Legendary Marvel Super-Heroes "Captain America" 8 Inch Retro Action Figure Set - Diamond Select/Emce Toys (2015)

Diamond Select Marvel Retro Captain America Figure Set

Diamond Select's Marvel Retro Captain America Figure Set is part of a series of figures they have been releasing that come with a reproduction of a vintage Marvel Mego figure, along with a variety of customizing parts to go along with it.  The Captain America set comes with a reproduction of Mego's Captain America figure from the 1970s and it's display box,  along with costume parts you can add to the figure to make a Steve Rogers "secret identity" figure, or a Captain America in a more modern costume (sort of like what Mego would have made if it was still around producing these figures today).  It also comes with a booklet detailing the history of Captain America, Mego's original Cap action figures, a look at some custom Cap figures, and some behind the scenes stuff about the making of this new set.

American Trio

These sets are usually pretty expensive, the manufacturer's suggested retail is $80.  This unfortunately is a condition of the licensing agreement that Diamond select has with Marvel.  They are required to price this as a high-end collectable rather than as an action figure.  But if you shop around a bit, you can usually find them cheaper.  Amazon for instance, usually has them for about 25 bucks off the suggested price.  I picked this up on sale for $38 last October.  Anytime you see them for a price like that, I suggest you pick them up, because they are fun toys.

The Mego reproduction figure retains all of the goofiness and costume inaccuracies of the original figure from the 1970s.

Rather than swap parts back and forth for the three different costumes, I picked up a couple of extra "Type S" bodies from 8 Inch Super Store.  I used the body that came with the set on the Steve Rogers figure, a regular Type S body on the vintage style Captain America, and a Type S with "upgrade kit" limbs on the modern style Captain.  The upgrade kit limbs have a more defined, muscular look to them. Most of those details get lost under the costume, except for the broader shoulders, which are noticeable and make a big difference.  Also the upgrade kit legs are slightly longer, so your hero ends up slightly taller and more heroic looking.

The modern styled figure features a comics accurate costume and more detailed sculpt.

 More pictures after the break...

The Steve Rogers costume features a WW2 era military uniform, and mostly looks really nice.  I did have some issues with the Velcro popping open, though.

This retro shield from Captain America's first appearance is a nice addition to this set.

The modern version of Cap comes with several sets of hands, so he can punch, salute, or strike an action pose.

The repro box is not an exact reproduction of the original Mego, but it is very similar. One thing to look out for is that it is stuck in the package with adhesive, so you have to be very careful when removing it, or it will rip.