Iron Man Mark VI by Kotobukiya

My friend Jon recently went to Singapore and had several toys shipped here in the Philippines and of the toys happens to be an Iron Man Mark VI by Kotobukiya. Having seen and photoygraphed the Mark III I was expecting the Mark VI to be better.

Kotobukiya incorporated a different design scheme for the Mark VI by inserting a peg under his left foot. This peg acts as a connector that when inserted to the base activates the light up eyes, chest and hands of Iron Man.

The Mark VI is available online at http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=KOT10542&mode=retail for about $149.99.

The Mark VI (which is around 13 inches) has a limited production of 1500 and there’s a label on the box that indicates which number you get. Kotobukiya continues to use a simple and sleek box design with pictures of portions of Iron Man’s armor. I would have preferred an action instead of this museum pose but I guess Kotobukiya designed all of them that way.

PhoTOYgrapher’s Perspective:

A typical studio shoot type would bring this statue to life. You can also make use of the light up eyes, chest and hands to create mood shots. I was not able to fully insert the foot with the peg into the base for fear of damaging either component. Because of this the statue was not that stable and the lighting of his eyes, chest and hands were flickering.

It does not differ much from the Mark III for me except for some minor modifications to which it fell short of my expectations.

Some Issues:

1.) The paint job falls short of my expectations. It does not have that shiny armor effect that I prefer and some there are some paint consistencies.

2.) The peg on his left foot does not insert fully well to the base, which makes Iron Man a bit unstable when attaching him to the base.

Classic Iron Man by Sideshow Collectibles

Iron Man is probably one of Marvel’s most marketed character today and with 2 movies already setting the benchmark in superhero films, it is no wonder that we see all sorts of Iron Man toys from action figures to die cast cars and finally to statues.

Several statue makers decided to capitalize on Iron Man’s fame and released several versions of IM including Stealth, Hulkbuster, Mark IV, Mark VI and the Classic, etc.

Sideshow Collectibles, probably the biggest statue company, released its own version of Classic Iron Man Comiquette. A comiquette is basically a combination of a statue with either a fabric costume or accessory. The scale is 1:4, which is pretty big (over 20 inches tall) and is made of polystone. The Iron Man Comiquette is limited to 1,250 pcs. for the regular and 750 pcs. for the exclusive version, which includes an interchangeable Tony Stark head.

Package Contents:

I admire the box designs of Sideshow because of the amount of details that they put into it. You get a brief write up of the statue and great layout pictures of it. The box contains several detached pieces, namely Iron Man’s body, the left arm, his head, base and the flagpole. At the bottom of the box is a print of what number out of the 1,250 pcs. each piece is.

Collector’s Perspective:

The limited edition production says it all that this is a collectible. Though the exclusive version is limited to 750 only (which makes it more valuable), having the regular version is enough for me. Besides, I prefer Iron Man’s helmet rather than Stark’s face. On the other hand it would be nice to be able to give your display a change once in awhile.

You can purchase the regular version directly at Sideshow's website

http://www.sideshowtoy.com/?page_id=4489&sku=6829&ref=search0109 for $270.00. My friend was able to get this as part of a set buy for P 14,000.00 (approximately $300.00). The exclusive version is already sold out so good luck finding one in the secondary market.

I am getting 2 results from Amazon.com, one for $219.00 http://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Statues-Busts-Prop-Replicas/dp/B0029S6M7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1280400214&sr=8-1 and another one for $259.99 http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Iron-Polystone-Scale-Comiquette/dp/B002957IA4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1280400259&sr=8-2.

PhoTOYgrapher's Perspective:

I started PhoTOYgraphy with action figures and statues and it is because of them that I improved my skills. I was able to use a lot of statues as practice for lighting and one can learn a lot from it.

The details in Iron Man is splendid if I say so myself. The paint quality is superb and I love the fact that Sideshow did not forget to show Stark’s eyes inside those metals slits in his helmet. Though this statue is not pose able you can still give it a good lighting treatment via tabletop style then just change the background afterwards via your favorite photo editor. Most of the time I post pictures of toys with a plain background to show viewers details of a toy. Recently I have been trying to do composites (merging a background with your subject) to make the pictures more interesting. Imagine Iron Man holding the U.S.A. flag and at his background is the white house.

Some Issues:

1.) The tip of the flagpole breaks easily so better be careful.

2.) The arms are muscular that it looks like a second skin instead of an armor. However this is me just nit picking so I can put something here. The statue is awesome!

Gears used:

Canon DSLR

Canon 70-300mm Lens

3 pcs. 180 watts each Jinbei Strobes, Softbox, Grid and Morris IR Trigger

White and black muslin background

Falcon Eyes Product Table

Iron Man Mark IV 1/4th Scale Bust by Hot Toys

The Hot Toys people never ceases to amaze me. I saw the Mark IV bust while I was walking along the streets of Mongkok, Hong Kong. My brother and I already knew where to go (after we were tipped by a relative) and when we got to the store of Toy Hunters, I positively drooled over their products.

They had on their display window the 1/6^th scale of Iron Man Mark IV, War Machine, Black Widow, Whiplash and a bunch of others. Aside from that I finally saw the 1/4^th scale of Mark IV, Mark V and War Machine (all with small tag cards that read pre order). I took a couple of pictures (after getting permission from the owner) and then immediately inquired about the 1/4^th scale busts and the owner told me that it’s sold out. You can check out the pictures at http://www.hottoys.com.hk/index.php?target=categories&category_id=141 and click on the Mark IV icon below.

After buying several cosbaby we left the store and went to another one (Animate) and that’s where I saw the Mark IV bust for sale. I inquired the price and asked if they had War Machine as well but they said no. I left the place and came back later and finally purchased the Mark IV.

Package Contents:

Hot Toys knows how to package their items, the Mark IV is packed in a cool black box and…

Collector’s Perspective:

If you are an Iron Man fan then you should definitely get this bust. The Mark IV was produced based on the movie and includes an LED light eyes and chest. This is not a limited edition production as far as I know. His base has an Iron Man 2 inscription as well as the words Mark IV.

There is a local toy store selling this here in the Philippine at Php 3,999.99 (roughly $85++). I was able to buy this for 480HKD (around Php 2,880.00 or $62.00)

PhoTOYgrapher’s Perspective:

As with statues there are no moving parts here so basically this works best (in my humble opinion) with a tabletop treatment. I would probably get some props to go along with this bust (maybe some Iron Man cosbaby guarding it) or maybe do a composite by adding a cool background later.

You can also do a comparison photo by shooting it eye level and below eye level. I find the latter works for me because it makes him look big. The lighted eyes and chest (powered by 3 AAA batteries) are good additions to this awesome bust.

Some Issues:

1.) The built is plastic.

2.) I would have preferred HT not to include portions of the arms because it looks as if they are dangling. It would be better if they leave the sculpting until the shoulders only.

Gears used:
Canon DSLR
Canon 100mm f2.8 Lens
2 pcs. 180 Watts (each) Jinbei & IR Trigger
Falcon Eyes Product Table

Iron Man 2 Comic Series Action Figure War Machine by Hasbro

This is yet another version of War Machine (comic version) that is released by Hasbro for the Iron Man Movie 2 action figure line and features 2 shoulder cannons with launching missiles (http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/ProductsByBrand.htm?BR=820&ST=SO&ID=26528&PG=1). 

Package Contents:

Aside from the figure which is around 3 3/4 inches tall, you also get a display stand and 3 armor cards.The packaging is the common blister type package. 

Collector's Perspective:

As a collector, this would probably be more of a play toy than a showcase toy for me. I can buy several characters and play with my son or nephew and not have to worry about getting the figures damaged. I also like the fact that you can bring this figure outdoors (mall maybe) and do a photo shoot without attracting too much attention (imagine if you brought your 12" figure with you instead).


This figure sells for about $9.99 in Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Man-Action-Figure-Machine/dp/B0038L1Y58), $7.49 at Toys R US (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3797567) and $6.99 at Hasbro (http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/ProductsByBrand.htm?BR=820&ST=SO&ID=26528&PG=1). This sells for P 449.75 here in the Philippines but its vey hard to get already. My friend was able to buy his at P 550.00 from the secondary market.

Some Issues:
1.) Limited pose ability.
2.) The details are not as nice as the other War Machine figure.


PhoTOYgrapher's Perspective:
Usually figures this small (3 3/4 inch) lacks details and have poor quality paint jobs but Hasbro's Iron Man Movie 2 action figures are up to par. Though it suffers (just a wee bit) in detail compared to the movie version War Machine, it is still a good figure to phoTOYgraph. Shoot it below eye level and you will have a picture that makes him big, while shooting above eye level will make him look small. Bring it outdoors and you can probably create interesting scenarios with it.

For more pictures kindly check http://www.flickr.com/photos/powerpee/sets/72157624330083479/

Gears used:
Canon DSLR
Canon 100mm f2.8 Lens
Benro A300 Tripod
3 pcs. Jinbei 180 Watts (each), Softbox and Grid
Falcon Eyes Product Table