Review of Iron Man 3 Mark XXVIII - Igor

Introduction

Iron Man 3 trotted out a plethora of variations on the Iron Man costume. A number of them were eye catching, but none quite so much as the MK XXXVIII (38, for those of you whom have forgotten your Roman numerals), also known as 'Igor'. This dude was huge, dwarfing the other suits on screen. Now we have Hulkbuster coming of course, but until he arrives, courtesy of Hot Toys, Igor will be the big boy on the shelf.

He just started shipping in the U.S. over the last couple weeks, and will run you around $500 at most retailers. There's no exclusives or special versions.

Packaging - ***1/2
What you're getting is a big figure. No accessories, no stand, so the box and interior foam tray don't have to be as large as you might expect. Still, it's a pretty decent size, with solid graphics and a very good eggshell design that will keep the figure very safe and very secure. And of course, it's all collector friendly.

It's also worth noting that while he has the usual plastic 'sleeves' on his arms and feet, they are much easier to remove than with some past figures. I know that more than one of us has complained about being forced to cut the bags free - nobody wants to wield sharp objects around their expensive figures. Looks like Hot Toys may be listening.

My big issue here was the lack of instructions. You should get them - most people did - but somehow they were left out with mine. Thanks to the kindness of other collectors online, I have a jpg of them now, and felt much more confident working with the battery compartments.

Sculpting - ****
This guy is an impressive 18 inches tall, just slightly bigger than the Hot Toys Hulk, and with even more bulk. While there's no die cast parts, he's still a heavy beast, thanks to all the individual pieces.

The sculpted armor matches the on screen look quite well, and perhaps more importantly, looks exceptional with the other Iron Man suits on the shelf. It's hard to be impressed with the coolness of his size and heft without seeing him in person, but trust me - he leaves a serious impression.

He also stands great on his own, always a key factor for me. Even with the large torso and arms, you'll have no trouble finding action poses that he can maintain long term.

Paint - ****
Another outstanding paint job from Hot Toys. The plastic looks the part of metallic armor, with construction equipment style striping, warning labels, and even wear and tear all done with amazing realism.

While the blue and silver are gorgeous and consistent, it's the aforementioned damage that really makes this guy stand out. They've gone with a rust effect that I don't think we've seen before, rather than just the usual wear or oil stains. It adds an even more realistic look to the to the already outstanding armor. And yes, there's some of the usual wear as well.

This guy is so good that he'll be high on my list for next year's Eddie Wires award. While the rest of the attributes are the usual top quality, it's the paint that makes this guy really pop for me.

Articulation - ***1/2
This isn't a figure that's designed to stand fully upright. He's Igor after all - there's gotta be a hump. In the second photo directly above, I put him in the straightest stance I could, so you could get a feel for his height with the Lifesizer feature.

However, that doesn't mean he isn't extremely well articulated. Once again, the designers at Hot Toys found ways to get the maximum amount of useful articulation into even a highly restrictive suit design.

The neck is a good example. You can pull the head forward, away from the body, to better use the double ball joint hidden inside. That gives him lots of tilt and lean action to go with the ability to turn side to side.

The arms have ball shoulders and cut biceps, with pin elbows and ball wrists to round things out. While the suit is a little restrictive (the shoulder pads are also articulated to provide greater mobility in the shoulders), you'll be able to get some excellent arm and hand poses.

Likewise, the legs use ball hips, cut thighs, pin knees, and ankle and half foot joints to provide plenty of good posing. There's some use of ratchet joints here, and the armor around the ankle is articulated as well to allow for greater movement in the feet.

The torso can tilt and lean at the waist, but it is a bit restricted. He wants to lean forward, but not so much backward. The armor plates on the spine can deploy out, and the very top plate is a soft rubber. That allows it to move around the other plastic parts a little easier, but you'll want to be sure you don't have it at an odd angle for too long, lest you deform the material.

I forgot to mention the fingers - yep, each one has three joints, allowing for some great hand poses. That's a good thing too, since there aren't any additional hands included.

