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Hitting the Mark

Armand Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Ironman 2 to me was not as disappointing as most people might think. I loved every bit of the 2nd Ironman movie as I did the first one. There are few who might not share my sentiments as some say the 2nd one did not match up to the first one. The first one was indeed a fantastic thrill ride, what with it being Marvel Studios' first movie. It was indeed a huge success and matching up to that would be quite a feat. But I say they did a fine job in doing so. Maybe not matching the first one, but the 2nd did the 1st one justice

Ironman 2 gave us more than enough Ironman armour to last at least 2 movies; with the introduction of the Mark IV, the Mark V, War Machine and of course the Mark VI. That's 4 suits in one movie! But hey, who's complaining.

The Mark VI carries an uncanny resemblance to the Mark IV, with the obvious exception of the triangular window on the chest plate that houses the arc reactor. The changes are subtle but if you're sharp enough you'll notice the minute differences. You'd notice that the Mark VI armour is slightly chunkier than the Mark IV most notably the thighs and the calves. The arms and biceps are also beefed up with armour.

Once again Hot Toys delivers and the translation of the Mark VI from big screen to 1:6 scale is simply stunning. With the artistry, dedication and love that was put into this figure, the only direction Hot Toys will be heading right now is up. Let's hope the success they're enjoying won't go to their heads and start charging us premium prices.

















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4

War. What is it good for?

Armand Saturday, September 17, 2011
"So you wanna be a War Machine?" said Stark to Rhodes right before they blew the house up. I loved how John Favreau squeezed that into the movie without making it corny or forced upon. I was all giddy when I heard that in the cinema like any fanboy would.

When Hot Toys launched the first line from their Ironman line fans and collectors alike were astounded by the quality and effort that was put into making the figures. There were a few hiccups here and there like how the coloring on the Mark III was more maroon than Hot Rod Red and the problem with the torso being unable to bend or flex more freely.

But with the new Ironman 2 line, Hot Toys managed to solve both these problems brilliantly I might add. The Mark IV and VI showcased the craftsmanship of Hot Toys and reminded the public why they are indeed the best in the business.

War Machine was the first figure released from the series and as always Hot Toys delivers on the goods. He might not be as flexible as the rest of the lot but he was built that way. A tank. A big fat frigging cybernetic-no bullshit-kick you in the ass-exoskeleton tank :)

I can't wait for the rest of the figures to arrive; The Mark V, Mark II Armor Unleashed, and the highly anticipated Iron Monger!













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2

It's good to be back

Armand Thursday, September 15, 2011
I just realized the last set of pictures I posted was way back in February. I haven't been taking a lot of pictures of my figures as how I used to last year. You know how it is, the same lame excuses; busy with work, no time, no space, no light, no this, no that.

Well hopefully now all that will change as I just finished settling down in my new pad. I've got more space now and I'm setting up the second room and turn it into "The Pop Culture Room".

I'll share pics of the new pad but right now here's some pictures I took of the Mark IV. More to come!








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4

Heroes Overload

Armand Monday, September 12, 2011

3 major comic book movies are just around the corner and us fanboys are anxious as always to see the final outcome of their favourite characters on the big screen. I'm following closely on the three big ones; Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, Josh Whedon's Avengers and of course Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.

All 3 movies are currently in the midst of principle photography and with that set pictures are popping up all over the internet. And as a fanboy, i feel it is my duty nay obligation to share these photos with you.



First off, Man of Steel. As most of you already know Warner Bros are rebooting the Superman franchise with director Zack Snyder at the helm. Zack has a very distinctive style when shooting his films so it's interesting to see how he would fare with Big Blue. He's no stranger to comic books, having previously directed Frank Miller's 300 and Alan Moore's Watchmen. He might not be the best when it comes to telling his own original story (Sucker Punch was beautiful no doubt, but the plot wasn't all that strong IMHO), but with enough Superman source material spanning for more than 70 years Zack should do just fine.

Now on to the pictures. First thing you would notice is "Where the heck is the bright red underpants?". This has to be by far one of the biggest debates of the movie. We all know and love Superman for what he stands for; Truth, Justice and the American way. And just as iconic as the man himself is his bright red and blue costume. Sure we've made fun of his fashion sense of wearing his underwear on the outside but that's also what makes Superman well, Superman.

You'll also notice that there are streamlines on the side, back and his waist, which makes the costume someone "alien". I'm actually totally fine with this addition to the costume. He is after all an alien from the planet Krypton so its only fitting that the suit has remnants of his now perished world.

My guess to the costume overhaul is people at Warner Bros (who also owns DC Comics) wants to tie up the new movie with their New 52 comic line which in turn has something to do with copyright issues with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Where is the underwear? One must question the obvious.

Alien influenced.

Well at least they got the boots right


I'll save my judgments about the movie till I see something more concrete like a teaser trailer.
Man of Steel is slated for June 2013. Don't hold your breath :)

Next would be earth's mightiest heroes; The Avengers. Rumour on the internet has it that the movie will be loosely based on the The Ultimate Avengers animated movie by Lionsgate.

Josh Weadon of Buffy and Serenity fame is steering this behemoth of a movie project and I am very very excited. After what he did with the X team in Astonishing X-Men books, I have faith that Josh Weadon will hit this one right out of the park. His take on the X-men lore was dare I say ASTONISHING (pun intended). He was a key figure in kicking back the franchise back into full gear with his 24 issue run. So it's no surprise Marvel entrusted him to take on this mighty challenge of bringing together earth's mightiest heroes onto the big screen.

Now on to the main show. Most of you have probably seen the illustrated concept art for the ensemble of heroes, so here they are in the flesh. I really like how they did Clint's outfit, the slight hint of purple and not overdoing the costume too much. A for Cap, I'm not really sold with his costume. It just looks weird. I would prefer them maintaining the costume he had on in his movie, with army centric design. And is it just me or does Chris Evans look smaller than he was in the first movie?

Cool outfit dude. Work out much?


Ol' Winghead taking a brisk stroll along Park Avenue.

Dude, can you hear with those ear muffs on?

On your mark. Get set. Go!

Thor's hair grew from his last outing.

He does look smaller innit?

This to me is by far the most exciting thing that has ever happened in comic book movie history. Comic book crossover comes to life on the big screen. EPIC!

Last but not least, we have Chris Nolan's highly anticipated conclusion to his Batman trilogy; the Dark Knight Rises. I'm still kinda sour with the title Nolan gave the movie but small matter. They just finished shooting in Pittsburg, and moving on to the next location.

One of the main talking point for the movie is Bane played by Tom Hardy. Fanboys across the globe is criticizing Nolan's choice of actor to play bane, stating that Hardy's too tiny to carry the role of the man who broke the bat's back. Nolan's Batman, if you don't already know by now is grounded. Which means than even though Bane is big and bulging in the comics doesn't mean he needs to be one in real life.

I believe Tom Hardy can pull off Bane. Note in the comic that Bane is more than just a big dumb brute with humongous muscles, he is just as intelligent and cunning as Bruce and we do need an actor of certain charisma to pull that off. I believe in Nolan.





I dunno about you guys but I am seriously psyched about these 3 movies. I wish I had the DeLorean and head to the future but that ain't happening so I'll just have to wait. Hope you enjoyed the pics!


Photo credits:

Slashfilm.com
Firstshowing.net
Superherohype.com

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0

Assembly

Armand Monday, September 5, 2011

Can't wait. Seriously.
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