Iron Man 2 Mini Cosbaby by Hot Toys

I recently caught the Mini Cosbaby bug and during my last trip to HK I was able to complete The Toy Story characters and bought a couple of Iron Man 2 Cosbaby figures. I was browsing through eBay the other day in hopes of completing the characters from Iron Man 2 and found a couple online. Prior to this writing I only had Whiplash, War Machine and Tony Stark face Mark IV.

My colleague Jon knew about my quest to complete the set and on one of his toy trips in Greenhills (one of our local malls here) he was able to buy the whole set (Rhodey included) for P 4,000.00 (roughly $85) after discount. He tried to get in touch with me to see if I wanted a set for myself as well but I was unavailable during that time.  When I finally came to my senses and knew of his great deal I called a friend of mine who owns a store there as well and finally after 2 days of hard thinking I grabbed the opportunity. The fact that I was able to sell a toy made the decision easier for me.

My friend gave me a great deal as well for the set that also included a Tony Stark Mark VI Taiwan Exclusive version (love the box design). Thank you Robert!

Taiwan Exclusive Tony Stark Mark VI

Package Contents:

Each box is sealed and contains one of 7 characters including Whiplash, Nick Fury, Black Widow, Tony Stark Mark IV, Iron Man Mark IV, Iron Man Mark VI and War Machine. If you opt to get 1 case then it contains all 7 characters plus the secret version, James Rhodes Mark II. For more information kindly check http://www.hottoys.com.hk/index.php?target=categories&category_id=6 and look for the Iron Man 2 icon below.

Collector’s Perspective:

Toy collecting is addicting. You can never have enough unless your fund diminishes; otherwise you keep on buying and buying. Though I do not see the value of these to increase extensively someday, they are still worth to collect in my book. The good thing with mini cosbabies is that they are also for play and not just for display. I was also happy to acquire the Tony Stark Mark VI which was exclusively released last July at a Toy show in Taiwan.

Amazon is selling the Taipei exclusive for $15.99 (http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Man-Cosbabies-Exclusive-Version/dp/B003XUI9SY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1281176273&sr=8-1).

PhoTOYgrapher’s Perspective:

There is only 1 word to describe these figures – CUTE! The cuteness level alone already makes these mini cosbabies worthy to be phoTOYgraphed. A Captain America statue was recently loaned to me for pictorial and when I saw the base I figured it could make an interesting diorama for the toys. Check out the pictures below…

Since they are small bringing them outdoors for a location shoot is hassle free. I will definitely bring them out the next time I plan a trip. I mostly did tabletop shots and digitally added backgrounds via Adobe’s Photoshop.

Some Issues:

1.) The quality of paint job done is not consistent or I am probably just nitpicking.

2.) Detachable weaponries for War Machine would be a welcome addition.

3.) They should have included Mark V.

For more pictures of IM2 Mini cosbabies kindly check my flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/powerpee/sets/72157624535884069/

Gears used:

Canon DSLR

Canon 100mm f2.8 Lens

3 pcs. Jinbei 180 watts (each), Softbox, Grid and IR Trigger

Falcon Eyes Product Table

PF Captain America's Base

Black Widow by Kotobukiya

I first heard about Kotobukiya when a friend of mine bought their Batman PVC statue. It was the best Batman rendition that I have ever seen and instantly that made me follow the company’s further releases. The Japanese are famous for their manga type illustration of comic characters and after releasing several figures (statues included) with their Marvel line, they decided to go into female Marvel characters, and thus Black Widow was born.

Black Widow is the first in their line called Marvel Bishoujo (young and pretty girls) Statue (http://www.kotous.com/marvel-studios/marvel%C2%81bishojo-collection-black-widow-bishojo-statue/). SHUNYA YAMASHITA, who is a well-known Japanese illustrator, famous for his female characters and game designer, is the man behind this masterpiece.

Package Contents:

The figure stands approximately 7 3/5 inches tall and captures the essence of the Russian super spy and member of Earth’s mightiest heroes, The Avengers. It is packed in a window style box so you can see the figure inside.

PhoTOYgrapher's Perspective:

Since this is not a poseable figure you are limited to doing angled shots and creative lighting to give credit to this fine piece. My pictures are mostly limited to table top shots because of my lack of time to go out, otherwise I would love to do what Brian McCarty's doing http://www.mccartyphotoworks.com.

I suggest PhoTOYgraphers to give it an outdoor location shoot.

Collector's Perspective:

If you like young pretty girls then Black Widow is a good start at having your own Bishoujo Kotobukiya statue. The museum type pose of Black Widow deserves a place in your display.

If you check Amazon's site http://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Comics-Black-Bishoujo-Statue/dp/B001RJ5YKO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1276582059&sr=8-1 you can purchase it for $ 69.99. It retails for about P 3,500.00 here in the Philippines and with a bit of haggling you can get it for a bit less. My friend got this figure at a local toy store for P 3,300.00

There is also a Comi-Con Exclusive Yelena Belova Black Widow which is limited to 500pcs. The difference is the color of the hair (http://www.kotous.com/marvel-studios/comicon-exclusive-yelena-belova-black-widow-bishoujo-statue/).


For more pictures http://www.flickr.com/photos/powerpee/sets/72157624660793670/


Gears used:
Canon DSLR
Canon 100mm f2.8 Lens 
Benro A300 Tripod
2 pcs. Jinbei 180 watts (each), Softbox and Honeycomb Grid

Falcon Eyes Product Table