Hot Toys Artist Mix Avengers AOU Ultron Sentry- Series 1

Following up on my post the Hot Toys Artist Mix Avengers AOU Deluxe Set- Series 2, both variants of the Series 1 Ultron Sentry I picked up around the same time at the end of this summer passed.  I said about these before that while their bobble heads gave me mixed feelings initially, Japanese vinyl artist Touma's wonderful designs eventually won me over. Check out the video:

There is an Ultron Prime available among the Hot Toys Age of Ultron Artist Mix Series, but I preferred the Sentry head sculpt, designed more in keeping with Ultron's classic look. The blue "Version A" figure has a little red in his paint apps, "Version B" decorated as precisely only in red. These are a bit more expensive that your typical Funko POP! vinyl, which I also love, but the craftsmanship is exceptional. Shop for your best deal always, as I paid less after prices came down on these- not the case for every figure in the series I've found.

Below, Hot Toys Artist Mix Series 1 Ultron Sentry with my Series 2 Vision.

See more comparison shots in the video above!

While I'm mad for these Touma figures, I'm not sure I'll buy any more- you can see in the picture below, my Age of Ultron corner shrine below seems complete! I'm a big fan of the heroes lineup I have, though I've seen a pretty cool Falcon and Ant-Man .... a Red Hulk would put me over the edge, but these are movie-based, so I'm probably safe! Beautiful figures!

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Hot Toys Artist Mix Avengers AOU Deluxe Set- Series 2

I'd coveted this Hot Toys Series 2 Artist Mix Avengers Age of Ultron Deluxe Set for some time, but recently found it at half price- a deal too good to pass on. Their bobble heads gave me mixed feelings initially, Japanese vinyl artist Touma's wonderful designs eventually washing away any objections I felt. You can buy these separately, but the more gray Savage Hulk and Iron Man XLV are exclusive to this set. The Series 1 Captain America I picked up separately just made it a more complete set of Avengers- I'm mad for these! Check out the video:

Below, I size comparison with a couple other toys I recently posted on, the 6" Jada Diecast Hulkbuster, and Hasbro 14.5" Marvel Legends Series Hulk, both characters that have their own sub-collections within the Super-DuperToyBox collection at large. Be sure to watch the videos for more pics!

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Hot Toys 1:6 Scale Dark World Thor

What can I say? I'm continually impressed by Hot Toys' incredible realism and attention to detail in their figure's outfits. This Dark World Thor is my fourth, and a stunning example of how great these 1:6 scale figures are. The body armor, diecast Mjolnir hammer, and luxurious cloth cape reinforce the impressive minutiae of actor Chris Hemsworth's likeness in this amazing model. Check out my video for dozens of more pictures and a trip on the turntable with this truly epic action figure...

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Hot Toys Man of Steel

Until you own a Hot Toys figure, it's hard to understand how beautiful they really are- if you truly want the highest caliber of quality and most advanced example of realism, these are the figures to get. Such is the case with the 2013 Hot Toys Man of Steel Superman. Check out the video set to Hans Zimmer's tribal soundtrack:

Superman came in a beautiful textured box with a magnetic panel to clasp shut on the side. In addition to the Kryptonian keys, this figure came with three extra sets of hands, and a huge flight stand that I absolutely love. I like pretty much any Superman movie, and thought Man of Steel's more sci-fi take on the story was fascinating! I'm a big Chris Reeve fan since the '70s, but enjoyed actor Henry Cavill in the starring role.

This is a truly great Superman figure- the sculpt and paint are immaculate, and the outfit stunning. The blue spandex and red boots are covered in a thin rubber pattern, giving it a slick appearance with more flexibility. I felt the wristbands and pinstriping in the suit were more of a dark silver in the movie, and the shield was higher on the chest, but he looks killer. I was unsure of the redesign of Superman's suit initially, both in the comics and for the 2013 film, but quickly got over that. They both pay tribute to the original with what probably was a much needed, modern update.

It's been said in more than one review on the figure that by a simple tilt of the head can change the entire demeanor of Henry Cavill's likeness, which I can affirm by my own witness...

Some collectors complained about the unwieldy size of the flight stand base, but it's hard to not like the oversized "S" shield, and the thing won't tip over. Hands down, my most epic figure base...

The pleated cape is AMAZING. Some serious reviews I watched before picking this up complained of the cape's bright color and texture, and while the screen accuracy could be argued against in more than one regard, it's hard to deny the figure's beauty.

Superman comes with both 1:1 and 1:6 scale Kryptonian keys, the former of which is so impractically tiny that I question it's relevance as an accessory. Mine were promptly returned to the box for storage...

 Comparison time! Hot Toys Man of Steel with my 12" Kenner Superman from '96 and DC Direct 13" Deluxe Superman...

BIG TOY/little toy: Hot Toys Man of Steel with my 6" Mattel Movie Masters Man of Steel and 31" Jakk's Pacific Man of Steel...

Below, the Man of Steel with my other two Hot Toys figures, Last Stand Wolverine and Amazing Spider-Man... I have to say these are are each one outstanding, and it would be hard to pick a favorite. The Hot Toys Man of Steel is tall in comparison to some other Hot Toys according to some more experienced collectors, particularly in the case of the Christopher Reeve Superman, who in real like was taller than Henry Cavill, but was a noticeably shorter figure.

The Man of Steel with my Sideshow Collectibles Sixth Scale Batman, who can now be posed realistically using his Kryptonite ring hand ...!

