This thing is metal as fuuu-
As we approach what I anxiously expect to be a busy Mezco shipping Christmas, I am finally catching up on some of these hardcore exclusives. There is some exciting stuff headed our way, and we’ve picked up some interesting stuff in the last couple months, so it’s a fun, if expensive time to be into this line.
So that brings us to this Con exclusive Model 42 Iron Man. There’s a lot to unpack on this figure, and I mean that literally. This is the first Iron Man figure we’re getting in this line, the only second to feature diecast parts and light-up features, and the first without any cloth goods.
There is a lot of innovation and engineering in this figure, no doubt about it. Obviously, this is a benefit of being a redeco of Mezco’s main classic Iron Man, but by virtue of being first. Any Iron Man fan worth his salt could tell you this isn’t really a Model 42 build, but the blended look of the main figure does lend itself to multiple designs. It’s not quite as techy, but it’s fine for a casual Iron Man dude like me.
But back to that engineering~ this figure contains and impressive amount of articulation that it’s heft and design kind of conceals. The light-up feature is housed in a diecast upper torso section that still allows for some torso pivot. There’s those usual double jointed elbows and knees, ball jointed shoulders and hips, ball jointed ankles and wrists, and some nice neck articulation. The hips feature another first for Mezco first in their use of a drop-down joint. I have mentioned how this setup isn’t my favorite, but like with Robocop, it’s one of the few ways you can keep clean hip lines and still have functional articulation. And given how heavy this figure is, they work a lot better than I would have expected. I still like the sturdier, standard type, but it works well enough. And that’s really where it all comes out for the range and effectiveness of those articulation points– it’s plenty good for a guy in armor.
And that diecast. Again, more of it than I expected, The tongue-test tells me we have upper torso, shins and foreams all in metal. And I bring that up because this paint work? Good luck spotting the plastic parts without having it in hand. And that paint work…really, that’s what tipped me over on this variant. The use of the matte panels mixd in with the gloss black, and the metallic gold touches are really clean and….they’re freakin pretty. This is pretty damn figure.
This Iron Man comes nicely outfitted with the features and accessories– yup, you guessed it, more of it than I thought. First, we’ve got the removable faceplate. There is the Tony face under there, and it isn’t the best looking one out there, and it ain’t the worst, either. Maybe a touch soft, but seeing as it wasn’t an advertised feature, so there you go. The mask attaches magnetically to the helmet, and even has a little HUD sticker in there.
The main billed feature is the light-up arc reactor, and it don’t dissapoint either. It’s a sharp red glow, so much that it makes the smaller orbs pick up some glow. The access panel on the back is easily accessible, but you wouldn’t know unless, um, you knew. Ya know.
Iron Man has a set of repulsor hands, relaxed grip, and fists. And then a TON of blast effects. Two for those repulsor palms, one for the arc reactor, and four blast effects. Those guys can fit in the palms, the two feet ports, or some combination thereof. I really like the little missile effects. He comes with one for each forearm, and then the hip discs (that swap out) for each side. Actually, those hip ones might make for cool flare/chaff dispensers, if you put them on backwards, And he was flying. I might have to try that later. But these effects overall just do a bangup job of giving this figure a ton of energy and motion in a display or photo shoot.
So the only real bad news is that this already pricey figure is stoopid pricey now. But, there are other versions still orderable, and I think if you can get in for close to the retail price, you’re getting some real value in terms of accessories, paint, and pure metal. And that metal, boy…
