miniGAZER's MCU Vulture Review! (Patreon)

Now here we go! Man am I lucky to have snagged one of these beauties!

miniGAZER’s first few teases for this fig (and what initially tipped me off to this brand) started back in July 2021 so this one has been a long time coming for the relatively newcomer to the custom minifig game.

I was finally able to order one back in January by the skin of my teeth and let me tell you this fig is insane!

Well… the wings are insane!

Let’s get into it!

When it comes to the minifig’s graphic design, it’s very busy. Now personally I don’t mind it, but I’m sure there are some that prefer a more simplistic approach to custom minifigs. I would argue that facial designs aren’t miniGAZER’s strong point though. There’s just something odd about the linework around the mouth and the eyebrows that just doesn’t look quite right…

The rest of the fig’s print is really really impressively intricate (ya know, from a craftsmanship perspective) but it certainly didn’t need to be. Not every single carabiner clasp, zipper tooth, jacket wrinkle, and belt texture needed to be added here. 

Honestly it kinda feels like miniGAZER might have been trying a little too hard on this one.

Outside of the print, that’s where things start to get interesting!

The additional accessories are just as great as the wings themselves! The helmet is actually my favorite piece of all the little stuff. Molded in black with a drum laquered silver print, then pad printed around the eyes, and then a final trans-clear goggle mold over the top of that!

Like holy hell that’s cool! :P

Now, one of my first thoughts right out of the clamshell was (how the heck do these wings attach? Clearly it was gonna be some kind of bracket system, but this wasn’t quite how I expected it! I mean look how THIN that little neck bracket is!

Sure it also has that little resting peg near the back of the section that helps inset itself with the fur collar piece… but  clearly that aspect was made more out of a design perspective than an engineering one; opting for the fur collar to be independent of the wings themselves. Cool idea in theory, though its longevity could be compromised.

Ironically, the metal pins that keep the wing joints together are quite the opposite! Clearly being the strongest points for the articulation! Not to mention that they move so smooth and easily, without snagging or getting stuck in any way! Wow!

So in that perspective the fig will always look cool on its own with the custom fur collar, as will the wings when displayed on their own accord.

However it does make me nervous for future use and the lifetime durability of the most essential aspects of the piece… being able to attach it to the figure…

The wing shaping in particular is really cool too! (have I mentioned how much I love these wings?!) That subtle outward curve really gives the impression of weight pulling everything down! Of course there’s also the impressive two-point articulation on each side that lets you put this dude in some really killer poses (goddamn these wings are cool!)

My particular copy had some plastic marbling on the right wing tip that I’m sure wasn’t intentional. Given that all across these wing pieces are dual molded in black and dark green, and then printed over with gunmetal ink and even some silver down the spine of the main element… I’m gonna give it a pass on my quality check. Again these are genuinely the most impressive custom parts I’ve seen included with a custom fig… like, ever! Checking all the boxes for me twice over!

So to really bring my thoughts full circle, it was about $150 at retail, I’d say it’s well worth the craftsmanship that went into this fig!

Some seriously impressive custom work here that I hope will put miniGAZER on the map! I can’t wait to see what they come up with next! :)