Plastic Iron Man figures are all well and good, but its hard to maintain the illusion of metal armour when your toy is light as a feather. Weighing in at 770g, Comicave’s Iron Man Mark XXXVIII Igor figure is pretty heavy metal.
Igor isn’t quite iron — the die-casting process generally deals with non-ferrous metals — but he’s pretty much as close as an articulated figure is going to get. Three-quarters of the 20cm figure is die-cast metal, with plastic pieces filling in in areas where intricate detail and smooth movement are called for.
Igor is Tony Stark’s heavy-lifting armour, because Tony’s far too delicate to just buy some furniture straps. He appeared briefly in the Iron Man 3 film, during the bit where all of the armours showed up for the final battle and then exploded.
Poor Igor. We hardly knew ye.
Though his film career was cut short, Igor’s been a favourite subject among toy makers tired of simply retooling the same basic figure over and over again. His hunched over appearance makes him stand out in a field of multicoloured armour, though he does quite well on his own.
Look at this beautiful thug. He’s downright majestic, in a gorilla sort of way. He sort of reminds me of some of Optimus Primal’s appearances in the Beast Wars Transformers series, crossed with the shiny metallic appliances from the ’50s and ’60s. The way the paint is fading around the edges, the distressed metal effect — this is a figure with some history behind it.
Also a figure with an articulated metal spine behind it.
Igor is a high-tech industrial machine with sliding forklift attachments on his forearms.
Between the white stripes on his blue frame and the warnings stamped across his surface, its clear Tony Stark created Igor for much more than his own personal use.
And despite his bulky appearance, this is a suit of armour that is meant to move. He features more than 60 points of articulation from his hands, with articulated fingers that do rude things I decided to restrict to the video up top…
…to his feet, which are delicate, like a ballerina.
Here are his official specs, as featured on the Comicave product page.
Made from 75% metal alloy. Developed based on computer 3D model from Iron Man 3 movie. Showroom quality gloss and matte metallic paints with protective coating. Over 60 points of articulation. LED lighted eyes and chest Arc Reactor. Product Specifications
Approximate figure height is 20cm. Approximate figure weight is 770 grams. Ball-jointed neck, shoulders, and shoulder pads. Double-jointed elbows and knees. Ball-jointed wrist and groin. Ball-jointed ankles with bendable boot front. Extendable ankle joints. Extendable forklift mechanism in forearms. Articulated spinal flaps. Product Includes
1 metal alloy Igor figure. 1 pair of fists. 1 pair of articulated hands. 1 pair of semi-clenched hands.
The only disappointing thing about my Igor here is that while his chest lights up, I initially couldn’t get his eye lights to do so.
I liked to think he’s just sad because Tony Stark destroyed him, though I suspect collectors who paid $US184.99 ($265) for him might not be quite as imaginative. Then again, collectors paying that much for an 20cm, 770g monster like this will likely turn the lights on, nod appreciatively, then turn them off and take out the batteries to avoid future leaks. Never can be too safe.
I finally managed to get the eye lights to work after Bluefin‘s PR guy emailed me. Problem was this figure didn’t have instructions, so I did not know to do this:
to get this:
Honestly I would have never known that top bit came off, so kudos to Comicave for a nearly invisible battery and switch compartment!
Ultimately Igor here is a keeper. While I’ll always appreciate the level of detail a company like Hot Toys puts into its Iron Men, there’s just something about a metal suit that’s actually made out of metal. This is Iron Man, not Plastic Man, which is good as no one wants to get sued.
Comicave’s 1/12 Scale Iron Man Mark XXXVIII “Igor” is now available for order at Big Bad Toy Store for $US184.99 ($265).
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