Hot Toys Iron Man Mark III Photoshoot/Review

Iron Man Movie Teaser Poster likeness.

Closer look at the Mark III chestpiece. Note the details within, as well as the armor crafting.

Repulsor BLAST!

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I didn't go far in the posing of the Iron Man because i felt it was done already by many and i didn't want to strain the joints of my figure, what i tried to explore in this photoshoot was how to get the spot-on lightning so that ironman won't appear in the dark completely, that the details on his armor and the metallic look could be captured, and the lighting from the chest piece could still be shown with the same intensity seen in hand.

it was a pretty hard compromise, but i finally got it right. with the first dozen of shots looking pretty aweful because of the background. my main woe was the adjusting of the table light and background to avoid creases, glare etc. ( trick was to set up the lighting to point towards but above the subject and camera, so that background would appear in shadows but the camera would have enough lighting to focus in on IRONMAN and take great details of his armor.

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REVIEW

that aside this post was requested by Adrian, i hope this simple post manages to convince you on the fantastic details of the ironman figure. To note, the overall craftsmanship on Ironman is top notch i must say. Visually, it looks impressive, the paintwork is pretty good to boot, metallic paint and intrisicate detailing etc.

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However, my qualm about this figure, is actually the FEEL of it. In that sense, Iron Man actually feels bloody light in contrast to other figures, though the manufacturing deparment obviously made a breakthrough being able to come up with such a endoskeleton/suit/new body for hot toys is impressive, still it feels somewhat light in hand opposed to other figures.

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Furthermore the substitution of certain parts of the body (lower abdomen, inseam of elbow, neck) for softer/ rubbery plastic as opposed to solid ones ( reason is to avoid abrasion of parts and paint chipping) gives it a rather 'cheap' feel. I'm talking about the 'feel' here not the looks. It looks fantastic honestly, and you won't be able to spot the difference if it were standing on a shelf.

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Final Opinion

Overall, i would say Iron Man Mark III by hot toys is a worthwhile buy, it is indeed the ultimate Iron Man figure out there as yet, the ultimate BOYS' toy. Looks awesome, lightsup awesome, shines in the light thanks to the metallic paint awesomely too. ( note the frequent use of awesome...its too darn good words can't describe it) However its rather light feel and use of certain parts may throw some collectors off a little, though it is a rather practical and neccessary approach to prevent wear and tear. Some parts are a little fragile too, eg flaps or the missle in the arms to the repulsor systems in the legs, but that is likewise, unavoidable for small parts. ( common in hot toys military figs too.)

A thing i would agree with shaun is that it does not pay to get the first batch of the iron man figures as it is evident that the line was rushed for the Chinese New Year crowd, with some sloppy paint lines or over application on some parts, or droplets of missed paint, THOUGH it isn't very obvious but to the most critical of collectors. ( ME )

all in all, ironman is indeed a MUST HAVE for your shelf, no matter the size of figures you collect. Yes Adrian, that includes you. Go get it!