TYSTOYS 1/6 Annular Suit-up Gantry - kinda/sorta review

[payton34]

I started a separate thread, in case those looking for info in the HT Mark VI thread didn’t get lost.

You can see all of the pieces in this one-sheet instruction manual. Installation was fairly simple.

The lights are nice, but essentially useless (powered by two AA batteries). You can see their brightness here, but once you put the cover panel on, you can barely see any illumination at all. Also, unless I’ve missed something, the top panel sits loosely. There is no connective piece to snap it in place, no friction, etc. It just lays there, easily slid around.

The mechanical arms are not articulated, just solid plastic that attaches via magnets. You can rearrange their positioning, mix & match which magnets they attach to, but that’s the extent of it.

Most importantly, this thing is big and heavy so it won’t fit in a standard detolf. If you have one of the wider detolfs, only place it on the bottom where it’s sitting on the base. Otherwise, it’s best served on a shelf or a display with thicker glass.

Final thoughts: I’m a bit conflicted, to be honest. The lights are basically a waste, the top panel doesn’t connect and the mechanical arms have no articulation. Plus your display options are limited due to it’s size. However, it is very aesthetically pleasing to look at, fits well with the Mark VI (or any other armor you may have), and gives off a great shelf presence. The retail price of $179 isn’t THAT bad (should probably be more like $150), but given it’s weight you have to factor in the increased shipping as well.

Recommendation: For die-hard Iron Man fans only.

 

[TheBatman]

Thats really good...

 

[Sassafras]

I started a separate thread, in case those looking for info in the HT Mark VI thread didn’t get lost.


Most importantly, this thing is big and heavy so it won’t fit in a standard detolf. If you have one of the wider detolfs, only place it on the bottom where it’s sitting on the base. Otherwise, it’s best served on a shelf or a display with thicker glass.

Final thoughts: I’m a bit conflicted, to be honest. The lights are basically a waste, the top panel doesn’t connect and the mechanical arms have no articulation. Plus your display options are limited due to it’s size. However, it is very aesthetically pleasing to look at, fits well with the Mark VI (or any other armor you may have), and gives off a great shelf presence. The retail price of $179 isn’t THAT bad (should probably be more like $150), but given it’s weight you have to factor in the increased shipping as well.

Recommendation: For die-hard Iron Man fans only.

Great review, thankx for posting!

 

[The Buffinator]

I received my gantry on Thursday. I'm pretty much of the same opinion as payton34. It looks great & has fantastic shelf presence, but given the lack of features & poor lighting it definitely was a bit overpriced given the shipping cost. If anyone is waiting on theirs, I should mention that the fasteners provided are pretty cheaply made (binding posts with knob-end screws). They're easy to strip and/or cross thread, and the lack of a screwdriver slot in the head of the binding post makes it almost impossible to tighten them down such that the arcs are seated securely. I replaced them with bolt/nut/washer combinations, plus added felt pads to the corners of the base to prevent the bolt heads scratching any surfaces. Now it's as solid as a rock.

It was packed out quite well albeit annoyingly so, with styrofoam partitions taped together in the most inconvenient way possible. It comes double -boxed. I wish I'd photographed the outer box before I recycled it - picture a Hot Toys Tumbler Batmobile box with 3 sides completely covered in postage stamps. It was rather comical & looked as if it was sent from a time long in the past.

 

[The Buffinator]

BTW, if someone wants a GREAT deal on one of these, BlackOpsToys has reduced their price by $50 - it's now ONLY $350!!! And that does NOT include shipping.

I saw that in one of their recent emails and nearly fell off my chair laughing. Talk about markups...

 

[TheBatman]

BTW, if someone wants a GREAT deal on one of these, BlackOpsToys has reduced their price by $50 - it's now ONLY $350!!! And that does NOT include shipping.

I saw that in one of their recent emails and nearly fell off my chair laughing. Talk about markups...

$350 for an accessory...rather buy a HT figure. Thats expensive for what it is..

 

[Sassafras]

Just got this in. Agree with other posters/reviews. Mixed feelings.

Pros: It looks cool. Solid polystone - will last past your lifetime. Clean paint and went together well. Tho IMO PLAIN paint compared to Phicen and Iron Studios and even HT. Hardly any shading, toning. Photocopy directions were hardly readable, but gantry arms numbered as is base.

Cons: I am regluing magnet #3 - not a huge deal. U can see missing piece in my pic. IMO lights are *asinine* 'coz they might've been bright enough IF THE FLOOR WASN'T SOLIDLY OPAQUE AND COVERING THEM UP. Which is SA but still - I'm either gonna replace w. painted clear acrylic, or lift floor slightly w. clear weatherstripping and let light bleed through floor edges. The lights are those little tiny "bead string" lights and I could see someone replacing w. LED strip or something. Plus the battery issue (not included but that's OK - 2 AA batteries)

For me - all I wanted was something to make my incoming Mark VI re-issue (cheap, relatively speaking) more interesting. 'Coz it's a pretty stripped fig re accessories etc. Don't have any other Avengers movie figs except Banner.

