Diyaryo! Bakal! Booty!

MGA Entertainment: Iron Man Die Cast Cars (Cad Toys Shoppesville/ Ebay.ph)

2007-10-16T03:02:00.000-07:00

Iron Man diecast cars? Hell yeah! MGA Entertainment managed to snag the Marvel License to create diecast cars based on Marvel Superheroes. The car designs are mostly obscure. You can identify the Marvel Heroes via decals and colors. So far there are 2 Iron Man related cars that they made. One came on a single card, and the other from a 3 pack (the latter I got at ebay.ph)

There's nothing really exciting about these cars. The Iron Man cars look plain compared to stuff produced by HotWheels. It's a good addition to any Iron Man collection. The single carded Iron Man car is nicely packaged and it would be better if it stays in the card.

Toybiz Classic Avenger BoxSet: Gold Iron Man - Chrome Color (Ebay)

2007-10-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2007-09-25T02:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-12T23:23:00.003-07:00

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)

2007-09-03T03:56:00.000-07:00

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)

2007-09-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

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

Iron Man Director Of Shield TPB and Iron Man Battle Dice

2007-08-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

IRON MAN: DIRECTOR OF SHIELD TRADE PAPERBACK P754 (Druid's Keep)

I've been collecting Iron Man TradePaperbacks (or comics compiled into one book) for some time now. TPBs are usually pricey, but makes comic book reading easy. Iron Man: Director Of Shield TPB is the 4th compilation that came out from the 4th volume of the Iron Man comic and it reprints volume 4: issues 15 to 18 plus some classic strips where Iron Man and Shield Team Up. As an added bonus in this compilation, we also get a comprehensive history of Iron Man (with all his armors) and some info on who became part of the SHIELD organization.

Spoiler Free Review:

Iron Man assumes the role of SHIELD director. Some people like the way he runs SHIELD, some do not. This TPB also explores Tony Stark / Iron Man's relationship with Maya Hansen and Sal Kennedy. We also get to see the return of Iron Man's numero uno nemesis: Mandarin. This will sound like nonsense to you if you don't follow Iron Man's story, so I suggest you search for him in Wikipedia. If there's one thing I really like about this TPB, it's the art by Rob De La Torre. Adi Granov is great, but I always felt that his art is good for pin-ups and covers. De La Torre on the other hand, is perfect for this title. He can draw great backgrounds, people and expressions, technical stuff and most of all, intense action. The story is a big improvement for Charles and Daniel Knauf (who wrote HBO's Carnivale), I think they're starting to nail Tony Stark's personality in the right direction. To top things off, I love the 6 page history of Iron Man from volume one to four. They showed thumnails (bah) of all his armors and specs of the current armor. The only thing I don't like about this TPB are the backup stories and you have to follow Iron Man's comics to understand what's going on in this book.

BATTLE DICE: IRON MAN P200

I don't know how to play Marvel Battle Dice, but since this is an Iron Man figure, I have to get it. For a small figure, this thing is very detailed. It measures less than an inch including the base where it stands. This is probably the smallest Iron Man figure to date (see the comparison pic with Ultimate Iron Man heroclix). You can get this item when you buy a Battle Dice booster pack for P200. A pack has 3 random figures. Problem is, you don't know what you'll get when you buy these booster packs. I was lucky enough that someone in the "pinoytoykolektor" forums offered me one for P200.

Is it worth it? If you're a die-hard Iron Man collector (like me), it's a good thing to have. This thing is so small it won't be missed if you don't have it in your Iron Man collection. :)

The Rundown:
• Smallest Iron Man figure
• Nice sculpt for a miniscule toy
• Good Paint application
• A bit tough to find since you have to buy blind boxed booster packs (3 figures for P200)

Diyaryo! Bakal! Booty!

2007-08-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

Everyone who's really close to me knows that I'm obsessed with Iron Man. What? You don't know Iron Man? He's that Marvel Comics character who wears a suit of armor that makes him powerful. He was created waaay back in 1963, and still remains as one of Marvel's iconic characters.

Yeah, I hear you, extreme geek talk. But I created this blog to chronicle my weekly dose of Iron Man stuff. I have this weekly addiction of buying Iron Man toys, comics, or whatever to add to my ever expanding collection. I'll be reviewing (critic shit) the stuff I buy, as well post some of the things I already got from time to time.

Why Diyaryo, Bakal Booty?

If you live in the Philippines, this is something common you'll encounter everyday. People who make a living pushing carts full of junk and discarded stuff shout the phrase "Diyaryo, Bakal, Bote!" In english: "Newspaper, Metal and Glass Bottles!" I exercised what's left of my creative juices and came up with "Bakal Booty" or "Iron Loot."

Check the blog weekly. A dose of Iron is always healthy for the blood!