks more hi-tech and modern. Storyline wise, the original Ant-Man suit made sense, but this new costume fits more in line with the Captain America, Iron Man and Thor outfits.

Even better, this Ant-Man costume definitely still draws strongly from the comic book influence with the helmet and red and black color scheme.

The helmet’s eye slots are transparent enough to see the eyes underneath, which was a nice touch. I’ll go more in detail on the costume in the outfit section, but this is a terrific translation of the big screen outfit.

Scale:  In the film, Ant-Man is just a tad shorter than Captain America. Hot Toys gave him the smaller body so he is appropriately shorter than Cap, Thor and Iron Man.

Paint:  There’s not a lot of paint to the main figure since it’s completely covered up. The silver accents have a great sheen and the reflective red energy panels look like they’re already lit up. Of course, you’ll appreciate the paint job the most with the second portrait and unmasked Scott Lang head sculpt. The work here is trademark Hot Toys with excellent work on the eyes, hairline and stubble.

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Outfit: I love when Hot Toys gets to tackle the Marvel Cinematic Universe costumes. They’re so sneaky complex with all kinds of textures to them and details you don’t notice while watching the films.

It’s kind of like getting an up close and personal visual guide to the costumes. All the paneling, wiring and padding is accurately captured. In looking at some reference pictures, Hot Toys expertly got this outfit down right down to the brighter red strips above the abdomen.

Articulation:  Like the Black Panther figure, Hot Toys used a spandex style material for the costume. Thanks to the intricate nature of the costume, Ant-Man isn’t as poseable.

You’ll definitely want to be careful as some of the pieces of the outfit will peel off if he’s moved too far beyond the instructed range of movement. He’s not going to be the most dynamic figure in your display by any means and will be one you’ll need to get creative in terms of posing.

Ant-Man has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• bicep
• elbow
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• thigh
• knee (double jointed)
• ankle

Accessories:  He’s got a decent, but not overwhelming allotment of accessories. He does include all the essential elements you’d need for a Civil War version.

There’s the regular assortment of hands:

– One (1) pair of relaxed hands
– One (1) pair of fists
– One (1) pair of gesturing hands

He also gets a separate Paul Rudd head sculpt. This is a very focused and serious head sculpt, which doesn’t really play well into Scott’s happy to be here mentality during the film. Still, I appreciate the option to have an orange slices requesting Ant-Man.

Additionally, there’s a mini non-poseable Ant-Man figure. This one is a more neutral hands on hips version, which could fit atop regular size figures shoulders if posed very carefully. He comes with a stand to fit into as well.

He also has a blue Team Cap stand. Typically, you’re not going to need a stand for these guys and my Civil War display is so packed there’s not enough room for guys to fall over anyway.

Light Up Feature:  In a nice, but not essential touch, Hot Toys made Ant-Man’s helmet light up. The helmet eyes don’t look that bright in the film to warrant a light up feature. I didn’t manage to get pictures to show the light up feature, but the batteries dimmed out just when I managed to line the top piece of the helmet back into position.

Worth it?  Ant-Man was higher than the normal Hot Toys figure clocking in at $235. Given the lack of accessories and lackluster light-up feature, that’s about $15 over the ‘right’ price for him.

Rating: 9 out of 10

With some more accessories like mini figures to play up the Giant Man angle or a bit more give to allow for better posing, this would rate higher. Still, this is a very solid Civil War version of Ant-Man.

Where to get it?  Sideshow Collectibles has sold out, but you can still try your luck on a deal via eBay or on Amazon.com.