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.
Up next:
Iron Man 2 Hulkbuster
Shortpacked.
If you’ve only been a collector for awhile you’ve probably heard the term “shortpacked” and scratched your head. The term refers to toys that are packed into boxes in lower quantities thanother figures in their line. For example, in an assortment of Marvel figures, you might have 2 Wolverines, 3 Spider-Mans, 2 Iron Mans, and 1 Squirrel Girl.
Now you’re asking “Squirrel Girl? Why would anyone want a Squirrel Girl figure?” This is exactly the same thought that big wigs at Hasbro have when they work on wave assortments. They pack more pieces of the figures that have name recall because those are the figures that kids are going to pester their parents into buying. The lesser known figures get the haft with only 1 per box. They are “shortpacked”.
Shortpacked figures are a bitch for collectors. They are usually obscure characters from major teams, or a female character, or a really gorgeous variant that has gotten rave reviews. Given that the popular figures are ones that everyone has serveral versions of anyway (Batman, I’m looking at you), most of us are all after this same rare toy. Now that distributors are being cautious with their imports here in the Philippines, the competition between collectors (not to mention scalpers) is going to get fierce.
The Hulkbuster armor from the 3.75″ Iron Man 2 line is one of the first figures that Philippine toy collectors have been racing around the metropolis for. He’s got several things going for him. He’s shortpacked for one. I lucked out when I arrived at Toy Kingdom in Podium and found the Playkit rep just about to shelve the new figures. She brought out the boxes and I had first pick. There were only 1 figure per box while there were several of some of the other Iron Man armors and some of the repaints.
Second, he’s pretty big. Not as big as say, Iron Monger, but still he’s sizable for a 3.75″ figure. He’s also highly detailed. Unlike the Marvel Universe line, the Iron Man line seems to have details up the wazoo. Even without any real accessories, Hulkbuster is worth the Php 450.00 you have to shell out for him.
The package tells a little about the armor, it’s reason for being as it were. If you can’t guess that reason from the name of the armor, you’ve been living in a hole for about 50 years. The product shot on the back makes the armor look shinier than it actually is. In reality, the red is no where near that metallic looking.
Out of the box, you’ll see the Hulkbuster comes with the requisite stand and Armor Card. It honestly doesn’t need the stand since it’s huge foot print will keep him upright fairly easily. As I’ve said in past reviews, I really like the inclusion of the Armor Cards. I do wish that the URL printed on them actually worked (they still redirect visitors to the Marvel site), but can’t have everything.
As you can see in the size comparison above, he’s not as impressive as the 3.75″ Iron Monger. In fact, he’s barely taller than the Mark II. He makes up for it in girth though. This guy is really WIDE.
Compared to the old 6″ Marvel Legends Toybiz figure, you can see how tiny this Hulkbuster feels. Somehow, I don’t think I’ll ever get over the feeling that 6″ is the perfect scale for superhero toys. There’s just a heft lacking in 3.75″ that leaves me feeling very unsatisfied.
That said, however, this little guy is much more detailed than his counterpart. The old version was based on the Hulkbuster’s first appearance. It was an auxillary module for the Modular Armor, Model XII, Mark I. It was smoother and was sort of an exoskeleton that the Modular Armor fit into.
The new one is based more on the Hulkbuster Armor MK II Argonaut Drone, designed by Adi Granov, who gave us the Iron Man Model 30, or the Extremis Armor. I love this design, so it’s wonderful that they chose to go with it rather than the more recent John Romita Jr. design.
The thing has amazing detail, from the cell design on the shoulder pads, to the cloven feet to the shin guards and the pistons and gears all over him. It really is something else.
I was honestly worried about the articulation on this thing. After all, the Marvel Legends line had some pretty poor articulation on the bigger figures. The 6″ Hulkbuster, while gorgeous looking, couldn’t do very much. This little sucker, I’m glad to say, can. He can kick Hulk in the face! How aggravating!
Paint, however is another matter entirely. I had the choice of 2 examples of the figure. One had lots of splotch all over his face and this one has a big splash of the Iron Man red they used right on the big gold spot on his stomach. Many of the new figures are like this. Hasbro has to up it’s game in this area. Their quality control has been awful lately.
Seriously, there isn’t much to say about the Hulkbuster. It’s one of the best in the line so far, and probably the one that is the best value considering the amount of plastic it took to make him.