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Hot Toys 1:6 Scale Last Stand Wolverine

It was difficult not to take notice of other 1:6 scale Hot Toys figures after spending some time with my Amazing Spider-Man, which blew me away with it's immaculate quality and incredible detail. I was hooked! There are other Hot Toys Wolverine figures, including a very cool Days of Future Past version soon to be released, but this X-Men Last Stand was the version for me. Capturing actor Hugh Jackman's likeness expertly, this Wolverine looks bad to the bone in his black leather X-Men outfit, the design of which I'm fond of. It restricts the figure's range of articulation, but looks killer. His adamantium claws are cast in real metal and individually removable from one of the three sets of hands included. Wolverine came with cumbersome base molded in in the shape of a Sentinel's decapitated head with a somewhat weak light feature in the eyes, but the other stand included was all I really needed. See more in my video...

Last Stand Wolverine with my Hot Toys Amazing Spider-Man...

Wolverine and Spider-Man have had an interesting relationship in the comics, the humor of which I've enjoyed a great deal. The all-ages book Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet  I posted on in 2011 really cracked me up, the wise-cracking Spider-Man confounding a cranky Wolverine at every turn. Very funny! More serious in tone, Spider-Man Vs.Wolverine #1 (1987) was my first exposure to the odd coupling of Marvel characters, and the beginning of their longtime friendship. It was announced that Spidey will be taking his recently deceased friend's place in the Wolverine & The X-Men title, as mentor to the young mutants attending the Jean Grey School... at least until his eventual resurrection. R.I.P Wolverine- we look forward to seeing you again!

Hot Toys Wolverine with some of my other Wolverines in the Super-DuperToyBox, including 9" Hasbro Wolverine, 11" Hasbro Titan Heroes Wolverine,  9" ToyBiz Famous Covers Wolverine, and 3 3/4" Marvel Universe '90s Wolverine. Still packaged behind them are the 6" Marvel Legends X-Force Wolverine and 7" Marvel Select movie Wolverine...

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More of the Hot Toys Amazing Spider-Man!

My new Hot Toys Amazing Spider-Man was a little too outstanding to confine to one post, and was a really special purchase for me, so I made a little video to highlight some of the several dozen photos I shot, including size comparisons of other action figures in my collection...

Some other Amazing Spider-Man action figures within the Super-DuperToyBox:  3 3/4" Ultra-Poseable Amazing Spider-Man,  3 3/4" Funko POP Amazing Spider-Man, 6" Hasbro Legends Movie Series Amazing Spider-Man, 7" Marvel Select Amazing Spider-Man...

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Hot Toys 1:6 Scale Amazing Spider-Man

My love of Spider-Man goes back to my early childhood in the '70s- some of my first comics featured the webslinger, I had both the 8" and 12" Mego Spider-Man dolls, and was fascinated by the Amazing Spider-Man TV show starring Nicholas Hammond. The animated Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends show followed in the early '80s, cementing my childhood love of the character first introduced to me through his appearances on The Electric Company in 1977. I have several Spider-Man action figures I love, but have thus far never purchased any action figure of quite this caliber. I've often admired Alex's world class 1:6 collection at ToyHaven, and have a respectable collection of DC Direct's 13" Deluxe Figure line, but Hot Toys is in an entirely different class. I'd long been in search of a larger scale Spiderman of this caliber, and as a fan of the redesign of this character's costume featured in the 2012 blockbuster, this Hot Toys version was the one for me...

I scored this for about twenty-five dollars below it's initial retail cost, shipped free, and must say the packaging is the most deluxe I've ever laid my paws on, The "shoebox" Spidey came in has a funky, angled lid, decorated in a beautiful, full color theatrical image, glossy web patterning over it's surface, which reflects subtly when viewing from different angles. Inside, the accessories are plenty, including four webs, four extra sets of hands, two extra wrist pegs, a display stand, and an interchangeable Peter Parker head...

Andrew Garfield's likeness in the extra head accessory is pretty great, resembling the actor with realistic accuracy. There's a difference plainly evident when you pay for a Hot Toys figure as compared to those half the price, and the facial paint and sculpt are a big part of that. The slender body type also fits Garfield's physique realistically, completing the illusion...

The masked head on this is incredible! The head is sheathed in fabric so it creases realistically when moving side to side, locking down easily onto two prongs mounted in the body. The honeycomb pattern in the lenses looks fantastic- the kind of deep detailing that set this Spidey apart from others.

The rubberized texture of the mask extends down onto the chest of the bodysuit, raised webbing neatly highlighted in black, repeated on the boots. The blue spandex has a thin honeycomb pattern of  rubber throughout, giving it a tactile quality as such, but far more flexible than I first imagined. The boot soles are movie accurate, like that of an athletic shoe, and Spidey also has the webspinners at his wrist. I'm not sure he could look more like who we saw in The Amazing Spider-Man. Again, while some were not so enchanted by the movie's reimagining of Spider-Man's iconic blue and red garb, I thought it honored the classic design and am quite fond of it. I love a variation on iconic character's outfits.

Spidey is super-articulated with double-hinged knees & elbows, two abdominal joints, butterfly joints in the shoulders. double-hinged hips, swivel biceps, and more. It's my understanding there was a snafu in the engineering of the figure leading to a number of broken shoulders, and Hot Toys recognized this by including a slip of paper illustrating the threshold of articulation in that area. That said, you could break this body if confused about what position the joints are aligned in, hidden by the body suit. He is slender, delicate, and to be handled with care. Still, I put him through the paces in three pretty extensive photo sessions, so expect to see another post or video here with more of this amazing action figure...

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