[TAO's Note: He's already reviewed movie and comi series figures, but now Ewan is stepping into the world of Iron Man 2: Concept Series figures, starting off with the beautiful (I have one myself) Hypervelocity Armor Iron Man!]
Name: Iron Man (Hypervelocity Armor)
Line: Iron Man 2: Concept Series
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: March 2010
Price: Online: $9.99-$14.99, Retail: $7.99-$8.99
Scale: 3.75 in.
Accessories: 3 x Armor Cards, Base (1 peg) with Armor Card stand, and Missile Launching Shield
Sponsor Listings: Past Generation Toys-$13.95
Such sleek lines etched into the armor and such a slim, snappy look to the figure's build! Everything has been designed to look more angular and robot-like. If there's was going to be a stealth armor in the movies, this would be it! But that's mainly due to the color of Hyper Velocity Iron Man. More on that later in the "Paint" section. What really catches the eye on this guy are the boots and gauntlets, which have some nice bulk on them. They're also nicely molded to look and feel aerodynamic but at the same time look they can be used for some heavy duty combat.
His torso is also really pleasing. The upper section has a chunky yet sporty feel to it, with the "glow" of his arc reactor hidden by sections of armor, all the better to sneak around with. The ab section has a really cool plate pattern which is a recurring theme for this armor--you can find the same designs all over him, especially on his hip ball-joints, the knee-joint piece, and the back of his neck. It's quite nifty that they even bothered to tool such seemingly insignificant areas and it really makes the figure pop despite its muted colors.
Also worth mentioning are his stuck-on shoulder guards, which are made of softer rubber to allow for maximum movement/rotation. They've also got this crinkle cut design that makes me wanna grab a bag of chips and eat. Yum. While I first didn't like the look of his head sculpt in package (I thought the face too flat), I really have to say it works with the rest of the helmet and armor because they're all about sharper angles and a more crisp, efficient look. No room for frills and flair while trying to fly under the radar.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10
It's a testament to how good the sculpt is that this figure needs really minimal paint. From what I can tell, only the silver portions of his armor and the repulsors on his palms are painted. For the most part, the broader areas like his face and thighs are done ok, but the crook of his arm at the elbow had some issues, nothing major though.
So basically what they did have to paint they did well, well enough that you probably won't have to rummage through a ton of these guys to find one with good paint. The eyes and chest mini arc reactor are stickers as usual, but I'm impressed how they got such an odd shaped sticker looking so good below all that chest plating.
Paint Score: 7 / 10
Let's talk about his bad point first, becasue there really is only one: the inability of his head to look up. He can turn his head to the side and look upwards easily, but he can't do it while facing the front. It's got to do with the helmet design. You could modify it, but it would require taking a chunk out of the back of his head--and it'd look pretty obvious. But my advice would be to leave it be, because he does have an excellent chest pivot (a favorite PoA for me in for this entire line) and he can look down and side to side well. So really, he's hasn't got any angle that can't cover the one he lacks.
That being said, he's got really, really well hidden joints, except for the hip balls which are obvious but not out of place, what with the little bits of tooling it has and the crinkle cut tops of his thighs. The knees are especially well hidden behind a pointed knee guard and his ankle joints are also hardly noticeable under the heavy shin armor. His ankles pivot well, but he can't point them, which makes me a liar 'cuz I said he only lacks upward head motion. Heheh.
His chest, shoulders, glove tops and head are also blended in really well by bits of armor, while sacrificing very little articulation and poseability. The other great thing is that his joints are nice and tight without being stuck, and that's mainly down to a great sculpt not being clogged with paint.
Articulation Score: 8.5 / 10
I'm a firm believer in playing around with my toys and changing their poses on the shelf every so often. Hyper Velocity Iron Man is excellent for switching things up to keep a display fresh. His articulation, while the same as almost all the other "regular" Iron Man 2 figures, does get fully brought out with how poseable he is. While he'll look a little out of place beside characters in "classic" costume, he fits right in with any modern setting, whether it's next to War Machine or fighting Iron Monger. I guess the fun thing about this figure being "Concept Series" is that it's a toy designer's concept come to life, much like how we'd custom make our own Iron Man suits if we were technological geniuses with billions of dollars to play around with. Or if we were toy designers. Or customizers. Or artists with a pencil and a piece of paper. Or if we just sat around and thought it up. And I guess that's part of the fun--having a suit of armor that's not canon at all but could very well be.
Yeah, and he's one more suit of unique armor to add to the Iron Man armory. Not to demean the classic stealth armor from this and the Marvel Universe line, but Hyper Velocity IM is more my kinda stealth armor than those. So it's gonna be my default stealth Iron Man. ;)
Fun Score: 8 / 10
HVIM comes with the standard array of armor cards, a stand, and an accesory. In this case it's a snap on missile launching shield. Yup, I'm still trying to figure that out. On the one hand it's a projectile launcher BFG. But on the other, you've got a departure from the usual big clip on cannon in the form of this shield. The odd part is that it looks more like a rocket booster than a shield. It would 've been nice if they'd molded on an extra peg so it could plug into the hole in HV Iron Man's back--it'd be more thematic to go with speed rather than firepower sinc he's "Hyper Velocity." So far some of the Iron Men have holes in the back but none of these have any accessories that make use of it.
Value Score: 7.5 / 10
9 / 10 - Crisp, angular sculpt. Sleek design with details not clogged by copious amounts of paint.
7 / 10 - It's minimal (silver parts) and done well enough. The great color scheme is executed well by the color of the cast plastic instead of the paint.
8.5 / 10 - Great sculpt fully utilizes the potential of all the PoAs barring one or two minor points. Really well hidden joints.
8 / 10 - A great concept come to life is always fun, even if it's plastic and not really alive. Heh.
7.5 / 10 - Decent value as is consistent throughout this line. Addition of a "shield" instead of just a regular BFG makes things a little more interesting.
84 / 100 - This is a Great Toy
Four bonus points for the design of the figure realy coming together to look extra cool. Hyper Velocity Iron Man can be so many things: Default Iron Man, Stealth Armor, Advanced Prototype Armor, and of course, as his package indicates, HVIM (the "speed suit"). I can see why so many of you out there have made him your main Iron Man--he really brings the best of all the armors together--a great design, great color scheme, sufficient bulk without being overly clunky, great articulation, and of course, all that wonderful tooling and detail!
-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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