{"id":5502,"date":"2010-05-17T04:03:57","date_gmt":"2010-05-17T09:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=5502"},"modified":"2012-04-16T03:58:07","modified_gmt":"2012-04-16T08:58:07","slug":"itsalltrue-review-iron-man-2-war-machine-mark-v-armor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=5502","title":{"rendered":"ItsAllTrue Review: Iron Man 2
– War Machine & Mark V Armor"},"content":{"rendered":"

I mentioned in my Comic Series I<\/a> review that I wasn’t planning to pick up that many of the movie or concept figures. I’m still not looking to be a completist with this line, but there were some non-comic figures that I did want, specifically the War Machine and the Mark V armor. I almost skipped them because I have or will buy their 6″ versions, but I’m a sucker for things I like (War Machine) and things that look cool (Mark V armor). That and my slowly growing 1:18 collection is a ton of fun. <\/p>\n

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Movie Series # 11 – Mark V Armor<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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If you’re an Iron Man fan, you were probably like me and got ridiculously excited when you saw the briefcase armor in Iron Man 2’s second trailer. I might be alone in this, but I have a love\/hate relationship with the briefcase. It’s a cool idea, but it was hard for the comics to implement; at least past my suspension of disbelief. The briefcase appears virtually right away in the comics, along with the gold version of his original armor. The form-fitting chestplate was worn at all times while the rest of the armor “flattened out” to fit in the briefcase. It just flattened out? Really? Think about that armor for a second. Later armors would fold up into their own briefcase, but not nearly as anything as cool as the Movie Mark V.<\/p>\n

The figure’s sculpt captures the Mark V armor elegantly. Other than the boots, the figure is covered in intricate lines and is an overall slimmer armor befitting its origins. Stylistically, it’s everything that the War Machine armor isn’t and I think that’s one of the reasons I like the figure and this line so much. The sculptors have gone out of their way to make sure that the personality of the armors is conveyed by the figures. This armor is sculpted with an open right hand and a left fist, but a third, open left hand is included so that the figure can hold his briefcase accessory. Extra hands are always a plus.<\/p>\n

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As great as the sculpt is though, it’s working hard to shine through bad paint. After thumbing through countless figures, I can tell you that the paint problems aren’t unique to this figure, but rather the seemingly standard “rush” to get the first assortment out to retail. I’m not sure how many stores I looked through to snag a decent Mark V, but it took me a couple weeks to get him compared to the others. This one turned out relatively okay, but you can find a few spots where the red paint isn’t consistent, where the red shows through the silver, or where the silver has been misapplied altogether. There are good ones out there. I’m just advising that no one should blindly grab any of these figures off the shelf. Look first, buy second.<\/p>\n

The Mark V has standard articulation for the line: balls at the ankles, hips, elbows, shoulders, torso, and head, double-hinged knees, and cuts at the wrists. The ball-joints on the head and shoulders are restricted though. The head is relegated to being a swivel cut while the top of the shoulders have been sculpted so that they’re almost flush with the torso. This Iron Man won’t be raising his arms over his head any time soon. I find that odd because figures like War Machine have bulky shoulders with extra articulation to keep their range, while a figure like this is purposefully limited.<\/p>\n

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Other than those two problem areas, I’m starting to get used to the hip articulation on these figures. The more I play around with them, I just start to get a feel for what I’m going to need to do to get them in the pose I want. They work well, and they’re sized correctly so they don’t stand out on the figure, particularly on a less bulky figure like the Mark V. The level and implementation of articulation lets you get into a variety of poses while retaining the overall aesthetic.<\/p>\n

Finally, this Iron Man includes his briefcase. Technically, he’s carrying the armor and wearing it at the same time, but that’s okay, right? It’s a little big, but it’s pulling double duty as the requisite missile launcher. It opens on one side with some interior detailing similar to what was seen in the film. Pressing the blue triangle on the non-opening side fires both missiles simultaneously. Continue to War Machine…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Movies Series # 12 – War Machine<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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I am a big fan of War Machine and had to add the movie armor to my growing War Machine collection. For some reason, I enjoy the alternate hero costumes. For Marvel, I’m a big fan of the symbiote suit, U.S. Agent, and War Machine. I’ve never asked myself why, but I’m just more intrigued by these than the traditional colors. In the first Iron Man, I was excited to see Terrance Howard eyeing the Mark II and say “next time”. Sadly, he didn’t get that opportunity after the awkward Don Cheadle switch-a-roo, but I was happy to see the War Machine armor debut in this movie all the same. I like the look of the movie armor, though I do wish it were even more different from the standard armor. I understand why it looks the way it does, but I miss the furled brow and frown of the classic War Machine.<\/p>\n

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Once again, the sculptors for the line have gone above and beyond. The movie War Machine armor is a decked out Iron Man armor covered with extra protection and weapons. That’s where the sculpt impresses too. The heavy shoulder pads are hinged to allow for movement yet stay flush with the arm in most poses. The shoulder cannon and the oversized missile launcher are both retractable, storing upright on his back. The non-moving parts are similarly well done. The torso looks as if it were layered from the recessed arc reactor up to the raised panels across the shoulders. The paneling is done through sculpted detail from the back of the head on down to the bottom of the feet. War Machine has an intricate 6″ figure, but that same level of detail was carried over at this scale too. The only thing I’m knocking it for in the sculpt department is the flexible plastic ammo belt that goes from the back to the shoulder cannon. I’ve yet to find a way to get it to stay in well, and I’ll probably end up leaving it off or gluing it in place.<\/p>\n

