Suit of Armor

After much wait, finally the set is now complete. Last off from Hot Toys' Iron Man 2 series is the Mark V. I'm not including the Mark II Armor Unleashed in the list because technically the suit was already featured in the first movie.

Hot Toys announced the Mark V sometime in December 2010 and after much, much much delay the figure is finally hitting the store shelves. Most collectors were wondering if this figure would ever make it out of the factory floor seeing as it's been almost a year but the wait, my fellow collector is worth it.

The packaging is similar to the other Ironman figures from the line. I was hoping Hot Toys would somehow make the box art interconnected with one another just like the Mark IV War Machine and Black Widow but alas that was not the case. No biggie tho, just thought it would be cool to arrange the boxes and make one big poster-like collage.

Out of the box the figure looks stunning. The details on the Mark V is astounding. Much love and dedication definitely went into the making of this one. The suit is beautifully replicated down to scale. First thing you'd notice is how scrawny the figure is. Technically this suit is suppose to be light in the plating department and was meant to be portable and having that in mind Tony Stark had to sacrifice a lot of armor to make the suit work the way it does (Whiplash's power whips cut through the armor like a hot knife through butter).

I like how John Favreau paid homage to the classic comic book series by having an updated version of the Ironman briefcase; where in the comics Tony would store his Ironman gear in a briefcase and when needed would quickly change into his superhero duds. They even included the suitcase as part of the accessories, along with the handcuffs. Also worth mentioning is the choice of color for this particular suit. The Silver Centurion armor color scheme was used for the Mark V notably a nod for the fanboys; even though the Mark VI was more like the Silver Centurion armor sans the color. Hey maybe I should photoshop the Mark VI. Hmmmmmm....

The articulation on this one is as good as you're gonna get it. It's far superior in terms of joint movements if you're comparing with the IV and the VI but don't expect the V to perform any contortions. It still has limitations, where the upper arm hits the chest plates. There's actually an instruction manual on how to position the arms during poses. Be careful when posing though, when done wrong you might chip the paint off.

Another thing I'd like to point out is the articulation on the lower body and the ribs. I can't seem to figure out how to outstretch the joints, much like how the IV and the VI could pull the joints apart for more articulation. I tried numerous times to do so but couldn't. Funny thing is the instruction manual actually shows you how to do it but I think I was too scared to risk pulling it and snapping my figure in two.

If only Hot Toys had thrown in a bruised and battered Tony Stark headsculpt in there that would have definitely made my day. I must say I am quite happy with this purchase. Noteworthy to the Ironman 2 line. Hats off to Hot Toys yet again for yet another masterpiece.