Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Iron Man Mark III Review
Iron Man, Iron Man, he can do anything an iron can. Tony Stark, rich genius, builds an electronic "arc reactor" heart and some really cool suits and zips around as Iron Man. You may have heard of a small movie about him. This is the Hot Toys version of the Mark III. Since this is not an item for kids all comments are for adult collectors.
Sculpt and Material - You won't really be able to get any closer accuracy in plastic than this. The Mark III is a sleeker ride than the Mark II so does not have the rivets showing like that version does, however, (and I didn't mention this in my Mark II review [Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece 12 Inch Deluxe Figure Iron Man Mark II] because it is not as noticeable there) you can see the little silver under parts beneath the chest plate and neck and those tiny details work well. Under the flaps there is lots of additional detail as well with divots, wires, pistons and switches all showing. The work on the Robert Downey, Jr. as Stark head looks great. He's primarily high quality plastic but moving hinges have metal pins and his mid section is a rubber material, although without touching it you can't really tell.
Paint - The paint application looks good. The gold color is spot on but the red may be darker than you expect. I've read several times that this is the correct color of the actual suit but on screen it looked lighter. I have mixed feelings about that since what we see on the screen is what we expect. His tiny arm missiles are gold and the wires in his legs are red and green. The Stark head looks realistically human.
Articulation - The number of poses possible are pretty amazing with this guy. He's got a ball neck, post ball shoulders with separately hinged shoulder pads that don't impede the articulation at all; single pin elbows, ball wrists and his waist will turn side to side and bend a bit. Because the waist/stomach area is rubber it may stick a bit at first but it will move. The hips are post ball joints allowing front, back and out bending. His knees approximate double joint knees so allow for bending all the way back. His ankles have a full range of movement that makes them seem like ball joints, the panels around the feet are on hinges so as not to impede this movement and there is a mid foot joint on each foot. All the joints are stiff feeling but for a reason, once you pose this guy he stays in the pose until you move him - no loose or slipping joints here.
Features - It can depend on how you look at it but here are what I consider features of the body itself. The eyes and chest light up with a bluish white glow turned on via a hidden switch on his back. Each palm brightly lights up as well via a switch on each arm. These three sections of lights all work independently of one another so you can have just his eyes and chest on or one hand, etc., which adds to his versatility. Just note that each of these sections requires 3 small watch type batteries (included) of their own and a small screwdriver will be needed to replace.
His four back flaps all lift up with the lower, larger set able to split off into two more flaps, these can be positioned differently and there is detail sculpted both under the flaps and on their back side.
Both forearms have the tiny missiles that can be pulled up and flipped forward - the sections underneath split apart. This looks really good and dynamic but does take some care as they are very small and detailed.
The calves of the legs open up in three sections so you can see the pistons, hydraulics and wires underneath - again a great layer of detail.
Accessories - First the extra Tony Stark head. This looks really good and in likeness to the actor it is very close. The bare head on the Iron Man body looks good and many folks are using the extra head to create a separate Tony Stark Figure. He has three sets of hands, fisted (no lights), relaxed (palm lights) and splayed (palm lights). Lastly he has a stand with Iron Man on the base and Mark III on the face plate. You don't really need it as he stands up fine in many poses without it but for flying poses it works really well. The hooks go between his *ahem* legs by the way (I did not know that at first so wasn't sure how to use it).
Box - Now this box is a keeper. It has a very thick front flap held down with hidden magnets. The front is a shiny red Mark III chest plate with arc reactor showing through a die cut circle. Open the flap and the inner chest plate is revealed. Then keep opening because this cover/sleeve wraps around the entire box opening up to reveal pictures, text and credits and finally the window showing your figure and accessories. Slip the tray out, take the clear upper part off and he pops right out (and right back in later if you want).
