“... the truth is... I am Iron Man.”

Review sample provided by Angolz.

Summary from package...

“While traveling overseas on business, Tony Stark is gravely injured after being ambushed and taken hostage. While in captivity, Stark is ordered to build a super-weapon capable of worldwide devastation. Instead, determined to escape and ultimately confront the demons of his past. Stark constructs a nearly invincible suit of armor equipped with powerful repulsion rays and high-altitude flight capability and escapes. Upon his return to America, he becomes the red-and-gold warrior Iron Man, vowing to don his powerful armor to protect the world.”

While I have always been a bit of a superhero fan, I was never that into Iron Man. Tony Stark never won me over or struck me as particularly admirable, but when the live-action movie came out it knocked my socks off. With the mix of Jon Favreau's direction and Robert Downey Junior's charm the character of Iron Man/Tony Stark won me over. The 2008 film was a critical and commercial success and Iron Man toys flooded the market. But none of them really struck me as great collector's pieces or great representations of the American designed power suit. Well it turns out Hong Kong toymaker, Hot Toys has made the quintessential Iron Man piece...

Hot Toys has been in the 1/6 scale poseable collectors market for a few years now and the reputation for quality and attention to detail has grown over the years. Well it's VERY much earned.

Let's start with the packaging. A box is a box right? Not really.

A nice package let's you know the manufacturer cares about what's inside. In this hobby very few things are “cheap” so it kind of sucks when you spend primo dollars for a piece and the package feels cheap or like an afterthought. With Hot Toys, that's not the case. Not only is the piece inside made with the utmost care and attention to detail, the box it comes in is equally as nice.

The box is made from a very thick, heavy-gauge cardboard that folds out in three panels. The outside panels of the box look like a close up of the Mk.III armor. When the box is opened it looks like the under carriage of the armor. The die cut hole for the Arc Reactor is a nice touch.

Inside is a window to see the figure and all the accessories neatly arranged and laid out with a brief explanation about the Mark III armor as well as credits for the toy design. It's very sharp and very classy. To bad it ends up in the closet stored away, it's almost a work of art itself.

Included in the box is...

• Iron Man Figure
• Tony Stark Head (Robert Downey Jr. likeness)
• 2 Closed Fists
• 2 Open Palm Hands (Flight/Repulsor Pose)
• 2 Open Blast hands ( Open Hand Blast)
• Display Stand

The figure itself is spectacular. There is no diecast metal on this piece, it is all plastic and PVC. The materials are however all top-notch and feel high quality. Nothing feels cheap here. The body and parts are primarily a hard plastic with parts near the hips made of softer PVC to ensure maximum poseability.

The figure stands just over 13 inches tall and features over 40 points of articulation, with an original build of the Iron Man suit from the ground up. It is not a 1/6 “doll” with an Iron Man costume strapped to him.

But highly poseable and well constructed isn't where it stops. The Iron Man suit is powered by a Tony Stark invention, the Arc Reactor.

Three separate light switches for three separate light-up functions are placed on the figure. Chest/Eyes, Right Palm, Left Palm. These are powered by a small stack of watch-sized batteries which can easily be removed and replaced when needed. These parts light-up brilliantly and the over all effect makes it look just like the suit in the movie.

While you can't remove the figure from the suit (not sure I'd want it too) you can swap out the helmeted head for an un-helmeted. The likeness to Robert Downey Jr. is uncanny. The sculptor,T.J. Cha is indeed a VERY talented artist.

Air-break/Opening Panels can be opened and deployed on the back and calves of the suit.

Rocket Launchers can be exposed on both the left and right fore-arms. The missile is sooooo tiny you will need a push pin (or the like) to get it to flip out.

This was my very first piece from Hot Toys but I can assure it, it will not be my last. Beautiful packaging, an even more stunning piece, exquisitely detailed and an impressive looking on the shelf. Not to mention fun to tinker with.

Now, the bad news. This bad boy has been sold,out for quite some time now. The good news however, is an updated “deluxe' version (with metallic paint, more gadgets and battle-damaged amor to swap out) is coming out soon and can still be ordered from our sponsor, Angolz. I think most of our readers would do well to add one to their collection while they can. I for one am very glad I did.

I hope this one is better than the McFarlane one...

I love the Matrix, but not as much as Atom does. Utmost I love the design of the Sentinel, those snake like probes that Infiltrate Zion.

McFarlane did one. You can guess how that went.

