.

We’ve had quite a few Iron Man minimate figures, especially with all his armor variations and all the movie figures. Iron Man usually gets high marks but this one is a hot mess; lots of good but also lots of bad.

First off the color is awesome, by now you all know I love the hot rod red and gold. His helmet is darn near perfect, you get the sculpted details for his faceplate, ear pegs and the little extras on the top (love the little triangle and ridges there). We usually only see this level of detail with the movie figures. His eyes are well done and stand out very well. I’m not sure if I like this better with painted detail or would rather have the eyes sculpted too; probably better like this as leaves less room for error with the paint apps. Underneath is similar face to one seen in the wave 44 pack just with a more intense look.

The short torso cover is well done too, lots of details all over – front, back and cool looking shoulders. Underneath though we have problems. The details only show on half the torso, underneath the torso cover you don’t have any: no arc reactor, no nothing. I realize this saves costs but really makes him look incomplete. Rest of the upper body: arms, gauntlets are very nice and look great.

Iron Man’s lower half is a mixed bag too. The upper thighs look incredible with the sculpted sectional details; I love this look, my favorite of all the Iron Man figures we’ve had so far. BUT completely ruined by the ball joint. Something went wrong at the factory and the joints don’t fit deep enough so Iron Man looks horribly bow-legged. I do love his boots; they’re sort of like 3/4 size where they angle down in the back and really streamline his feet. One other bad spot on mine was the paint apps near the ankles; mine has a big glob of gold paint so I’m not sure what’s up with that part.

There are no extra accessories.  It would have been nice to have an extra flight base but they’ve included many of those in previous releases so understand leaving it out for this one. This figure is best used for customizing your own version. Just take the outstanding parts (head, torso cover, arms, hands and feet) and mix with parts from other releases to make your perfect Iron Man.

In conclusion he’s half perfect and half epic fail. I truly hope they revisit that leg sculpt again but fix the issue with the ball joint and socket. Do that, put full details on the torso and cleaner paint app all around and this would be a perfect 10.

MMC Score – 5 out of 10

Rhino

Now here’s a character that was in major need of bulking up. Don’t get me wrong I really liked the first one released; he was actually in the first minimate box set I ever bought at TRU.  But with the new sculpted pieces he was due an upgrade. Aleksei Sytsevich (aka Rhino) is one of the more recognizable Spider-Man villains; he’s not the brightest bulb in the pack but with his massive strength he poses a big threat.

Like the first version he has a slipcover rhino mask with two horns on top. You can see his face through the mouth of the mask. The first version of his rhino mask was very good, this one is even better. His face has a wonderful angry “charging at you” expression. Aleksei’s skin tone is also much better this go around; it’s more akin to someone from the harsh winters of the Eastern Bloc rather than someone from a sun-drenched beach local. 

The bulk of his body is similar to other bulk characters. He has large torso cover, wrap around shoulder and thigh covers, torso riser for added height, waist cover with peg waist for added leg movement and massive feet and hands. Both his feet and hands have added studded bracelets which make him look even more imposing. The simple grey base color really help the added muscle detail on his torso and legs stand out. Now I could gripe about the closed fist hands now that we’ve seen bulked up characters with the sculpted hands but Rhino’s not a grabber he’s the proverbial bull in the china shop. He’s more apt to stampede over you so the closed fists are a better match.

No accessories are included but none really needed.

Rhino was already a good figure with the first release; this is just a perfect upgrade for him.

MMC Score – 10 out of 10

Review and pictures by Lurch77

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