Hot Toys Iron Man Mark III 12'' figure (Super COOL!)

eBay is a Pandora's box. Just a couple of days after I got the Mark II, I discovered a Mark III being let go by a fellow collector. And it was below retail pricing too. Admittedly, I've been trying to hunt down the Mark III from all known hobby shops. Up until this opportunity, I was told that the next batch of the merchandize would only arrive on our shores in 2 months. The shortest estimation was end of June. Hence, this was too good to pass over. I contacted him over email and we came to a 'gentleman's arrangement' to transact beyond eBay. I convinced the chap to terminate the auction on eBay and give me right of first refusal :)

Well, for a forerunner to the Mark II, this version was well done. I still think the rivets on the Mark II gave the armor suit more character. If you look at the picture of Iron Man's chest plate in my previous post before this one, you will notice the marked difference. Less texture on the Mark III. But paint scheme and accuracy is present. Nothing much to complain about.

The only other thing I thought would have made the Mark III more fantastic would be adding the retractable shoulder projectile launchers, like what you can see in the movie and incorporating a removable magnetic face plate, like on the Mark II. Nonetheless, the omissions were compensated with a super-accurate exchangeable head of Tony Stark, with almost the exact facial contours and skin tones. The painter did such a good job with a moulded piece of plastic, you could almost see the light reflecting off the moist in his eyes!

Apart from that, the usual compliment of weaponry and parts are present, identical to that of the Mark II's.

I think overall, I prefer the Mark II to the Mark III. The chrome metal persona of the iconic superhero still etches a good impression to me.