Speaking of articulation, Hasbro didn’t skimp there either and it makes for a very fun to pose figure despite his size & bulk. There are ball-joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, mid-torso, hips, & inverted ankles; swivels at the biceps & thighs and then big double-hinged knees. There are some bulk issues like at the elbows, but you’re not gonna care. The figure can get into deep crouches, the figure can stand on one leg and do a high kick, if you had a Hulkbuster-sized chair he can sit cross-legged. It’s kinda ridiculous how well he can move. I was thinking of passing on the Rhino BAF because I have the MS Rhino. I love that sculpt, but he can’t move. HB here made me confident that that Rhino will be superior to the MS and now BBTS can’t get that Rhino wave out of it’s warehouse fast enough. Seriously, I have to restrain myself from sending e-mails going “where eeees itttt!”.
The paintwork is probably the one area where the figure feels more pedestrian. I feel like it might be a tad bright red due to having to be molded instead of painted like so many of the smaller armors. And the gold is a mix of painted & molded as well despite gold never matching up well. That said, this is probably one of the best mixes of painted & unpainted gold I’ve seen. It’s close, but the sheen gives it a way and the forearms just look a little off as a result. It’s not even close to being a big issue it’s that the sculpt & articulation are so top notch.
The one thing I would chance with the paint if I could is that it looks like the paint budget couldn’t keep up with the great sculpt in some places. The move armor has respulsors all over. They’re sculpted here, but very few are filled in with paint. It’s really the ones on the legs that bug me a little? The backs of the legs just go without entirely while the inner calves on the front each have this one little circle that is supposed to be an additional thruster. The solid, unadorned red there just jumps out. I’m sure it’s a cost issue and this massive guy clearly got a ton spent on him, so I’m not going to knock a star off for it, but a little more paintwork would’ve brought this right up to perfection.
Overall, this figure is a great piece. I find myself nitpicking painted details below the knees to find something bad to say about it. The Hulkbuster is one of the most iconic armors in Iron Man’s repertoire. The film did it justice. And Hasbro did that film version justice here too. It’s a terrific sculpt filled with useful & playable articulation. What paint is there is solid and it’s enough to get the figure across the production line in style even if could stand just a little bit more. If you’re collecting the Movie Legends this Armor will be the centerpiece of that display for some time to come and it’s worthy of that attention.
Alright, folks, that’s a rap! It was a really long week, nine reviews in total thanks to Walgreens, and I hope these hit retail shelves soon so more folks can pick them up. It’s a great set, albeit a little modern. I want to thank everyone for checking out all the reviews this week and reading along. I appreciate you guys coming by every day! Thanks!
He’s gonna need the Galactus Buster Armor from MvC3 for that one.
Like the look and wize and, aw hell I gotta get it anyway.
Curse you, now I want that BAF. Gah!
I’m in the same boat! I swore I wouldn’t buy figures I didn’t want or even care for simply to complete a BAF, the Thanos wave was enough for me with 2 ‘didn’t need’ figures in it.
And now Noisy…Noisy makes me want that Hulkbuster a whole lot.
(yes, I know, “So sell the figures you don’t want, big deal” but my OCD WILL NOT ALLOW for such logical action. 🙂 )
Altho I suspect MCU Dr. Strange will have a costume similar to what we see on this figure, so he might make a worthy placeholder until the official Movie version arrives AARRGGGHHH I’M RATIONALIZING NOW HELP ME!!! 🙂
Ever try customizing the figures you don’t want into ones you DO? I bought WAY more Hellcats than I ever thought I’d need, but how often do we get a decent F buck and in a light color like yellow? I’m making Crystal, Firestar, Vindicator, Magma, and…I know at least one other character. Several of those barely need any work, except for the parts where the yellow is too thin and the dark blue plastic comes through (lower legs, below the knee; forearms below the elbow).
