[TAO's Note: Ewan may very well be the world's most prolific Iron Man 2 toy reviewer. He just keeps sending them my way (I'm not complaining), which means you keep getting to read them. This time he's moving on up to a new scale, taking a look at the Wal-Mart Exclusive 6 inch Mark V armor. Enjoy!]
Name: Iron Man (Mark V)
Line: Iron Man 2: Movie Series 6 Inch Wal-Mart Exclusive
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: May 2010
Price: Online: $19.99-$29.99, Retail: $13
Scale: 6.00 in.
Accessories: 1 pair of fists, 1 pair of gripping hands, and an armor transport case
Of all the Iron Man 2 toys to appear in Singapore, I would've expected to see this the least of all. I'd been hoping to see the 3.75 inch K-Mart Exclusive Tactical Armor 3-Pack but there's been no sign of that. So when I heard of the Walmart Exclusive 6 inchers, I didn't even think to want them. But lo andd behold, a couple of weeks after the movie's opening, they're everywhere in our little ol' island! So thanks, Hasbro. I have to say I didn't really want to get into your 6" line, but after watching Iron Man 2 twice and seeing the Mark V in full 6 inch glory, I just had to get him. And get him I did! (Ok, so the Rangerlord got him for me. What can I say? A 2-pack is better than 1. Get it? Hunting? In a pack? Of 2? ...Uh...Um. Yeah.)
I didn't fall in love with the sculpt of the 6 inch Mark V. I fell in love with pictures of the sculpt when I first saw the photos. This guy looks every bit like he does in the movie, or so I thought. Even if he didn't, who would know? I certainly didn't, and I have to say I like it that he doesn't look exactly like he does in the movie. He looks better. The main difference is in the chest armor, where the silver on this toy covers a larger area and makes for a more intricate look around the arc reactor. I feel the actual design looks a little simpler across his breast and kinda like a starfish.
There's so much interlocking detail and layers to the armor, you better believe it collapses into a suitcase! Unlike the 3.75 inch figure, which you might pass at first glance, you'll not be able to take your eyes off this guy because there seems to be at least three levels to his armor. First, there's the outer red layer, which looks like it would form the outer shell of the briefcase. Then there's the raised silver areas which form sort of an exoskeleton, like the cross on his chest around the arc reactor, the thighs, the biceps and the upper back. And finally there's the little bits that cover up whatever areas the broader red plating and the raisid silver plates can't cover. These are the small links in the chest, abs, tops of the shoulder ball-joint, spine, backs of his arms and inside of his thighs.
Every part of this figure which can have broad, smooth, metallic surfaces is broken down by sculpted armor plate seams. Special mention must go to the head, which by the way it is divided to be "collapsable," actaully gives the Mark V a rather determined scowl.
The red areas of the legs too are especially pleasing to the eye. Layers upon layers of sweet banded plating. Hasbro has really done a great job with this sculpt becuase the armor feels like it really flows from big plates to medium plates to small plates to medium plates to big plates again. Even the double hinged joints in the elbows and knees have a striated pattern and look so much like a part of the armor. It's pretty unbelievable.
One major point of note: while playing around with this guy, I realized that some parts of him are made of softer plastic to maximize the sculpts articulation. He's got soft shoulder guard plates, tougher but still slightly soft rib plating on his upper chest, thigh tops of the same material, and similar softish plastic hands. I can't emphasize how much this lessens damage to the sculpt and paint when playing around with the joints in those areas to set up poses.
I could go on and on about this sculpt but I think the pictures will do the Mark V more justice than any words will.
Sculpt Score: 10 / 10
Except for the hands, feet, and shoulder guards (which are cast in red) the rest of him is cast in silver and painted a metallic red. All his fists and his feet are nicely painted, along with the blue of his eyes, his arc reactor, and his repulsors.
The red they've used is lighter than in the movie. It's almost orange but I like it. Maybe it's because it adds to he 'armor lite' feel. Despite not being movie accurate, it's somehow still pleasing to the eye.
