Tag Archives: Minimates

#0233: Wonder Man & She-Hulk

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

WONDER MAN & SHE-HULK

MARVEL MINIMATES

WonderMan&SheHulk

Hey! More Minimates! Everybody’s favorite! Yes, it’s another review based on a piece of my extensive Minimates collection. Once again, this one comes from the flagship line, Marvel Minimates. This time around, the set contains two Avengers, Wonder Man and She-Hulk. For those of you unfamiliar with the characters (like a certain screen writer currently in Warner Brothers’ employ), click the links in their names to read about them in the Backstories section.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the series 16 of the Marvel Minimates line. The series was Avengers themed.

WONDER MAN

Wonder Man is built on the basic Minimate body, which means he has the usual 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. He’s based on the character’s look during John Byrne’s run on West Coast Avengers (the hair and stern expression are the easiest giveaways) but he can also pass for several similar looks he’s sported. He features brand new hair and belt add-ons. I’m not crazy about the hair, but it does fit the mullet he sported for some of Byrne’s run. The belt is a pretty much perfect representation of the one the character sported, so that’s cool. Wonder Man’s paint is basic, but has a sort of an elegant simplicity to it. I might have liked a slightly more jovial facial expression, but this one’s still a valid choice. The paint is cleanly applied overall, though there is a slight bit of fuzz on the lines of his boots. Wonder Man included no accessories.

SHE-HULK

Like Wonder Man, She-Hulk is built on the standard Minimate body, so she has the usual stats. She is represented here in her purple and white costume that she wore during her tenure in the Avengers in the early 2000s, as well as her solo series from the same time. Seeing as this was the look she sported during her best known stint on the Avengers, it makes sense to place it in an Avengers themed series. She features a sculpted hair piece, which is a re-use from Ultimate Storm, way back in series 3. The hair isn’t bad, but it does have a sculpted lightning-bolt earring, which looks out of place on She-Hulk. It’s odd because the prototype pictures showed her reusing the oft-used Spider Woman hair, which lacks such distinctive features. The change is a bit baffling. Shulkie has a decent set of paint apps, and has some nice line work on her face and torso. The face has the appropriate light expression that she’s been known to sport, and it looks pretty good. She features the same fuzzy lines issue as Wonder Man, but it’s not too distracting. She-Hulk included a bent metal bar, though it was a bit too big for her to hold properly.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These were originally meant to be released on my birthday of that year. They ended up being pushed back about a month, but my Dad bought them for me anyway, just a bit late. They’re certainly older figures, but they aren’t horribly dated, especially if you can find some better hair pieces for the two of them. Wonder Man has always been one of my favorite Avengers, so I was glad to get him, especially so early into the line. She-Hulk is pretty cool, too, and great for people who are big fans of the character!

#0231: Arnim Zola & Captain America

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

ARNIM ZOLA & CIVIL WAR CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL MINIMATES

ArnimZola&Cap ArnimZola&CapAlt2

Minimates. What more can I say. I’ve reviewed them numerous times before, and I try to think of original anecdotes about them, but there’s really only so much you can say. Still, they are the greatest toyline on the market today, so that’s a big plus. Today, I’ll be looking at Arnim Zola, a recurring Captain America foe, and Captain America himself.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 42nd series of Marvel Minimates. That particular series was meant to loosely tie-in with Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, which were both released the same year.

ARNIM ZOLA

Arnim is presented here in his classic “face on a chest monitor” look, which is definitely the one to go with if you’re doing an Arnim Zola figure. He’s built on the usual Minimate body, so he has 14 points of articulation and stands around 2 ½ inches tall. Arnim features a uniquely sculpted camera head and torso piece, as well as reused “puffy sleeves.” The pieces work pretty well, and give a nice depiction of the character’s usual look. The paint work on the figure is all nice and clean, with no slop, bleed-over, or fuzzy lines. He also features some impressive detail work on his “torso face” which pretty much perfectly replicates Arnim’s snickering, disembodied face.