I hear they’ve been restocked at the time of this writing, so hurry out to toy stores to get him.
FansProject Warbot001 Defender
There have been several new start up companies putting out fan-made Transformer designs and aftermarket accessories lately. There’s iGear, who made the awesome Teletran 1 playset and the mini masterpiece Prime. Then there’s Mastermind Creations who created the nice, but cheap looking Knight Morpher based on the Heart of Steel designs, then there’s Perfect Effect Toys that made a God Sword for the Classic Prime mold. And who can forget TFClub’s Battle Rollar, a transformer version of Primes little buddy.
None of these hold a candle to the special guys at FansProject though. Since they came on the scene with their simple, but completely awesome Cliffjumper upgrade in 2008, these guys have been pumping out some quality stuff. There’s of course the unbelievably cool upgrade to the Classic Ultra Magnus called City Commander Add On Set, the recent upgrade to the re-issued Superion, and the G3 trailer set for the classics line, and the upcoming upgrades for the Bruticus combiner and Hot Rod.
Last month, FansProject released the first in what will hopefully be a long line of standalone robots to add to your Transformers collection. Dubbed the Warbot Defender, it’s an obvious homage to the triple-changer, Springer from the original cartoon’s second season. It’s a much truer rendition than anything Hasbro has done in the past (which were just green and yellow repaints of whatever molds they had available), and much closer to the way he was portrayed in the series. But more on that later.
The box it comes in is basic, like the other FansProject… projects. There aren’t any fancy origami folds or wordy blurbs on the back. Just a paperboard box with graphics and product photos, and a hard plastic box around that to protect it (which in turn was given to me in a plastic bag and wrapped in paper). It would take a direct blow from a sledgehammer to damage this thing.
On the inside is a plastic tray that holds the figure directly in the center of the box for maximum protection. It also lets you take the figure out rather easily. No twist ties, no rubber bands. I wish American toy manufacturers would get a clue and start doing it this way. Just cut the clear tape securing the two halves and pry them apart and the toy will fall right into your hands.
Instead of an instruction manual, Defender comes with a comic book that describes how to transform him step by step. Trust me when I say you are going to need this book, so don’t lose it. I pride myself on figuring out how to transform Transformers, but this thing is WAY over my head. And at Php 3,600.00 at the time of release, you don’t want to be snapping any parts on this sucker.
The comic is nicely done for a toss-in, and is far handier than any instruction sheet Hasbro has ever included in it’s toys. The areas that you need to change on the toy are convieniently highlighted so you don’t screw up. Why didn’t Hasbro think of that?
It’s a question I hear myself asking everytime I look at a FansProject toy. Just take a look at the weapons that Defender comes with. He’s got 2 pistols and a sword. I’m not sure where the pistols came from (maybe he used them in the comic), but the sword is definitley a nod to the G1 design. In the movie, Springer’s rotor blades became a sword when he was a robot. He could pull it out of his back just like a Robot Samurai. This figure can do the same, and the sword coverts to the helicopter’s rotor. Why didn’t you think of that Hasbro?
The figure has 2 alternate modes, just like any triple changer should. The original Springer (1986) could transform into a helicopter and jet car (albeit ones that looked nothing like the cartoon), but the three subsequent figures were just redecos of regular releases. This one changes from a Jet car to the helicopter, and both look close to the cartoon model, if not spot on.
The jet car is pretty fun, and is the easier of the two to transform him into. It has free-rolling wheels and you can store both guns and sword on the vehicle.
The helicopter is a little bit tricker to change him into and this is where I had to break out the instruction manual. There are a few steps that you need to do with the arms that aren’t immediately obvious. They have to be at a certain angle so everything fits in place. It’s a very elegant and tight design, but definitely not one for kids.
Again, there are places to store the pistols, and the blade becomes the rotor. Everything is part of the design, which makes this toy that much more satisfying. FansProject even included an extra piece that will allow you to attach the Defender to one of those Gundam Action Bases if you have an extra one lying around.
The robot mode is by far my favorite though.
Like the vehicles, he also has a place to store his gear when not in use. His pistols can be slotted into his “boots” while the sword can be pegged into his “backpack”. It’s all very nicely thought out and highly appreciated.
Articulation is aces. There are very few transformable robot toys that can boast the same level of articulation as figures in lines like DC Universe Classics or Marvel Legends. This is definitely one of them. With several balljoints and some combination joints at his hips, knees, shoulders, and elbows, the Warbot Defender can really move. It makes for great fun posing him.
