Toy Review: Walmart Iron Man & War Machine

Walmart Exclusive Iron Man & War Machine

I recently wrote a short article about how tough things are for toy collectors in the Philippines. I’ve had my fair share of hunts for elusive figures. In fact, I still have not found a City Strike Snake Eyes. But these… as soon as they were announced, the 6″ Mark VI and War Machine were destined to be a tough find. With only limited quantities imported by Playkit, and with fantastic test shots that had whet everyone’s appetite for the dead 6″ scale, these promised to fly off shelves despite the fact that they were bundled together at a price of Php 2,000.00 (about $45 or so). As a friend put it, they were the mythic unicorn of our toy collecting world.

Proving predictions true, the various Toy Kingdom branches in the metro each got a single delivery of 1-9 sets each. Once those were gone, poof. There were no more. I spent the past 2 weeks running back and forth from Galleria to Shangri-La Malls in Ortigas Center, checking to see if they had gotten their boxes. I missed them in Galleria. Missed them in Podium. Missed them in Toy Kingdom Express. All the while I heard reports that they were sighted in the Northern part of the city or towards the far South. Knowing that it only took 30 minutes for stocks to be sold, I stuck it out. Finally, with some help from a fellow collector, I lucked out at the main Toy Kingdom in Megamall, staying after my shift the day after their weekend sale. Wouldn’t you know it, they released 6 sets and I got first pick.

The package on these toys is about what you’d expect from Hasbro these days. Basic cardback with bubble, and a tray inside to hold the figure and accessories. They’ve been using this for their 3.75″ lines and it’s turned out pretty well. I love that I’m able to cut a single piece of tape and peel back the card, removing the tray easily. And I thank whatever guy finally said, “stop with the twist ties!” and got Hasbro to stop binding all their toys to the plastic tray. That got annoying really fast.

The back is decorated with a single, rather boring shot of the Iron Man or the War Machine toy. Like prior releases, it doesn’t impress. There are some product shots of other figures in the 3.75″ line as well. Considering that there are only 3 figures in the 6″ line, that’s understandable.

Starting with Iron Man.

This is the Mark VI suit. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I won’t spoil it, but this is Tony’s suit at the end of the film. It’s not all that different from the Mark III that he had at the end of the first film, except for the trangular arc reactor on the chest.

When you pull the tray out, you’ll see that the figure comes with 2 pairs of extra hands. One is the open palm, one a relaxed, mid-way position, and the last is a fist. All of them have wrist articulation to allow him to move it up and down, as well as around in the socket. They’re all easily replaceable, but be careful since they tend to fall out.

The other accessory is a throwback to the first movie series. It’s an ugly rocket launcher. I threw it in my extra parts box as soon as I opened it.

Compared to that first series, I have to say this is an all around improvement. He is a lot bulkier this time around; meatier. He looks more like a suit piloted by a man. That means the proportions are much much closer to the movie’s hero than the Mark III armor from a few years ago. It also looks much better than the Classic Iron Man suit from the Marvel Legend 2-pack.

Compared to the 3.75″ figure, I have to say this wins again. It’s more detailed than the smaller toy and the articulation is better. Again, the proportions look much closer to the movie models.

Paint isn’t a problem here. It seems that despite the problem Hasbro’s been having with the 3.75″ line, this one seems to be on the ball. I didn’t see a lot of problems with the examples I saw, and there are no glaring mistakes or spots on my figures. I also like the construction, expecially with War Machine. The plastic used is some kind of dense, slightly rubbery plastic. It feels like you could toss it across the room safetly. With Iron Man, the chest a little weird. He can’t really bend forward. His back is perpetually in an arch. It’s weird that he can’t hunch forward.

Other than that, articulation is wonderful:

While the Mark VI is an excellent addition to my 6″ armory, the War Machine is the real prize. Like I said, the construction is amazing. The figure feels super sturdy. It’s painted in a dark matte gray that is a stark contrast to Iron Man’s fire engine red.

The beauty of this figure is it’s accessories. He’s got the same 3 pairs of hands, but in addition, he has the chain gun, the missle rack, and an ammo belt. That makes him more than a match for his predecessors in the Marvel Legends and Iron Man I lines.

I had originally thought that the toy was going to be too skinny, basing my view on test shots done with the prototype. I’m happy to say that’s not the case. He’s very proportioned, even more so than the 3.75″ figure. The legs feel like the perfect length and the limbs the perfect thickness.

Honestly, there isn’t much bad I can say about these figures, aside from the obvious problems of price and availablilty. If you do find them though, I suggest you add them. They’ve already become my go to guys when it comes to Iron Man fun.

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