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Hulkbuster Iron Man

September 11, 2010 | By Engineernerd More

Much like Iron Monger, I was attracted to this figure because it’s a big robot looking dude. From an engineering side, this is much more what I’d expect an Iron Man suit to look like.

To be honest, this version of the armor reminds me a bit of the the later issues of “Codename: Spitfire” in the Marvel’s ill fated New Universe. But I digress.

This is of course armor that Tony Stark built for defeating the Hulk. Yes, they are both good guys, but apparently T.S. likes to be prepared like a Boy Scout. I will let you good readers research that one.

To me this is just a different super-tough, super-strong version of the ol’ Shellhead’s armor. If he’s going to take on something like Iron Monger, it would only make sense to have something similar to compete with it right?

Appearance:

Well, from everything I can figure out online, this guys isn’t far from some of his comic book appearances. Like most comic book characters, there are subtle variations each artist brings to the character, but this is one of the closer ones I’ve seen.

The armor is a large suit. This guy is big. As big as the Iron Monger figure. He’s covered in armor plating and panels. Overall, an eye catching look.

The back of this figure reminds me of something a little Steampunk with the giant port in the middle and two small smoke stacks (guns?) sticking out of the top. The whole figure has a very mechanical look to it, which I like.

The figure is of course in classic Iron Man red and gold. This is one area that has good and bad. The bad is the red molded plastic isn’t all the same material, and this shows in the gloss and depth of the tone. the shoulder pads and limbs are more maroon than the solid body piece. It’s slight and not too much of distraction.

The upside is the gold work is done very well. There’s also some silver detailing on this figure that really sets it apart from some of the other Iron Man figures. The little details on the chest, arms and face, could’ve easily been omitted or painted gold. It’s nice to see the separate silver accents instead of cheaping out Hasbro.

BTW, the ARC light on his chest looks like it is a separate rubber piece. I’d expect a possible repaint with a different light shape.

There really two other slight downsides to this figure for me. First, the head doesn’t open. I don’t think this would’ve been hard to do and would have kicked this guy up a couple notches. Second, is the IM figure line right hand fist, left hand open. Could we at least maybe get an alternate right hand?

Fun:

As I said before, this guy is a big robot dude. Kids love ’em and adults collectors love them. As with all the other Iron Man figures I’ve opened up to this point, this one is just plain fun to have on your desk and pose.

However, there’s a slight problem with mine in that regard. His right elbow hinge joint is stuck. I’ve put pressure on it, but just can’t get it to loosen up. I’ll try some other stuff, but I’m guessing this might be a problem with just mine. It’s also a bit of pain to get the ball part of the hip joint to rotate around, but that’s probably my clumsy fingers more than anything else.

The chest joint is a great help at getting some nice comic book poses out of HBIM. The head in this case isn’t ball jointed, which makes sense. It does pivot left to right, though.

Like all of the rest of the Iron Man series, HB comes with a base and three swappable cards. I still haven’t figured a cool use for the cards. If I do, I’ll let you know. The base in this case is not really needed. The wide feet on this bad boy let him stand pretty well.

Overall:

In general, I’m impressed with the Hulkbuster. Since I don’t see myself buying a Hulk figure anytime soon, it will remain as a beefed up Iron Man, but still pretty cool. I continue to be impressed with the line being walked between collector and kid with this line.

A flip up helmet and a workable elbow joint would have made this figure pretty close to perfect for me.