Marvel Legends Iron Man 3, Wave 2

Continuing from my last post on the initial wave of  Marvel Legends Iron Man 3 figures, I present the second: Iron Man Mark 42, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes (movie "Iron Patriot", and Ultron... who wasn't in the movie, but comes with the head of the Iron Monger BAF. 

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This Iron Man Mark 42 was the one I was waiting for! He's an exceedingly handsome action figure. I love this armor! The satin, metallic gold over metallic red  plastic is pretty clean for such a mass produced figure, and Hasbro even put some subtle blue in the chest reactor. Nice.

Iron Man Mark 42 has no waist joint as not to break up that beautiful sculpt, has an hinge-swivel torso joint that works effectively, especially leaning back. The shoulders and thighs have great hinge-swivels, and his shoulder pads and wrist gauntlets are made of a softer plastic that bend with positioning, no hinge to come undone like on some of those Iron Man 2 figures. We get that wonderful ball-hinged neck with great range, and of course the highly coveted ankle pivots. He's a well executed action figure- Bravo!

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Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes gets the Iron Patriot deco in the Iron Man 3 movie, as opposed to Norman Osborn's character in the comics. I was trying to decide what parts he borrowed, but a lot of this looks new to me. And aside from a couple small spots, his metallic deco is even more stunning than the Mark 42.

Iron Patriot's articulation is the same as Mark 42 Iron Man, except the ankles, due to the sculpt, and the upward range of motion in his wrists, hindered by his gauntlets. The shoulder mounted gun has both a hinge and swivel joint that's quite helpful for aim, and can be mounted on either side. Like the Mark 42, I was looking forward to photographing this hunk of fantastic plastic more than some of the others, and he does not disappoint!

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As I said, Ultron comes with the head of the BAF, so I had to get him to complete Iron Monger. He's not in the film, but the dread Marvel cyborg recently starred in the Marvel NOW! Age of Ultron series, and has been a big part of the Marvel Universe the last several years in general. I'm mildly disappointed the body is a reissue of the Titanium Man mold, but it's not all bad- the subtle blue shading over the silver metallic plastic is nice, Hasbro gave him new shoulder pads, and the head sculpt is satisfactory.

Ultron's shoulder pads are hinged, allowing decent range above the head, which enjoys a very expressive ball-hinged neck. His double hinged knees are hindered slightly by the boot tops and thigh bands, but his articulation is great otherwise. The hinged abdomen and swivel waist are perfectly disguised on that Iron Man 2 Titanium Man buck, and while we don't get an ankle pivot, the waffle stomper boots are kinda fun.  I still have eyes for that sweet Ultron Marvel Select dropped awhile back, but Hasbro Ultron wasn't as much of a let down as I'd feared, and he loves the camera. 

The arms and head of Iron Monger were included in this second wave of the Marvel Legends Iron Man 3 line of 6" figures... my Iron Monger is now complete! Hooray!

Iron Monger is beautiful in his metallic blue deco! He's 7 5/8" tall and twice the girth of the other figures, who look small next to him. I love a big, chunky action figure, especially a robot, and Iron Monger scratches that itch. The figure's girth limits his range of articulation, but the hinge-swivel hips have enough room to work with the swivels at the tops of his thighs, and he actually has double-hinged knees and ankle pivots. Additionally, the forward range in motion on his neck is decent so the tall figure can look down. He looks like he has a bicep swivel but he doesn't and that's fine since we get a hinge swivel at the elbow, The pivotal range in his ball-hinged torso doesn't seem extraordinary, but is highly effective in positioning due to the exaggerated proportions of the figure. Iron Monger is wonderfully fun to play with, and the first BAF I've ever completed!

I'm giving this line two thumbs up! Ultron and the comic Iron Patriot were of less interest to me personally, and classic Iron Man has really limited vertical articulation in the neck, but they are not without merit. Yes we get three re-purposed molds, but an attractive assortment of armor and color, and well articulated figures I would have loved as a kid. I had not originally intended to pick up more than two or three of these, but finding a couple on sale and the lure of the Iron Monger BAF finally sealed the deal.

More Later-Make It FUN!