Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Comparing Hot Toys Iron Man Mark III with Mark IV: how they stack up

When I got my hands on the Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series MMS123 Iron Man 2 1/6th scale Mark IV Limited Edition Collectible Figurine (reviewed in the previous posts HERE and HERE), I was most curious as to how different the Mark IV was compared to the Mark III and the best way to examine the differences between the two iron suits was to put them side by side. So here are some pictures of the Hot Toys Iron Man Mark III armor suit standing next to the latest Mark IV armor for some comparison shots as well as close-ups of the head / helmet, chest / torso and legs.

The latest Hot Toys Iron Man Mark IV is taller than the previously released Mark III. Mark IV is around 32cm (almost 13 inches) tall compared to Mark III which is around 30cm (12 inches). Click on the picture below for a bigger and better view.



In the screen grabs of the armor suits lined up in Stark's workshop from "Iron Man 2", all the iron man armor suits are of the same height. Why shouldn't they be? Tony Stark didn't grow any taller but the 1/6 version did. Tony Stark replaced the Mark III with the Mark IV because of the damage it sustained in the fight against Obadiah Stane in the Iron Monger armor.


The Mark IV armor is the first shown armor in the second film, meaning that it was built during the six months in-between the first and second films. The suit has a brighter color scheme, a differently-colored HUD, a generally more angular design, is more form-fitting, and aerodynamic than the Mark III armor.

Here are some pictures showing the side profiles of both Hot Toys 1/6 scale Iron Man Mark III and IV



Here's a picture of the iron man armor (Mark III and Mark IV) from the back. Click on the picture for ... (you know the drill :p)


And these are close-up shots comparing the Hot Toys Mark III and Mark IV armor.


The screen shot of the two isn't as telling but the 1/6 scale Hot Toys Mark IV shoulders are more streamlined compared to the Mark III's. The Mark IV is also more layered in the armor and bulkier. The abdominal area of the Mark IV is much more defined than the Mark III and I have shown in my previous post how Hot Toys designed it to be more flexible.


And then there are the leg comparison pictures of the Mark III and Mark IV as well. These are shots of the front of the legs. Scroll down for the back and sides.



These are closer views of the Iron Man Mark III and Mark IV armor as seen from the back





And finally, side view comparisons of the Hot Toys 1/6 scale Iron Man Mark III and Mark IV







Full review with pictures of the Hot Toys Iron Man Mark III figure
Part I: Mark III Box Packaging and basic figure
Part II: Mark III light-up features
Part III: Mark III in flight mode

Full review with pictures of the Hot Toys Iron Man Mark IV figure
Part I: Mark IV packaging and box contents
Part II: Mark IV close-ups and details
Part III: Alternate head sculpt with some nice additions

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9 comments:

  1. supekudxJanuary 4, 2011 at 10:26 AM

    Master Alex,

    Great shots! Mine is coming to my home from China. In the beginning I was in doubt in buying this Figure or not, because I have already have Mark III. After viewing some earlier shots I was convinced to spend some dollars and now after reading your review I am sure that I made a great shopping. It is amazing! The color is better, the articulation is better, the fitting is better. I guess only the price is worst...

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  2. desmondJanuary 4, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    Alex, thanks for sharing. Mark 4 is worth our purchase :)

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2011 at 11:52 PM

    Now do you think the improvements in the proportions and dimensions are because Hot Toys reMASTERED the Mach IV, or were the improvements just design modifications from Machs III to IV done by Mr Starks?? Great blog Man!!

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2011 at 12:01 AM

    Its me again, dimensions for example: extra mass in the chest, taller frame and larger helmet. Are these due Tony's adding more tech, and having to build a bigger/better suit or simply Hot Toys getting it right(er). Thanks again!!!

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  5. alex teoJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:14 PM

    Hi supekudx, desmond :) i agree with all your points, including about the price haha but at least this is value for money CHEERS

    hey anon, i believe Stark made the design modifications but i don't think the height difference was part of it becoz the screen grabs show them of equal height. the bigger/better suit does look like HT has done it right(er) the second time around :) i love the colors too
    and thanks for the compliments.

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2011 at 1:08 PM

    hello sir, nice review on the mark 4. i have a situation here and kind of bugging me a while. which figure do you think is better, the mark 4 or the mark 6? really unfortunate that i can only afford 1 of them.

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  7. alex teoJanuary 11, 2011 at 7:37 PM

    hi there, I think you should get the latest version because that is the most updated one. there really isn't much difference between mark IV and mark VI except for the triangular shaped ARC reactor on the chest PLUS mark VI comes with interchangeable battle damaged parts CHEERS

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  8. leandre021March 17, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    will you be doing a Mark VI - mark IV comparison soon?

    also would like to find out whether the chest panel are interchangeable between the two

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  9. alex teoMarch 17, 2011 at 9:46 AM

    hi leandre, there won't be a mark VI & mark IV comparison coz i didn't get the mark VI - no sponsors haha

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