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Iron Man 2 Mark V Bust
Hot Toys
"The
following is a guest review. The review
and photos do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michael Crawford
or Michael's Review of the Week, and are the opinion and work of the
guest author."
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Jeff is back with a
look at another of the terrific Hot Toys Iron Man busts - take it away,
Jeff!
When the second Iron Man movie hit there was a lot of expectation.
The first movie had proved to be that most elusive of beasts; a summer
blockbuster that made the fan-boys and the general theatre going public
very happy. You couldn’t help but walk away from the movie with at
least a slight smile on your face.
A lot of this was brought
about by excellent casting, but there’s no denying that best cast in
world can still fail if the story and production values aren’t their to
back them up, but on this occasion they were. Sadly the second movie
wasn’t as strong. It had some solid performances again and the story
wasn’t that bad at all, but it just didn’t capture the carefree
easy-going style of the original, well, in my opinion anyway.
However…
having said that, for me one of the very best extended sections, even
when looking at both movies side by side, was the Monaco race track
showdown, the attack by Whiplash and the donning of the ingenious MK V
suit that is transported in a briefcase. I think this was amongst the
most memorable scenes that either movie had to offer. The moment Stark
kicked open the case, thrust his hands into the contents then stood up
as the armour literally wrapped itself around him was a solid gold cinematic ‘Whooooaahh!’ moment!
And
for me the actual design, with its predominantly steel and red colour
scheme was also the coolest the suit managed to look over the course of
all three movies (well, OK, I still kind of favour the junk yard MK I,
but in terms of shiny power suit, then this was my ace!).
This version seems to have taken an eternity to come out, I reviewed the first release of the MK IV way back in August of last year, which was soon followed up with the MK VI and War Machine in November. Now a full six moths later here at last is the MK V, I hope the wait was worth it!
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Packaging
- ***1/2
Just
like all the other Hot Toys boxes for the Iron Man busts, they concern
themselves more with the protection and display of the contents than
with the fanfare we get with the 1/6th figures. As such this is a solid
corrugated-card container with a large die-cut window on the front, the
back has some colour photos of the contents and the bust itself is held
snugly in a vac-formed tray.
It’s not the most inspired bit of
graphic design we have seen from them, but it does however ensure that
the contents get to you in first class condition.
Sculpting - ****
Hot
Toys have really made the Iron Man licence their own. The level of
detail and observation on all the representations of the power suits
across the board has been pretty spectacular, and of course it carries
on here.
So what can you expect? Well in a nutshell this is a
virtually perfect scale model of the MK V armour, one that fits snugly
between the MK IV and VI.
I would imagine that the sculpting
here was practically all done digitally, as indeed the designing of the
suits would have been for the movie. Just how much or little access Hot
Toys had to the 3D models created for the movie I don’t know, but
whatever it was they have pulled of a fantastic ¼ scale model of it
here. The implied ‘collapsible’ nature of the suit means that it’s
criss-crossed with a lot more division lines and panels. I especially
like the tire tread sections that radiate out from the ARC, running up
over his upper pectoral area then down the arms, heck even the back has
a whole mess of detail showing the way this thing is meant to be held
together.
Like the busts that came before it, this is mounted
onto has an industrial looking plinth, and has the movie logo on the
front beside the suits designated number.
I can find nothing to
fault here; even after freeze framing the Blu-Ray and holding this
thing up next to it…did I just admit I do that… move along!
Paint
- ***3/4
I’m being
exceptionally hard on this figure in the paint app department, as to be
fair it still shows a far higher degree of finish than we get on more
expensive and larger scale versions from rival companies. However the
previous busts have been utterly perfect in the cleanliness of the
division lines and showed no slop whatsoever. But on this version, if
you look REALLY, REALLY close, (and lets face it, it’s my job to look
REALLY, REALLY close) then you might see just a hint of over painting
in a few small areas on the small details of the back. But that is it,
to the usual (and for that you could read ‘non anally retentive’)
collector, this is still pretty close to being perfect!
All
the colours are deep and lustrous, the metallic finishes are
convincing. The division lines where the panels join are all picked out
super accurately in black, and the whole thing stands on a matte black
base. I’ve deducted a ¼ of a star for the ever so slight over painting,
and you may feel I’ve been over pedantic… but Hot Toys have made a rod
for their own back!
Articulation
- N/A
Once again we have the ability to turn the head, it helps inject
a little personality, especially when displaying the full line up of
the busts together, but in all honesty it’s not so much articulation as
a little added bonus.
Light Up Feature - ****
This
again works in the same way as the other Iron Man busts, you simply
insert three AAA batteries (not included) into the base, and then just
flick the switch, which is also concealed under the base next to the
battery compartment. After doing so the light on the chest and in the
eyes illuminates brightly. It looks great on its own, but when lined up
with the other Iron Man busts it really comes into it’s own. If only I
could wire them to the mains!
Fun
Factor - ***
It’s a
bust… you can’t play with it as such, but what you can do is put it on
your desk (or shelf, lets not be shelfist) and look at it.
Now I
admit that’s not gonna have you whooping like Silvio Berlusconi at a
bunga-bunga party, but it brings its own sense of gratification, and if
you hold public office it’ll get you in a whole lot less trouble!
As
I said in my last review, for maximum effect these look best when lined
up, and dare I say it, they do radiate a feeling of joy, if not exactly
fun!
Value
for money - ***
This
guy comes with a $74.99 RRP like both the MK VI and War Machine. For
some unfathomable reason the MK IV was only $64.99, and to me that
seems like a far more reasonable amount. You can bet this came with a
hefty licensing fee, but the fact that it is in effect a static
representation, not needing the complex engineering and problem solving
of the 1/6th articulated figures makes me feel the price tag is a
little hefty.
But who cares what I think, as the buying public
snapped these all up faster than the frozen MK II in freefall, meaning
that Sideshow have long since sold out, but if you act fast I have a
link to ONE of Mike’s sponsors that has it still in stock.
Overall-
***1/2
I like this
series of busts a lot, and the detailing and production quality is
uniformly outstanding throughout. So the only thing holding this back
from a top score is the price. However,
if you don’t have the space or budget for Sideshows impressive 1/1
scale offerings, then these are a great cost effective alternative,
meaning the price might actually seem like something of a steal. Where to buy
Sideshow have sold out at the RRP of $74.99, as have Big Bad Toy Store who also had him at this price. The only sponsor I could find with it in stock was Urban Collector where it is also at the full RRP of $74.99. Apart from that it’s time to hit eBay where the prices are between $85 to $120. 
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This product was provided free for the review by the manufacturer.
Photos and text by Jeff Parker.
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