Showing posts with label armor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label armor. Show all posts
Monday, February 24, 2014
Iron Man 2 Comic Series 3 75 Hulkbuster Armor
This is it! The one armour that lots of you have been waiting for to hit the shelves, the one armour that Tony Stark perhaps uses the least, the one armour that can go toe to toe and maybe (just maybe, for a Hulk fan like myself ;P) take down the mighty Incredible Hulk!
Hulkbuster Iron Man!
I really have to thank The Rangerlord for this find--it seems everything that Ive gotten ahead of most has come from him using his mutant super power of being at the right store at the right time. No matter how remote the store, no matter how obscure the location, The Rangerlord will be there!
So does the Hulkbuster measure up against his super-sized opponenets? Check it out in this review!
(I originally wrote this review for the now defunct Articulated Discussion site. Ive recovered what I could from drafts and reposted it here. Enjoy! ;)
I gotta be honest: the first thing I thought when I had him in hand (in package) was that he was a tad small. I was expecting an Iron Monger-sized figure in height or at the very least a figure comparable in girth to the Marvel Universe Hulk. As it turns out, Hulkbuster Iron Man is neither. But while he wasnt as bulky or as tall as expected, the sculpt certainly doesnt disappoint in terms of detail.
The trademark forearm and shoulder guards are also there, with the shoulder guards cast from separate pieces of hard plastic and are glued into slots in his shoulders. While theyre supposed to be part of his shoulders, the guards are actually fixed to hover over his shoulders and look flimsy from a bottom up angle. I wonder if they wouldve been better to cast them in a softer plastic and let them float lower so the gaps over the shoulder wouldnt be so apparent.
His forearm and shin guards are made of softer rubber, which his shoulders shouldve been. This I think is great-- it wont crack or chip as easily as a hard plastic piece. But while the shin guards are part of the lower leg mould, the forearm guards, like the shoulder guards, are also separate pieces that are glued on. The great thing about the forearm shields are that they are attached to Hulkbuster IMs fist, making them look flexible as well as sturdy no matter which way youve got his hands positioned. Its also worth noting that his triangular chest arc reactor vent is a glued-on piece of plastic, so if youll want to watch out for glue stains around the chest when picking this guy up.
Aside from the hovering shoulder guards, Hulkbuster IM has a fantastic sculpt that ranks up there with one of the best Marvel has produced in this scale.
Most of this figure isnt painted, with everything sculpted in a dark red and only his golden parts painted. As simple as his face is, the gold isnt cleanly applied with both spills over into the seams of the faceplate and sloppy under-painting in the areas which havent been over painted. His eyes and seams at the cheeks are supposed to be white (or silver?) to indicate light but because of the way the face has been mispainted, it simply looks unfinished.
A minor problem that might bother some of you is that since his limbs and head are cast from softer plastic and his torso is made of harder stuff, the colour isnt quite a match--while his chest has a nice muted shiny gloss, his head and limbs have a matte finish. Despite this, the colours are close enough that you wont notice the difference unless you look really closely.
So hes not as large as Iron Monger or the Hulk, but hes still just as bulky as two Iron Man 2 figures put together. Nevermind that he doesnt come with any accessories other than his figure stand and 3 armour cards, hes still worth his weight in sculpting and detail. So he may not have the best paint, but he does have lots of added parts that are not part of the base mold like the shoulder pieces, the forearms guards and the chest arc reactor vent. He also has new “ball” joint pieces which will please those who didnt like the old ones.
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I really have to thank The Rangerlord for this find--it seems everything that Ive gotten ahead of most has come from him using his mutant super power of being at the right store at the right time. No matter how remote the store, no matter how obscure the location, The Rangerlord will be there!So does the Hulkbuster measure up against his super-sized opponenets? Check it out in this review!
Name: Hulkbuster Iron Man
Line: Iron Man 2 (Comic Series)
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: April 2010
Price: Online: (USD) $9.99-$12.99 Retail: $7.99-$8.99
Scale: 3.75 in.
