Yamato Marvel Universe Classic - Box in Box: Iron Man (Ebay.com)

Starting with this post, I'm not going to mention how much, I got an Iron Man item. But I will mention where I got it, if it's any consolation. Japan based Yamato has been known for their Trigun, Samurai X and sexy female Gashapons (or trading figures). I'm biased when I heard that they are licensed to create products based on Marvel Characters. I'm sure they'll look great, but the Philippines isn't Gashapon country, so I might have a hard time looking for one. In fact a set of 6 Box in Box figures in a local specialty shop sells for P2150. Fair price for something that's imported, but I only want one character, and I'll have problems disposing the other characters I don't want. The set they're selling doesn't include the variant metallic color, ouch.



Yamato's Marvel Box in Box figures come in blind boxes (sealed boxes with no indication of the figure inside). So I was lucky that someone in Ebay is selling individual figures at a very reasonable price. The first thing you'll notice when you open the box is there's another box inside the figure with a display window. Hence, BOX in BOX.



The Iron Man figure is split into 6 parts. It's made of soft rubbery vinyl and it's a pain to assemble because of the small holes. The sculpt reminds me of the classic MEGO figures. In fact even the pink BOX where you can display the assembled figure is based on the old MEGO packaging. There's nothing really special about the sculpt, but if you're into retro - you'll surely love it. The paint apps are plain, and it works well for the metallic color variant. There's some articulation in the shoulders, head and waist. You need to attach the figure to the base to make it stand properly. When assembled the figure stands around 3.75 inches.



Is it worth getting? These things are probably cheap in HongKong, if you can find one there, grab it! Otherwise, it's not a big deal if you don't have one in your collection. If you love the classic red and yellow Iron Man costume + if you love MEGO, chances are, you'll like this little baby.



The Rundown:
• metallic and regular color (but the metallic looks better)
• retro Mego look-alike goodness
• freakin' tough to assemble
• abundant in Hongkong, but if you don't live there, expect to find these online

Current Iron Man Checklist

A fellow boardie (someone who posts at forums) asked me how many Iron Man figures I have. I just told him I have around 50 pieces. I finally made a head count of the figures I own (excluding duplicates), these are just individual figures with variants.

1 Marvel Legends 1: Iron Man
2 Marvel Legends 1: Iron Man (Gold Variant)
3 Marvel Legends 1: Iron Man (Stealth)
4 Marvel Legends 7: Silver Centurion Iron Man
5 Marvel Legends 8: Modern Armor Iron Man
6 Marvel Legends 8: Modern Armor Iron Man (red torso)
7 Marvel Legends 9: War Machine
8 Marvel Legends 11: Hulk Buster Iron Man
9 Marvel Legends 14: First Appearance Armor (Gray)
10 Marvel Legends 14: First Appearance Armor (Gold)
11 Marvel Legends 15: Thor Buster Iron Man
12 Marvel Legends Face-Off 2: Modular Armor Iron Man
13 Marvel Legends Face-Off 2: Modular Armor War Machine
14 Marvel Legends House of M Boxset: House of M Armor
15 Marvel Legends Young Avengers Boxset: Iron Lad
16 Marvel Legends Custom Tony Stark
17 Hasbro Marvel Legends: Ultimate Iron Man



18 Marvel Avengers Boxset: FA Iron Man (dull gold)
19 Iron Man 1: Hydro Armor
20 Iron Man 1: War Machine v1
22 Iron Man 1: Iron Man with Plasma Cannon
22 Iron Man 2: Hologram Armor
23 Iron Man 2: Stealth Armor
24 Iron Man 2: Space Armor
25 Iron Man 3: Arctic Armor
26 Iron Man 3: Hulk Buster Armor
27 Iron Man 3: Tony Stark (incomplete)
28 Iron Man 4: War Machine v2
29 Iron Man 4: Inferno Armor
30 Iron Man 4: Samurai Armor
31 Spider Man Techno Wars: Vault Guardsman
32 OverPower: Night Armor Iron Man
33 Marvel Vs. Capcom: War Machine from 2 pack (with MegaMan)



34 Heroclix Armor Wars: First Appearance Gold Iron Man
35 Heroclix Armor Wars: Modern Armor Iron Man
36 Heroclix Armor Wars: War Machine (Jim Rhodes)
37 Heroclix Xplosion: Classic Red and Yellow Iron Man
38 Heroclix SuperNova LE: Silver Centurion Armor Iron Man
39 Heroclix Avengers: Ultimate Iron Man
40 Heroclix Avengers: Iron Lad
41 Heroclix Avengers: Iron Widow



42 Marvel Icons: Modern Armor Gold Iron Man (MOC)
43 Marvel Icons: Modern Armor Regular Iron Man
44 Marvel Select: Ultimate Iron Man
45 Marvel: Iron Man Projector
46 Marvel ShapeShifter: Iron Man (flat color)
47 Marvel ShapeShifter: Iron Man (chrome color)
48 Marvel Sizzlingers: Iron Man
49 Marvel BattleDice: Iron Man
50 Marvel SuperHero Showdown: Iron Man
51 Marvel Classic Figurines: Iron Man (lead with magazine)
52 Marvel Manga-Twist Ems: Iron Man
53 Marvel DieCast Metal: Classic Red and Yellow Iron Man
54 Marvel Secret Wars: Iron Man (incomplete)
55 Marvel Megamorphs: Iron Man
56 Bandai Granov Armor Iron Man Gashapon
57 Marvel Figure Factory: Iron Man
58 Marvel: Heroes Reborn Armor Iron Man
59 Marvel: War Machine 10 inches
60 Marvel SuperHero Squad: Iron Man (regular from thor 2 pack)
61 Marvel SuperHero Squad: War Machine (from TRU exclusive boxset)
62 Spider Man and Friends: Rocket Blast Iron Man
63 Bootleg(?) Iron Man Mini Figure
64 Burger King Iron Man promo toy



