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Packaging: **1/2 These are again blind boxed, but like I
said last time, many re/E-tailers will sell them either opened, so you
know what you’re getting or with a little sticker on the side next to
the pic of the relevant figure within. And again like the AvP set here are six designs to choose, they are-
- MARK I
- MARK II
- MARK III
- Tony Stark in (captive version with MK I mask.)
- Tony Stark in (Mark I version armour.)
- Tony Stark in (Mark II version armour.)
-
Plus one SECRET version, for that read ‘chase’ (I couldn’t find this
one yet, but after a little digging I found it to be a blue stealth
version).
So, to sum up these are simple oblong sealed boxes.
Inside they are poly-bagged, mine were all in one piece, but I’ve heard
many peoples arrived in loose bits, they do however ‘snap’ back
together very easily. The box has a nice illustration and the movie
logo on the front, and the other figures available are featured on the
side panels.
Sculpt: ***1/2 Your average Cosbaby clocks in at a mere
7.5 cm tall and all the human heads share a very similar aesthetic,
that being a cutesy Manga’esque big eyed ‘Rio’ carnival head, they do
of course give each character their own individual sculpted hairstyle,
and in this case facial hair too. But where the Cosbaby shines (at
least in my humble opinion) is on the bodies and heads of your more
complex figures, be they alien, or in this case armoured. What Hot Toys
do is in effect design panels to fit over the standard base body. So
the basic ‘captive’ Tony’s body has no adornments what so ever and is
just painted, where as the MK I shows the highest degree of ‘extra’s’
to get the desired look. A lot of mixing and matching goes on, in
as much as head swaps and differing paint jobs, the basic MK I for
example is identical to the MK II in terms of sculpt, i.e. there are no
visible rivets, and the MK I, MK II and Tony in MK I all have the same
body, the Tony in MK I and the MK I both have the same body and the
Tony MK I and Tony as captive both have the same head… confused yet?...
Well you get the idea… or maybe you don’t! These are all very
cool little sculpts, and even though they pare IRONMAN down (in his
various guises) to the basics needed to get each character across,
whilst still managing to get tons of cool little details in there as
well. Paint: ***
The MK III version’s both demand the most complex paint apps and
they are pretty tight, I had a little over painting on the eyes of the
Tony in MK III with the face shield up but all the others are bright
and crisp. The MK I is as you’d expect a dirty old beat up, scrap metal
colour, the MK II is super shiny steel and the MK III is the classic 2
tone gold and metallic red. So, for small imported $9 figures you’re
getting a top notch job.
Articulation: ***
All Cosbaby figures have essentially the same articulation. A head
that can turn and tilt a little from side to side, arms that have pop
in ball joints at the shoulder, a push in peg at the wrist and a simple
tube shaped leg with a pop in ball joint at either end for the hip and
foot. So articulation is basic, but it still means you can at least
give them a little attitude when you pose them. The main thing is to
find their centre of gravity, luckily part of the design is oversized
feet, as with those big’ol noggins they are prone to take a topple.
Accessories: Tony Captive *** the rest N/A2 The only one with
anything is the captive Tony, he comes with the face-plate of the MK I,
all the others have zilcharooney… but what could you give them? Well,
is I’d been in charge of out-fit choices which I admit is a moot point,
but indulge me. I’d have given the MK I face plate to Tony in the MK I
armour and made the basic Tony in a tux with the mecha-heart power
source in a box as the accessory… but what the hell would I know!
Outfit- N/A All is sculpted as described above!
Fun factor- **** These are certainly cheap enough to buy for
kids, but there are so many cool small-scale IRONMAN action figures
available already, and to be fair I think you’d find yourself having to
put them back together constantly. I get the idea these are squarely
aimed at your fan-boy/girl. So if you are a Shell head, or just enjoyed
the movie, these are a pretty cool addition for any desk.
Value: **** If you can pick these up for $9 or less then I
think they’re a top notch buy, knock a star off for every couple of $’s
you spend over that. I was looking for the stealth chase figure
on eBay as well but people are asking between $60 and $75
a pop, and quite frankly absolutely NO 3” figure is worth that much…
hell, what am I saying, some people will spend $800 on a 30 year old
Jawa in a plastic cape. Doh!
Overall: ***1/2 These aren’t for everyone, but
they’re cheap enough for a guilt free impulse purchase and they don’t
take up too much space next to your keyboard. It still early days for
the Cosbaby line, will they ever become as popular as Medicom,
Kubricks… who knows, but at least they’re a bit of light hearted fun in
world of collectibles that can be prone to take itself just a little
too seriously sometimes.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ****
Sculpt - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - Tony Captive *** the rest N/A
Outfit - N/A
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ****
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy - I was
surprised not to find these on the Sideshow website, as they sell
Marvel stuff I was sure they would carry these. So you’ll have to try
some of Michael’s sponsors, you’ll find links to them on the home page. I
would imagine many bricks and mortar shops, be they comic or general
toys and collectibles will carry these as well, and who knows, you
might even hit pay-dirt and pick up a stealth version to boot.
If in the UK you’ll find them here- Forbiddenplanet £6.99 each
Or you can hit eBay where the going rate seems to be $9.99 a piece. Try searching with the sponsor www.MyAuctionLinks.com.
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