Accessories: 3 x Armor Cards, Base (1 peg) with Armor Card stand.
Sculpt
I gotta be honest: the first thing I thought when I had him in hand (in package) was that he was a tad small. I was expecting an Iron Monger-sized figure in height or at the very least a figure comparable in girth to the Marvel Universe Hulk. As it turns out, Hulkbuster Iron Man is neither. But while he wasnt as bulky or as tall as expected, the sculpt certainly doesnt disappoint in terms of detail.One of the first things that caught my eye were his feet (and shin guards) and also his fists. The shin guards in particular are pretty unique and are sculpted after the Bowen Designs Hulkbuster armour statue (as far as I can tell). I love that his feet are nice and broad with bands of armour and have a cleft to separate the big toe from the rest of the foot. The open hand and closed fist are also extremely detailed, with each almost as large as his squat round head.
The trademark forearm and shoulder guards are also there, with the shoulder guards cast from separate pieces of hard plastic and are glued into slots in his shoulders. While theyre supposed to be part of his shoulders, the guards are actually fixed to hover over his shoulders and look flimsy from a bottom up angle. I wonder if they wouldve been better to cast them in a softer plastic and let them float lower so the gaps over the shoulder wouldnt be so apparent.His forearm and shin guards are made of softer rubber, which his shoulders shouldve been. This I think is great-- it wont crack or chip as easily as a hard plastic piece. But while the shin guards are part of the lower leg mould, the forearm guards, like the shoulder guards, are also separate pieces that are glued on. The great thing about the forearm shields are that they are attached to Hulkbuster IMs fist, making them look flexible as well as sturdy no matter which way youve got his hands positioned. Its also worth noting that his triangular chest arc reactor vent is a glued-on piece of plastic, so if youll want to watch out for glue stains around the chest when picking this guy up.Other highlights of this sculpt are lots of round vents in his back and sides of his legs, as well as pistons at the back of his calves and elbows.
Hulkbuster Iron Man also has a very interesting material composition: his torso and shoulder guards are cast out of hard plastic, while his head, arms, and legs are made of softer plastic, but not as rubbery as his shin and forearm guards. I really dont know what the reason for this would be, but I guess it would lessen any potential damage should you drop this fig.
Aside from the hovering shoulder guards, Hulkbuster IM has a fantastic sculpt that ranks up there with one of the best Marvel has produced in this scale.9/10
Paint
Most of this figure isnt painted, with everything sculpted in a dark red and only his golden parts painted. As simple as his face is, the gold isnt cleanly applied with both spills over into the seams of the faceplate and sloppy under-painting in the areas which havent been over painted. His eyes and seams at the cheeks are supposed to be white (or silver?) to indicate light but because of the way the face has been mispainted, it simply looks unfinished.The other major problem area was the gold rib area of his armor. It wasnt visible in package, but I was disappointed to find a line of glue slop on his right rib area and a chip on the lowest panel edge (also on the right.) But that isnt all: the upper left rib panel has two big paint chips that are really obvious when you rotate his chest to the left.
A minor problem that might bother some of you is that since his limbs and head are cast from softer plastic and his torso is made of harder stuff, the colour isnt quite a match--while his chest has a nice muted shiny gloss, his head and limbs have a matte finish. Despite this, the colours are close enough that you wont notice the difference unless you look really closely.Other than these issues, I have to say the gold on his shoulders, chest piece, forearms, thighs, and knees are pretty solid with no spills.
7/10
Articulation
While I was initially disappointed that he didnt have hinges on his wrists like Iron Monger, he does have the 22+ points of articulation the figures in this line have. And while his shoulders have full range but are blocked by the shoulder guards, everything else is pretty much unhindered.
This figure does have some new joints though, namely the swivel/hinge shoulder joints and the ball-joints (which some call “Hasbro” joints) in his hips. These are basically the same “ball” joints with smaller hinge tracks. And while I first thought them to be a tad too loose compared to the old joints (after accounting for the natural loosening of joints after play), I was impressed that theyve maintained their level of tightness while being easier to manipulate. So I think those of you who are having problems with tight joints in IM 2 figures wont have to worry when it comes to Hulkbuster IM here—hes a ton more intuitive without being any less stable.
