Figure Review: Revoltech Iron Man MK 21 "Midas"

Since my Efreet still is not here... and just to review something a bit different, we;re going to take a look at one of the many Iron Man armors from the movie Iron Man 3: The MK XXI "Midas"

The lighting does not match the background -_-

The MK XXI, or Midas as I would call this for the entire write-up, is apparently the prototype for the space armor (Sub-Orbital MK 39). It's made entirely of gold... like the original movie MK 3, minus the red paint. I got this one on sale in Ebay for 1600 php. Not bad since the figma is oodles more expensive.

Package

Quick shots on the packaging... we'll get back to why shortly. It's pretty standard Revoltech box (post white mini shoebox). But they switched the old sci-fi movie box (Mk. 2, 3, 4 and 6) to the more standard open window.

Content wise, you get the figure, movie plate, extra hands, a clear base, 2 effect parts and the clear orange box that stacks with other clear orange box from other Revoltech figures.

Aesthetics

Midas armor is essentially the MK. 7, but in gold. And since Revoltech released a MK 7, this is merely a repaint of that figure.

Being a Revoltech, sculpt is a bit stylized, with wide beefy shoulders and thighs. It actually looks a bit squat. The PVC construction makes it look gummy but details are still pretty sharp. The Revoltech joints and  pvc construction makes it more difficult to stand in a relaxed manner. If you look at the photo above, you see the left arm doesn't quite sit flush to the torso.

Color-wise, it comes in 2 shades of Gold. One brass colored gold, and one that's yellower. Either way, it lacks a bit of luster as seen on the box. Instead, the gold is matte metallic. It's still pretty-good though as seen here in the pictures, as even the more expensive figma's gold seemed to look like paint. The hot toys painted version looks like actual sheet metal, but that's way more expensive. 

I mentioned about the stylized sculpt. I have not seen a Revoltech Iron Man that has the head pinned down. There's something a bit off about it. Perhaps the cheeks are not as well defined? Face plate too flat? Also, the chest reactor is just painted on. Was hoping to see a clear piece layered on top of it.

Still, for the price, it has plenty of details. Sharp details. Some parts of the sculpt though have been sacrificed for the accommodation of the articulation and the revolver joints. Revoltechs are known for dynamic, anime action poses, and the sculpt of this one surprisingly isn't as pelvic-thrusty as say the MK 3.

gap in the neck allows it to look way up

Overall though it's pretty solid. Not quite as accurate to the movies, but close enough to still be recognized as Iron Man. If you want something a bit better in terms of screen accuracy at 6 inches, then figma is the way to go.

Articulation

Being a revoltech, it uses the revolver joints as it's main method of articulation. As such, you can actually break it down to individual pieces to make a disassembled armor.

The head is mounted on a small double revolver joint. The neck is also mounted on a revolver joint, but I could not take it apart... probably because it's super tight.

The lower torso and the chest are connected by one normal sized revolver joint. The PVC, plus the small amount of give on the revolver joint makes it feel like a bobble head, despite the ratchets. Shake it and you'll see it wiggle. The tummy is a soft pvc that bends inward for ab crunches. I wish it was a bit higher though as it leaves a sizeable gap when it stands straight.

The arm is mounted on a revolver joint. It's also sculpted in a way to the arm can sit in a relaxed pose... which if you look in the standing pose doesn't quite work.

Interstingly enough, the forarm armor comes off, It has the effect of giving you the option to have the rocket launcher on the forearms either sitting to the side or at the in line with the elbow.

As with other revoltech Iron Men, the hip articulation is on a universal joint.

The knee is a regular sized double revolver joint. The front ankle armor is on a small joint, with the rear ankle is on a simple hinge. Foot joint gives it deep ankle tilts. Again due to the small give in the revolver joints, it makes it difficult to actually stand the figure up. The imprecise ratchets also means that the feet are never really aligned on the ground.