CIVIL WAR CAPTAIN AMERICA

Yes, it’s another Cap. This one has been dubbed “Civil War Captain America” but I’m not really sure why. Cap wasn’t involved with the historical American Civil War (and if he had been, I doubt he would have dressed this way) which only leaves the Marvel cross-over of the same name. However, Cap doesn’t dress like this in that story. It seems that the real inspiration for Cap was actually his incarnation on Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, where he was frequently seen wearing a similar outfit while riding around on his motorcycle. At any rate, the figure is built on the basic Minimate body like Arnim, so he’s got the usual stats. He features a sculpted helmet, jacket, belt, left hand w/ shield strap, and boots. All of the pieces have been used before, with the helmet coming from Ultimate WW2 Cap, the jacket coming from James Rhodes, the belt coming from Cap reborn, the hand coming from one of the movie Caps, and the boots coming from numerous figures. The pieces are all good pieces and work pretty nicely. The painted details aren’t bad, though I’m not the biggest fan of Cap’s face. The Avengers logo on his arm is also a nice touch. Cap includes a spare set of arms and gloves and a proper Cap mask to allow you to display him as a more basic Cap, as well as a hairpiece for all those wanting him unmasked.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got these two along with the rest of series 42 from my favorite online retailer, Luke’s Toy Store! I mostly bought the series for the Thor sets included, but I wanted this one too, mostly for Arnim. In hand, I think they’re both pretty solid ‘mates, but Cap suffers from some serious redundancy.

#0217: Emil Blonski & Abomination

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

EMIL BLONSKI & ABOMINATION

MARVEL MINIMATES

Abom&Blonski

Minimates, Minimates, what more can I say about Minimates? Not a whole lot honestly. They’re awesome, to be sure. Also, my favorite toyline, hands down. However, when you’ve done 58 reviews featuring them, you run out of things to say. I’ll think of something new at some point, I’m sure. Anyway, here’s another review from the truly massive Marvel Minimates line. It’s Emil Blonski and his later form the Abomination, from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Blonski and the Abomination were released in series 22 of the Marvel Minimates line. The series was based around TIH film.

EMIL BLONSKI

Blonski is based on the character’s “Hulkbuster” gear from the movie. The figure is built on the standard Minimate body, which translates to 14 points of articulation and a height of about 2 ½ inches. He has sculpted add-ons for his hair, torso/webgear, and watch. All of these pieces are new to Blonski, and they all look right for the character. The torso piece is a bit too bulky perhaps, but otherwise they look pretty good. Blonski’s paint is mostly just variations of black, which is a bit on the drab side. His face is a modest attempt at Tim Roth’s likeness, but he’s one of those people whose likeness is very dependent upon the nose. As it stands, he could equally pass for Edward Norton too, and they aren’t the most similar looking people. Blonksi includes a pair of night vision googles and a sub -machine gun.

ABOMINATION

Abomination represents Blonski’s look from the end of the movie, after he’s injected himself with several rounds of supersoldier serum and gamma radiation. The figure is built on the base body, just like Blonski. He has the same articulation, but features special feat and a torso extender, which give him some additional height. In addition to the extender and the feet, Abomination also features clawed hands and a bulked up torso cover. The torso piece is new to the Abomination, but the hands are re-used from Series two’s Venom. The pieces work alright, but his arms and legs are very skinny in comparison to his torso, which makes him look slightly off. The paint work is a bit more interesting than Blonski, though he still suffers from being a bit drab. At least he has some nice detail work to give him some of Abomination’s proper skin texturing. Abomination also included a set of basic Minimate feet molded in the proper green color.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was never super excited for these figures like I usually am with Minimates releases. I enjoyed the movie they were based on, but the designs are a bit bland. However, I participated in a contest to guess the line-ups for series 25 and 26(which ultimately became 28, but that’s a whole other thing…), and I ended up getting both line-ups almost spot on, which meant I won this series, as well as the preceding one based on Iron Man, and the boxed set based on Avengers #1. Getting things for free certainly does help to make them more enjoyable. They still aren’t amongst my favorite, but they aren’t terrible.

#0215: Agent Coulson, Frost Giant, & Jane Foster

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

AGENT COULSON, FROST GIANT, & JANE FOSTER

MARVEL MINIMATES

Coulson&FrostGiantJaneFoster&FrostGiant

I have to be honest, I’m totally running out of ways to start the Minimates reviews. I mean, how many ways can I say “this is my favorite line, there’s a lot of them, yes I’m reviewing them again,” without it getting boring. Not too many I suppose. Sorry if these intros get a bit repetitive. Anyway, I’m looking at another set of Marvel Minimates. This time around, it’s everyone’s favorite SHIELD Agent, Phil Coulson, Thor’s astrophysicist girlfriend, Jane Foster, and a generic Frost Giant. Yay!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These figures were released as part of series 39 of the Marvel Minimates line. The wave was based on 2011’s Thor film. Coulson was the regular release, with Jane Foster as the one per case variant, with each packed with the Frost Giant.

