Hasbro Marvel Legends Stealth Armor Iron Man Action Figure Review

Hey there fellow collectors, thank you for checking out our latest review. Today Dan's ToyBox is taking a look at the Stealth Armor Iron Man from the Ursa Major Build A Figure Wave of Hasbro Marvel Legends. Even though this is a repaint of the 80th Anniversary Iron Man figure, there is a lot of good to discuss, but be warned, this figure contains my all time Iron Man action figure PET PEEVE!!!

The Model VII Low Observable Armor or Stealth Armor Mk 1 made it's first appearance in Iron Man #152. This issue, written by Bob Layton and David Michelinie and penciled by John Romita Jr. sees Tony Stark using the Stealth Armor to recon the Heaven's Hand facility located in the former East Germany. Given that the Stealth Armor's primary function is concealment the first version had little in the way of weapons systems. Instead, the design focused on it's radar-absorbing coating, electronic countermeasure (ECM) jamming systems, and a wave-modifying plasma layer secured with a force field which helped to block and distort any incoming radar and sonar signals. Heat emissions from the boot jets are "washed" by supercooled air as the boots themselves were designed to hold liquid oxygen rings. If somehow, the armor was spotted, it boasted defensive systems such as heat and radar foiling chaff. The sensory systems were significantly upgraded for stealth missions, including a built in automatic camera, containing microfilm. As Tony later built modified versions, He would add weaponry, but with limitations: repulsors carried enough charge for only three shots. The Unibeam was functional, but similarly low powered. Though the armor appears to be a deep blue, it is actually black. Due to the printing limitations at the time this book was published, blue was typically used as a fill in for black surfaces, thus giving the armor this appearance.

The Hasbro Marvel Legends Stealth Armor Iron Man action figure is yet another entry to be added to your own "Hall of Armor" display. Yes, we've seen this figure a NUMBER of times already as it is merely a repaint of the splendid 80th Anniversary Iron Man but that doesn't make it any less desirable to have in your collection. Regular readers are familiar with our grading system. Dan's ToyBox uses four criteria: Accessories, Appearance, Articulation, and Affordability, which once considered renders an overall score of One to Five ToyBoxes, with one the lowest and five the best. So, let's jump right in, shall we?

Given that this is part of a Build A Figure wave, I expected that the accessories would be limited as to make room for Ursa Major's leg. I wasn't wrong. The Stealth Armor Iron Man comes with one pair of fisted hands, one pair of NON-HINGING repulsor blasting hands, two translucent red repulsor blasts and an unmasked Tony Stark head. The blasts are nothing new, but I do like the translucent deep red as it matches the unibeam and the red eye and mouth slits on his mask. The Tony head sculpt is also the same but still looks exceptional, nonetheless. I've railed about the garbage non-hinging repulsor hands so much that it's old hat at this point. The only real redeeming factor is the color scheme for me. As much as I want to give it an A for accessories, I can't bring myself to do it because it's all just recycled. Thankfully my repulsor blasts weren't as warped as others I've had before.

Regardless of the basis for the figure, I am a big fan of the color scheme. Even though we know the armor is supposed to be black (in the books) this armor in the deep metallic blue is gorgeous. The parts that would normally be gold seem to almost be a lighter shade of the blue, but I think that may be due to lighting. I suspect the entire figure is molded in the same color plastic, but dang, it is eye catching. Even the typical marbling which usually happens with "metallic" figures is barely noticeable and where it is, honestly looks like part of the design. The only real flaw I found on my figure were two small spots on his upper right back. I thought they could be carefully scraped off, but as I inspected them further, I realized they were actually small nicks in the plastic. Not terribly bothersome, but at just the right angle, easy to see and thus disappointing. The eye and mouth slits are actually a bright red, but due to the lighting in my pictures, is difficult to see. I'll make sure to highlight a close up of the masked face near the bottom of the review. Though there isn't much to discuss in terms of appearance, the only paint apps being the mask slits and the unibeam, I honestly do like the look of this figure. I have mentioned before that I'm a big fan of this armor design anyhow and I've always enjoyed the concept of his stealth armor. I probably should have bought this sooner than I did, but I'm glad I was able to get my hands on one. This is a sharp figure and I'm going to give him an A for appearance.

The articulation on this figure lives up to the standard that Marvel Legends has set for us. Both head sculpts rotate left and right and can tilt up and down to a degree. I'd like a bit more downward movement, but it's acceptable. The shoulders raise out to a decent T pose and can rotate a full 360 degrees. There is the atypical upper bicep swivel which works well, and the double-jointed elbows are only limited by the design of the gauntlets. Both pairs of hands swivel, but as mentioned ad nauseum, only the fists will hinge up and down. (I re-iterate... Hasbro, please toss these repulsor blasting hand molds, thank you.) Iron Man has an upper diaphragm crunch which bends both forwards and backwards very well and the ab sculpting continues up underneath the crunch, so no weird ab "shelf" on the figure. His waist pivots easily and the legs will do fairly decent splits. The hip pods are a soft plastic and will relax back down into position easily. He kicks forward nicely, but not back as much. The upper thigh cut is good and the double-jointed knees bend well, but like the arms are limited in range by the design of the boots. Iron Man also has a nicely hidden boot cut for shin swivel. Still not sure of the purpose of that, but it works. Lastly, we are treated to that terrific Legends ankle hinge and pivot. In spite of wanting to toss the repulsor hands, I'll still give the articulation an A simply because other than those hands, the figure does everything it's supposed to and it does so with ease.

When this wave hit stores, as I recall they were retailing at about the average price of $22.99. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, I waited far too long to get mine and bought it at an FYE for the ridiculously overpriced rate of $34.99. I honestly don't recommend buying from them unless the figures are on clearance, and even then, be careful of the prices. With all that being said, the Stealth Armor Iron Man is available online at BBTS for a more reasonable $24.99 plus shipping. I honestly admit to liking this figure enough that the price point of $25 is well worth recommending it. So, with that in mind, I'll give him an A for affordability (except for FYE.) Overall, in spite of the repulsor hands and the higher price I paid, I really do like this figure quite a lot and am happy to give him a solid:

FOUR out of FIVE Toyboxes.

As always, I thank you so much for taking the time to stop by Dan's ToyBox for our action figure reviews. Until next time... GEEK OUT!!!