Unfortunately, that's where my liking for the paint job ends. There are blurry lines on his right bicep, a light red smudge on the silver of his left hamstring, a spill on his right thigh, and chip on his left forearm.
The red on his head also doesn't stay within the lines and it looks like they tried to paint the line of his mouth red but ended up getting only a spot of paint in. Also, his shoulder guards are done really well and the red plastic matches the red paint. But the part that's glued to the shoulders are poorly painted, with the silver barely masking the red underneath. The “transport case” is decent but still not quite as sharp as it could be. There is also major bleeding from the red into the grooves of the silver areas.
In general, the Mark V has got decent paint. It's only when you look closely that you realize they could've done a way better job.
Paint Score: 7 / 10
When it comes to movement, the Mark V is a tale of two cities. Let's start with the not-so-good. His head is the classic Hasbro 6 inch swivel/hinge and would be perfect, except that he can't look up. Side to side and down are as good as they come but the back of the mask prevents his head from tilting up.
His hips are swivel/hinge balls with svwivel thighs. Unfortunaly the sculpt of the thighs and the lower torso get in the way of each other. Hence, he gets very limited side and front movement. Front-wise is a little better than 45 degrees, while he gets 30 degrees at best. The thigh swivels are the most unrestricted PoA in the area. You take this major problem area and add it to the other--the swivel ankles (they're not balls, just plain swivels)--and you got yourself some really por lower body articulation. Even the double hinges of his knees, which work perfectly, can't save it.
But here's the good news. The Mark V's got a great chest pivot that swivels 360 degrees and tilts every way superbly. He's got the great double hinge elbows everyone loves, and all 6 hands he comes with have hinges, giving him a wonderful swivel/hinge combo at the wrists!
So you see? A tale of two cities. The top half of him body is so close to perfect I rate it a 9.5/10. The bottom half is a 4.5. So averages out to a 7. It's a pity, but he could've been a star with better hips, nevermind the ankles.
Articulation Score: 7 / 10
An armor that can capture a particular moment in a character's history has half the fun battle won. You always want to recreate the iconic scene/scenes/fight/battles. The best example other than this guy is the Hulkbuster Armor. Everybody loves him. The Mark V make you think of race cars, a half-naked Mickey Rourke, Tony Stark crashing and burning, race cars, whips, and then a suitcase... then the donning of the armor. And we all know that's always fun.
In reality though, it's really upsetting that this toy can't maintain his balance. Yes, he is tough to stand in poses, but he can. However when he does, he eventually falls over after a few minutes. And this happened for all the poses I set him in to shoot. Just seeing him fall over again and again really sapped the fun out of it for me. And after 57th time I started to wish he had better hips or ankles or both. Humbug.
Fun Score: 7 / 10
I paid the retail of US$21.36. Too expensive? Well, not for here after shipping and stuff is factored in. Thing is, he does come with 3 sets of hands, giving him 12 pairing permutatons, 1 suitcase and a great deal of tooling. I hear metallic paints are also more costly than the regular stuff and he's covered it, so good value there. I just wished they had put more thought into the leg articulation on the whole. I hear the Mark VI and War Machine suffer from the same ankle problems. I really wouldn't mind paying a little bit more if it meant this figure could balance better.
Value Score: 8 / 10
10 / 10 - Perfect. Perfect to the point that it's better than how he looks in the movie.
7 / 10 - Really inconsistent. Great colors and metallic sheen but poor application really let it down.
7 / 10 - Half great and half horrendous. Close to perfect on top, but fail at the bottom.
7 / 10 - Better balance would've led to better poses would've led to greater fun. Still, it's the movie's most memorable Iron Man armor.
8 / 10 - Comes with lots of stuff. 6 hands and a suitcase make for 7 accessories. Great tooling also adds more bang for your buck.
78 / 100 - This is a Good Toy
But it could've been wonderful, if not for all its flaws. He would have been really close to being perfect for me if he had better ankles and hips, as well as a sharper paint job. But the great sculpt, excellent articulation in places other than the problem areas, the myriad hands, and the sense of fun it evokes just from the memorable scene in the movie make up for the Mark V's shortcomings. But just barely.
-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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