While 2013 has been a pretty awesome year
for movies and video games, on a personal level, it’s been pretty crappy. What
better way to send if off than with the latest beat up bundle of awesome
from Hot Toys.
Straight out of last summer’s blockbuster, Iron Man 3, is the un-suited Tony Starkin his Mandarin base invasion getup of home-made weaponry from Hong Kong
collectible figurine developer/manufacturer, Hot Toys
Once again Hot Toys has gone all out in the
little props, details, and gimmicks, allowing you to recreate the presumed-dead
billionaire in all the scenes from his infiltration to his capture to his acrobatic
escape.
I’ve noticed that Mike’s beenenjoyinghis share of Hot Toys figures, so I think I’ll ape his more solid review format (No video, though. My voice isn’t as soothing as Mike’s):
https://kotaku.com/an-iron-man-figure-worth-its-weight-in-gold-1473832266
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
Tony Stark as The Mechanic
Three sets of hands (One gloved with
home-made stunner)
Interchangeable damaged Mark XLII right arm
Two damaged Mark XLII hands and wrist
pieces
Interchangeable damaged Mark XLII left leg
and foot
Backpack
Assorted home-made weaponry
Aviator sunglasses
Newspaper with the headline “TONY
STARK IS MISSING”
Mark XLII remote headset
Remote headset display effect
Dora the Explorer watch (It’s a limited
edition)
Stand with base, post and figure grip
Instructions
WHAT I LIKED
That Face – As always, Hot Toys does a
spectacular job with the facial details, even if they’re beaten and bloody.
From the blemishes in the skin to the cuts and bruises on his face, it looks
like Robert Downey Jr. just stepped out of the movie set.
Part Iron Man, Part Tony – The interchangeable
arm and leg are damn cool and add to the atmosphere of the figure. Granted,
it’s a feature that’s been used before, but that doesn’t make it any less cool.
https://kotaku.com/even-tony-stark-toys-have-cool-uh-toys-1443352972
Accessories Galore – From the Christmas
ornament bombs to the stun gun, Tony’s arsenal works together as a collection
to make the character that is The Mechanic.
The Clothes Make The Man – Tony’s down-to-Earth
hoodie and jeans are a fine specimen of miniature costume design. He may be
bloody, his armor may be broken, but he still looks sharp and in style.
Mobility – One of the problems many Hot
Toys figures often face is the loss of mobility for the sake of recreating the
look of a character. Rubber suits and armor often limit what kind of poses you
can make a character stand in. This is very much not the case here. While you
can’t exactly have Mr. Stark doing yoga, the freedom his flexibility offers is
quite nice.
https://kotaku.com/this-is-not-the-dark-knight-but-its-damn-close-5962741
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Fragile – Perhaps it’s just the figure I
got, but Tony’s elbows were very stiff. While his arms do bend, I had to apply
quite a bit of pressure to get them to, which constantly had me worried that I
might snap the figure’s limbs off. A bit of caution is probably required in
this area. Also, part of the Mark XLII leg armor popped off when fitting it on.
It was nothing a dab of superglue couldn’t fix, but it still warranted some
extra caution.
Hairpiece – Yeah, it’s a nitpick, but it’s
a bit of a shame when the faces are so amazingly detailed only to have the hair
be a hard plastic piece. There’s not much than can be done about this without making the price tag take a leap into the stratosphere so I
generally let it slide. But it’s still something I think about.
MY VERDICT
Honestly, whatever you may think about the
movie – and I’ve heard no end to issues people had – this figure is just damn
cool.
It’s really easy to mess up a figure that
is supposed to look like a real person, but Hot Toys has managed to capture both
the likeness and the essence of the armorless, fighting, man-on-a-mission Tony
Stark and miniaturize him in an astounding piece of plastic that was totally
worth the hit my wallet took. (ow…)
At least my year ended on a high note.
Tony Stark (The Mechanic) is currently
being sold in the west through Sideshow Collectibles. As of this article, it’s
still available (and pretty expensive).
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To contact the author of this post, write to cogitoergonihilATgmail.com or find him on Twitter @tnakamura8
