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MMV reviews IM2 minimates!


TBT!

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Hi Guys,

We created a new section, mostly so you guys can put your own reviews in this section but also so that we can review new waves of minimates.

Different staff members will likely step up and review different sets but I'm first up.

I'm new to reviewing and my camera is kind of crappy so please think of this a TBT MK1 review!

And what do I have for you...

Iron Man 2 (Wave 35)

Packaging:

As you can see the IM2 wave is packed in the same packaging as current minimate waves. it has nice Iron Man 2 logo's and windows so we can see the figures inside. There are also little Bio's on the back and I'll start each figure review with that text.

Mark IV Iron Man /Whiplash.

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MK IV IM Figure:

"Six Months after battling Iron Monger, Tony Stark continues to don the Iron Man armor despite the consequences of revealing his secret identity to the world.Though clearly dedicated to his cause, is the world ready for Iron Man?"

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This figure is the only red and gold armor in wave 35 and I assume the first armor to be seen in the movie ( I'm writing this without having seen the movie, so be prepared for some assumptions on my part.).

First impressions are that the MK IV is shiny and very detailed. The MK IV comes with a spare helmet with a flipped up visor and a hair piece so that you can play or display several different ways. There is some pretty intricate detailing on the torso under the armor and the likeness of Robert Downey Jr is good for a minimate albeit with a pretty neutral expression. These pictures do not do justice to the nice shiny paint job which stands out and even outshines the minimates from the first movie.

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The minimate is awash with new sculpted pieces some which are nice and some which I feel spoil the figure. The helmet looks good but is more rounded than those from MKII/MKIII. The chest piece is well detailed but in my opinion a little too bulky, I was hoping to see DST slim down the oversized chest pieces for this movie. The biggest surprise on this figure was the new arm sculpts with molded Biceps, My personal opinion is that this type detailing takes us yet another step away from the classic minimate body and closer to a generic 2" action figure.

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What lets the figure down the though is the legs. They look very similiar to those from the MKII/MKIII but are new sculpts that do not seem up to the quality of the rest of the figure. I don't know if I got a set that was badly molded but the detailing on the upper legs is wonky and uneven and the legs themselves look and feel malformed and fragile.

I have to say as huge Iron Man fan that I'm a little disapointed with this figure, it should be the flagship of the wave but falls short. It hits sweet spots with a good likeness, some nice detailing and accessories, but I'm not a fan of minimates that are overly sculpted and think the MK IV probably goes too far for my taste. The legs really don't help things with their sloppy uneven detail and fragile feel.

Whiplash:

"The son of the brilliant Russian scientist Ivan Vanko uses his fathers research and designs to create his own high-tech armor and finally compete directly against Iron Man as Whiplash."

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Whiplash is looking like the main villain of the movie and is played by Mickey Rourke. The likeness is pretty close and does a good job of conveying a minimate with a face that only Mickey Rourkes mother could love. The chest harness is well done and if you remove it then the torso block and arms have some very nice tatoo detailing underneath.

The overalls worn loose around his waist are a seperate piece and seem to be molded nicely, the only question mark being that in the trailer footage I've seen the overalls are orange but are painted brown on the minimate. The minimate lives up to his name of whiplash with two bright clear yellow whips that plug into handles molded into a set of hands. these whips look great and give a nice sense of movement to the minimate. The figure also comes with some spare hands if you prefer to display without whips.

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This minimate does an excellent job of stricking a balance between an intricate likeness, sculpts and details without overdoing them.

Mark IV Iron Man /Battle Damaged Whiplash ( Borders exclusive).

Packaging:

As you can see the main differences between this and the wave 35 packaging are a small Borders exclusive circle in the top right corner and that the Bio's on the back have different text.

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Mark IV Iron Man:

"Tony Starks most advanced armor design also not only includes an advanced Arc Reactor, but also features imporved flight control, armor weight and cutting edge weaponry. Sunglasses are optional."

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This Minimate is exactly the same figure and accesories as the regular version with one exception, the face under the helmet has a different design that includes sunglasses!

I have no idea where the sunglasses fit into the story of IM2 but they make for a nice change from blank/happy/snarly/smirky Tony faces that we get in the other IM2 minimate sets.

My Comments above about the dodgy knee's above were compounded by the pin that connects two halves of the the knee sheering off the first time I touched the leg left on this one.

Battle Damaged Whiplash:

"The son of a brilliant russian scientist Ivan Vanko combined his father's reasearch with his own designs to become whiplash! Though both powerful and destuctive, nothing compares to Iron Man!"

Unlike the almost identical MKIV above the battle damaged Whiplash has a lot of detailing changed from regular version.

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Whiplash definitely looks the worse for wear. Battle damage on his chest harness is the most striking difference which now looks like it's been shredded and is now a tampo on the torso block instead of a seperate molded piece. There are new tampos on his legs to show holes in his pants with some nifty detailing of metal braces showing through and he has some standard battle damage dark airbrushing to show he's dirty!

The face is now a snarl with an open mouth showing some awesome blinged out golden teeth, it's a great look and one that offsets the calm menace of the wave 35 version nicely.

What is missing from this figure are his whips, this figure comes with a pair of normal hands and one whip handle hand but sadly no whips.

I think this version has more character than the regular version but was a little disapointed there were no whips included.

This pack Is a nice store exclusive for collectors to pick up but not something that will worry the casual fan if they miss out on it.

MK V and War Machine

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MK V IM Figure:

"The ultimate solution to the Iron Man armor's bulky assembly process. Tony Stark's Mark V armor not only gives the Red and Silver Centurion a new look - it also collapses to suitcase size for effortless mobility."

