After going to see Captain America: Civil War, I decided that it was worth buying a single set from the Lego line so I could commerate the movie. I settled on this set after debate between it and the Crossbone's Hazard Heist. I chose this set for the figures as the value of it as a movie scene, figuring it'd be a good model for display purposes.
When I finished building the set, I found that the reasons I bought the set were satisfied. There are some things I would have liked to have seen, but for the price of the model and the things you recieve, I would recommend this to parents wishing to give their children a good play set or collectors wishing to display the model.
As always, I'll go through the pros and cons of this set. At the end, I will list any modifications that are decent to add to the set, all of which that take minimal pieces and simply a few minutes to build into the model.
(Cons)
Perhaps the biggest con that I have with this set, as I do with many sets based off of movies, is that this is in fact recreating a very specific scene from the movie. Taking that into consideration, I find that the value of the set as an imaginative and story-creating set to be very limited. The included portions showcase exact vehicles from the movie, in a scene that, while action packed and fun, didn't seem to hold as much weight to the whole movie. Sets like the Airport Ultimate Battle have more story creating potential because the set includes more terrain and characters, and the battle wasn't shown fully, letting you imagine other characters fighting and letting the imagination roam wild. Here, the set is very black and white: Black Panthar chases Bucky, Cap tries to stop him, all three crash, scene over. While this may not be an issue for younger kids, those who enjoy imaginative play may find themselves a little stumped after a while and become dissatisfied with the overall value.
(Pros)
That being said, the model is very well done for the scene it was trying to recreate. The jet for Black Panther is very geometric and flows well from back to front. The use of hinges and different elements makes it feel much more high tech and specialized, rather than standard Lego City jets or planes. The stud shooters underneath don't add or detract from value personally, though some parents may find it to be an issue. The two smaller builds for Captain America and Bucky both are exactly what they are trying to be: a motorcycle for Bucky's getaway and a jeep that Captain America hijacks to chase after the two (I do wish they had included a normal Shield agent here so that Captain America could literally hijack the jeep). The shooting bolt feature of the car is well integrated, but the actual use seems a bit off. The bolt can't aim upwards at Black Panther without physically tilting the car back, and Cap wouldn't be shooting at Bucky. The minifgures here are good to get, all three playing major roles in the movie. Black Panther especially looks exceptional. The head addition, the lines, the coloration, all capture the figure perfectly and showcase the design of the character in movie. Captain America is good to get, and having a new hairpiece for him is also very good. Bucky is an important character and the metal arm printing is also very nice
Overall, this set did not impress me espcially, but it had enough value to where I was happy to display it on my shelf. I think the set has good play value for younger kids who care much less about storylines and instead just want to play. Collectors will enjoy displaying it for those to see. However, for kids between the years of play and collecting, this set doesn't seem to scream value to parents.
(Modifications)
There is only one slight modification I made, and it was to the minifigures. If you have any Ninjago sets, the half mask pieces look great when placed on Captain America and Bucky. A picture is included for reference.
