[TAO's Note: We may have already featured quite a few Iron Man reviews in the last month, but now we're finally going to go back to the beginning! Ewan's here to review the comic series First Apperance Iron Man that started it all. Keep reading, discuss, and enjoy!]

Name: First Appearance Iron Man
Line: Iron Man 2: Comic Series 
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: March 2010
Price: Online: $9.99-$12.99 Retail: $7.99-$8.99 
Scale: 3.75 in.
Accessories:  Orange repulsor blast effect, 3 x Armor Cards, Base (1 peg) with Armor Card stand

Sponsor Listings: Past Generation Toys-$10.95

There can't be any simpler and less detailed sculpt than this the first ever of Tony Stark's armory. There are huge blank and smooth surfaces and very non-streamlined body parts--all of which point to a rather non-complicated and uninteresting design. But while the sculpt of this suit of armor may not be complex, short on detail it is not. Although you may be tempted to pass on this figure at first glance, taking a closer look will reveal some interesting points like the overlapping armor plates of the upper arms, and the banded wrists. There are also tiny rivets along the seams of the armor at the forearms and also along the length of the legs. I also like that his feet are broad and flat and look like they can support this tub of an Iron Man.

For some reason, the plainness of his helmet really catches my eye. I think it's down to the smooth roundness of the surface not only at the top but also all the way round the sides and the front. So while it does look like an inverted tin can helmet, it's a nicely hammered and painstakingly smoothed out tin can of a helmet. But here's my absolute favorite part of the sculpt--and you'll have to look even closer at the figure for this--it's the little chinks and dents they've sculpted into the surface. These crafted "imperfections" by the designers are there at the upper right chest, the lower left chest, the left knee joint, and the lower left shin. They really provide an uninvincible-but-definitely-tough feel to the figure.

Despite all these great tiny details, the sculpt does have its flaws. First off are its ball jointed hips--they're a little bit obvious.  But only just a little. I am grateful though that they made him this way. Otherwise, he'd suffer from less poseability and I do like to pose my figures some. The other thing is really minor but I thought I should point it out anyway: FA Iron Man is nice and broad face-on and from the back. But from the side he's a tad too thin--but it's just a tad, a few pounds, ten or fifteen maybe, nothing too major.

I believe  FA Iron Man is the first one to get one closed fist and another with, er, two fingers seeming to measure something. It's definitely not to hold a weapon, and it can't be used to point, really. They could've given him a gripping hand so he can hold onto some sort of weapon like a bazooka or a heavy machine gun. But a measuring hand? Huh?

First Appearance Iron Man also comes with a molded orange repulsor blast. These effects are actually different with each figure you get--Stealth Armor's yellow has a spiral effect, Classic Iron Man's red has got fireball effect to it, and this one looks like a bolt of energy the most. Also, I personally prefer the color of it--orange is more "energy-like" to me than red or yellow. And I think it looks better with Iron Men that tend to be shades of red or yellow.

Sculpt Score: 8 / 10

Here's where this figure has a chance to shine and does, well, at least 50% of the time. The entire figure is molded in gray but has a light silver dry brush all over to give it a really worn-out metallic effect. On top of that, he's given an extra coat of a dark bronze to simulate a rusty effect and this works very well except for one thing--the red rust dry-brushing is only on the front of Iron Man. Why they gave the back the silver but not the rust is a mystery. Come on, Hasbro! Did you think we were not going to notice?

It's really a pity because the paint is really done splendidly so to have a doozy like that thrown at ya really sucks, especially since we can only see the front of the figure in the packaging. It's almost, almost a con job, but one that apparently serves no purpose than to make us wonder why...

Well, the good news is that paint-wise, my FA Iron Man is quite low on the amount of paint he received, so it's not that obvious. Also, the silver on the front and back are consistent in volume, so it's not so bad since there's not to much red rust. But I have seen figures that are practically loaded with paint up front. I can only imagine what they look like in the back.

The figure's eyes and mouth are painted black and they've also left the mouth grill nicely unpainted, creating good depth on in the helmet.  His round chest arc reactor is the standard sticker but has a nicely light blue rim to white center gradient. So despite a great paint job, FA Iron Man fall short of being excellent because he looks his best only half the time, the front half.

Paint Score: 7.5 / 10

Surprisingly, the figure is quite flexible despite appearances. Only his head is more or less a swivel and his chest pivot can barely, well, pivot. But it can swivel past its squarish lower torso, though it is a tight fit. As for his arms, his elbows can only bend about 70 degrees due to the heavy armor. And that's it for his limitations!

The double jointed knees bend all the way, while his feet can point, pivot and swivel. The hip ball-joints also give almost 90 degrees to the thigh. So while he might not be able to do the splits front-wise, he's got no problem with it sideways.

Articulation Score: 8 / 10

I had a lot of fun playing with this figure because he could achieve lots of poses without falling over, which I'm sure is down to his clown feet. His flexibility was also a joy to experience because FA Iron Man in my mind is really inflexible. It was as if Tony Stark had forgotten about the joints and movement he could have when building the armor and just went 'tank'.

The orange blast effect is great but one figure who would've benefited from a weapon or two with him is this guy. FA Iron Man almost certainly needs some firepower and a BFG here wouldn't have been a bad thing. But don't get me wrong, the orange blast is what probably tipped the scales in my deciding whether to get this figure or not and I'm glad it worked out well.

Fun Score: 8 / 10

Is he worth it? Yes, but no more than any other figure that comes with a BFG or a blast effect. Despite great detail one the sculpt, I suspect FA Armor will be overshadowed by his shinier counterparts, especially when IM2 hits the screens. Most times it is unfair to First Appearance Iron Man because he's ususally the one left warming the pegs and going on clearance. And it's not even his fault that kids like shiny red and gold.

He could've come with one more accessory though: a small removable shoulder antenna. That would've been great to place on his right shoulder like in the comics of yore when Iron Man communicated via radio.

Value Score: 7.5 / 10

8 / 10 - A Strong uncomplicated sculpt that looks great and plays well.

7.5 / 10 - Great paint highlights but it's a pity they only did it halfway on the front but not the back.

8 / 10 - Don't let his chubbiness deceive you! He'll move the way you want him to, except in the swivel only head that won't look up or down muchm, if at all.

8 / 10 - I'm really enjoying this line (as I hope you are) and FA Iron Man is no different. We've got Old School Thor, Old School Captain America, (tiny) Wasp, The Hulk, and now First Appearance Iron Man. The roll call is done! It's time to re-enact the Classic Avengers comics!
 

7.5 / 10 - Average for this line, which means blast effect, 3 Armor Cards, and a stand. But average value in Iron Man 2 is more like good anywhere else in the 3.75 inch scale universe. Once again great job in reducing the retail price point and making sure product is available everywhere in the world.

 78 / 100 - This is a Good Toy

This is a good toy. Despite his apparent plainness, he's chock full of small details and has great posing potential. This is also ideal for those of us who'd like to get into customizing and repainting figures--you could easily do a shiny version or even a better version than what they did with proper rust and better silver applied to raised areas. If not, you'll still enjoy him. I know I did. :)

-Ewan

This could be the figure given away in this month's Review Commentator Contest. Join the discussion by leaving a comment on this review for a chance to win!

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