Hot Toys’ Tony Stark ‘The Mechanic’ Figure
Have you been sitting at home, wishing you owned a beaten and bloodied version of Robert Downey Jr. from ‘Iron Man 3’? Well, you either have some serious, serious issues or you’re simply a fan of Hot Toys and the incredible 1/6th scale action figures that Sideshow Collectibles mercifully imports to our plastic-craving shores! Today I’m taking a closer look at the Tony Stark ‘The Mechanic’ figure from Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece line.
Iron Man’s many armors have been a successful staple for Hot Toys (and a wallet-draining addiction for fans) since the first film and, while I’m sure there are at least fifty people or so worldwide that consider IM3 their favorite comic book-based flick of all time, this go-round it seems the action figures are having to sell on their own merit, without the added frenzy brought on by a beloved film. This version of Stark doesn’t have a full suit of armor to compensate for your ill-gotten cash, but he still has way more to offer than I thought upon first inspection.
The sculpt for this figure, as with practically all Hot Toys releases, shows true craftsmanship with the head and face likeness. While most companies turn to 3-D scanned data for their likenesses, Hot Toys still employs the art of hand sculpting to invoke their life-like interpretations. Some of their past Robert Downey Jr. sculpts were a little more miss than hit, but The Mechanic version is pretty spot-on! Could I use it ‘Weekend at Bernies’-style to weasel my way into the hottest Hollywood parties?! Probably not– but I feel that’s more of a scale issue since the real RDJ is over 12” tall… or so I’ve been led to believe.
Hot Toys excels in the paint department, and their dominance shows here. The hand-painted detailing is quite remarkable, especially in the case of the “battle damage”. The blood is properly glossy and thin, and looks to have pooled up in the proper areas. How would I know about blood pooling on the skin? None of your damn business, that’s how! Just take my word for it: they did a good job.
Articulation is the only area where this figure has any true faults. While it utilizes the True-Type body system, there are some missing articulation points such as the bicep swivels (granted, this does allow for Stark’s bare arms to look more realistic). Still, the biggest setback is with the shoulders. Apparently, Tony isn’t one for surrendering as he is unable to put his hands above his head. I’m not sure if this is purposeful in the design or if the shoulders are just too tight, but the shoulder swivel will not rotate a full 360 degrees. Though as you can see from the crap-ton of photos, he can be posed a’plenty.
Stark has an arc-reactor embedded in his chest, and so does this figure. Sadly, it doesn’t unleash furious blasts of energy that can decimate buildings and your enemies. But it DOES light up using a dimmer switch located on the figure’s back– so at least that’s something. He’s also sporting a sweet A.I.M. shirt beneath his hoodie, and the arc shines through the material perfectly, even in a well-lit room.
The accessories are where this figure shines– quite literally, in the case of the repulsor gauntlet. He comes with so many doodads, that I’m not even going to take the time to list them all. F**k that noise! [Ed Note: You need to list all of his accessories.] So, as I was saying, the Tony Stark Mechanic figure comes with:
- Augmented Cognition Headset: It has a cool two-piece design that mimics the holographic heads-up display from the film. It sits on his head well, but is very, very thin so be easy with it.
- 4 regular hands: These are used to hold all of his knickknacks.
- Mac-10 submachine gun: For killin’ fools! It also has a removable clip.
- Homemade Stun Gun: For all your making-an-opponent-piss-their-pants needs!
- Aviator sunglasses: To hide his beatings from over-eager paparazzi. They fit his head perfectly.
- Newspaper Clipping: What a vain douche ol’ Stark must be to carry around his own missing person report, amirite?
- Christmas Ornament: Because Stark likes to celebrate year-round!– or because he turned it into a friggin’ bomb.
- Leatherman Tool: It’s tiny, but manages to fit snugly in one of the extra hands and also folds up, just like the real thing.
- Bottle and syringe: The syringe is removable– which kinda blew my mind.
- Dart with wire: ??? I dunno, people. It has an actual string attached, but I’m honestly not gonna subject myself to that movie again in order to refresh my memory on what it was used for.
- Nail Gun: It’s such an accurate accessory, I almost feel like I could build with it myself…hhmmm.
- Electrified Glove Hand: This hand slips on using a different pin size than the other hands, so don’t break it or you’ll be s.o.l.
- Backpack: It’s covered with M.O.L.L.E. straps and has pockets big enough to hold pretty much everything Tony comes with– not counting the severed hands and armor.
- Watch: The watch is of the sweet Casio variety and comes with multiple faceplate stickers– just in case you’re still a little shaky while coming down from a night of glue-huffing.
- Right Forearm Armor: This piece attaches magnetically on the included elbow stump and has its own on/off switch to power the light-up repulsor in the palm. Awesomeness. Not only that but the fingers on each hand are individually articulated (needless to say, “the bird” is flown often).
- Armored Hand & Wrist Guard: The extra hand is up in a firing position and the wrist guard slides on first to make it look nice and proper.
- Armored Leg Armor And Boot: These go on the left leg by removing Stark’s hiking boot and sliding the armor up to his knee. It’s kind of a bitch to get the pant leg inside of the leg armor, but keep at it. Once you’ve conquered his carpenter pants, the boot fits onto the ankle joint and full badassery is achieved!
- Figure Stand: Because why not?!
Overall, this is a great figure. He’s fun to pose and all of those accessories really add to his value. His shoulder limitations pissed me off, but the articulated armored hand brought him right back into my heart. Now, to see about those parties…
Sideshow Collectibles was kind enough to send this review sample along for the premiere of FreakSugar and you can score your own Stark here: Sideshow Collectibles Tony Stark (The Mechanic)