Iron Man Mark VI

(Iron Man: Armored Avenger 6" Legends Series)

Height: 16cm to top of head.

Articulation: 32 points total- double-joint neck;  7 points each arm: universal joint shoulder, bicep swivel, double-joint elbow, universal joint wrist; mid-torso ball joint; 7 points each leg: universal joint hip, thigh swivel, double-joint knee, universal joint ankle.

Colors: Molded red and translucent blue(missile). Painted gold, red silver, blue and white.

Accessories: Missile Launcher, Extra Hands x4.

Release Data: Released 2011 at an MSRP of $10.99 but usually priced higher when found at retail. Available as of this writing at discount stores for $4.99.

Author: RAC

(more...)


The ultimate upgrade to the Iron Man armor, the Mark VI is unstoppable and nearly indestructible. It is powered by the most advanced ARC Reactor yet, and packed with weapons undreamed of by even the most brilliant military scientist. Wearing this armor, Tony Stark becomes one of the most powerful forces on the planet.

I swore up and down I was done with this scale. I even sold a bunch of Marvel Legends, because I never looked at them and they were just sitting around, taking up space. And also I like money.

Then a couple weeks ago I picked up Movie Captain America at Wal-Mart on extreme clearance... and then this Iron Man Mark VI turns up at Marshall's. I don't think that this pair of figures marks my triumphant return to Marvel Legends- I like my 4" figures fine, thankyouverymuch. But let me tell you: for $5 this is a figure worth breaking any vows of scale-fidelity you may have made.

(I guess somebody's made those. Or possibly that's just me)

(I'm odd.)


The Figure

For one thing, it's in the right colors. The 4" Mark VI I reviewed was based on a pre-production color scheme that was barely distinguishable from the Mark IV except for its ARC reactor shape; like later releases of the small figure, this one has the appropriate silver patches on the knees and biceps, as well as silver panel-inking between the sections of the midriff. While there's not a huge proportional difference from the 6" Iron Man Mark III from the first movie, it's just a bit bulkier, and this more solid feeling where the Mark III always felt a bit slender. This is a more angular armor in general, so that may have something to do with it. He's just a half-hair taller as well.

The Mark VI has a few other things going for it as well visually. For one, it's dropped the layered paint of the Mark III for straight cherry-red plastic, which both looks better and doesn't dull the sculpt slightly the way the 1st-movie 6" figures and some of the IM2 4" figures did. Also, the pins holding the elbows and knees together are now significantly smaller- interesting, considering the joints themselves are wider. The mouth on the mask is inked in now as well, which really helps it not disappear into the mask the way it does on the Mark III. There's some gold paint slop on mine that breaks up the line a bit, but it still looks better.

Articulation is almost identical to the Mark III, with a couple of very important upgrades. First of which is a better neck, combining a smaller ball-joint with a hinge to allow Iron Man to look further up or down, and not risk popping his head off when doing so. It's still not enough on its own to manage a decent flight pose, but the torso joint helps with that, and it does far better than most of the other Iron Men I own. The other improvement is that the shoulder armor is now hinged, as on the 4" War Machines. It doesn't always look great, depending on the pose, but it will get out of the way of the arms without flying across the room. The bicep swivel can turn a full swivel depending on the position of the shoulder- it sweeps up in the front considerably so the armor plates on the arm look right. The elbows are double joints, but they don't have the best range I've ever seen on a double-joint elbow- the joints could have been molded to be more open on the arms, but were obviously designed not to interrupt the lines of the armor. I can accept that, personally. The wrists- all six of them -have universal joints for swivel and tilt, and the armor plates on back of the gauntlets have been designed to allow for more range than the Mark III ever had- finally an Iron Man who can use his repulsors! The hands are also larger than Mark III's and far better-sculpted.

Torso joints can be tricky sometimes, and it's not exactly common to get one that lives up to the maximum potential of the joint. But this one comes close, tilting front-to-back and side-to-side very well, as well as swiveling in a full circle if you're careful about it. The shape of the lower torso means it doesn't look too good when turned past a certain point, but that's not too big a problem to me. The universal hip joints are significantly easier to move than most, but hold positions well enough to pose pretty much however you want. As with most of these joints, the "default" position suggested by the sculpt means the legs swing outward, and not forward, but since moving the leg forward obscures the joint anyway, it's not a major thing. Like the arms' various quirks, the thighs are shaped to preserve the shape of the armor plates, so they have kind of sharp corners. But luckily- or possibly by design -they intersect with the torso minimally. Unlike the elbows, the knees have as much range as the physical shape of the leg will allow, bending to a tight V. Matter of factly, each half of the joint can bend further on its own than they can together. The ankles are at least universal joints, but both tilt and swivel are hampered by the shape of the leg armor. I say "at least" because I'm not entirely sure if there's a third joint in there for the "rocker" ankle type that's been used in recent Marvel Universe toys. It's possible, but the range is so slight that I almost want to put it down to a loose joint as opposed to intentional articulation.


Accessories

-Extra Hands

Oh man, you cannot even imagine how much I have missed extra hands in my toys. I can't even explain it properly. We get three sets here: fists, open repulsor-firing hands, and slightly-open hands that seem like they're for gripping things. Not sure what you'd do with them, but it's nice to have them. Considering the Mark IV body's already being used for recolors, there may yet be a version of this with handheld accessories. But for now, they don't do too much.

The biggest paint gaffe on the entire figure's on the open repulsor hands: the white circle and the blue ring around it used for all repulsor-tech paint applications on Iron Man figures are both painted off-center in opposite directions. Venn Diagram Attack!


-Missile Launcher

Would you believe they're still using the same missile launcher that came with most of the Iron Man I 6" figures? Well, they are. It doesn't fit the new arm mold very securely, and it's difficult to wedge into place the way you could on the Mark III mold. It's really a waste of space.


Closing Remarks

Even with that one accessory being a waste, I'm really pleased with this purchase for $5. I might even have been satisfied at $11, which is the suggested retail price... but good luck finding them for that. When they turn up at Toys R Us they usually run $16-17, and a few dollars less at the other major retailers, where they don't turn up so frequently. If you happen on one at any of the usual discount suspects, BUY IT. If you see a Movie War Machine, buy two and send me one. This is an Excellent toy, and I wish it were cheaper at regular retail.

-RAC