These Tiny Little Metal Dudes Make-A Me So Happy!

One great thing Hasbro has been doing with its Marvel Movie tie-ins in the throwing the collectors a bone or two in the form of a comic-based line that goes alongside the movie time. This worked very well with the Wolverine: Origins product, and thankfully has been carried on with the toys for the upcoming Iron Man 2 film. There are Movie, Comic and Concept Series in the 3 3/4" figure line, and they have now hit retail in Australia. I was killing some time while waiting for the youngest AFB-ette to get fully hyped up on sugar and slippery dips at a birthday party at one of those shopping centre play-gyms / parent torture centres last weekend and came across them at a Toys R Us adjacent to the centre, so I had to pick up a few.

The big surprise of the whole gang is the greatly improved Classic Iron Man himself. I hadn't planned on buying this one, seeing as I already own the Marvel Universe and Secret Wars versions, but this one is a stand-out. The colours are more vibrant, the articulation more sturdy, and he "works" in a way that previous versions haven't. He comes with a power blast attachment which works very well, and a stand which is meant to be the blast from his feet, which has problems. He's pictured standing on this on the package with his feet right together, which is actually impossible, since there is only one peg and it's in the middle. He can only stand on this with one foot on the peg and one hanging off. Still works, but it's a but wonky. This doesn't take away from the fantastic figure. He may be a re-issue, but he's also a must have.

Despite the greatly improved Classic Shellhead, Crimson Dynamo steals the series for me, and not just because it's the Soviet Super-Soldier's plastic premiere. He's not just a first-timer - he's extremely well done. In addition to being the perfect shade of... well, crimson, his armor is so well sculpted. He comes with an optic blast attachment that rests on his head a bit like a wreath, or a crown of purple plastic thorns. The only niggle here is that his feet are a bit oddly articulated which made him a bit hard to pose, but we got there in the end. Very happy to own this one!

Comic Series War Machine is a fine piece with some interesting inclusions. A great feature here is his shoulder-mounted gun / blasty things, which have 360 degree rotation. The included plastic attachments show is that one is for zapping things, and the other is for.... popping popcorn? The only other drawback to War Machine's design is that his shoulder pads limit his arm movement somewhat. And did I mention his right hand blasty thing looks like popcorn? Pop!

There's meant to be an Iron Monger in the Comic Series, but I picked up the Movie Series version while I was at it, because he looked cool. If the Comic Series version does appear, this one will get the boot, but he's a fun stand-in for the moment.

Interestingly, Hasbro also appears to be doing a 6" line for this movie which will be exclusive to Wal-Mart. In light of the great job done with Crimson Dynamo in the smaller scale, I'd love to see a 6" version to go alongside that some of my other figures from that lil' ol Marvel toy line Hasbro seems to be slowly driving into the ground.... oh, what was it called?? Well, a guy can dream...

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the March AFB Comment of the Month Contest! ** Remember - this month only there's also a prize for one AFB Facebook Fan, so become one while there's still time!