AIM Soldier
If I had to name one character from the Marvel Universe toy line I actively avoided to purchase for years, it would be hard not to mention the 2010 AIM Soldier.
Simply put, I do consider the uniform to look utterly ridiculous, although I have to say that it has more to do with the color than the actual mold itself. In fact, the mold they used turned out to be better than I expected, but I only realized that after getting Ghost Rider, who also uses this body mold.
My resistance to buying the AIM geek was slowly but surely eroded by countless hours of playing the Facebook game Avengers: Alliance, where I battled hordes and hordes of these guys to the point that I began thinking I might enjoy having at least one of those guys on my shelf.
The unique costume elements for the AIM Soldier are the head, the collar piece, the belt and a bandolier running across his chest. He ends up looking a bit like a fashion-conscious beekeeper, but I must say that once I embraced the campy aesthetic, he’s actually not bad at all.
Certainly, the articulation design does a lot in improving my opinion on these guys, as it consists of:
• Ball jointed head.
• Hinged peg neck.
• Pegged hinge shoulders.
• Upper biceps swivels.
• Hinged elbows.
• Swivel wrists.
• Barbell mounted torso.
• Swivel waist.
• Ball jointed hips.
• Upper thigh swivels.
• Double hinged knees.
• Pegged hinge ankles.
The range of movement at the neck is slightly more limited than ghost riders on account of a deeper seated head and a rather narrow collar, but the AIM Soldier still gets a very impressive movement range.
The paintjob is deceptively simple, since most of the immediately obvious elements with decoration are those painted in solid black, but there are also subtle washes applied over the silver grille at his helmet and the panels on his belt. The yellow jumpsuit actually has a subtle shading wash applied over it that enhances the shapes, but also causes some issues.
You’ll see, these washes tend to cause some of the joints to stick, so there is a fairly high chance of actually tearing a joint if you don’t take precautions to free the limbs first. Since the joints stuck on my figure had relatively thin posts, I decided not to go the freezer route and instead submerged my AIM guy in scalding hot water for a few seconds, after which I just pulled out the stuck pieces and then reassembled them.
As a side note, reassembling a joint like the thigh swivel is much easier if you put the piece with the male peg in the freezer for a couple minutes while dipping the socket piece into hot water to soften the piece.
The AIM soldier comes armed with a pistol of indeterminate make or model and a shoulder mounted cannon that resembles a bazooka, but has some type of emitter visible inside the barrel. Additionally, since this is a Series 2 release, the AIM guy gets a personalized plastic display base and a paper envelop with his HAMMER File documents inside.
So yes, in the end I managed to get this guy after all these time with a 50% Off rebate, but I must say that he’s actually worth paying full retail price.
Errex Score: 80/100
Category: Featured, Marvel, Toy Reviews