Now, Hot Toys is doing one. This, I have a little more hope for. Its in 1/6 scale, and is due in Jan 2010 for 9,048 yen about 94.82 USD.

No word on articulation - I'll let you know when I know.

Sideshow Collectibles and CollectionDX team up to give one lucky winner a 12" Hot Toys T-REX - Apexplorers!

How to enter:

Just send an email to contest@collectiondx.com and mention the Sideshow / CDX giveaway. We'll pick one lucky winner randomly on the last day of Toy Fair, Wednesday, February 18, 2009. Sorry, CDX staff are not eligible to enter.

Sideshow Collectibles and CollectionDX team up to give one lucky winner a 12" Hot Toys T-REX - Apexplorers!

One lucky winner will win a 12" Hot Toys T-REX - Apexplorer, courtesy of Sideshow Collectibles.

Limited Edition of 75 imported to US, retail value of $199.00!

The T-REX Apexplorers 1:6 scale figure comes with a full uniform and accessory set.

Sideshow will be posting their Toy Fair news on their site, starting Feburary 5th at the Sideshow Toy Fair News page, so be sure to visit and check it out.

How to enter:

Just send an email to contest@collectiondx.com and mention the Sideshow / CDX giveaway. We'll pick one lucky winner randomly on the last day of Toy Fair, Wednesday, February 18, 2009. Sorry, CDX staff are not eligible to enter.

The Fine Print

The winner must allow 4-6 weeks after announcement of win to receive the product from Sideshow Collectibles. All prizes are non-transferable, with no cash redemptions and/or substitutions except at Sponsor's sole discretion. See below for more International Shipping Terms. To get the latest news from Sideshow Collectibles, join our Newsletter!

Delivery time & Restrictions: All continental US orders are shipped via either UPS or FedEx ground service. Because FedEx cannot provide tracking numbers for P.O. Boxes, Sideshow Collectibles will not ship to a P.O. Box. Please provide your street address or your shipment will be delayed. For FedEx Ground deliveries, please allow up to 6 business days for delivery from the date your order is shipped.

International Shipping Restrictions: At this time Sideshow Collectibles is unable to make shipments to Venezuela or Nigeria. Please Click Here for further international shipping information and restrictions.

All taxes are the responsibility of the winner. All prizes are non-transferable, with no cash redemption and/or substitutions except at Sponsor's sole discretion. All international winners will be responsible for any duties, tariffs, taxes or import fees assessed to their prize. Further, some countries outside of the U.S. do not have reliable mail services. In the event that a prize has been stolen or mishandled during shipment to an international destination, Sideshow may not be able to replace the specific item and will substitute a prize at its own discretion. If the winner prefers a specific quicker shipping method, they are responsible to notify Sideshow immediately, and will also be responsible to cover the additional costs if any. At this time, we do not accept credit cards from Mexico. Refer to our Help Desk for alternative payment options.

Japan's favorite assassin in 1/6 scale!

Japan's favorite assassin in 1/6 scale! Anime Masterpiece Golgo 13, due April 2009, 19,800 yen.

An amazing 1/6 scale of the first Iron Man suit used in the movie. Absolutely stunning.

Hot toys does it again with this AMAZING 1/6 scale Iron Man Mk1 suit. Just look at the likeness of Tony Stark!

Looks like it lights up as well. Awesome.

Due 04/09 for 26,000 yen.

Commence drooling.

Unfortunately does not include fake nose, bubbles the chimp, or Jesus Juice.

With Halloween coming up, I suppose its only fitting that Hot Toys put out a toy of the freakshow that is Michael Jackson.

Granted, this version is before all the REALLY weird stuff started happening, but still....

Michael Jackson "BILLIE JEAN" HISTORY TOUR version, 300mm, from Hot Toys, 19,800 yen, due 2/09

One can hope we'll see a neverland ranch version, a sleepover version, a court appearance version, a dangling baby over the ledge version...

Disturbing on so many levels. Break Out the Jesus Juice.

While they are technically called kits, they are basically action figures you assemble.

I think the main reason these are called kits and come dissasembled is due to licensing issues. Regardless, these 1/20 scale Appleseed figures are HOT. The box retails for 15,000 yen and is due 10/2008.

From the hit movie Iron Man, its the Iron Man Mk2 armor, and boy is it full of win.

Words cannot express my lust for this toy. 1/6 scale, full armored Iron Man Mark 2 - due in December for 20,953 yen.