AGENT COULSON

Coulson played a key role in the first Thor, so his inclusion here makes sense. This figure depicts him back before we know him as Phil. His first name was Agent! The figure is built on the standard Minimate body, so he has 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. He features sculpted hair and jacket add-ons. Both of these pieces are re-use, but they work, so no complaints there. The paint work is pretty basic, with detailing only on his face, torso and pelvis. All of it is applied nice and cleanly, although the jacket is molded in a slightly different color than the rest of his body, which is quite distracting. Coulson included a handgun, and a megaphone, both of which he can easily hold. I think the megaphone in particular is quite cool.

FROST GIANT

The Frost Giants provided some neat generic foes for Thor to face off against in his first screen adventure, and the Minimates provided them for about the same purpose. Sadly, they aren’t really all that giant, being built on the standard Minimate body, with no real extensions. The Frost Giant seems to be an amalgamation of several of the Frost Giants we see over the course of the movie, which works pretty well. The figure features four sculpted add-ons: Helmet, two wrist guards, and a bulked up torso piece with a built in shoulder pad and belt/loincloth thing. All of these are new to the figure, and they look pretty nice. The Frost Giant features some pretty cool painted detail work, with lots of scarring and a really nasty, angry face. They’ve also added a white frosting to all of his armor, giving him the proper icy look. It’s a great touch. The Frost Giant included no accessories, which is a shame, but I suppose he does have a decent selection of sculpted parts to make up for it.

JANE FOSTER

Jane Foster is a very pivotal character in the film, being a large part of Thor’s character development and all. That being the case, I was a bit surprised that Diamond chose to release her as the one per case variant instead of Coulson, who was comparatively more minor. Coulson’s probably the more popular character now, but at the time it was a bit…odd. Oh well. Jane had a few looks in the movie, but I believe this one’s meant to be based on her look when Thor first appears at the beginning. Jane is built on the standard Minimate body, and features hair and lower jacket add-ons. I know the waist piece is a re-use, but I do believe this was the first use of this particular hair. They’re both perfectly fine pieces, if not the most exciting. The paint work on Jane is passable, though there are a few fuzzy lines, especially around her boots. Her feet also fall off a lot. Jane included no accessories, which was a bit of a let-down.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up the whole set of Series 39 from my local comicbook store (Cosmic Comix, for those of you in the Catonsville area!). I recall really being excited for them at the time. I have to say, they don’t really hold up that well, which is kind of a first for Minimates. Coulson and Jane aren’t the most exciting figures, and most notably, they seem to be made of lower quality plastic than the typical Minimate release. I actually do kind of like the Frost Giant, and these are the only available versions of Coulson and Jane, but I can’t help but feel a bit “meh” about these figures.

#0212: Minimate Multiverse Blank

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

MINIMATE MULTIVERSE BLANK

PROMO MINIMATES

Multiverse

Anyone who’s read a decent sampling of my reviews should be pretty familiar with Diamond Select Toys’ Minimates, a line of which I am a huge fan. They are generally known for their wide variety of licenses, but they don’t just do those. Diamond appears at numerous conventions around the country, and at some of the larger ones, they like to hand out free items to get more people into the line. These Minimates feature little to no detailing, leading to them to be referred to as “Blanks.” Recently, Diamond produced a blank featuring the logo of the Minimate Multiverse, the Minimates forum. I’m sure no one’s surprised to learn that I’m a member of said form.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Minimate Multiverse blank was an exclusive blank handed out at this year’s C2E2. The figure is built on the basic Minimate body, which means it features 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. The figure features no sculpted add-ons, being a “Blank” and all. I find these types of Minimates really showcase the base body very well, though. It’s not often that the focus is solely on the body and not a particular character, so it’s cool to just get to focus on that. The figure is molded in translucent blue, which is super awesome looking, and features painted detailing on its torso. The detailing is a globe, like the Multiverse logo, and it’s very cleanly applied and looks really great. The detailing is even present on both sides of the torso, allowing you to display either side of the globe frontwards. Really cool!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was not able to attend C2E2, what with it being in Chicago and me being in Maryland. However, DST’s Marketing Supervisor Zach Oat was kind enough to send a bunch of blanks home with Shanester, one of the site’s Admins. Shane’s been doing a great job coming up with some fun contests to get the blanks out to various members. I got mine by being one of the first three people to come up with 7 words using the letters in Mr. Oat’s name. I’m really happy to have gotten the blank, and it’s really neat to have been part of a community that has gotten such recognition.