At MSRP he's still fairly expensive. There are reasons, the box design (although I'd give up the box maybe for a better price), detail of the sculpt (it can be easily overlooked how intricate it is and what the cost actually is for this level of detail and the talent to create it), engineering, electronics, extras, paint applications, quality of materials used - in short, even if you don't notice it, there is quality built into this on every level and thus the price. It still nips at you though and even though it doesn't matter you kind of want him to feel heavier than he does just to make you feel better. You see, he's easily a 4 ½ to 5 star figure in and of himself but to acknowledge the average Joe Sixpack's (like me) wallet I'll put 4. However, if you find a deal he easily goes back up to 4 ½ to 5 stars.
On a side note I marked the Mark II just a tiny bit higher (like a maybe ½ star - although it worked out to 4 on the Amazon scale) because it includes an extra accessory and helmeted Stark head with removable mask. I also just like the silver look and texture of the Mark II a tiny bit more but that's personal taste.
Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Iron Man Mark III Feature
- Sideshow Collectibles is proud to bring you the latest addition to Hot Toys' Movie Masterpiece Series of 12-inch figures, Iron Man! Each 12-inch Movie Masterpiece Series figure features Hot Toys' fully articulated 12-inch figure body and a generous number of accessories. Now, from the recent blockbuster MARVEL film, comes the Iron Man MARK III figure!
- License: Marvel
- Product Size: 12" H (304.8mm)*
- Product Weight: 3.00 lbs (10.43 kg)*
- Box Size: 14.00" H (355.6mm) x 9.00" W (228.6mm) x 3.50" L (88.9mm)*
Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Iron Man Mark III Overview
The Iron Man Mark III 12 inch Figure features: * Over 36 points of articulation * Metallic paint * Light-up eyes and 'heart' (battery operated)* * Three pairs of interchangeable hands, including light-up repulsor hand * Interchangeable head with authentic likeness of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark * 12-inch figure stand * Full color display packaging
Available at Amazon Check Price Now!
Replacement of batteries will drive you mad. Aaaaahhh!!!! - Raymond_u_k - London, England
Despite the positive comments by other reviewers I sadly feel this item is not worth 5 stars and is not "superb" as some may have you believe.
Firstly, this is far too expensive for what you actually get, which is basically a fairly, nicely detailed likeness of a superhero made from flimsy plastic whereby parts can break off easily and as such is not suitable for small children as it could pose a choking hazard. Yes, I know it is for display purposes and not meant to be a toy but for the price it really should be far more robust.
Secondly, the light feature in the repulsor hands, chest and head requires a total of 9 (yes, you read that right, NINE watch-type batteries) that will need to be installed/replaced with a watchmaker's "philips" head screwdriver, and a great deal of patience. Consequently, I visited a local watchmaker to help install the batteries for me but this proved equally frustrating as many watchmakers simply do not have the screwdriver required.
Overall, this item loses 1 star for the over inflated price and loses another star for the battery fiasco. Whilst this is an OK item, the truth remains that this is really only worth 3 stars maximum.
Superb! - Joseph T. Vasquez - CA, USA
This figure is top notch!
It comes with 3 pairs of interchangable hands, realistic head sculp of Robert Downy Jr. in addition to the helmet, so you can build your own movie version Tony Stark with the TrueType Body and Hot Toys Men's Suit.
As with all Hot Toys or any 0+ figures, they are really NOT toys. They are truely works of art, and a kid would break or damage the paint/sculpt of a figure like this with ease, and it does contain small parts.
Note: The actual paint is not that bright a red as seen in the Hot Toys pics. It is more of a maroon/magenta or darker candy apple red color. I think the gold is perfect, but nevertheless, i'm sure you will still love this figure. I also heard that this actual darker red color was actually the same color used as the suit in the movie, which was before they added all the color filters and such in the finished film which made it look brighter.
All in all 5* across the board, except for durability, since this is really not a toy to actually play with.
Lastly, the box is a piece of work itself and will be worth something alone. This is Super Collector Friendly!
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: May 24, 2010 00:45:05
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