Hot Toys MMS Iron Man Mark III (Battle Damaged)

[JeffSaylor]

Iron Man, despite a few dents and dings, is back better than ever...

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There is no denying that Hot Toys' Movie Masterpiece figures are one of the hottest collections on the market today. One particular figure license that has truly taken flight for the company is that of the Iron Man movie. The company has truly embraced this blockbuster Marvel film and continues to produce amazing movie-accurate 1:6 scale figures. With the Iron Man sequel hitting theaters today, Hot Toys has released yet another incredible figure based on the original film, the Mark III (Battle Damaged).

PACKAGING: Hot Toys has pulled out all the bells and whistles for this particular Iron Man figure. The deluxe figure and all its accessories are housed within two separate plastic trays on opposite sides of each other. The package closes up like a book and has round Velcro tabs that keep both sides shut. The front of the book-styled package resembles that of the Mark 3's inner chest core while the back of the box features a vast image gallery detailing all of the deluxe parts and functions of the figure.

The package also features an outer cardboard sleeve that looks like the outer shell of the battle damaged Mark III's upper body. The outer sleeve has a circular cut-out which slides right over the core reactor from the inner box's exterior art. Once again Hot Toys has managed to design a package that is one-of-a-kind and visually impressive.

SCULPT: The tooling and details on this new Mark III surpass that of its predecessor by a long run. There is an incredible amount of intricate sculpted details all around the armored suit which make it look strikingly realistic. This figure includes a brand new head sculpt of Robert Downey's likeness wearing the Iron Man helmet. The portrait head bears a striking resemblance of Downey in his portrayal as Tony Stark. The Tony head includes a removable face plate which can be placed covering the portrait face or on top of the helmet. The face plate magnetically attaches to either part of the head but tends to slide out of place easily when placed on the top of the head.

The figure also includes an additional clean helmeted head with light-up function. The detailing on the Mark III's various components, such as the air flaps on the back and air brake deployment system on the legs, are truly impressive and look incredibly realistic. The inside of the Mark III's removable face plate features a surprisingly amount of sculpted details which makes the piece even more realistic.

Overall, this new version of the Mark III has significant new details which were not present on the previous release and there is a lot more tooling on the armor this time around which clearly outdoes its predecessor.

PAINT: Like the improved sculpt, this version of the Mark III features a much better paint job in comparison to the regular release. The red and gold paint is more metallic on this particular release which significantly enhances the look of the armor. The armor is also riddled in scuffs, scratches and blasts giving it a much more realistic and tangible look.

The Tony Stark head portrait features a bloody wound and is and closely resembles Robert Downey's look during his climactic battle with the Iron Monger. As expected, this piece is painted with the highest level of accuracy and precision with significantly enhances this already amazing piece.

ARTICULATION: Although this version of the Mark III is much more versatile than its predecessor, the figure has a lot less articulation than other Hot Toys figures. The limit of articulated joints is acceptable on this piece primarily because of the tooling and shape of the mech suit. Although there are numerous additional articulated parts on the figure, they do not lend them selves to the positioning of the figure. Hot Toys has managed to make the figure as versatile as possible without sacrificing the overall look and film-accuracy of the Mark III.

The MMS Mark III (Battle Damaged) version figure features the following 15 points of anatomical articulation:

- Ball Socket Neck, Shoulders, Wrists, Mid-Section, Inner Thighs and Ankles
- Hinged Elbows and Knees
- Swivel Torso

Additional articulated parts:

- Expandable forearm gauntlet
- Retractable countermeasure discs
- Poseable back air flaps with moveable metal flaps
- Re-engineered air brake deployment system
- Retractable forearm rockets

ACCESSORIES: This deluxe figure features several extras that other previous Iron Man figures do not include. The Mark III includes a highly detailed display base which resembles the roof top of the Stark Industries plant where Tony Stark fights with Iron Monger.

Aside from this fantastic display base, the figure also includes the following additional parts:

- 3 pairs of interchangeable hands (grasping, opened and closed fist)
- 1 ungloved (relaxed) left hand
- Light-up non-damaged head
- Half-masked Tony Stark head with magnetic face plate
- Spring-loaded shoulder munitions launchers
- Removable chest pieces (normal and battle damaged)
- Back air brake flaps
- Accessory tool
- (Hong Kong /Sideshow Exclusive) crushed helmet

COST & OVERALL IMPRESSION: With this figure's newly engineered body, highly detailed base and additional working features, this is definitely the best 1:6 scale Iron Man figures release so far. This deluxe figure provides collectors with a 2-in-1 option since the Mark III can be displayed in a normal or battle ravaged state thanks to all the additional parts it includes. The cost of this figure is slightly higher than other hot Toys releases mainly due to the fact that it is a deluxe figure and because of the large display base it includes. Although the Iron Man MMS Mark III (Battle Damaged) figure will set you back around $200, adding this amazing 1:6 figure to your collection is a no-brainer... if you can afford it, that is.

For even more images of the Iron Man Mark III (Battle Damaged) figure, CLICK HERE!

Review and Photos by Jorge Pelaez

Review Sample Courtesy of Hot Toys

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