Review of Iron Man MK XLII Die Cast action figure

Introduction

I know what you're saying - you're sitting around the house hoping that Hot Toys makes another Iron Man. You have to buy every Detolf at your local IKEA to house the ones you already have, but you're still jonesing for some more...

Or maybe not. If there's one character that Hot Toys has done to death, it's Iron Man. Obviously the multiple incarnations of the suit make it possible, but it's also because they managed to do it so well. The fantastic sculpting and paint on the suits, combined with the exceptional engineering on the articulation, make the Iron Man versions some of the best figures they've done.

Last year they introduced the use of die cast metal with the figures, and released the War Machine and Iron Patriot. Adding in this additional bit of realism upped the ante once again, but it also upped the price, something that's hard for many collectors to swallow.

The second die cast figure in the series - but third to actually hit shelves - is the MK 42, with extra battle damaged parts. If you've been keeping up with the IM releases, you already have an MK42, so do you really need to spend the bucks again? That's what we'll find out.

This guy will run you just north of $300. Yep, you read that right. Prepare for more die cast figures in 2015, including the new MKXLIII from Age of Ultron.

Packaging - ****
The die cast figures have their own unique box style. These are not the usual shoe box design, but have an upper and lower box that slide together about 1/3 of the way up.

The upper box has a very cool art design, and highlights the specific character nicely. The box is very sturdy, even more so than the usual shoe box style. Inside is another box, this time made from hard Styrofoam, as well as a couple plastic trays. This arrangement keeps the heavier figure held in place, and protects everything from damage.

It's collector friendly of course, and there's a fairly detailed instruction sheet that includes some basic warnings.

Sculpting - ****
Here's another outstanding job by the Hot Toys team, capturing the on screen look of one of the best Iron Man suits.

While a decent percentage of this figure is die cast metal, there's still plenty of plastic, and yet it all looks the same. Textures and edges match across materials, and the fit on the regular and extra battle damaged pieces is tight and seamless.

Speaking of the battle damaged armor, the underlying circuitry and components are detailed and realistic. The parts swap easily enough, but don't exhibit gaps or fall off too easily.

They've included a Tony Stark head sculpt, permanently encased in a battle damaged helmet. The sculpt is good, but not the best Tony they've done. It will certainly work in the confines of this outfit, but if you're looking for pure Tony goodness, some of the un-helmeted portraits that were supplied with previous figures are superior.

Obviously, he's sixth scale, and comes in at just a hair over 12" tall.

Paint - ****
It's up to the paint to convince you that this entire suit is metal, and it does that beautifully.

Colors are clean and bright, with a shiny, consistent finish. That color consistency is crucial in getting the realism they - and you - are looking for.

The battle damage looks great, with paint wear and rubs in just the right places. They aren't over done either, and match up well with the undamaged pieces.

Even poor Tony is sporting his own 'battle damage', with some glossy blood on his face, and some appropriate bruising. The eyes have a little bleed in the whites, but it's a minor nit in an otherwise excellent overall application.

Articulation - ****
One of the things that really sets these figures apart is the design and engineering of the articulation.

This isn't just simply about ball joints and hinge joints - it's about coming up with new and complex ways to allow areas like the shoulders and hips to have a tremendous range of movement and yet maintain the look of the restrictive armor.

Somehow, they manage to do this, creating a truly posable figure from a highly restrictive costume design. It helps that they've added articulation to various flaps and edges wherever possible. Areas like the ankles, hips and shoulders have armor that tilts and lifts to avoid constraint.

It also helps that some joints, like the waist, shoulders, hips and ankles, can actually extend and retract, allowing you to shift the limb or torso out to provide greater mobility.

There's a few areas that are articulated just for cosmetic effect as well, like the flaps on the back of the suit or the face plate.

My only complaint here is how they've handled the 'butt button'. If you own the Iron Patriot, you know that they had an actual small button that you could press, allowing the legs to roll down further in the socket. They still have this feature, but the button no longer exists. There is still that same pattern in the paint, but the button is gone. Instead, you press firmly on the overall ass armor, and this releases the internal hook holding the pelvis in the higher position.

I prefer the way the Iron Patriot worked. The construction felt more solid, and less likely to have issues over time. Pressing the armor inward may damage it, if done often enough, and the mechanism doesn't seem quite as smooth.

However, that's a pretty minor nit when compared to the bigger picture of the overall articulation.

Accessories - ****
By fully utilizing the accessories, you actually have two completely unique figures in one.

