I've been looking for this figure for the longest time. Whenever someone posts it at ebay, I get sniped and the ending bid is often ridiculously high. This Gold Iron Man came from the Classic Avengers Boxset which includes: Thor, Hulk, Wasp, GiantMan, Antman and of course, Iron Man. There are 2 color variations for Iron Man - flat Gold and Chrome Gold. Both were produced at equal ratio, but the rarer one is the chrome finished version.
I got lucky at ebay. This Chrome Iron Man was originally custom colored by it's previous owner to look like it was worn out and battle damaged. He even included pics on the auction and it looks as if coffee was poured on the figure. Fortunately no one bidded on it and when I received the item, you can actually remove the paint using alcohol and cotton. Voila - instant shiny figure!
Before I got this Chrome Iron Man, I got a flat colored one via trade, and I'm a bit pissed off because the armor had some dents. These aren't dents, they're actually sculpted into the figure, I realized when comparing both chrome and flat figures. You can remove the helmet on the figures and see Tony Stark's face. The antennae on the left shoulder is retractable and the figure is decently articulated on the neck, waist, shoulders, legs, knees and wrists. By the way, this sculpt is based on Kirby's Gold First Appearance Iron Man on Avengers#1, and it perfectly captures his style. Coolness!
Chrome is pretty much the way to go and this is an excellent addition to any Iron Man collection. The chrome color really stands out. This figure is around 5 inches tall and compliments figures from Toybiz's vintage Iron Man animated series.
The Rundown:
• chrome plated and regular flat gold color (although I highly recommend buying the chrome version)
• decently articulated and can stand on it's own without falling
• wonderful and accurate sculpt of the first appearance gold armor
• tough to find nowadays and usually pricey (chrome version)
It's an instant classic! Find one!