MultiverseBack

#0207: Supergirl & Bizarro

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

SUPERGIRL & BIZARRO

DC MINIMATES

Bizarro&Supergirl

Goodbye! Today, me no am reviewing figures from my least favorite toyline ever, Minimates. Me no am happy to be reviewing Minimates. They am terrible! Figures today not come from DC Minimates, a line which had too many series. Figures am two minor characters from DC’s least popular comic, Superman.

THE FIGURES NO AM THEMSELVES

Figures no am from 6th series of DC Minimates. They no am from near end of line.

PRETTY LADY S GIRL

Supergirl no am Superman’s cousin. She am very old lady, who am left on Argo, capital city of Krypton, which am destroyed before Krypton exploded. Supergirl am very tall figure, not based on normal Minimate body. She no features 14 points of articulation and am 2 ½ inches short. Supergirl have three old pieces. They no am right for the character. They am too skinny. Pieces am sculpted very rigid. Paint am okay. This am very bad. There am no interesting details. Supergirl’s face am very calm, and am same as others. Supergirl am well accessorized with nothing.

ME AM BIZARRO

Bizarro am original Superman. He am greatest hero ever and am great friend of Superman. He am not based on classic Bizarro, which am terrible! Bizarro am no based on minimate body, and no have normal features. Bizarro no have three sculpted pieces: hair, cape, and belt. Cape and belt brand new pieces and hair am re-use. Pieces no am good for figure. Am terrible representation of character. Bizzaro’s paint am no good. This am very bad. Slop am everywhere. Bizarro’s face am no detailed very well. He am very sad looking. Me Bizarro am include “Bizarro #1” necklace, which other Bizarro’s no am included. Me am happy about this.

ME AM THREE HALVES OF THE EQUATION

Ethan sell Bizarro and Pretty Lady S Girl from distant comicbook store, Cosmic Comix. Me no get them when they am unreleased. Me no am like them. They am terrible figures of characters. They am no important characters to Superman.

 

Confused?  This post was written in Bizarro speak.  If you’d like a translation, click here.

Guest Review #0003: Supergirl & Bizarro

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Guest Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

The  following is a guest review written by my brother, Christian Wilson.  Enjoy.

SUPERGIRL & BIZARRO

DC MINIMATES

Bizarro&Supergirl

Ahoy! This is life. Sometimes you don’t know where you’re going but you know where you’ve been. And that’s all that love’s about. But love is not about the Bizarro & Supergirl Minimate Tupac from probably the 6rd of 8 series of DC Minimates (Because why wait any longer!?). The rippling abs and pectorals before will be put to action immediately. Get ready for the BOON!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These figures are like midgardians. Weak and tiny! As they both originate from Superman Descent (Yeah, that’s a thing I made up with mah brain powers), they both sport some Supes logos. These characters are like the stuff you’ve seen before only more backwards.

SUPERGIRL

I wouldn’t have put her first, she’s just boring, but cool at the same time! Supergirl sports a lady skirt, and some differently sculpted hair. Along with the cape, much work was clearly put into to this thing(if you will). There’s more than 6 articulation points and this makes Supergirl undesirabley angry for some reason. Just look at that face! If you would like to learn more about this robust lady of the lake, look her up on Wikipedia cuz I ain’t gonna draw her.

BIZARRO

This figure am horrible! That was bizarre speak for this figure’s is awesome! The character is captured well in his classic uniform and not some Smallville CW sh*t like before. This figure uses lots of parts from Superman surprisingly. With the exception of the paint being purplish and the backwards S in his chest, this figure is mostly the same but different in a good way. Like the Dred Scott Decision of 1857! If you would like to learn more better about this backwards guy, do as listed for Supergirl above!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ethan bought it on a day some years ago. Bro.

#0204: New Mutants Magik & Warlock

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

NEW MUTANTS MAGIK & WARLOCK

MARVEL MINIMATES

Warlock&MagikWarlock&MagikAlt

Marvel! Minimates! Marvel! Minimates! Marvel Minimates! Yep, another Marvel Minimates review today. This time around, I’ll be taking a look at two of the New Mutants (well, technically three), an offshoot of the X-Men. The characters are Magik (or, “New Mutants Magik,” because branding) and a combo figure of Warlock and Cypher. If you’d like to know a little bit more about them, check out Magik’s backstory here, and Warlock and Cypher’s here.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This set was released as part of the 9th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates, and was released to coincide with Diamond’s New Mutants boxed set.