I can appreciate that, but there’s just not that many figures I’d want to customize, let alone the problem of skill area. Last figure I was happy I customed up was way back in the early ’80s, where I made a white ‘control room 3PO’ droid with the help of some nice Pactra flat white spray and a couple of ‘rank buttons’ made from carefully applied white glue that was then painted blue and red.
I have no idea what paints and glues work on modern figures. I haven’t painted a figure’s face since 1985. blahblahwhine. 🙂
(my instinct would be to make both Batrok and Hellcat into S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Bah.)
But thanks for the encouragement. I’m sure it frustrates you to see me sitting on those two. I do apologize. 🙂
no need to apologize, I was just offering up a suggestion since you didn’t want to sell.
If you do decide to customize, then acrylics are your friend. I have a few 20yo+ customs with enamels that are still tacky. some suggest taking the figure apart (heat gun/dryer vs hot water is a BIG debate) and sanding down the figure, esp at joints, so a- paint adheres better and b- less paint rub on joints.
Me, I’m just a quickie repaint, sometime part swap guy. Total respect for those who bury the original figure in sculpty and get fine details that really pop with great paint work.
My biggest peeve is the 60-thousand Spideys and Iron Men and now Cap variants, esp with great BAFs like Monger and Ult.Goblin, who makes a great base for Gargoyle. No clue what to do with the extra Spideys, but the armors can be repainted into my Sentinel Army. LOL
my custom list is a mile long and everything has been in storage for two years, just now pulling them back out (one more trip = done???!!).
I have probably a half dozen Bullseyes still waiting to become Hellfire guards, meanwhile, I’ve bought up some recent TMNT Foot soldiers to do the same…but at least their masks work etter and they have a good armory!
(don’t even ask about my 6″ scale Joes!)
Spitfire! she was the other one on my Hellcat list! LOL like I said, there are a number of yellow/light color costumes that aren’t even on the possibilities list, but then they throw in a wildcard like Hellcat and X-51 to make up for it! plus, her head makes a great start for Vindicator, despite Patsy’s looser hair vs Heather’s ponytail. X-51 is just a shade or two away from the Recorders. LOL
The Toybiz Face-Off Iron Man/Mandarin 2-pack had a variant.
It was Modular War Machine (aka Marvel vs.Capcom) and maskless Mandarin.
I’m sure you can find the figure.
Great review.
Oh this looks fantastic.
This looks awesome, and if they’d stuck it in its own box and charged like $50 for it, it would be a must-have. But buying all those figures I don’t want to get it? I really can’t justify it.
WAY better than the Titan Electronic version, which had a whole 4poa. I ordered a couple of those as soon as they hit HTS and….now they’re collecting dust on shelves everywhere, sure to hit clearance before xmas. sigh… At least that version has “ACTION FIST PUNCH!!” and the one in the box still goes off every time I step near it. oy.
I’m not a fan of the knee joint piece on this guy, but the armor hides it unless you actually look INTO the knee. Not a big worry.
What is a worry is the weight. I have mine sitting beside my couch and he holds my ipad wire when it’s not charging (so I don’t have to go digging blindly beside the couch). Then he fell over the other day when I was laying down and it conked me on the head. Luckily, it wasn’t a sharp corner, and he recovered nicely. LOL
Sorry to hear your ML11 HBIM got a case of the Iceman Crotch. that had to hurt.
oh, and the Rhino wave hit up here this week. I managed to snag all but Ben on first try Saturday, without even looking for them yet! AND ON SALE! just let me say KRAVEN RULES. and not many Misty’s have eyes looking in the same direction, it seems, tho?
YEP. Gona need this. I bought a Hulk just to prepare for it, too! He’s all lonely and took up punching Calix in the meantime.
In other news: Man, I can’t believe how Marvel Legends have taken me back in! I was all set to replace everyone for the Universe size, but then Marvel Legends come back and fix all the articulation issues I used to have. So many of these are dang near perfect, now.