Moebius Models

Captain Action, 1/6 scale

Reviewed by  Bob Pauly, IPMS# 43887

MSRP: $39.99 Supplied by Moebius Models ( www.moebiusmodels.com ). In 1966, the Ideal Toy Company released the Captain Action action figure, hoping to latch on to some of the success Hasbro was having with their G.I. Joe line. Captain Action was unique in that one could purchase additional uniforms, turning him into Batman, Sgt. Fury, Superman, and several other Silver-Age heroes. In 1967, Aurora Plastics produced a figure kit of the hero. Unfortunately, the Captain's popularity was short-lived, and the following year, production of the toy stopped. Flash forward forty years. In 2008, up-and-coming model company Moebius re-releases Captain Action as a limited run of 1000 kits, using all new tooling. There are 23 crisply molded pieces of midnight black styrene, Included are two nameplates - one in the original Aurora style, the other featuring an all-new Captain Action legend - and two faces: the original, and a new one, sculpted to closely resemble the box art. (Because they're molded in gloss black, I spritzed them with some primer for the pictures to bring out the features.)

The new face sort of resembles Dean Martin, and as the good Captain reminds me of Matt Helm, you can guess which version I'll be using! Finally, the modeler has his choice of chest emblems: a decal of the original insignia, or a metal backed self-stick emblem with an updated logo. The instructions are a single page blow-apart diagram. Nothing too fancy, but enough to get the job done. The page was twice the size of my scanner, so I merged two scans to get the whole image for this review: Detail is about what you would expect from a 1960's vintage figure kit of an action figure toy: crisp, but simple. Figure kit fans probably won't be going out of their way to realistically shade their skin tones, because the face and hands retain a blocky, toy-like quality. The Captain's sidearm is nicely detailed, but molded into his grip. Lighting aficionados will have an easy time threading some fiber optic in his arm and through the weapon if they want to install a "laser sight." The build is straightforward. The fit is excellent, and for the most part, some light sanding and a touch of Mr. Surfacer eliminated all the seams. The only trouble spots of note are where the face joins the back of the head and the neck meets the chest. The facial seam runs right behind the ears, and while the fit is fair, it will take a bit more work to hide than those throughout the rest of the kit. The other trouble spot, where the base of the neck meets the chest, is far worse. It's not a seam-it's a gap. Fortunately, the area is molded to resemble a turtleneck sweater, and a quick application of your favorite filler (I used Aves Apoxie Sculpt-tamp a ribbon into the gap, douse a Q-Tip in Aves Safety Solvent, wipe down the repair to blend it in, and done.) will fix the area quite nicely.

Captain Action makes for a fun project and a nice break from the several-hundred-part behemoths I usually build. It's certainly not the latest life-like figure from Pegaso, but it is what it is: A fantastic nostalgia piece from the 60's, and if that's what you're looking for then Captain Action will fulfill your wishes, and then some. I'd like to thank Frank Winspur at Moebius for providing the review sample. If the Captain is any indication, Moebius will have a bright future! Next up is Moebius big, new Seaview.

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