NEW MUTANTS MAGIK

Magik was one of the more prominent members of the team, and ended up being one of the few to move to the X-Men proper. She’s depicted here in her New Mutants uniform, so she fits in with the others. Magik is built on the standard Minimate body, which means she sports 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. She has a sculpted hairpiece and a shoulder pad. Both pieces are new to this figure and look spot on to her comicbook counterpart. The shoulder pad is a bit loose, but it looks good when it sits properly. She also features gloved right hand, which is a re-use. The paint work is a bit mixed. The detail lines are nice and clean, and I quite like her sly expression, but the base paint is a bit sloppy. Magik has two accessories: a fiery sword and a stand that replicates her teleportation abilities. They are both new pieces, and they are great additions to the figure.

WARLOCK

Now, the figure that is actually two figures in one. This figure not only represents shape-shifter Warlock, but also the team’s resident brainiac Cypher. It’s a nice idea, given the closeness of the characters and the fact that Cypher might not be the most exciting figure on his own.  Warlock/Cypher is built on the basic body, just like Magik. He features five newly sculpted add-ons: head/mask, gun arm, claw arm, torso, and left foot. Warlock had an always changing look in the comics, but these seem to do the job well enough. He also features a torso extender, which is reused from a modern Battlestar Galactica Cylon. The paint is similar to Magik, in that the detail lines are nice and clean, but some of the more base paint is a bit fuzzy around the edges. Still, the detail work is impressive, especially at this scale. Warlock includes a hairpiece, hands and feet to allow you to display the figure as Cypher, which is a really cool option.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set is actually one of the few TRU exclusives I didn’t have any trouble tracking down. Just found it in my local store one day. If I recall correctly, I was even asked what Minimates were by the woman standing behind me in line, which was cool. I really like this set, especially because it features my three favorite members of the New Mutants, especially Warlock. In a sad twist of fate, Warlock is actually one of the few Minimates I’ve ever lost, misplaced somewhere between my dorm room and home. I ended up having to get a replacement (for quite a mark-up) from Amazon. But, it was definitely worth it. I really like this set, even more than the boxed set it was meant to augment.

#0199: Vision, Hawkeye, & Vision 2.0

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

VISION, HAWKEYE, & VISION 2.0

MARVEL MINIMATES

Time for another entry in the tales of the Mates of Mini! Or something like that… More Minimates is what I’m getting at here.

This is yet another set from the Marvel Minimates line. The three characters looked at today all hail from the Avengers side of the Marvel Universe. The characters featured are Vision (who you can read about over in the Backstories Section), Hawkeye, and the variant release Vision 2.0.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These three were released as part of series 20 of the Marvel Minimates line.

VISION

Vision has always one of the most important members of the Avengers in my personal opinion. The character was a prominent member for many years, and it was cool to see him get a release in the line. The figure is based on Vision’s classic look. He’s built on the standard Minimates body, which means he has 14 points of articulation and stands 2 ½ inches tall. He has 2 sculpted add-ons: a cowl and a cape. Both pieces are brand new, and look pretty much spot on to the character’s look. Paint is where my one real issue with the figure lies. They’ve attempted to depict him in mid-phase, which leaves his arms, legs, and cape permanently in a state of semi-translucence. It’s not terrible in theory, or if it had been a separate set of pieces, but as the standard look for the figure, it’s disappointing and ends up making him look awkward on the shelf. One other issue is that I feel his greens and yellows are a bit too washed out, especially compared to more recent releases. The basic details are handled well enough, though, and the figure features no noticeable slop or bleed over.

HAWKEYE

If Vision is one of the most important Avengers, Hawkeye is the quintessential member. It’s just not the Avengers without him. He’s also based on his classic look, and is built on the standard Minimate body. Hawkeye features three sculpted add-ons: a mask, a torso cover, and a belt/loincloth piece. These are okay pieces, but they feel incredibly dated, especially the bulky upper torso piece, which gives the character some inappropriate girth. Paint is okay, but once again the colors seem just a touch too subdued. There is also a small bit of slop around the boots, and the face doesn’t quite line up with the masks. Hawkeye includes his bow and a sonic arrow.