Also, take note that this is one of the few modern releases that sports die-cast parts. And it isn’t tiny pieces like a crossbar here or a support frame there. His entire chest, most of his legs, and some of the pieces on his back are metal. It makes for a pretty heavy figure.
The down side is he may be kind of hard to stand up with all that weight. However, if you have some patience, you can find that sweet spot. And all that extra articulation really does help.
Paint wise, he’s nothing to shake a stick at, but it’s decent. Since he’s a robot, fancy washes aren’t really required anyway. Mine didn’t really have any glaring paint defects, so I’m happy.
One thing you do have to watch out for is that sword. I guess because FansProject wanted everything to be as “realistic” as possible, they made it so that the sword is very thin, almost blade thin. This means that it is very, very delicate and will snap if you catch it on anything. I’d recommend removing it completely if you’re attempting to transform him. Thankfully, the rest of the parts on him seem to be of much strudier stuff.
All in all, I’d say that the figure is worth it to a collector. It’s expensive, sure, but with production runs that are no where close to what Hasbro is doing for their most unsellable toy line, it’s understandable. It’s a rare and high quality figure, with a wonderful sculpt, plus great articulation and accessories.
If you’re a fan of Transformers: The Movie (the original one, not Bay’s version), then this is a great choice for you’re four grand.
Ghost Battalion
It’s funny how things work. This week has been all about Iron Man 2. The movie’s out here, and Playkit just brought in limited quantities of 10 new 3.75″ figures, and the two Walmart Exclusive 6″ers. My last two days have been spent running around Ortigas Center from toy store to toy store looking for them, and now I find that the toy find that’s giving me the most happiness right now isn’t the Hulkbuster or the War Machine, or the Titanium Man figures I found at Podium for Php 450.00 eacn, but these totally unknown skeleton astronauts I found on sale in unmarked plastic bags for Php 30.00.
Meet the Ghost Battalion.
Or the Bone Brigade. It really depends on the site you find it at. It took all my considerable skill at wiki-jutsu and copious amounts of google-fu to find out what these figures were called. The baggie that Toy Kingdom has them in is completely without labels or anything and there isn’t anything inside that can be used to identify them. All there is really is the price tag. That sweet Php 30.00 price tag. When was the last time you got a toy for less than a dollar?
Here’s what they looked like in the original packages:
If you got to FigureRealm.com You’ll find some nice information on these figures that came out in 1995. Our little skeletal astronauts were made in 1995 by a comany called Jasman, a Hong Kong toy manufacturer that started in 1991. In 2007 they had the Halo license, but it looks like they may have already gone out of business as their website (www.jasmantoys.com) is no longer functioning.
From what I can find, they look like a company that worked on proprietary product lines until they started expanding into the American markets when they won the Bungie Halo license. Chap Mei is another Hong Kong company that creates it’s own toys rather than buy licenses from the big names like Disney and Marvel. These Ghost Batallion figures are very much like the Police vs. Bad Guyz figures in that they are about the same height and have the basic 5 points of articulation and an assortment of accessories that don’t fit particularly well.
They are hella fun though.
This is what you get in one of these packages:
That’s four figures; Comet Kazi, Deep Fry, Cooker, and Asteroid. Don’t ask me which is which. According to blurbs on the packages, “It was their final mission… now they’re back looking for more!”
There are a bunch of sprue trees with two sets of 3 weapons and 2 different projectiles, as well as 2 stands and 2 weapons platforms (a cannon with shield and a jet pack). That’s a lot of stuff, and it’s way more than they can actually use all at once. There’s also a missle/rocket pack or something that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere I try it.
Sadly, they figures can’t seem to hold on to the pistols and rifles properly. I may need to do some shaving or something to get them to fit properly. No biggie. I’ll forgive just about anything for Php 30.00.
All together, they look like a great team and personally, I think they are excellent even if they’re an off-brand toy. Like I said, I’ve been playing with these a lot more than the new Neo Classic Iron Man I bought the other day. I haven’t even OPENED Hulkbuster yet.
They’re pretty small though, topping out at about 3.5″, smaller than a Marvel Universe figure like Piledriver there. The great thing though is, you can use the stands they come with for your Marvel Universe figures! That is a pretty good bonus since the old figures don’t come with stands and are a pain to try and pose.