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I didn’t have as much trouble picking a paint job for War Machine as I have for some of the other figures, but that might just be because this armor is allowed to look a little dirtier than the others. The silver and blue* areas are all painted well on this figure, but the rest of the figure is open to some interpretation.<\/p>\n

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There is also a version of this figure with red eyes and arc reactor. I’ve seen a lot of red ones, but I specifically sought out a blue one because I liked the blue\/silver combination better even though red is movie accurate.<\/em><\/p>\n

The rest of the figure is a mix of dark greys, gunmetal, and some black. This War Machine is relatively “clean” compared to some of the others I’ve seen, but I placed a higher value on obtaining a blue one instead of a really scuffed up one.<\/p>\n

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War Machine has balls at the ankles, hips, elbows, shoulders, torso, and head, double-hinged knees, hinged shoulder pads, cuts at the wrists, and the aforementioned retracting weapons that can also swivel on their pylons. The hinged shoulders allow for the ball-joints to have great range and the ball hips are well hidden by paneling and decoration. Again, the ball-head is limited to a very minute swivel, blocked by the armor on either side. Continue to Page 3…<\/a><\/p>\n

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I haven’t talked much about War Machine’s left shoulder cannon. Instead of having the missile battery, WM has another larger gun that serves as his pack-in missile launcher. It looks okay, but it could be considered distracting. I don’t keep it on my figure when in display. It can fire one of two missiles and also has a spot to plug in the ammo belt. Both guns easily pop off their pylons and can be placed on either side.<\/p>\n

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Every figure in the line includes a base and three \u201carmor\u201d cards. The bases are standard grey rectangles an extension that goes behind the figure and holds the armor cards. The cards have some play value, but I haven’t really sat down to mix and match them. The chest piece card is printed on white stock while the other two cards are transparent. Basically, if you have several figures you can mix n\u2019 match the cards to create your own armor. As I said in my earlier review, each combination of three cards creates a unique 9-digit string and tells you to go to IronManCard.com. The movie is in its second week, the toys have been out for over a month, and yet that URL still simply redirects to Marvel.com which makes no mention of the cards. I believe the 9-digit string could be used on this proposed website to recreate the armors digitally, but for now they’re just a neat pack-in item.<\/p>\n

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So far, everything I’ve picked up from the Iron Man 2 movie line has been excellent or almost great. That’s exactly what we have here. War Machine is an excellent figure with a sharp design, ton of detail, great articulation, and plenty of play value. The Mark V armor, if his paint was done a little cleaner and maybe with a better eye for detail, would be equally exciting. As it is, he’s still a good figure. I like the sculpt, the way he moves, and the briefcase as a fun accessory. He just looks a little less cool standing next to War Machine. <\/p>\n

For now, I think these will be the only Movie Series figures I pick up. At least until some new figures hit the shelves.<\/P>
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For more Iron Man 2 reviews, check out our Iron Man 2 Visual Checklist<\/a>.<\/h5>\n<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I mentioned in my Comic Series I review that I wasn’t planning to pick up that many of the movie or concept figures. I’m still not looking to be a completist with this line, but there were some non-comic figures that I did want, specifically the War Machine and the Mark V armor. I almost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":5503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[34,10],"tags":[570,474,537,536],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/fivTN1.jpg?fit=50%2C50","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-1qK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5330,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=5330","url_meta":{"origin":5502,"position":0},"title":"ItsAllTrue Review: Iron Man 2 – Comic Series I","date":"May 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm not sure, but I think there might be a new Iron Man movie out. There was something or other about it on television the other day. Oh, and new toys too. I tried not to buy any, but, as usual, I failed miserably. I've bought six 4\" figures so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "@ the Movies"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31571,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=31571","url_meta":{"origin":5502,"position":1},"title":"Marvel Two-A-Day Hulkbuster Legends War Machine Review","date":"July 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6249,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=6249","url_meta":{"origin":5502,"position":2},"title":"ItsAllTrue Review: Iron Man 2 – Proto & Oversize Armors","date":"June 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I finally found some Comic Series II! In the last few weeks, I've been mocked by more Classic and light-up armors than you would believe. I've been tortured by unusable $5 off stickers. I've looked through pegs and pegs of IM2 toys and not found much new... and it's been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31584,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=31584","url_meta":{"origin":5502,"position":3},"title":"Marvel Two-A-Day Hulkbuster Legends Iron Man Now Review","date":"July 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5910,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=5910","url_meta":{"origin":5502,"position":4},"title":"ItsAllTrue Review: Iron Man 2 – Fusion Armor (#15)","date":"May 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been trying to stick to comics series Iron Man 2 toys; trying not to delve too deep into movie or concept figures, but sticking to that is like being in a candy factory. Yesterday, the toy hunt bore fruit in the form of Fusion Armor Iron Man and Whiplash.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7150,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=7150","url_meta":{"origin":5502,"position":5},"title":"ItsAllTrue Review: Iron Man 2 Comic Series II","date":"June 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"My favorite thing about Hasbro\u2019s Marvel movie toy lines has been the cross-pollination of the comic figures. I\u2019ve enjoyed the IM2 movie figures, but the comic figures have helped enriched this line and I find myself looking forward to them most. After a good deal of searching, I\u2019ve finally completed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5502"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5502"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18050,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5502\/revisions\/18050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}