Im normally not impressed with head swivels but this guy has one where I expected no articulation at all. I cant emphasize how much a turning head can add to your poses and I really have to thank Hasbro for going the extra mile here.
8/10
Fun
The name says it all! Hulk. Buster. Iron. Man. He was born to go toe to toe with the Big Green Goliath, so naturally thats who hes best posed with.
Also, two large figures with excellent balance make for super fun posing. There are already two characters in the Marvel Universe line who are plus size (namely Hulk—Green, Secret Wars, and Grey—and the Red Hulk) and now there are another two in the Iron Man 2 line—Iron Monger and Hulkbuster IM. With Juggernaut to come, putting all of them together in a knockdown, drag out, super-sized street battle is something thats on my to-do list. And as you can see, large figures like Hulkbuster IM, Hulk, and Iron Monger can literally grapple with each other in poses otherwise unachievable with smaller figs. They can also lift each other and still maintain their balance!
9/10
Value
So hes not as large as Iron Monger or the Hulk, but hes still just as bulky as two Iron Man 2 figures put together. Nevermind that he doesnt come with any accessories other than his figure stand and 3 armour cards, hes still worth his weight in sculpting and detail. So he may not have the best paint, but he does have lots of added parts that are not part of the base mold like the shoulder pieces, the forearms guards and the chest arc reactor vent. He also has new “ball” joint pieces which will please those who didnt like the old ones.Worth it? Yes. Hard to find? Definitely—I havent seen one on the pegs yet but I got this one because my toy hunting wingman, The Rangerlord, spotted these at the airport. Yes, the Singapore airport, before it was seen anywhere else! And Rangerlord was on his way out of the country too, so I had to wait for him to return, while he opened his and had a ball of a time re-enacting Hulkbuster IM vs Titanium Man fights. (No prizes for guessing what one of the upcoming IM2 reviews is!)
8/10
Summary
Sculpt: 9/10 – Great sculpt. Near perfect. His shoulder plates can look weird.
Paint: 7/10 – Suffers from the inconsistent paint inherent in this line. Could be much better, but still not too bad.
Articulation: 8/10 – Largely unhindered for a plus-size figure. Shoulder guards restrict full shoulder movement.
Fun: 9/10 – The best figures are ones like these which push the envelope on a great idea. Hwo wouldnt something as cool looking as a suit design to bust the Hulks behind?
Value: 8/10 – May not be as large as some figures, but bulky enough to be more than worth it.
Overall: 87/100 – This is a great toy. He falls just short of wonderful because of a couple of paint issues and perhaps a major sculpting one (shoulders--which may not be a problem to some!). What this means is that if youve got some talent or experience in fixing up your toys in the paint department, youve got yourself a wonderful toy!
Friday, January 24, 2014
Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Armor He Man!
Ive been wanting to get my hands on this guy ever since the announced they were going to make him. But a combination of so-so reviews--the lack of accessories, the switchable plates instead of a revolving chest cylinder, and his limited articulation kinda threw a spanner in the works for me. For the same price Id be able to get figures like Mer-Man, COunt Marzo, Keldor, and Prince Adam, all of whom came with a ton more stuff. So I held out until...
Two weekends ago at the Singapore Toys, Games and Comics Convention (STGCC fer short), I finally gave in at a good price. I have to confess, he was my favorite He-Man growing up because hed never lose his armor--the original He-Mans harness would always snap at the catch on the back and as a result, Id have a regular half-naked guy as my hero. Not a good deal.
So how did Battle Armor He-Man fare when he was put up to the Chase Variant review panel? (Thats me.) Find out after the jump!
Like: Despite the bulky armor, theyve left enough space for He-Mans ab crunch to work--somewhat. He can crunch forward great but arching back is not the best. Its there, but just not the full range that you ca get from an unarmored figure. 