The back flaps move up, which is a nice touch.

While it has a nice range of movement, some articulation points are a bit hindered. The revolver joints actually make it tough to put it in some poses. The ab crunch is a bit hindered by the sculpt, but if you pull it slightly up, it'll give you one more click. And a giant gap from behind is revealed while doing so.

The hips are limited by the giant thigh pod, which for some reason does not move out of the way the same way the War Machine Revoltech does.

The knee... looks horrible when bent. It just looks like it broke. Looks like it's not connected to anything when bent.

I'd rather have the mutated playarts knee

Being an Iron Man, can it do the Iron Man pose?

Surprisingly yes. This is done by putting some of the joints in Yoga level positions. Also did I mention the knee?

Overall, it's pretty articulate. Also it's incredibly top heavy, and has poor balance. The revolver joints are not a precise bit of kit, as such the feet will always be 1 click off, when what you need is somewhere in between those clicks. Definitely invest in a tamashii stand.

It stands... just

Accessories

My baseline for action figures are simple. Multiple hands. I love how the current Marvel legends are including alternate hands now... although the price here locally has inflated waay above the prices I want to pay. 

Anyway... as seen on the box, you get the following accessories: 2 flight hands with holes. 2 different effect parts for the flight hands. 2 repulsor hands. It also has a clear V shaped base (you can only use the smaller peg) and an orange container to store the hands and effect bits.

Contrary to what the box suggests, you CANNOT use the effect parts with the open repulsor hands. False advertising there. Also a bit cheap... considering how their MK 6 and War Machine has effect parts for the boots and equal length repulsors. Call me disappointed.

NERD RAAAAGEEEE!

Swaping hands is a bit fiddle. Due to the construction of the arm, it can get difficult to pull of the hands without pulling off the entire arm. The wrist cuffs needs to be swapped out, and is sandwiched between the wrist joint and the hand.

Once attached, you can put him in decent repulsor poses.

It's not bad, but it could have been much, much better. Would have been nice to have the effect parts in the same length as one another.

Height Comparison

Do you want to have a nice gold Iron Man in scale with your other Marvel Legends?

Nope, not quite as tall as you'd expect. Revoltechs and Figuarts have a weird 5.5 inch scale... which does not quite make it 1/12th. You see here how bucky cap is a quarter of a head taller. Note that Cap is 6'3 (buck is 5'9 according to the marvel db) at best and Iron Man with the armor is around 6'6".

The patriot is half a head taller. Even the sleek MK3 is a tiny bit taller than the bulky MK 21.

Man... i've never seen him rant like this :O

Summary

I bought this knowing about some of its limitations. Having the Revoltech MK 3, I was pretty sure I'll get something similar to it in all aspects. While some met expectations, some failed quite a bit. The knee gap when bent, the limited hips, the lack of height, quirks on the articulation and the weird accessories are some of the sore points. Also you might not like the sculpt. I've always wanted the Midas armor. I got it around retail price (a bit less compared to the local price of 2k+) so it's about the same price as current marvel legends locally. If you really want a good 1/12 Midas though, you're going to have to fork tons of cash to get the figma one. If you want a MK 7, again there is a figma which is much pricier (it's 4k here). I'd say if you want an Iron Man figure at a not ridiculous price, Revoltechs are a good alternative. At double the price though you can get the figuarts and figmas, and soon Mafex as well. The decision lies on how much money you're willing to throw away.

Pros:

- Cheapest Midas figure you can get.

- Gold looks nice overall.

- Looks good once placed in a good pose and left alone

Cons:

- Gold, while nice, lacks luster and isn't very smooth upclose.

- The Knees when bent...

- poor balance (it's wobbly)

- subjective sculpt (off head sculpt, wide shoulders)

- weird/lacks accessories

- outdated joint system (seriously revoltechs need to evolve... we need more clicks)

- short. Doesn't scale well with any other legends figures.