Totally with you about Popcultcha. I?ve got a ton of pennies with them still and I am not ordering from them again. I?ve found other places with better, quicker customer service, cheaper prices and much faster delivery.
That was my first order with them and it looks as if it's going to be the last. I've never encountered such poor Customer Service, and with so many other options available, there's no reason to bother again.
Regarding Popcultcha, I ordered from them once and they sent me the wrong figure. The figure they sent me was easily worth $100+ more than the one I ordered (and I already had that particular figure), but yeah, it sent me the signal that I should not order from them again. In terms of Australian retailers, I do like Sugo toys though
Well, shoot, now I'm getting worried about receiving a faulty figure... Eh, whatever happens, happens. I just want them to send me the damn invoice so that I can pay it off and be done with it. I'm not in Australia, so no matter from where I order the price is more or less the same. The tax is insane. I bought an HT Jack Sparrow from ToysWonderland last Black Friday. With shipping it came to about 550 Euros. Then I paid 170 euros on customs! So no matter where I buy the actual fig from, I pay tons of taxes in the end. There are some local stores, but they charge a lot. Endgame Iron Man is 550 euros. But I pay no shipping, although I'm not sure on taxes, although I'm pretty sure they're nothing. From PC, it's 430 Euros, plus 50 in shipping and I assume another 150 on taxes, so it comes out pricier, now that I think of it. Shame I discovered these local shops only recently. I might even cancel my PC order and go buy it from here, just because I'm pissed. Anyway, I'm not going to be ordering from PC again.
As for the figure itself, it is growing on me. Mostly because I never loved the original armour, so the new take doesn't bother me as much. But I do think that if they wanted to add the clear pieces, they should've made them removable for the people who wants the clean look. As for the blacks bits & pieces, I don't mind them because they make him look more robotic, whereas the original armour, with its "super-duper nanomachines, son" tech look made him look like another guy in tights. The comic accurate suits I want are Modular, Extremis, NOW!, EndoSym/Superior, and Bleeding Edge. The only reason I bought the Endgame version was to get the one closest to the Modular. I doubt they'll make them all, or that I'd be able to afford them, but Iron Man is their cash cow, so we'll see.
For those waiting for a "clean version", I doubt it. The next one they'll churn out as a Toy Fair Exclusive or whatever will be the Stealth version, so basically a repaint of this one, clear bits included. So our best bet is to hope that they're all removable. In a weird way, this is giving me a sort of "fake nostalgia". Back in the day there were talks about a 2000s Iron Man movie starring Tom Cruise. Cruise wanted a holographic faceplate so that his face would be shown. So, in a way, I'm looking at this and "seeing" a "what if" case. It does have its charm, whereas the Holographic Mk IV is just cheap and lazy.
I'll wait and see, especially if the clear bits are removable, but I am intrigued. The base especially is tempting. And the clear look isn't that bad to me, it makes him look like some videogame model come to life, but they should be removable for the people who want a clean look. I wish they'd make a Tony figure though. Just the guy in his tux or suit with some gadgets, an office base with hi-tech holographic computers and the such.