Blue Iron Men

Yes, you read that right: BLUE Iron Men. More often referred to as Stealth Ops Iron Man, I know, though one of that 3 3/4" pictured above, front & center is really a Fusion Armor Iron Man I got back in June. I recently found a couple more blue Iron Men, which led me to opening the Marvel Select Stealth Iron Man by Diamond Select Toys I got way back in January, realizing there was a fun photo opportunity awaiting me  :D

As I said, I found these two just the other week: 6" Legends Series Stealth Strike Mark IV Iron Man & 3 3/4" Iron Man 2 Comic Series Stealth Operations Iron Man. A local K-Mart was still clearancing out all 3 3/4" Comic Series Iron Man 2 figures, so I got him for south of three bucks. Those Legends Series Iron Man figures go for about fifteen or sixteen bucks, but they rock in many ways.  We'll take a look at these first  :)

The star of this blog post is the Legends Series Stealth Strike Mark IV Iron Man. He has a few too many interchangeable hands, but he has some GREAT articulation, and a precise looking sculpt with nice details. He looks almost ...real!  The red paint apps on his chestplate make it look like the suit is "on".  Aside from the double jointed knees & elbows, he has a hinge-swivel joint under his head, a very expressive upper abdominal joint, and the ball-hinge hips with a swivel. And I was surprised to find the interchangeable hands (3 pairs) have a hinge joint! Nice! There is some paint slop in places on the figure, but due to his dark color, this isn't much of an issue. You might want to choose carefully if picking one up at TRU, Wal-Mart, or Target.

Like the 3 3/4" Fusion Armor Iron Man I have, this one comes with a firing projectile/launching repulsor blast that keeps flying across my room  :D  ... I like a toy that fires a projectile- built for play!

The bargain bin Stealth Operations Iron Man I picked up on the same day for under three bucks was nothing to sneeze at either- most of these 3 3/4" Iron Man 2 figures were rock solid and this guy is no exception. Stealth Ops Shell Head comes with the same 3-part armor cards like the others in the series, that fit in the slotted tray on their bases, detailing different portions of the character's armor. He also comes with the same hilarious looking repulsor blast made of translucent yellow rubber that Silver Centurion & Guardsman do (tee hee hee!).

Stealth Ops has the exact same sculpt as the Iron Man 2 Comic Series Classic Iron Man (below/left), which I love- this is what I think of when I think of Iron Man- a purely Bronze Age rendering of the mighty metal Avenger! This is the Iron Man of my youth  :)   The sleek, modernized shell head next to Stealth Ops Iron Man in the photo to the right is an Iron Man 2 Concept Series Fusion Armor Iron Man. His styling is more like the Mark IV armor featured in the movie, and he is a beauty!

Roll Call! From left to right: Concept Series Fusion Armor Iron Man,  Comic Series Stealth Operations Iron Man,  Comic Series Classic Iron Man, Comic Series Silver Centurion, & Movie Series Mark V Iron Man.

And lastly in this titanic post, the Marvel Select Stealth Iron Man by Diamond Select Toys I got at the beginning of this year & never opened! If memory serves me correctly, I scored this guy on eBay last January for $13.44, shipping included. Not bad considering these go for about $20.00 retail. While the packaging for these is unnecessarily large, they look great in the box. The artwork featured on the left side panels of these Marvel Select packages are killer! This one was in dandy shape- almost didn't want to open  it, and now several days later I can't bring myself to pitch the box  :D

Marvel Select action figures are the equivalent of DC Direct action figure: the sculpt & paint are the focus as opposed to articulation. I have a few of these, and they do look great. This figure, also released in his classic red & gold colors, received a lot of criticism for the pronounced ball-shaped hinge/swivel joints in his hips knees, ankles, & elbows, but more distracting I felt were the bottom of his leggings placed a little too far from the top of his feet- it makes him appear as though he's pants are to short. The metallic paint flaked under his right arm almost immediately upon removal from the packaging as well, due to the plastic coated wire holding him in place.

While his articulation is limited, it's not as bad as the Marvel Select Mark VI I had. He has a cut joint at the waist at least, and his head is on a ball-joint that allows a little movement. I really like his color, more cyan blue than my other blue Iron Men. Exaggeratedly slender, I understand the sculpt is based on the extremis armor from the pages of Invincible Iron Man.

His base came in two parts that fit via adjoining pegs just like the pegs that fit into the holes in his feet, so I guess you could use them separately as well. The top portion is sculpted & painted to appear as the propulsion & smoky back draft of Iron Man's takeoff. It leans out at a somewhat odd angle if you ask me, but he hasn't tipped over. Will it drop later, or worse, warp due to this? Only time will tell, but he looks pretty cool right now  :D

So there's a closer look at my fledgling Blue Iron Men collection- hope you enjoyed it!

*Check out The Iron Man Armory online!

Have a GREAT Weekend!