The best extra is the additional Tony Stark head. I've already discussed the Sculpt and Paint, but it's worth noting here that swapping is easy and straight forward. There are two strong magnets that hold the extra battle damaged face plate in the open configuration, or you can put this plate in place covering his face.

Along with that extra plate, there are a large number of extra armor pieces, most done in various stages of battle damage. There are additional shoulder pads, four sets of extra wrist guards (two sets of flexed guards, one clean, and one damaged to go with the two sets of straight guards, one clean and one damaged), an extra set of forearm armor for both left and right, a damaged chest piece, and one extra bicep cover for the right arm, also torn up.

All this damaged armor can be swapped to create a pretty beat Tony, and the result is seamless. It looks like a completely different figure, and there's no sign that any of the parts are add ons or extras.

He also has three sets of hands. There's a pair of fists, a pair of soft rubber light up hands, and a pair of fully articulated light up hands.

I love the joints on the articulated hands - they are very natural and blend in perfectly. The number of poses you can pull off is pretty much unlimited, negating the need for any additional hands.

His only other accessory is the light up display stand. This base is designed for standing poses, with a shorter black rod. While this figure is capable of some really great flying poses, you'll really need one of the larger bases with the long, articulated metal rod to take advantage of it.

Light Feature - ***1/2
There are two aspects to the light up feature: the figure itself (chest, eyes, palms), and the base.

They've provided small batteries for the various lights on the figure.  The arm and chest compartments and switches are easy to get to and work with, but the eyes are a different story. You must remove the face plate (yes, you can swap the battle damaged plate onto the light up head if you'd like), then carefully pop off the full armor section on the top of the head. This exposes the battery compartment and the switch. While going through that much effort to swap batteries is no big deal, having to do it every time you want to turn the light on or off is a much bigger problem.

One other problem with the head involves the magnets. The strong magnets used to hold the damaged face plate in place also do wonders at pulling the batteries hither and yon. Getting them in place can be tricky, especially if you try one at a time. I took all three, held them in a pair of needle nosed pliers, and slipped them in place at once.

The lights on the figure are bright and sharp, and the batteries seem to last quite a bit longer than we saw back in the early days of Hot Toys Iron Man releases.

They supply a small screw driver to make putting the batteries in a bit easier, but that really only works for the screw used in the head. The one on the back is much larger, and even the pair under the arms are large enough that you should really get a different driver to avoid damaging the screw.

They don't included batteries for the base. These are larger AA, and I suspect that there are new rules around imports and shipping that makes it difficult to include them.

The light in the base is bright as well, and the switch and compartment are relatively easy to reach.

Fun Factor - ****
I can tell you how cool this figure is, but until you actually get your hands on one of the die cast versions, you won't really appreciate it. These are a ton of fun to work with, and you can experiment to find all kinds of great poses.

Value - **
It appears that the standard for this series is $310. That's a LOT of money for a single figure, particularly if you've already bought the all plastic version.

You do get a ton of extras here, and the ability to go all battle damaged with him is a big plus. While the die cast series isn't entirely die cast (I'd guess this guy around half at best), there's enough to give him real heft.

Still, you'll be hard pressed to buy these with any regularity. This is one of Tony's most iconic suits (at this point), and it is beautiful. But Hot Toys may find that convincing collectors to go metal with every new release is a tough sell.

Things to Watch Out For -
The instructions include warnings on how far to move various parts, where to watch out for damage when posing, and a reminder for idiots not to drop it on their foot. I'd follow the warnings.

Overall - ****
I'm not sure I'm completely sold on the die cast concept. Need proof? I haven't pre-ordered the Whiplash, MKII, or even the MKXLIII. I suspect I'll be breaking down with that last one, since I'm probably going to lose my mind when it comes to ordering Ultron related figures.

But this version is the perfect example of the highest level of Hot Toys work to have in your collection. If you're only going to own one in the die cast series, then make it this guy. Even if you own the previous XLII suit, you can always set this one up in his battle damaged format and have both on the shelf.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ****
Accessories - ****
Light Feature - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **
Overall - ****

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has him at $310.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered a lot of the Hot Toys Iron Man series, including the recent die cast War Machine and Iron Patriot. Others include the Mandarin, the Power Pose MKXLII, the Iron Monger, the Mark V, the Secret Project version, the MKVI, the very cool War Machine, the hot chick Black Widow, Whiplash, the Mark III figure, Mark II figure, Mark I figure, and additional Tony Stark men's suit. There are also guest reviews of the Battle Damaged Iron Man and Mech Suit Tony Stark.

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