Dislike: That its actually a half breast-plate that he has. He-Mans is given a blank ab torso and is painted silver so it looks like hes wearing a full breast plate. While not at all disappointing on BA He-Man, this means you cant really make anyone else wear it without the poor sod looking like hes wearing a tank top (Get it? Get it?) with a bare midriff.
Similarly, if you put someone elses armor on him, like say He-Ros, hell look silly with a two-tone torso. Unless Mattel come up with some other form of silver armor...
Dislike: That his head is mostly limited to a swivel because of the armor. Granted, Mattel set his head a little higher than the regular He-Man, but his blond page boy locks still get in the way. As a result, he can look down but not straight up, and his head can tilt slightly to the left but not to the right.Like: That with all the weapons and accoutrement, he looks like a walking arsenal of death, especially to Skeletor and gang, the Snakemen, and the Horde. Give him all those things and put him on Battle Cat, now theres a sight to behold! (Ah, but if only I had one Battle Cat!)
RATINGS
The interchangeable plates are also really well done. Its too bad about his eyebrows and his otherwise standard He-Man colors because perhaps if hed just been painted a little different, (say blonder hair or even sculpted with a different facial expression) hed be near perfect. But as it is, hes still a very pretty looking figure and will stand out on your display, especially if youve got him riding that elusive Battle Cat! 
Poseability: 7.5/10 - BA He-Mans got standard MOTUC articulation. But two PoAs are hindered by the magnificent armor and its a pity that they are the two most crucial joints for some life-like posing: the ab crunch and of course, the head. :(
In addition, the figure suffers from the loose ankles that many of the figures are prone to. Fortunately, the problem will be corrected in the new figures as of this month. Unfortunately for those of us whove gotten the figures up to now, most, if not all of them have or will have loose ankles once posed around a bit. So while this guy is able to achieve many great poses, hes likely to fall over quite a bit while you attempt to balance him.
Having said that, it doesnt mean this figure is not any fun. Sure, its not as exciting as probably one of the action features of the whole MOTU toy universe, but its still a pretty novel idea to be able to switch around the plates. The problem is: which plate to display him with...
Value: 7/10 - Besides his battle axe, I suppose having just his cheat plates as accessories really added a little insult to injury. Yeah, while we were still licking our wounds about not getting the action feature, we realized that he wouldnt come with his Power Sword either. The irony is that the bio on the back of his packaging talks about how his Battle Armor is due to He-Man unlocking the more secrets of the Power Sword. So did he suddenly realize that the metal from the Sword of He would better suit him melted down and reforged into a breast plate rather than as a weapon? And that, oh by the way, there was some spare metal left so lets forge that into an axe? Ah well, Im sure a lot less attention would be paid to the lack of the revolving chest if he had just come with more stuff.Overall: 8.0/10 - Hed be awesome if he had either more accessories or less hindrance to both his ab crunch and head. I think the former would have been more easily accomplished but wasnt done, and there was some effort made to correct the latter. But in the end, there was no real commitment to either, unfortunately. Hes still a good figure, but still a far cry from the classic He-Man. (But hell still kick any baddies a$$ though. Especially Mer-Mans. ;P)
Friday, January 17, 2014
Iron Man 2 Comic Series 3 75 Silver Centurion Armor
For me, I cant remember what Tony Stark was wearing when I first read a comic with him in it, but the distinct look of the helmet was what caught my eye--it wasnt the color for me, it was Iron Mans "face." Then there were also his unique powers and weaknesses.The suit had a Force Field, which he could polarize to generate magnetic attraction. He also was able to use the armors sensors to create a "chameleon field" around himself; the armors computer would analyze its surroundings and generate a hologram to make the armor blend in with the surroundings, making him effectively invisible.
That was the Iron Man I remembered, not his colors, but his powers and his unique weaknesses.Its also interesting to note that a copy of the Silver Centurion armor was used by Tony Stark to defeat the Mandarin, when his Extremis abilities were temporarily deactivated due to concerns with his mental health.