So TBH wasn't expecting a friggin' space-hoggin' 22 lb.+ polystone statue. Nope, didn't read carefully enough. Just got glassy-eyed over the *Vision* of my new IM posed in this way cool diorama. But I'll deal...I use bookshelves, IKEA Hemnes line, Target Hadley line for displays, so they can take the weight. AFTER I re-arrange everything,

A piece for IM collectors who have a place for this - nice display for that premium IM diecast. You could probably group a few figs around it as well. For me - next time I want an "interesting" IM, I'll just get the pricey version.

My Mark VI isn't even here yet and I am not re-posing the 46, so tried for a quick sad pic (IKEA Hemnes bookshelf) of Cap on the abandoned gantry.



This might've been worth $300 if the paint had been more detailed IMO. I'd pay $250 max w. shipping, or so. Folks who paint could have a lot of fun with this, painting the plain black arms and adding some details/shading. But it's not junky, either. Monkey Depot has this for PO right now - u might be able to get a good deal w. them if the shipping isn't too bad. My polystone rooftop diorama is from them.

 

[hellgrammite00]

I got it for about $250 with shipping.

The LEDs were not bright enough, so I am tweaking it now with an Blue LED strip.

 

[Sassafras]

I got it for about $250 with shipping.

The LEDs were not bright enough, so I am tweaking it now with an Blue LED strip.

That looks AWESOME. Want better lights on mine and off/on switch. Also was thinkin' it's good to get displays like this in now, re the MCU overturning. Who knows if anyone will make gantrys/10 year accessories in the future.

 

[Zurdo95D]

Just got this in. Agree with other posters/reviews. Mixed feelings.

Pros: It looks cool. Solid polystone - will last past your lifetime. Clean paint and went together well. Tho IMO PLAIN paint compared to Phicen and Iron Studios and even HT. Hardly any shading, toning. Photocopy directions were hardly readable, but gantry arms numbered as is base.

Cons: I am regluing magnet #3 - not a huge deal. U can see missing piece in my pic. IMO lights are *asinine* 'coz they might've been bright enough IF THE FLOOR WASN'T SOLIDLY OPAQUE AND COVERING THEM UP. Which is SA but still - I'm either gonna replace w. painted clear acrylic, or lift floor slightly w. clear weatherstripping and let light bleed through floor edges. The lights are those little tiny "bead string" lights and I could see someone replacing w. LED strip or something. Plus the battery issue (not included but that's OK - 2 AA batteries)

For me - all I wanted was something to make my incoming Mark VI re-issue (cheap, relatively speaking) more interesting. 'Coz it's a pretty stripped fig re accessories etc. Don't have any other Avengers movie figs except Banner.

So TBH wasn't expecting a friggin' space-hoggin' 22 lb.+ polystone statue. Nope, didn't read carefully enough. Just got glassy-eyed over the *Vision* of my new IM posed in this way cool diorama. But I'll deal...I use bookshelves, IKEA Hemnes line, Target Hadley line for displays, so they can take the weight. AFTER I re-arrange everything,

A piece for IM collectors who have a place for this - nice display for that premium IM diecast. You could probably group a few figs around it as well. For me - next time I want an "interesting" IM, I'll just get the pricey version.

My Mark VI isn't even here yet and I am not re-posing the 46, so tried for a quick sad pic (IKEA Hemnes bookshelf) of Cap on the abandoned gantry.

View attachment 444411

This might've been worth $300 if the paint had been more detailed IMO. I'd pay $250 max w. shipping, or so. Folks who paint could have a lot of fun with this, painting the plain black arms and adding some details/shading. But it's not junky, either. Monkey Depot has this for PO right now - u might be able to get a good deal w. them if the shipping isn't too bad. My polystone rooftop diorama is from them.

Good overview of the A1 gantry, to me it does looks pretty good however I have the IM/2 gantry and I'm content with it. Nice photo, lol Cap doesn't need a gantry to suit up

 

[The Buffinator]

I got it for about $250 with shipping.

The LEDs were not bright enough, so I am tweaking it now with an Blue LED strip.

View attachment 444416

That looks great. What brand LED strip did you use?

 

[hellgrammite00]

That looks great. What brand LED strip did you use?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HRMPDC8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Sassafras]

Good overview of the A1 gantry, to me it does looks pretty good however I have the IM/2 gantry and I'm content with it. Nice photo, lol Cap doesn't need a gantry to suit up

Thanx!

It's a striking piece for sure. Well worth having depending on how folks display their collection - long as u don't pay huge markup!

 

[The Buffinator]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HRMPDC8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the info. BTW, did you achieve that brightness using a single LED strip & one power source, or do you have separate strips (possibly located on the the backs of the rings)?

 

[hellgrammite00]

Thanks for the info. BTW, did you achieve that brightness using a single LED strip & one power source, or do you have separate strips (possibly located on the the backs of the rings)?

Just one strip. I have to play around with it a bit. But just snaked in one strip to see how that worked.