64 Pieces of Iron as of September 13, 2007. There's a few more coming via balikbayan box and mail, I haven't counted them in until I have them in the shelf. Some of the pics are not yet updated. :)

MGA Entertainment SpiderMan and Friends 3D Memory Match Up: Iron Man (PTK Forums)

Updated: I just found out that these are game pieces for MGA Entertainment's SpiderMan and Friends 3D Memory Match Up game.Click me to find out more about this game!

Got this obscure Iron Man figure from a fellow board member in a local toy forum. I got it as part of a 3 figure lot. The other figures in this lot are Thor and Storm (which looks nice). I don't know anything about this Iron Man figure, it could be a bootleg, or it might be a promo toy. There's a marvel copyright notice on it's base and it's made in China. The sculpt is fairly simple, not so detailed and the paint job is very sloppy with some bleeds and unpainted areas. The plastic is also a bit on the cheap side. The figure stands almost 2 inches tall. The upper torso can be detached from it's lower half and that's the only point of articulation in this figure.



Is it worth it? Since I'm in the hunt for non-stat or non-bust Iron Man stuff, I have to pick this one up. P250 is a bit steep for figures that look bootleg (although I got 3 figures for that price). You can avoid this like the plague, but for Iron Man collectors like me, this is another piece of the puzzle. :) Buy at your own risk.

SuperHero Squad Variant Iron Man (War Machine)

Hasbro Variant Iron Man / War Machine From Marvel SuperHero Squad: Collector's Pack TRU Exclusive $7.00 (Ebay.com)

Hasbro's Marvel SuperHero squad is a line of 2.5 inch figures aimed at a younger audience. They have minimal articulation and the sculpt is done in a cartoony / super deformed style. Think of your Marvel heroes turned into kids, that's how they look like. Some of the SuperHero Squad waves are released locally (Philippines), and some didn't. Each 2 pack is being sold for P350. There are also some Walmart and Toys 'R Us (TRU) exclusives. Unfortunately Philippines' TRU is just like Toy Kingdom, and not as reputable as other TRU's overseas.



Variant Iron Man / Warmachine came from the TRU Exclusive SuperHero Squad Collectors Pack. There are 8 figures in this exclusive boxset: Yellow DareDevil, War Machine (black Iron Man, Hulk, Human Torch, US Agent, Firestar, The Thing and Spider Man. There's a local seller selling it for P2000, reasonable enough, but I'm just after the Iron Man figure. The Iron Man figure here is just a repaint of the red and yellow Iron Man that came from the Thor 2 pack. The paint is good, but there are some bleeding and paint slops. The kiddie sculpt is good, nothing to brag about.



Is it worth it? At USD$ 7.00 and $7.00 shipping (almost P700) - I should have waited a bit longer until a local reseller sells a complete boxset. The figure is nice. If you can get one cheap, do so. But it's something that won't stand out in an Iron Man display.



The Rundown:
• It's a cute figure, kids will love it
• Not enough playability due to limited articulation
• Average sculpt and a bit sloppy paint job
• Since it's a TRU exclusive, it may be a bit tough to find

Rocket Blast Iron Man

ToyBiz: Rocket Blast Iron Man $9.00 (Ebay.com)

One of my holy grails. The earlier wave of Toybiz's Spiderman and Friends line hit the local Philippine malls. The Spiderman and Friends line is obviously geared towards a younger audience with the cartoony version of several Marvel characters like Spidey, Hulk, Cap, and Iron Man. But due to lackluster sales, the Philippine distributor of Toybiz stopped importing this kiddie line. My only hope is to buy it in brick and mortar stores overseas. I recently got my credit card and started back tracking on obscure Iron Man stuff... this is one of my priorities.



Rocket Blast Iron Man is as tall as your regular Marvel Legends figure (around 6 inches). It includes a nifty backpack that spreads its wings and boosters in the press of a button. It has some good articulation (movable joints) and I love the paint finish that gives it a slight metallic tinge (although metallic paint isn't used). The sculpting is also superb, they based it on the modern armored Iron Man look.



Is it worth it? The USD $9.00 tag and USD$ 17.00 shipping is really heavy on the wallet. That's almost P1,500 in Philippine pesos. But I love this figure so much that I'm letting it slide. If you can get one at a cheap price, it's a nice addition to any Iron Man collection + it's big and wide. It's also kid friendly and if you have a young marvel addict, he'll get a blast out of it.

The Rundown:
• Kid friendly and durable
• Excellent sculpt and paint application
• Easy to open packaging
• A bit difficult to find in brick and mortar stores, you'll have to resort to ebay or online stores