With all that going on, it would be hard to not recognize Iron Man no matter what armor he wore--the Iron Man visage had been burned into my minds eye because of this armor. And I didnt even like Iron Man back then!
Placed side by side with the newer armors, the Silver Centurion probably looks out of style. But as a toy, it shapes up like the classic its meant to be. More after the jump!
Like: The head sculpt really does it for me. Its just the right blend of robot/man. Fits well into the whole early super hero theme of secret identities.Like: The paint. Its the right shade of red and silver. And unlike the red on the early suits of this line, this red is done nicely. No bleeding, no pooling, no looking like wax. Its something theyve really gotten right for the later figures of the line, especially the Comic Series figures.
Like: That Silver Centurion has full head articulation. The ball joint is situated perfectly and there no obstruction to the motion of the helmet. Hes got a slightly pencil neck look, but only in upright position. I especially love that he can look down!
Dislike: That his silver paint flakes of at the hinge joints. But its not unexpected, because those joints are nice and tight and need to move. Id rather have a tight joint than a pretty one that is stuck fast with paint. Also, its nice that they even bothered with shiny silver paint at all because they couldve just tried to mold his parts in silver. We all know that wouldnt be as pretty as sparkly silver paint.
Like: The face mask frown! Even the eye slits kinda come togeher like hes faced with a problem than needs some solving.
Dislike: Inconsistent face paint. Ive seen some figures with really off centre silver paint, blurred lines, and silver splashes. But it was still way easier to find one with good face paint than it was to find a Neo Classic Armor with undamaged ribs!
Like: Great simple torso sculpt, with a good chest pivot. The booster pack array on the back of his armor is cool too, if not accurately rendered. Allows him to fly some 1,200km/h and works nder water too. But at the much slower pace of 300 km/h, of course. ;) Like: The clean leg articulaton. Yeah, the suits design makes him look like hes wearing a one-piece swim suit, but the nice bikini bottom allows some really free ball-hinge movement. :)
Dislike: That the awesome triangular shoulder guards get in the way of his arms movement. Yes, they may be hinged, but not fully so--they can come up to about 30 degrees and thats about it.
RATINGS
Aesthetics: 8/10 - Plain for modern times, but he wasnt made for modern times. He was made in the 80s, thats almost a whole 30 years ago! OMG I feel old...Age doesnt seem to affect this armor, though. Its timeless and this sculpt captures it perfectly.
Poseability: 8.5/10 - The bigger buck really makes you think hes less flexible than the more modern counterparts but he really is just as good, if not better. The key here is the great head movement and the excellent chest pivot, which I feel are always key for really convincing poses. The free moving legs also add to the dynamic stances he can achieve. The only negative is probably the triagular shoulder gaurds getting in the way of the shoulder joints, even if the guards are hinged.
Fun: 8/10 - In terms of backstory, powers and weaknesss, the silver Centurion has got to be one of the most interesting incarnations of Iron Man. I mean if the bad guys get him against ropes on low power, he can turn the tide if you throw him a couple of Double As.
He could suck the power right out of a broken street lamp, or stick his fingers into a power socket and turn the tide in battle. Not something youd want your kids to do. But it does make for a very interesting character, which makes the toy based on it interesting too. Now to look for some 3.75 inc scale power plugs, street lamps, and Double A batteries...
Value: 9/10 - At retail of S$16.90 hes already a good deal. But of course, its near Christmas time and large department stores want to clear their stock, so you might find him for buy 2 get 1 free. Now thats a great deal-if you can find him. I couldnt, so I got him from a local specialty toy store for retail. Throw in the highly playable/posable yellow repulsor blast, the standard figure stand and Armor Cards and you get a great bargain.
Overall: Silver Centurion is a classic character and his toy is no different, combining many of the great attributes of the second wave of the Iron Man 2 toys into an old armor design. Im glad they did this because this suit of armor is iconic. Its really no wonder that it has at least matched the sales of the likes of more modern sculpts in the same wave like the Advanced and Arctic Armors in my area. Its a real must-have for those of us who grew up in the 80s!
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