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The MK V minimate is looks very different from the other MK II-IV models, most noticably It's red and silver which is a nice nod to the classic silver centurion armor. It's also sleeker and less bulky than other models due to being a suitcase armor. Like the other armors the likeness of RDJ under the mask is good for a minimate and he looks like he's been in a bit of a scuffle with scratch/dirt marks and a pissed off expression. The figure comes with an extra hair piece and spare hands for Tony so you can display him without helmet or gloves.

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I actually think this is the best armor of the wave, it manages to convey the armored feel without the excessive bulk the other armors have, it keeps the bulk on the chest piece down with just arc reactor and shoulderpads, it also keeps the gloves and boots to a minimum compared to the MKIV. Detailing here is once again done to the extreme with unique arm and leg sculpts to this minimate, I'm not sure if they were needed but at least looks clean and well done.

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With Classic Silver Centurion

War Machine:

"Created for James Rhodes by reverse engineering Tony Stark's Iron Man, the War Machine armor differs from its predecessor not only in color but also possesses more destructive weapons and raw firepower."

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We get to see War Machine in action in IM2 and this minimate ticks the expected boxes, with a grey silver paintjob and a heavier look than the MK IV armor. It comes with a spare helmet with the same flipup mask as the MK IV and some spare hands for Jim Rhodes. The likeness underneath the helmet has a docile expression that seems to emulate Don Cheadle fairly well, it's also is the only minimate in the wave where the hair is painted on rather than adding another hair piece, which works well if you ignore the hole in the head from the peghole.

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The minimate itself is bulky which I supposed we should expect from a War Machine figure, the shoulder mounted weapons do seem a little small when compared to the bulk of the suit itself though. The count of new parts for this minimate is once again sky high and we get new sculpts for: chest, gloves, legs, helmet and weapons, with the arms sharing the same 'bicept' sculpt as the MK IV. The amount of new pieces actually mean that you cannot see a single standard minimate piece anywhere on the figure in it's standard War Machine configuration.

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With comic book War Machine

Hammer Drone & Pepper Potts/ Happy Hogan.

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Pepper Potts:

"Tasked with running all of Stark Industries as their new CEO, Pepper Potts must balance her personal friendship with Tony Stark against the mounting evidence that the armor-clad hero may be unable to control his own demons."

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Considering the complexity and detail of all the armored figures in this wave Pepper Potts comes as a breath of fresh air because of her simplicity. She has a new hair sculpt that is nice but nothing to get excited about. Pepper is wearing a simple dark blue dress, a bracelet and painted on flat shoes. that's it, no other accesories. The likeness is an odd one in that the minimate itself is missing something compared to the art on the box front which I think is much closer to Gwenneth Paltrow. A nice minimate considering that civilians are always hard to make interesting.

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Pepper and Pepper from the first IM movie.

Hammer Drone:

"Created using a fusion of technologies from Stark industries, Hammer's own company and whiplash's improvisations - the Hammer Drones are immensely powerful and potentially lethal in the wrong hands."

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Looking like a cross between Iron Man and a crash test dummy the Hammer Drone is the "army builder" for wave 35. Standing taller than any of the other minimates in this wave it is well proportioned and solid, the sculpts are nicely done with with what feels like an appropriate amount of detailing. Some interesting choices with molding mean that the minimate head is molded as a solid piece rather than a seperate head and helmet like the other armors. The chest piece stops at the waist and the figure has another sculpted piece that goes over the crotch of the minimate which thoughtfully helps to keep the waist articulation of the minimate. The Legs are new sculpts with seperate boot pieces and the gloves are new too. I have no idea if there is detailing under the torso like all the other armors as I couldn't pry the head off to look. Overall a nice robot army builder that I'm sure will mean a lot more to me after I've seen the movie.

Happy Hogan Variant:

"Not only Tony Stark's bodyguard and chauffeur, Happy Hogan is also one of his closest advisors. As events unfold ,however, Happy finds himself torn between his friendship with Tony and his feelings for another..."

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If you pick up the variant set then you get the army builder drone and Happy Hogan instead of Pepper Potts. Like Pepper Happy is a simple minimate, It's a reasonably John Favreau likeness in a black suit. Where it differs from Pepper is that it has accessories, a very nice silver and red suitcase that we can assume is the the MKV armor, some boxing gloves that hint that Happy spars with Tony in the movie and some handcuffs with a long chain between them, I assume these are to chain the suitcase to his wrist rather than some kinky side story involving Happy and Pepper!

Not the most exciting of minimate variants but one that helps to fill out the minor characters and gives us our first Happy Hogan minimate.

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The variant Happy Hogan is a nice nod to the director of the movie if not overly exciting as a minimate.

TBT's IM2 (Wave 35) summary :

AA/DST has put a lot of new parts into the armors in this wave, I suspect to try and make them as movie accurate as possible. The War Machine and MK IV have no standard minimate parts visible, and only 3 core minimate parts underneath. I know it's subjective as some folks seem to like these new levels of sculpting but I feel AA/DST have gone too far with some of these armors.

I feel the best armor in the series is the MK V which keeps a nice balance between new parts and keeping it's minimate soul.

Whiplash looks great and Pepper/Happy succeed where I might usually mark them down for being generic looking civilian people, in this case I think they actually help the wave because the armors are oversculpted and they help to ground things somewhat.

I am a huge Iron Man fan and am really hyped for the movie but the armors felt oversculpted and like they tried to cram too much detail into them and therefore the wave fell a little flat for me personally.

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