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Sculpting - ***
These figures are in Hasbro's usual 4"
scale. Iron man comes in just a smidge taller than that, making him fit
in pretty well with other lines in this scale, including Star Wars.
The sculpt isn't bad - the suit
looks good, and there's a nice, sharp definition to the edges.
Mine
came with warped ankles out of the package, and they are bad enough
that I'll have to use a hot water/cold water bath to straighten them.
Paint - **
While this is a small figure, the paint issues are bad enough to still
make a difference.
There's
not a ton of ops here either, another negative. There's a little gold
on the front, but none on the back. In fact, there's no paint ops on
the back at all. The gold isn't great either - the edges on the mask
are poor.
The torso has a pearlescent
appearance that's nice, but it isn't matched on the arms and legs.
Articulation - *1/2
It's
the 80's again, and action figure articulation is 5 point - cut neck,
cut shoulders, and cut hips. That means he can stand up straight, he
can hold his arms up like he's flying, and he can sit down. That's it,
and that's lame. We know how good Hasbro can do articulation in this
scale. Even when they aren't trying, they do it better than this. It's
a mistake to take a page from Mattel's book in this scale and go with
this weak design.
Accessories - **1/2
There's
one accessory - a rubbery repulsor blast that fits over either hand.
It's a minor detail that the blast shouldn't cover his hand (since it
comes from his palm - this isn't Johnny Storm after all), but I'll let
it slide.
Fun Factor - **1/2
While
I hate the articulation and retro-level quality, I have to admit that
kids could enjoy playing with these...except for one big issue. Who is
this Iron Man supposed to fight? It's the same issue the DKR line had
with just Bane in the regular series - there's just too many of the
main character, and not enough diversity to allow for a kid to have any
fun.
Value - **1/2
And here's the reason for the weak
articulation - price. With other 4" scale figures running $8 - $10
(depending on the retailer), it's tough to produce a ton of figures in
a series and get them to sell. Hasbro's answer seems to be to try to go
cheap on the quality of the figure, drop the price, and hopefully sell
more. Sadly, this figure isn't much better than a Happy Meal toy, and
the three or four bucks you'll save are not going to induce you to buy
more, especially when they're ALL Iron Men.
Not every
action figure is over ten bucks these days - TMNT sell for $8 - $9
each, and have great articulation, great accessories, and a bigger
scale. Comparing one of those to one of these? No comparison.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.
Overall - **1/2
I'm very disappointed to see Hasbro go
with this cheaply designed style, since they are the masters of this
scale. They've done wonders with Marvel Universe, and of
course
Star Wars, so there's no excuse - other than price - to go with this
design.
I suspect that it's not going to
result in big sales,
either. Without a lot of enemies or extras, kids won't be looking to
buy 6 different versions of Tony.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - **1/2
Articulation - *1/2
Accessories - **1/2
Fun Factor - **1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - **1/2
Where to Buy -
I picked this guy up at Meijer - you can find them at just about every
mass market retailer for around six bucks.
Related
Links -
I've covered a ton of Iron Man figures over the years, and you can use
the Search
Page to find them. But the most recent was the first half of
the latest Marvel Legends
figures, and all three were far more articulated than this guy.
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