Hot Toy: Iron Man Silver Centurion/ Mark XXXIII

First encounter,  Second,  Arrival

I've been waiting for this guy for a long time. Truth to be told, I got him earlier this month but I've had a slow trek in getting some pictures of him. I finally accumulated what I wanted so here we are! Second Hot Toy to have grace my collection and it's more than adequate that it should be the movie version of the Silver Centurion armor of Iron Man from the Iron Man 3 movie! Now before I go on a tirade about how the 3rd movie didn't do this armor justice, let me talk about the armor, its' history with me, and the meaning of having a Hot Toy version of the said armor. The first time I ever saw Iron Man he was wearing the Silver Centurion, and although he didn't become my top five Marvel Hero for a LONG time, I did keep him in the back of my mind. So when I found out that Stark was going to wear the Silver Centurion in the movie, I was highly elated! Then the disappointment that came from it of course... But hey! The Hot Toy of it is rather enamoring! So let's just go ahead and look at this bad boy, shall we?

Hot Toys even impress me with their box. Suffice to say, it's pretty well decorated and the toy inside is highly protected(as it should be). Though I wish they were able to use the little screen time Silver Centurion had from the movie as box art! However this one is impressive enough. It did come wrapped up rather nicely so the nice box wouldn't be damaged. The back of the box is silver which corresponds with the dominant red design in the front; a bunch of information and credit is written in the back.

The side of the box came with a lackluster design which I'm not terribly disappointed over. I mean after all, it's just a box and it's not the main attraction.

Before even opening the box, one will see a 'cover' with the picture of Mark XXXIII and Jarvis' words: "House Party Protocol, Sir?" which I remember clearly from the movie. Of course we all know that the house party came to an abrupt halt when the host decided to blow up every single armor, but hey! It's all in the life's work, right?

Now this is the juicy bits of the boxed figure. There was a few days where I didn't have the adequate time to properly open him and give him the 'love' a new Hot Toy owner would want to so I spent the time looking at him through this transparent cover(highly protected might I add). This view alone allowed me to see the accessories this figure has to offer and also the bonus battle damage helmet that is also movie accurate. From my understanding, people who reordered Silver Centurion received the extra helmet, which all in all, is an excellent addition! So speaking of accessories, let's move on and just check those out.

So to start with the accessory that is least related to the actual figure and that is the bonus helmet. Right off the get goI'd have to say that this is amazing. It's the same size as the Silver Centurion's head/s so one can actually think that it can be a swap(though different color scheme and all probably won't be the best choice). While incredibly detailed, the inside of the head is pretty hollow and no sort of knob to help connect to Silver Centurion, which for all that it's worth, that's not really a bothersome since this is a bonus item.

Again the damaged helmet pays homage to the scene where Pepper hugs it; now this helmet isn't 100% accurate to the actual helmet in the famous poster, but it does a well enough job to make anyone remember about that scene I suppose. If anything else, the detailed helmet makes for another good paraphernalia in my Iron Man collection!

Three pair of hands and one of them is highly articulated! One of them are the pair of fists and then the repulsor hands that make Iron Man's signature move even more possibly now! Need I mention that the details on these guys are spectacular and truly consistent. As expected! 

Next accessory are a pair of blades that I don't recall the original armor having; though the movie adaptation seem to posses them and it resembles a Wolverine kind of deal. The one thing amazing about these is that they are actually metal. They attach to the fist and the articulated hands so a lot of options for posing there. 

Then comes the authentic battle damage that really mirrors what happened to this armor in the movie!  And as cool as the Robert Downey Jr. face looks, it's also a bit creepy since it resembles him so much! A 1/6th scale of his head in my collection. Well, we'll scrutinize how he looks more as it's on the armor.

Now comes the stand. First off, unlike my last Hot Toy, Mark XXXIII only comes with one which isn't entirely a big deal but the one thing that kind of brought it down a notch is that it is definitely equipped to have the light up feature however, it's stripped of the said feature. It really is just an aesthetic stand and it makes me ponder if the other 'House Party' armors come with this incomplete stand. I would discern that they either just got really lazy or .... wanted to save me money from batteries? The latter seems like a doubtful cause. Though one thing that this stand does have: it's articulated so it allows for some 'flying/action' pose! And just like the Mark V, the clamp on Mark XXXIII is very friendly for the toy and it won't damage or scratch it. Holds it pretty firmly as well!

Now to the actual figure itself! Despite me having my qualms with Iron Man 3 and how it went about certain things(and no, I am not that disappointed with the whole Mandarin thing) and the debacle of Silver Centurion's significant appearance, I do love the movie adaptation of this armor. It's just amazing beyond words! The shoulder pads, the silver touch, the triangle arc ray, and the 'movie flavor' all in one is a great amalgam!

It is all about the details that comes with this figure as Hot Toy is known for! Even the little addition of the calves having those hatch opening up and revealing some machinery inside is a great touch!

I'm letting the picture speak for itself of course! But check out the details inside the arc ray:

Then the other details from the profile:

A lot of Iron Man's armor has had the same look so far and Silver Centurion doesn't steer away from that. I'm not at all bored of it, but it is getting stale staring at the same design. Then again, From Mark I - IV, then from VI - VII, there was barely any real changes to the armor themselves so go figure. But check out the helmet:

Though I'll try and not be cliche with the words 'the silver and red looks awesome together', but it does look awesome together! I am partial to this armor also because of aesthetics(both the original and the movie adaptation; they both just look good). But this figure isn't about just looking good, it does have other features that makes it shine brighter(wow that was a lame pun).

