By Chris Troy
One of my personal highlights at NY Toy Fair this past February was Hasbro’s announcement of the return of making 6″ figures once again, in the same vein of Marvel Legends. Long time (long time being about a year) readers should recall that I am/was a huge fan of the line, as it’s one of the best toy lines ever created, comic or otherwise in my opinion. While a few rough details were announced in regards to who’s and the what’s (there were talks of Thor and Bucky-Captain America, but I’m not sure if we’re talking comic or movie, and which are or aren’t exclusives) in terms of future releases, one thing was certain, the revival would begin with Iron Man. I really wasn’t expecting this figures to drop so soon, so needless to say I was very shocked to find them on our shelves this past week. I grabbed Tony Stark’s BFF War Machine for this review for the simple fact that it’s easily the best figure visually in this line. For the record, the other 3 entries in the line were Titanium Man, Iron Man Mark VI, and the Iron Man Hulkbuster armor. Maybe not the stiffest competition in the world.
The first great thing I want to point out about this figure is the sculpt. While it’s not 100% movie or comic book accurate, it seems the sculptors have gone and created a unique hybrid between the 2 universes, kind of a best of War Machine. Risky, but it works, as you get a back mounted cannon, shoulder missile launcher, wrist mounted weapons , shoulder pads that do not restrict movement, and military serial number branding covering a rather impressive sculpt, with a great paint job to match. Also while this figure doesn’t rock the 30-50 points of articulation you’re average old school ML figure does, it really shouldn’t, considering War Machine is a tank on legs. The amount of points of articulation are pretty serviceable though, and is in the 20-30 range. I’m a big fan of the waist joint, which is more roto-cast than what Mattel does with their DCU toys. In terms of accessories, you get said snap on rocket packs, canon, bullets and 2 pairs of alternate hands you can swap out. Wait a second. Alternate hands?
Yup. Seems like Hasbro took a page from the Revoltech handbook and now offers alternate hands for some of their new Legends-quality figures, versus the articulate fingers of the Toy Biz era. I’m a fan of both honestly, but with bulkier characters like War Machine, I can see where this is the easier option of the 2. And surprisingly, it’s a breeze to swap out these hands, and they manage to stay snug and secure once plugged in.
My only beef with the figure comes with some odd placement choices when it comes to the back mounted weapon. It’s position directly over War Machine’s head, which makes for a odd position, and the rounds of ammo that you can attach to his back and weapon cannot really be put in their respective slots at the same time because of this placement. But hey, the core figure itself it great, which is more important to me!
It’s great to see Hasbro attempt to please fans again with the return of Marvel Legend-esque figures after a brief absence. The War Machine figure is probably one of the best products they’ve released in a 6″ scale ever since they’ve acquired the Marvel License, and if you’re a fan of the character, movie, comics, or just want a really cool figure, I encourage you to swing by FPNYC and pick one up immediately!
The shoulder gatling gun can slideon his back from side to side.