I mentioned that the flaps in back can be opened, but the large shoulder armor on top can be lifted upward as well. The photo I included of his back shows both the spine flaps open, and the shoulder armor lifted up.

Accessories - Bupkis
Here's where it hurts. While I'm not sure what would make for a good accessory here - perhaps some busted construction equipment or girders to use as part of your Iron man diorama? - the total lack of anything is painfully obvious. For those that like stands, there isn't one (although to be fair, there's not much reason to use one, other than consistency), and the only thing in the box other than the figure is the 12 watch batteries for the light feature.

Light Feature - ***1/2
There are four lights, as usual - eyes, chest, and each palm. While they each still use only three small watch batteries, they are extremely bright - I was quite impressed.

I put the head and chest batteries in first, and was pleasantly surprised. The chest piece is held in place with magnets, and pops off pretty easily to reveal the battery compartment and switch. Turing on and off the reactor on his chest is quite easy.

The head isn't too bad either. The center 'cap' is held on with two posts, but it doesn't feel like it will wear out quite like some of the other recent Iron Man battery covers. It's a little harder to turn the eyes on and off, but it's still reasonable.

Then came the hands. The "M" shaped armor on the back of each hand hides the compartment and switch, and these are also held in place with a couple posts. Getting the covers on and off wasn't too hard, but getting to the compartment and switch is more difficult due to the bulky forearm armor. It's not impossible by any stretch, but is slightly more difficult than the chest or eyes, particularly when your working with the batteries themselves.

Once you have all of the batteries in place, the lights are very bright and clean. It's clear that Hot Toys is improving with the electronics on every release.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
This guy is a lot of fun to pose and display, and you should have no trouble working with the articulation. I was never worried about breaking anything, and with just some minor care you should be able to find dozens of cool poses for your shelf.

His sheer size is also a factor here - it's always fun to show off something this impressive, even to the casual fan.

Value - *1/2
This is where it gets tough. This figure will cost you $500 - yep, I said $500. That could be a car payment or two, possible even a month of rent. It's certainly nothing to take lightly, and buyers will have to seriously consider the pros and cons.

This figure is very similar in size to the Hulk. He was $300, and although that was two years ago, the Hulk also had an extra set of hands and PERS. 

While this figure has far more intricate pieces and much better articulation than a $100 NECA 1/4 scale figure, I'm not sure it's five times more. I suspect there's two things going on here that are driving the price - first, there's a lot of hand construction. With this many parts and pieces, the unit cost of assembly is probably quite high. And the second factor? Hot Toys should charge what collectors are willing to pay, and it's clear they think $500 is the right spot.

Personally though, I think $400 is more in line, and I think they would have made up any lost revenue in margin with units sold. 

I will say that if you have a choice between two smaller Iron Man costumes, say Heartbreaker and Centurion, and this guy, I'd go for this guy. His size and posability make him a stand out in the display.

Things to Watch Out For -
As always when working with one of the Iron Man suits, pay particular attention to various pieces before adjusting joints. There are some spots that can rub, but the instructions do a pretty good job of explaining it. If you get instructions, of course.

Overall - ***1/2
This is a very expensive figure, no doubt about it. In fact, it's one of the most expensive they've produced so far.  We all know that the Hulkbuster coming out later this year will dwarf this guy in size, and undoubtedly in price, but until then, Igor is king.

If you're on the fence, I'd skip two of the other versions just to get this guy. He's that cool. And unless one of the others that have been recently shipping, like the Silver Centurion, Heartbreaker, or Starboost are really something that speaks to you from a design perspective, skipping a couple of them to get this guy is probably going to be the better move long term.

Ideally you could have them all, but for most people choices must be made. And rest assured that if you pick this guy, your display is going to thank you for it, and your wallet is going to hate you.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has him for $510.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
My most recent review covers the Silver Centurion, but I should have Starboost and Heartbreaker up soon. Before that

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