I’ve already got 8 sets of these at the time of this writing. In about an hour, I’m on my way to the toy store to pick up as many more as I can carry. They’re just so striking I can’t resist army building them.
My first thought was that I could give them away as cheap gifts to my relatives and kids of friends, but skeletons in spacesuits doesn’t seem like an appropriate gift for a 4 year old. If you’ve seen the Dr. Who episode, “Silence in the Library”, you’ve got some idea how creepy they look, despite their cartoony proportions.
Did I meantion they glow in the dark? It’s been forever since I had a toy that glowed in the dark.
And all for only Php 30.00. Php 30.00!
Iron Man 2 Tumbler Toppers
Since McDonald’s lost the Disney license, they’ve been putting out some crappy Happy Meal Toys. The thing I loved about the Disney toys was that they weren’t trying hard to be overly complicated. Most of them were little more than gashapons; little, cheap, statues that didn’t move, but looked great grouped together in a display. Now everything HAS to have an action feature and it makes most of the toys look awful.
I’m so glad that whoever is doing the Iron Man merchandising is keeping it simple. If you hurry, you can still get these great tumbler toppers at SM Cinemas now. They say stocks are limited, but they’ve had them since the start of the week and still had them yesterday night when I watched Iron Man 2
These things are pretty gorgeous; they’re almost like those mini-busts you’d find in a high end hobby store for thousands of pesos. Considering you’re only paying about Php 100.00 for them (a hotdog and large drink cost about Php 100.00 at SM cinemas which is a little over $2.00) these are worth every centavo.
They’re about 3 or 4 inches high (the toppers, not the tumblers) and made of some cheap rubbery plastic. They’re pretty solid though, not rotocast, so there’s little chance of them shattering. They are pretty soft though, so watch how you carry them or War Machine’s chain gun will need some viagra.
The sculpt is pretty good, looking decent enough and more detailed than you’d expect from one of these things. Even the back is pretty good.
I prefer War Machine to the Mark VI though, mainly because the Mark VI’s pose looks kind of off. It’s not extended enough, like they were trying to fit him in a specifically sized mold. The same is true of War Machine, but his pose is more neutral so it’s not as obvious.
Paint isn’t spectacular, but then nothing is at this price. You get some extra gray on the WM and some gold on the VI and a little white on both. That’s about it. It’s not particularly well applied either, but you can’t complain.
As movie swag goes, this is some of the best I’ve seen in awhile. I mean I love my Star Trek special edition DVD case, but I had to pay 2 grand for that thing. These things are cheaper than the price of my ticket (we only pay about $4.00 for a movie ticket which is frankly, one of the best things about living here)
If you want, you can skip the toppers and just get the tumblers, but they aren’t all that great. The prints are sometimes blurry, and the graphics aren’t the best images. Poor War Machine doesn’t even get his own cup. If you prefer, you can get plastic dog tags with Iron Man’s or War Machine’s head on it. Nice enough, but I don’t really want to pay Php 50.00 for them. Ditto with the LED keychain flashlight, but your mileage may vary.
Here’s a list of the menu:
Iron Man Tumbler with Topper
Php 199.00
You get a 24 oz drink with either a Junior Popcorn and Donut, or a Hotdog, or a Regular Popcorn plus a tumbler and topperIron Man Tumbler
Php 149.00
You get a 24 oz drink with either a Junior Popcorn and Donut, or a Hotdog, or a Regular Popcorn plus a tumblerIron Man Dog Tag
Php 149.00
You get a 24 oz drink with either a Junior Popcorn and Donut, or a Hotdog, or a Regular Popcorn plus one dog tag setIron Man LED Key Chain
Php 149.00
You get a 24 oz drink with either a Junior Popcorn and Donut, or a Hotdog, or a Regular Popcorn plus on dog tag plus a LED Key Chain
I really recommend you get a pair of these as soon as you can. A set of nice looking statues for your desk at work. If you have any skill with a brush, they’d probably be easy enough to repaint and some plaster/paper clay/epoxy and you can make a proper base for it. It won’t be a 7-11 Iron Man cup, but I’ll take what I can get.
If you're looking for biased, one-sided views of toys and other assorted geekery, then you're in the right place. If you want objective, you'll need a blog written by someone who isn't an obsessive geek.
These are my views on various toys, movies, places, and things, along with assorted pictures and the the occasional link to stuff I find sufficiently geeky.
Enjoy your stay and leave a comment.
Slangards
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