CAPTAIN AMERICA REPLICA SHIELD PROP BY EFX COLLECTIBLES

What's this? A rare Saturday post? Yes, this could have easily gone up tomorrow, but given that today is the Fourth of July -- America's Independence Day -- I couldn't pass up the chance to post some pictures of my newest collectible acquisition.

But, as always, I'm going to spend some time to set the stage first. A few years back, EFX Collectibles announced they would be producing a line of prop replicas based on items from Marvel Films' productions. Among these items was Captain America's star-spangled shield.

Now I'm not a prop replica guy. I owned none until this one. I was never into "role-play" type toys as a kid, and I'm not really into them as an adult either. But there's something about Cap's shield -- it's not just a prop, it's a piece of art. So I was really excited at the prospect of owning it and mounting it on my wall.

EFX had their prototype at Comic-Con for a couple years before they finally put the thing up for pre-order while I was on my honeymoon last May. And it was expensive; at first blush more than I was ready to pay. But I found myself constantly thinking about it and looking at EFX's catalog photos, to the point that one day my wife said, "You really want that, don't you?" I told her I did, and she said I should get it as a wedding present to myself.

So I ordered. I had missed EFX's pre-order, but I managed to get on board with a third-party retailer. And then... I waited.

EFX began to fulfill orders back in February, and they have been slowly trickling out since then. My retailer got theirs a couple weeks ago, and this beauty finally reached me this past week. Appropriate, I'd say, that I received it the week of the Fourth and the week just prior to Comic-Con.

The shield is basically what I wanted it to be: a replica of the one wielded on-screen by Chris Evans throughout the second half of AVENGERS, as well as all of WINTER SOLDIER and AGE OF ULTRON. It's molded to resemble spun vibranium, and painted in a matte finish which is nicely reflective under the correct lighting conditions. I might've preferred it to be a bit shinier, and the paint could've been a little better applied, but overall I can't complain. Honestly, I doubt the screen version looks any better than this -- it's rarely filmed up close. And on the few occasions it is (think Cap entering Nick Fury's office near the beginning of WINTER SOLDIER), it looks pretty much exactly like this.

There are metal shields out there, crafted to mimic the much shinier version in THE FIRST AVENGER and the first act of AVENGERS, but while they are licensed by Marvel, they're not authentic prop replicas. And really, given the choice between a shield which looks like the one from one-and-a-half movies versus one that is a replica of the shield seen in all the other movies, I'll take the latter.

So I'm very pleased with my purchase. It won't go up on the wall until after Comic-Con, when I can find a mount that looks a bit nicer than the somewhat chintzy one provided by EFX, so for now enjoy a few unboxing photos as well as some shots from around the house.

Note: These pictures were all taken while playing with my iPhone's filters, to see what the shield would look like in various conditions, so they don't all represent the prop's true colors.