In a strange twist of packaging and product titles, the Transformers-Marvel Crossovers are back! This time, the product is under the Iron Man 2 movie brand. As opposed to the TF-Marvel Crossovers where they used any Marvel character they would choose, the Iron Man 2 - Transformers Crossover seem to be limited to just Iron Man and War Machine. Here have Iron Man using the Humvee mold used for Punisher that was used for Captain America. The back of the packaging depicts a severely mis-transformed Iron Man in his mech mode. My favorite part would have to be how they set-up the back-story in the write-up section of the packaging. It doesn't mention anything of the original "alien technology" storyline in the Marvel-Transformers line but rather they give all the credits to Iron Man and treat this as another one of his armors. Included in the package with the toy itself is the weapon and the instruction sheet. The weapon is roof-mounted. Unfortunately, the peg and hole used in this toy is not similar to the "universal <5mm" size used by main-line TF's. Size-wise, he's a good match for the deluxe class main-line TF's. Being a Humvee, he's got enough plastic to justify his price-point. At first I wasn't sure if I would call him a Hummer or a Humvee but his front windshield and sloping back makes him a dead ringer for the US military high mobility motor vehicle, hence I'll call his alt mode a Humvee. The vehicle has a lot of good molded on details. The bars on the windows give this mean battle attitude for the vehicle. If there's one gripe I have, it's that here aren't much details on the vehicle mode. In fact, most of the parts are simply left in whatever color they're molded in. Transformation is quite simple for its price point. The instruction sheet is only about 90% accurate. When transforming it to mech mode, remember to pull the shoulders all the way back until they lock into place. Naturally, the weapon pegs into the hole in the fist. Both hands are in the clenched fist position so one can't replicate the "talk to the hand" palm-out Iron Man pose. The face is cleanly made. It's limited to turning left and right only. The inverted triangle on the mech's chest make it look like a post Mark VI armor. The red and yellow color definitely spell "classic Iron Man" although I personally prefer the yellow to be in a darker/more golden shade. Here's the Humvee Armor compared to a comic Iron Monger. Beside a 3.75inch figure, the Iron Man Humvee Armor would seem a little small for his scale. When standing beside other main-line TF's, he's got enough height and blockiness to justify his price point. The transforming Iron Man armor has a decent (read: basic) amount of articulation. Win some, loose some. He's got elbows and knees, shoulders and hips. There's a rotator above the knees and lateral movement on his shoulders. This transformation allows him to twist his waist and give him double hinged knees. Sorely missed though is bicep swivel. Beyond the basic feature of a Humvee that transforms to a mech, there really isn't much add-on play features here. Yes, he can hold his gun but that's about it. His fists cannot accommodate any of the standard TF weapons and there aren't another other places where you can peg his gun. If they added a spring-loaded missile or lights and sounds, this guy might kiss Voyager-class prices already though. With everything said and done, this is one mech that you'd want in your Iron Man Armory. The things that work in his favor are: 1) Solid vehicle mode (it's a friggin' Humvee) 2) It may look KO-ish but he's got rugged plastic parts 3) Good size, which is more than what we can say for some TF's. Working against him are: 1) The way the shoulder locks into place feels that you're just asking for it to snap 2) No bicep swivel 3) Steep price point. I think any mech who can go down on a knee and stay there deserves a good place on the shelf. ***** I know, it's quite hard to picture Iron Man wielding a gun. The suit was designed to be "all-in". How would this mold suit War Machine? Just set your camera to black and white and do a little magic and viola! Iron Man 2-Transformers Crossover War Machine! :whack:
That's because he's a remold of Captain America. This figure looks fairly good, may be worth picking up if you're an Iron Man fan. I really like his rifle.
How's the gun? It looks like it's made from that soft, rubbery plastic that's a nuisance to paint. Almost bought it at TRU last week, but the price really turned me off.
You're right about the gun. It's made of that soft, rubbery plastic (possibly similar to those used in the old Gundam FIX figs). Mine is actually slightly bent right of the box. Yes, the price is indeed a turn-off. I am quite inspired by those Roadbuster customs to make my own using this mold. I'm just looking for those TOW anti-tank weapons I see mounted on some Humvees.
Walmart and Kmart have it for a more reasonable $14.99-15.99. I might pick this one up, even though I own the CA version. I just want the gun and remolded fists. And then perhaps I can get someone to make a resin or plastic cast of the gun.
Got one today. As solid as the Captain America version but the new gun is a bit weird with the rubber and the scaly finish should have been smooth for Iron Man. Desperatly needs more (any) paint apps. At least they got rid of the molded star on the hood (strangely, it's shown on the packaging).
I'd like to see a direct comparison with the Iron Man Sports Car and the Marvel Crossovers original aside from the yellow paint I can't see much of a difference at a glance.
Just got this guy on clearance for a cool $4.24. Holy cow, this thing is great! Its engineering is a bit too simplistic for the original price point, but the sheer amount of plastic in it makes up for that nicely. Too bad it ditched the shield, though. That was my favorite part of the Captain America version. Edit: Postcount! 420 crossover every day.
Wait a sec... the gun can mount on his shoulder? I need to make a run to my Wal-Mart's clearance isle.
The local Target. It was the last one left after the Iron Man stuff had been shelfwarming for months.
Found one today on clearance at a K-Mart, and I've heard only good things about the Captain Hummerica mold, so considering this is the version that's actually got a gun I decided I might give the Marvel crossovers line another go even though it's long since been over. There's not much to say about the alt. mode. Does it look nice? Oh yeah. I AM puzzled about the lack of paint apps, though. Then again, the really-big gun is actually molded in RED. All that yellow that dominates most of it? That's actually paint. Maybe that's where all the paint app budget went to? Another surprise is the fact they bothered to paint the taillights a bright shade of red...on top of molded red maroon plastic. It's a nice touch, but easily lost in bad light. Robot mode is also pretty nice. The mold is blocky as hell, but with what articulation it has it's easy to see why this is one of the best molds of the Marvel Crossovers. Amusingly, the basic structure of the robot mode is very similar to the other highly rated Marvel Crossover; Wolverine (waist, sholder, and leg-flippy transforming action are the exact same, and the two share similar "L" shape feet patterns), but I do agree the sholder sliders fell like they're going to break sooner than lock back into robot mode position. It also took me a while to figure out you're supposed to actually pull the head up to where it tabs instead of it automatically doing that like on Wolvy. The large upper inner sholders do get caught on the hood panels, though, and it is annoying when you're trying to get the arm to rotate in some direction and the hood doesn't want to let you do it. Overall, it's a really nice toy and its simplicity is a breath of fresh air since the franchise is neck-deep with the Movie style transformation and look (where are my Prime toys, Hasbro?!). I still think the idea that Tony Stark actually needs multiple Transforming suits (that are in reality holdover designs meant for other Heroes) is absolute crap since he can blow up tanks since the mark III, but if that detail can be overlooked it's worth checking out. I myself will be using this figure as custom fodder so it can fit in with my existing Transformers better.
