Yeah but your main point was saying that HT was "cutting corners" by using soft vs hard rubber. If your not sure if its even cheaper or even the durability of soft rubber over time then how can argue its corner cutting? As big as IM is for HT right now I'm pretty sure they added the soft rubber for a particular reason, and I don't feel it was to save to a few bucks. Don't get me wrong I have no doubt that HT like most major/big companies will try to save a few bucks if they can but as far as I can see so far there isn't anything they put/did with this figure that I would deem as cutting corners. Yes the IM mouth, eyes, and to a lot the RDJ head are off, which I too agree IMO too but that sounds more like a design/concept flaw more than anything else.
Shat! Cannot undo NRD fees from Sideshow. Mark VII is a step backwards from the previous suits by HT.
Got mine last night and first impression.....
Interchangeable parts are so bad ***....
Crotch area looks like apart from the Mark 3,4 and 6, but not sure...
RDJ headsculpt is a love it or hate it feeling, do i have a choice, i got this so far from buying all Avengers Hot toys and no time to complain...
TFL
Despite the flaws, I still find this figure amazing! I'll reserve my final judgement when I actually have it in hand! C'mon SS, start sending early processing emails already!
I can easily overlooked all flaws, as my back is against the wall already on collecting all HT Avengers. I already have every single character of this line and its no looking back on this one...
That's your preference, and that's fine, but that's not an indication of Hot Toys "cutting corners" at all.A conscious design decision to achieve maximum pose ability will mean very little to me when a year or two down the line the rubber is cracking or tearing. I don't think many collectors constantly change the pose on their figures anyway and I would much rather have long term durability at the expense of pose ability then the reverse.
Judging solely from photos, the larger eyes and bolder mouth seam don't actually bother me that much. I'm thinking HT took creative liberties with the eyes so as to make the face appear less long. I don't own any marks, but in every photo I've seen of the IV and VI helmets, the anthropomorphized face looks elongated to me. This can probably be chalked up to the lack of a "nose," as well as the fact that the "mouth" is consolidated with the outline of the helmet's chin guard, and is thusly low on the face, but check it:
*Benedict Cumberbatch voice*
In IM3 (I haven't watched IM1, IM2, or the Avengers in a while), the Mark XLII's eyes/viewfinders/whatevs sit lower on the exterior of the faceplate than Tony's human eye level reaches on the other side of the plate, within the helmet. I can't recall which Freak uses a GIF of the shot in which the XLII's faceplate slams into Tony's helmet to complete the suit during the Malibu raid scene, but the displacement between eye levels is pretty clear there. If, however, HT has historically been syncing the faceplate's eye level with Tony's organic eye level (I would have to consult some forum photos to verify this, since, again, I don't own any marks), then perhaps HT enlarged the Mark VII's eyes to make them appear closer to the mouth, and, therefore, more proportional to the grand scheme of the anthropomorphized face, all while trying not to drop this new eye level too far from the one they'd been adhering to previously. Furthermore, the new boldness of the mouth seam would provide more of a visual benchmark, and, in doing so, anchor the facade. The photo's having been taken from a low angle notwithstanding, one can observe these by-design proportions in OMG's work:
A profile view evidences them, as well:
[/Benedict Cumberbatch voice]
After breaking it down, I like what I see of the helmet a great deal. Even the partial illumination is kinda cool to me, as it makes the visage look more artificial and manufactured, like there's more machinery than flesh beneath Iron Man's surface. I do, however, expect future photos to inform my opinion of the figure, for better or worse. Until then, I think I'm at peace with the helmet. Now dem rubber inner elbows...
[Martin Freeman's voice] Ho-How do you do it? No, seriously, how? [/Martin Freeman's voice]
Nice analysis man, kudos. It makes sense indeed.
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