Hot Toys: Iron Man Mark V

The Wait: "The Coming", Day 1, Day 8, Day 15, Day 22

I have had my eyes set on a Hot Toy for a long time now. For the price they ask for, it's no wonder that it took me a couple of years to actually have one in my possession. The very first one I saw was the Ada Wong Hot Toy, way back when. I was intrigued but then I saw the price and thought to myself that this toy line was out of my league. Life happens, stuff happens, and the means became more than just a possibility, it became a reality. So the time comes to choose one and of course I'd have to go toward Iron Man since he is my favorite Marvel character as of late(has been since Civil War and the first Iron Man movie). That on its own is a few options to choose from since Stark is a man of many armors for various situations. The Hot Toys line only goes for the movie adaptations of his armor so in that case my choice is limited(to an extent). While a classic red and gold armor(Mark VI is what I had my eye on) would probably be fitting, I have always been enamored with Mark V's look(not its function and practicality). so with that, It's Mark V indeed that is my first Hot Toy to enter my Game Room!

The "Brief Case Armor" and once erroneously known as the "Silver Centurion", Mark V is Stark's portable armor that he used to do battle with "Whiplash" for the first time. While more advance and far more useful than Stark's Mark I, it isn't exactly the pinnacle of his weaponry so suffice to say, it isn't the one armor he should take to do battle against another wave of Chitauri. So a battle armor, not so much TOO useful, but as a Hot Toy, hell yes.

Again, this is my first Hot Toy so my only knowledge of the line is through reviews and web browsing. I had a general image in my head of what the box will look like but to actually have it in my hands and for me to open, well, I'll have to say, the feeling is awesome. The work they put into the box is on its own right amazing. Slipping the 'cover' off, the owner is met with a window case box that will allow him/her to view the said toy inside. It actually reminds me of a playarts' way of boxing their merchandise. Gives the owner an obvious road to keep the toy in the box, but that would be an asinine path to take.

If you must ask why, this bad boy is all about the detail. This line of 'toy' takes great pride in the details for sure. Everything about it is the detail and how every single ridge and crack in the metal is trying to impress beyond belief.

Details. Details. It is exuberant in that notion and I can't exactly fully exude just how impressed I am with how detailed and accurate it is when replicating the armor that came from the brief case. The 'fold' of the metal really accentuates the 'skin tight' armor feel of it. The separation of each piece REALLY gives the authentic look of the movie in this piece.

Another pretty stunning part of the detail is how the red and the silver really ties in with each other. The red has a really shiny metallic gloss to it and the silver adheres to that as well; the same paint job running along the face, back, the front, and the legs matching really well with the red; and even if some parts doesn't have the shine like the moveable part in the chest or the inside of the elbow bend(made out of rubbery material to allow the arm to bend), it still has a good enough shade of grey(no 'bondage' pun for that one) to compliment the color scheme.

Now I own a couple of toys that have the feature of light up Arc rays like the Revoltech MK III. While that said toy does have the proper glow for a small figure, Hot Toys' features on Iron Man movie armors with the VERY bright Arc Ray along with Repulsors' and eyes light up features, well, let me tell you, it's just damn cool.

All of which are in their own separate set of batteries and switch. Makes certain 'action pose' very feasible, suffice it to say. Speaking of 'action poses', what are those without the options of interchangeable limbs, hands, and then of course certain authentic movie battle damage?

Comes with a pair of fists and a pair of finger articulated hands that are meant for repulsor ready hands. The trademark briefcase also comes with it and handcuffs(for the briefcase and nothing else). Which of course insinuates that one has to purchase a Tony Stark Hot Toy to really get a good pair for the brief case. Cha CHING!

A complete interchangeable left arm to really get a full 'battle damage' replica from the fight against 'Whiplash' that comes with another non finger articulated repulsor hand(fingers aren't articulated). The chest pieces again accentuates the idea of armor damage. 

With this battle flawed option, the owner can really get some good shots photo shoots in! The great thing about this is again the details that goes along with it. If one remembers or had watched Iron Man 2 enough(probably my favorite of the trilogy), one can remember just how much damage he took wearing that armor. The swapping option had pretty much captured the amount of damage he took on his upper half(though the legs remains unscathed, funny enough). And I'm not just talking about the details of his armor being distorted from getting hit or scathing the ground. They went as far as making sure that his blue race suit can be seen through the cracks of his armor in the left arm. All this interchangeability doesn't hinder the light up feature in the chest, eyes, and in his hands. Though in the movie, his left arm's repulsors stopped working because it was hit. Glad this 'toy' didn't adhere with that authenticity.

It really replicates the notion that he had gone through some serious abuse. 

But again, the lights aren't deterred by the switching of body parts. Again the blue race attire can easily be seen with his other arm's flaws. Neat detail, more or less.

The other paraphernalia this bad boy comes with are the stands. Two of them to be exact. One is just a simple stand that comes with a 'groin' holder to keep the figure stable enough, and on the bottom has the Iron Man 2 insignia and then the name of the said Mark. Didn't use that stand often nor am I using it now. The other is more 'movie' accurate to how his armors stand dormant in his 'hall of armor' in his workshop.

Whoa.

Although keeping him in a good 'action pose' would be a whole hell of a lot more enticing, he is the most expensive and probably the most fragile toy I have so having him in a safer stand is probably more prudent. That and not only is this stand "movie authentic" it also comes packing with the 'light up' feature that Mark V comes with.

Scintillate the figure with such stand at a dark mood room, or simply add in another set of lights   and the display works. From the picture on the left it does show just how 'bright' the lights on the stands can be so no problem there.

"I am Iron Man" standard repulsor pose.

Mark V Hot Toys stands to about 11 to 12 inches. How does he stand up to the norm Marvel figures roaming about in your normal retail?

Next to the 12 inches Iron Man official movie figure, or the "Repulsor Power" Iron Man toy. Both have light up feature but obviously one can tell who is more detailed and more prestige. Basically, one can tell who is cheaper.

Mark 42

The Hasbro Legends for the IM3 movie comparison. Mark 42 is your standard 6 inch figures. Dwarfed to say the least.

Revoltech: Mark V

Here he is to his mini counterpart. Mini indeed. Yeah, the size difference is apparent.

BAF: Iron Monger

Iron Monger isn't the tallest BAF I do own, but I just thought I'd show that contrast since it is one of the biggest Iron Man toy around in regards to Marvel Legends.

BAF: Apocalypse

And here we have the gargantuan BAF of Toybiz's day which is Apocalypse. So yes, it still makes Mark V look small. In fact this picture just makes it seem like we are dealing with the 'norm' sizes of toys.

Overall, I'm am very elated to say that I have this in my possession. To have a Hot Toy Iron Man in my shelf is one of those feeling that can't be duplicated unless I buy another Hot Toy. Which of course brings me to the downside of things. And yes, despite it being a fantastic toy, there is a downside to this. Just like any great toy, it isn't on the genre of infallible. I have gone over the good points that it has in regards to great aesthetics, photogenic, great light up perks, the stands, the authentic movie imitation through the interchangeable parts, the height, so forth and so forth. But now let's scrutinize it for the things that could deter a collector.

CONS: 

My very first Hot Toy. I had a myriad of things to expect and a few things to be caught by surprise. First and foremost!

Durability: It is FRAGILE! Yes I should've known better but to my disdain, the right shoulder pad isn't entirely 100% what it was. The darn thing came off after I moved it 'too fast'(wasn't fast at all) and I had to spend a grueling hour just to fix it. I was bummed out for a few hours, but fixing it and having its arm articulation not hindered, well, I pretty much took solace that it could be worse.

Articulation: There is 36 points of articulation according to the Hot Toys website. They aren't lying, but it's not the BEST posing articulation. I think they probably counted the finger articulations! So yeah, you can have him do a lot of hand signs or probably even the bird, but believe it or not his Repulsor blast action ISN'T what I would like it to be since the wrist doesn't bend up as far as it should. While it is still adequate, it still doesn't concur with how spoiled I am with the 6 inch toys' ability to recapture Iron Man's trademark move. But I digress.

Price: I shouldn't be mentioning about this particular 'downside' since everyone who is into collecting is aware of Hot Toys' price. If someone asked me if it was worth the price, I'd answer with mediocre exuberance that it is worth the money. As a collector, again, it's a good step towards the pinnacle of collecting to have this bad boy in my set(again, people have different levels of 'satisfaction' or 'completion' when collecting but, having a Hot Toy is one of mine). It's a pricey piece of toy and it's not one of those I can buy every month or even EVERY year. But again, it's well worth it, I just can't justify having more than one a year.

With all of that said and just to go on redundancy, it's a GREAT addition to my Iron Man shelf. This might not be the last photo shoot I have with this bad boy, but hey, I'm glad to get this guy at the time that I DiD! To many more years with this and to the growing Game Room! 

Oh and one more thing I haven't done before....