VISION 2.0

Vision 2.0, or Jonas as the hip and happening kids call him, is not quite as prominent as the other two reviewed here, but he is a neat little character, and he’s a great fit for the variant slot. He’s fairly straight forward, being a vanilla ‘mate accessorized with the same cape sculpted for the normal Vision. The figure is molded in clear green plastic, of which I am always a fan, with some painted details. While I do feel that the face may be a bit crowded, everything else looks pretty cleanly applied and well handled. This figure is definitely a lot more vibrant than the other two, which is kind of funny, seeing as he’s the only “modern” character in the lot.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got these sets right around the time of their first release. Vision 2.0 was actually one of the very first variant sets I ever acquired, given my fandom of the character. The set was cool at the time, just to get Hawkeye and Vision, who were both essential members of the Avengers. Hawkeye certainly hasn’t aged well, but there have been a few more recent releases that improved greatly on this one. This is to date the only Vision available. That’s too bad, but it’s not the worst Minimate ever. Plus the character may actually be coming into a bit more prominence in the upcoming year or so. All in all, not a terrible set, but not really the greatest.

#0193: Mark I, James Rhodes, & Mark II

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

IRON MAN MARK I, JAMES RHODES, & IRON MAN MARK II

MARVEL MINIMATES

Minimates, Minimates, time to review some Minimates! Yep, it’s more of my favorite line of toys to review, Marvel Minimates. It’s a long running line, with almost 60 main series, plus lots of supplemental boxed sets and exclusives. And I own a very large portion of them, so there’s quite a few for me to review. Today, I’ll be looking at a set from the tie-in series for 2008’s Iron Man. It’s James Rhodes and the Mark I armor, plus the variant Mark II armor.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These guys were released in the 21st series of Marvel Minimates.

IRON MAN MARK I

While stranded in a cave, being held captive by a terrorist cell, Tony Stark builds his first suit of armor, dubbed the Mark I, from scrap parts. That’s right, Tony Stark built it. In a cave. With a box of scraps! The Mark I is built on the standard Minimate body, which means it has 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. The figure has 10 sculpted add-on pieces: helmet, chest plate, upper arm covers, lower arm covers, thigh covers, and boots. All of these pieces look great, and have a tremendous amount of detailing. The coolest feature about the figure is what’s underneath of all those pieces: a whole Tony Stark! Add the included hair piece and spare feet, and you get a pitch perfect interpretation of what Tony wore while working on the Mark I. It’s a great touch, and this was one of the very first Minimates to implement such a feature. The paint work is very detailed and quite cleanly applied, especially on the underlying Tony pieces. This is by far my favorite figure in the set, and in fact the whole of series 21.

JAMES RHODES

James Rhodes, or Rhodey as Tony likes to call him, is Tony Stark’s best friend and confidant. This figure is kind of funny now, given that it’s based on Terrance Howard’s ill-fated portrayal of the character, and is in fact wearing the very outfit he has on during the infamous “Next time, baby!” scene. The figure is built on the standard Minimate body with two add-on pieces: hair and jacket. Both pieces were new to this figure, and both are pretty much spot on to how Rhodey looked in the film. The paint work on the figure is pretty nice, with no real slop, and some very nice detail work on the shirt and pants especially. The face isn’t quite Terrance Howard, and it seems like the skin may be a tad too dark, but it’s a valiant attempt. Rhodey included no accessories.

IRON MAN MARK II

After he returns home from captivity, Tony decides to refine the Mark I, and builds the Mark II. It’s a sleeker design, and it’s a bit higher powered. It’s also a really easy repaint for toy companies, given that it’s really just a silver version of the Mark III, the film’s main armor. So, here it is, for pretty much that reason. The figure is on the basic Minimate body, with 6 uniquely sculpted pieces: two-piece helmet, chest piece, gloves and legs. All of these pieces are well sculpted, and look accurate to the movie. Not as impressive as the Mark I, but still pretty good. The paint is fairly basic, being mostly one shade of silver, but they did put all the appropriate rivets on, which is a nice touch. The figure includes a spare set of hands and legs, and a hair piece, to allow a more disassembled look.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really loved the first Iron Man film, and patiently awaited the release of the tie-in ‘mates. They kept getting pushed back, which was very annoying, but once I had them, they were one of my favorite series of Minimates for a very long time. I still love the Mark I, and all the amazing detail present in that little guy!