LifeBrick - MCU Winter Soldier x2

The Winter Soldier! It’s another LifeBrick fig to add to the collection! Or in this case… two figs? One fig but two design paths? Whatever! Hold your horses! We'll get into it!

The design work on these two is just stellar! Really impressive stuff yet again from LifeBrick! Some seriously impeccable production quality! This is why LB is the best in the bizz!

While I might have griped a bit about Steve Rogers' hair in my last review, there’s something about these that just speaks to me! The primary hair-down element is spindly in a way that perfectly captures The Winter Soldier’s grimy greasy vibe he brings to the function. And LifeBrick really captured that well with the 3D sculpting! As did they do well with the action-hair blowing dramatically in the wind!

Either hair looks good with any of the four facial prints, and they’re both pretty clean elements on the inside as well! 

Speaking of prints, this fig has a lot of them! Phew! So much detail captured onto such a tiny plastic canvas! Although interestingly, for what is now the second time that this has happened to me from LifeBrick, my copy of a fig is (kinda technically) missing some print! Check out the side of the torso on the left! It's blank!

Last time this happened, it was a fig missing print over the shoulder. It was a production error just like this. But this time that missing ink ended up going somewhere else! The left side of this torso ended up with both layers! 🤣

I'm sure that if it wasn’t next to the “Version B” fig (that’s quite literally the same fig from the torso down) you probably wouldn’t notice the error as easily, but still, kinda funny in a way! How weird!

Something else a bit weird are the weapons! Perhaps they’re a little too detailed, but they fit the bill okay. However, there’s something just a bit too “action figure” like that is pinging in my brain. Maybe it’s how two of the three weapons have SQUARE handles?!

Yeah that’s it.

Why do custom fig designers keep making square handled custom parts for minifigs famously known for having round hands? It will continue to baffle me for ages… 🤔

That said, there are magnets included in the anti-vehicle mine launcher, plus the two mini handguns both have magnets that let you attach it directly to the minifig! So that's cool!

While we’re on the topic of magnets, Version B included magnets in the custom hand/arm/shield to recreate that one dramatic shield catching scene (you know the one)!

Although you can see here part of the reason I was sold these two figs. The arm has a handful of flaws that come from just being a used fig. Most notably the arm’s pinched shoulder joint, causing the entire limb to be loose in most poses.

Secondly the glue for the hand magnet has worn away, causing the magnet to no longer stay within the hand itself...

As you can see in some earlier images, it still functions okay. But it can be a real pain in the butt to get the arm to stay in place while taking photos. But hey, if that’s what it took for someone to sell me their copy, then I’ll take it!

In some ways, it’s relieving to know that I have two torsos in the event that something were to snap while replacing any of the robot arms among these two figs. Generally I try not to stress the ABS plastic elements more than I have to, given their brittle nature at times. But these two figs practically encourage me to mix and match custom parts among them!

I mean just check out all these cool facial expressions!

Oh and before I finish up, I gotta talk about that Glove-Topper piece. When I bought this one, the seller mentioned to me that they swapped out the printed hand, for this JinCustoms one, then misplaced the original. So this bit technically wasn’t included with the release, and I feel compelled to mention it!

All in all, despite the minor print errors and subtle QC issues, these two figs are still a very welcome addition to my collection! LifeBrick yet again has blown me away! Sure they’re not perfect, but I still love ‘em! I mean just in terms of STUFF, LifeBrick had a lot going for it!

Man, what a meaty review! 😮‍💨