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It's been quite the journey for me to get my hands on Wave 15, and it was all of my own doing. As I finally have most of the ones I wanted in hand now, I finally found time to start opening them, with Green Arrow and Captain Marvel being first up. When I saw the Wave 15 Shazam, I knew I was going to like it better than the Topps version. I like the yellow better than the gold and the costume design with the belt sash. I have to admit, the Topps Shazam was disappointing to me. The cape felt cheaply done, the lighting bolt a little frayed on the edges, the seam down the crotch is ugly, and the head sculpt just seemed off.
Looking at my opened Wave 15 Shazam, it is a big improvement, starting with the fixed body, of course. But the costume design by Brian Leitner is fantastic. I love the deeper red, the lightning bolt is nice and crisp, the sash belt is well done, the cape is much improved, and the flap is perfect. I do like the longer gauntlet guards on the Topps version, but I have no complaints with the way they were done on Wave 15 Shazam.
Mego Shazam Wv15.jpg
The big issue I had with Wave 15 CM was the head. In this case, it looked like we has looking off to his right. It is really weird because it doesn't look like the eyes are painted that way. I looked at the Topps head and he is looking straight on. It irked me enough where I considered swapping heads even though the Topps head is smaller... wait... no, the heads are the same size. Why did I think they were bigger on the Wv15 figures? Oh well.... SWAPPED! And it's much better now!
(after the head swap)
Mego Shazam Wv15 & Topps.jpg
Still, something was off on the head sculpt to me and I finally figured it out. The left eye is budging out compared to the right side and that's what keeps throwing me off. Assuming this was a manufacturing issue and not by design? Maybe the sculptor, CrimsonGhost will chime in here? Even with this, I still think it's a fantastic sculpt that represents a classic DC Comics Captain Marvel.
Mego Shazam Wv15 Head Deformity.jpg
FTC also made a Captain Marvel, with a more Fawcett head sculpt and different costume. I like this version with the onesie costume, huge lightning bolt and short boots. Plus the longer wrist gauntlets. The cape is nice too, except for that big elastic neck band... woof! I moved him to a Type S body, so you will also see the height difference (and shoulder difference) between the new bandless Mego body and standard Type S body.
Mego Shazam Wv15 & FTC Type-S.jpg
I like the FTC version, but the Wave 15 Captain Marvel is The One for me.
Now I just have to figure out how I want to display these two versions of the same characters on the shelf.
Looking at my opened Wave 15 Shazam, it is a big improvement, starting with the fixed body, of course. But the costume design by Brian Leitner is fantastic. I love the deeper red, the lightning bolt is nice and crisp, the sash belt is well done, the cape is much improved, and the flap is perfect. I do like the longer gauntlet guards on the Topps version, but I have no complaints with the way they were done on Wave 15 Shazam.
Mego Shazam Wv15.jpg
The big issue I had with Wave 15 CM was the head. In this case, it looked like we has looking off to his right. It is really weird because it doesn't look like the eyes are painted that way. I looked at the Topps head and he is looking straight on. It irked me enough where I considered swapping heads even though the Topps head is smaller... wait... no, the heads are the same size. Why did I think they were bigger on the Wv15 figures? Oh well.... SWAPPED! And it's much better now!
(after the head swap)
Mego Shazam Wv15 & Topps.jpg
Still, something was off on the head sculpt to me and I finally figured it out. The left eye is budging out compared to the right side and that's what keeps throwing me off. Assuming this was a manufacturing issue and not by design? Maybe the sculptor, CrimsonGhost will chime in here? Even with this, I still think it's a fantastic sculpt that represents a classic DC Comics Captain Marvel.
Mego Shazam Wv15 Head Deformity.jpg
FTC also made a Captain Marvel, with a more Fawcett head sculpt and different costume. I like this version with the onesie costume, huge lightning bolt and short boots. Plus the longer wrist gauntlets. The cape is nice too, except for that big elastic neck band... woof! I moved him to a Type S body, so you will also see the height difference (and shoulder difference) between the new bandless Mego body and standard Type S body.
Mego Shazam Wv15 & FTC Type-S.jpg
I like the FTC version, but the Wave 15 Captain Marvel is The One for me.
Now I just have to figure out how I want to display these two versions of the same characters on the shelf.
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