The switch for the arc ray and the eyes are now within inconspicuous hiding places that can be accessed by popping certain parts of Iron man. Though it may serve as a great way to hide them, they can also be a small nuisance if you just want to turn them on. Luckily the arms don't have to have something popped off just to turn on the repulsers.

All things considered, he does light up rather well! And again that repulsor hand makes it so much better to pose him for that signature move!

And that detail added in when the light is on makes it fantastic! The Arc ray just looks enamoring and it truly does convey the movie's version of Tony's chest plate design.

Flight mode looks convincing and the stand does the adequate job! To not have a light up feature on the stand doesn't take away anything from the figure, though perhaps if they just used a different stand together and not strip this one of what it used to have, then I would have very little qualms over it.

Now we move on to the claws. I have to admit, this one is a cool feature as well that really adds in to the figure. While I was extremely elated to the idea that it had better repulser hands, to have claws itself and to pay homage to another good thing that the movie added is a plus! It snaps on quite easily and stays on so one could do wonders with this.

He does a whole lot of intimidation with those blades, don't you think? And if melee doesn't do it...

He does have a repulsor blast reputation! honestly, I doubt Stark would want to get that close... but wait! He does in the movie! Which is why he was damaged and rendered inept. Anyways, speaking of damage:

Suffice to say, he doesn't get as super damaged as Mark V does, but he also doesn't get as much screen time so go figure. Though once again, to truly appreciate what Hot Toy did here with capturing that scene is beyond words, and I keep finding myself saying amazing because nothing else would suffice to put in there. Let's just keep looking at some of the pictures:

The damaged helmet also has a feature that allow it to be a 'face down' helmet to hide the Stark face. Though the light up feature of the helmet is gone, it's still a fantastic thing to have. Paying attention to little details! And speaking of details:

Swapping the chest piece was the trickiest out the interchangeable functions. The head being the second and the hands being the easiest. For a little while I spent some time prying the chest piece(carefully) and finally got it to the point where I can swap 'damage' and 'non-damage' rather easily. I guess I just needed to warm him up.

Articulation wise this figure doesn't break records or anything. In fact, he's below what Legends can do and I'm not going to say that's a bad thing. These are top of the line details and I guess what we're paying for here is just aesthetics and some movements. I mean he is by no means super stiff but he lacks a lot of what my Marvel Legends side expects from a modern toy, and by no means will I be forcing joints here! Can't have this one break at all!

Now to the comparison with my very first Hot Toy: Mark V! Figure wise, I'd have to say that they are both equally astounding to their own right. Aesthetically, I'd have to say I'll go with Silver Centurion for a myriad of reasons though that doesn't put Mark V to a low point AT ALL. Truth to be told, there are a lot of details sculpted into Mark V that makes Silver Centurion's design less intricate(which isn't entirely the case also). Though all in all, Silver Centurion is a newer figure and did improve on a few things that Mark V couldn't produce; I've already stated that the simple option of having repulsor hands made Mark XXXIII a bit more entertaining and 'comic friendly' to pose. The fact that Mark XXXIII is actually Silver Centurion and not just speculation when Mark V was first released into the public is even a plus to me, thus why the new Hot Toy is my favorite out of the two!

Though I can't ignore the fact that Mark V comes with two stands and one of the said stands does have a feature. But then again, Silver Centurion does have an articulated stand that truly allows 'flight pose! But that lazy stand and the 'would've been' light up feature reminder in Mark XXXIII definitely makes it hard to let go.

Though Mark V comes with more battle damage variety, doesn't it? At first I thought it did but when one takes into consideration that Silver Centurion comes with a damaged chest and head to swap akin to Mark V's chest and arm, it really evens out.

Silver Centurion definitely comes with more accessories to step over Mark V's stands. I mean, the stands don't make the figure they are more or less perks; they compliment the figure and shouldn't be the main attraction so in that sense, Silver Centurion is still my pick between the two. Though honestly, I don't have to truly say which is better and which is not because it's both a great Hot Toy.

CONS:

Like my review with Mark V, This Hot Toy still 'falls' into the same durability, articulation, and price dilemma. Now it's my second Hot Toy so I kind of had an idea what I will be stepping into. I didn't run across the same problem with the durability and am not planning into. I was EXTRA careful with his joints and truly spent the time to read the manual. Hopefully with the idea of me just posing him every once in a while and adhering to the idea that he is display only will serve to keep this figure 'safe'. The articulation problem is a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping there would be a step forward even if minor, but I can't admonish this figure because of the work they put into details! It really is just about aesthetics and any articulation is just a bonus I think. I don't buy these figures for the sake of articulation but for the label that I have a Hot Toy and the Silver Centurion one at that!

As for price, well it's a Hot Toy. It's what they are known for and for the most part they deliver! It's a great figure and with me finding about Sideshow collectible's payment plan, this was far more affordable! Again it's not a the kind of figures I find myself buying twice a year! Once a year is pushing it, but depends on what is out there I suppose.

In conclusion, I spent a lot of time really letting the pictures do the talking and honestly, that's what it comes down to. A few words of opinion and just letting the figure do its work through pics is more than adequate. Is this a must buy for all Iron man fans who collect figures? I'll tell you this now: no. For people like me who is attached to this armor and really want to say that a Hot Toy resides in their collection, then it's a yes. I am thoroughly happy to have this guy and to this who are thinking about buying him, he has a lot too offer. Another great addition to my variant Iron Man armor shelf! Perhaps this might not be the last Hot Toy I have but I can be happy if it is! Great figure!!!