Thursday, April 2, 2020

Marvel Legends Series Black Widow, Yelena Belova & Red Guardian (Crimson Dynamo BAF)


It's finally here! The Crimson Dynamo BAF series! Here's a look at Black Widow, Yelena Belova and Red Guardian.






All three figures are based on their appearance in the upcoming Black Widow movie. Black Widow gets a grey, black costume this time round. It looks to be more padded. The shoulder pads were sculpted, as were most of the costume's design. Not a fan of the black section running down her torso. When you turn the torso joint the design gets very noticeably misaligned. The belt with holsters is a separate piece. The holsters were not stuck down and this makes leg articulation easier. They have less hindrance from the straps. I like the gold applied on the belt. On the buckle you can make out the Black Widow logo. The feet are quite narrow. They make posing her more troublesome. And the weird ankle pivot  swivel doesn't help. I think she has a good head sculpt. The likeness is good. I think the hairstyle spoils her appearance. It makes her seem less badass, if you get what I mean. There's nice detail for the hair though, and I like it has got some dark wash in it.

Yelena like Natasha was trained at the Red Room. She too is / was a assassin. From the trailers this looks to be her default look. I'm guessing she will wear black a some point. She wears a vest on top of her suit. It's sculpted and looks similar to the one Natasha wore in Infinity War. Some significance there perhaps. Anyway the vest has some nice detail on it. The straps are textured, you can make out some wrinkles and it looks leather like. I like that the metal loops were painted. Her suit is all white in colour. There's some sculpted design and wrinkles which you might not be able to make them out in the pics. Sorry about that. The belt is a separate piece. Unlike Natasha's the holster and knives were stuck on. The Black Widow logo on the buckle is silver in colour. Her bracelets are different from Natasha's. Hers have a raised section. The head sculpt is okay. The hair has a good amount of detail and some shading in it. The neck appears longish. But what distracts me more is the way the head sits. There's a gap, especially noticeable from the sides and back. It makes her look awkward. Another issue I have is her right leg is shorter than her left. I have to make her tip-toe a bit just to stand straight.       




Close-ups of their faces.


And some head swaps.



Black Widow comes with an extra set of fists, two handguns and two batons. The BAF part is the left leg of Crimson Dynamo.


The batons are the sames ones as those that came in the Age of Ultron four pack. They can be stored in the little pack on Black Widow's back but I don't recommend doing so for a prolonged period. They will get warped. Below left is how they are supposed be stored. Look how bent the batons are! I'm planning to stick them in halfway (below right). Okay they look like antennae but I think it's better for the batons. They'll still be warped but it it won't be as bad.  


























Yelena comes with an extra set of fists and two handguns. The BAF parts are the torso, shoulder armour and back armour plating for Crimson Dynamo. 


Yelena can only keep one handgun on her person. She keeps knives (not removable) on her left side. Black Widow is able to holster both of her handguns.  


Tried out the bracelets with effects from the "Grey Widow". The bracelets may be used here if you like.


Next up, Red Guardian.



Of these three I like Red Guardian the best. He poses better and I like his look overall. The one area which needs improvement is the head. There's a good likeness in the sculpt. But what throws things off is the beard and hair. It's far too neat and kempt. It needs to be more rugged and grizzled. Alexei has gotten shall we say overweight and it shows in the body. He is large and roundish. There's great detail on his costume. The star, straps, gloves, all of it was sculpted. Plus the red areas is textured. Very nice! And I like the colour combination.   



























Close-ups of his head. They tried to add some age to him by applying grey on his hair at the sides. It works to some extent.


























Red Guardian only comes with his shield. I would have liked if he had an alternate helmeted head as well. The included BAF part is the left arm of Crimson Dynamo.


I like the look of the shield. Almost all of the design elements was sculpted and it gives a strong and sturdy appearance. It is similar in size to Captain America's shield. 


You can see some of the sculpted design on the inside of the shield as well. It uses the peg and clip system, so he can equip it on his wrist or carry it on his back. 


Articulation

Black Widow has a ball hinge neck, ball hinge shoulders, swivel hinge elbows, swivel and up and down hinge gripping hands / swivel hinge fists, ball joint torso, ball hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle hinge and swivel. She cannot look up due to her hair. She can look down okay. With batons in pack head rotation will be hindered. Bending her elbows will leave her elbow pads overhanging which is awkward. She can hardly bend forward. The torso joint allows more bend to the sides and back. There's actually some ankle pivot but it's quite useless so I listed it as ankle swivel.

Yelena has a dumbbell joint neck, ball hinge shoulders, swivel hinge elbows, swivel and up and down hinge gun holding hands / swivel hinge fists, ball joint torso, ball hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle hinge and pivot. She can hardly look up or down. Like Natasha, her elbow pads stick out when her elbows are bent.

Red Guardian has a dumbbell joint neck, ball hinge shoulders, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, swivel hinge right wrists, swivel and up and down hinge left wrist, ab crunch, waist rotation, ball hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees, boot swivel and ankle hinge and pivot. He can only look up and down just a bit. The sculpt of his gloves at his forearms prevents the elbows from bending fully.   







Comparison shots.









Black Widow is okay. I like the accessories she comes with and that she's able to store them. She frustrating to pose though. Yelena is okay too. Red Guardian is great! I just like him. Thanks for viewing! 



2 comments:

GIJigsaw said...

These look awesome. Can't wait until they get here.

WillGoldegol said...

cool review as always. It's outstanding to see the evolution beteween the winter soldier's black widow and the recent black widows. Amazing