Got mine yesterday and it's amazing. The first thing that stands out to me is that it's HUGE. It's the first Iron Man I've gotten in years--literally ten years, which is when I got the Mark IV. So I have missed out on all the technological upgrades HT has made, including the switch to die cast.
Honestly I was a little ho-hum about getting the figure. I was looking forward to it, but without much enthusiasm. But the whole experience, from sliding off the gorgeous slip case, to lifting the very heavy figure out of its styrofoam sarcophagus, has been nothing but awe.
The articulation is impressive. All the joints are easy to manipulate and hold their positions, although I have found the pulling in and out of the shoulders and thighs to be a little challenging. I'm apprehensive about exerting too much force so maybe Im being overly cautious. That little point on the underwear that broke off of Jungle Hunter's figure does scare me--seems very delicate for a part that needs to be moved whenever you want to move the legs.
The paint and finish are stunning. I haven't compared it with screenshots, so I don't know how accurate it all is, but I just know it looks great. The shoulders and arms could probably be tighter to the body, but they really don't look bad IRL.
Like I mentioned before, the thing is enormous. It kinda seems out of scale! Is it really 1:6? You can see in my picture below how it dwarfs the original Mark IV, which seems more in scale with all my other figures.
And the sculpt. What can I add that hasn't been said already? Yes, it's a bit better IRL than in photos. But it's still not good. However, I will say that the paint apps are quite good. The general consensus seems to be that it's a bit flat, but I disagree. There is layering of the usual HT freckles, but with plenty of other tones and lines, and individual hairs painted. I studied it under a magnifying lens, and it's incredible the amount of tiny detail in the paint. But yes, the sculpt is not what it should be. Definitely the neck is too skinny and the jaw too slight. And the nose seems too long. Some angles look ok, but most angles don't. I wouldn't be using the head anyway, but it would have been nice if it was a good sculpt, especially considering the price. I think it's officially the most expensive figure I've bought, although luckily I had a $25 coupon and dropped another $250 in reward points on it!
Anyway, I love it and am very glad I got it. Here's a quickie iphone pic:
