Review: Trendmasters Warner Bros. Ultimate Iron Giant 20-inch (51cm) Tall Robot Figure

"The Iron Giant" is the 1999 animated adaptation of Ted Hughes' 1968 Cold War fable "The Iron Man". In the animated science fiction comedy film using both traditional animation and computer animation, a giant alien robot (Vin Diesel) crash-lands near the small town of Rockwell, Maine, in 1957. Exploring the area, a local 9-year-old boy, Hogarth, discovers the robot, and soon forms an unlikely friendship with him. When a paranoid government agent, Kent Mansley, becomes determined to destroy the robot, Hogarth and beatnik Dean McCoppin (Harry Connick Jr.) must do what they can to save the misunderstood machine.

This is NOT the Mondo 16-inch (40cm) Tall Deluxe Iron Giant Collectible Figure that was previewed earlier on my toy blog HERE. Seeing pictures of that robot figure reminded me of this 20-inch (51cm) tall Ultimate Iron Giant robot figure I got way back in the year 2000. I remember it clearly because a buddy and I had planned to visit the toy shops in Hong Kong during the new year holiday but everybody was worried about the millennium bug then and the airport was certainly very quiet when we went to check in. Well, the computers all worked fine and it was all systems go for my trip to Hong Kong.

We chanced upon this giant robot figure (the movie was released in 1999) in one of the shops and I was keen to get it because it was the biggest Iron Giant figure I had seen. The kids had seen the movie and loved it so this was really a no brainer. Furthermore, this particular figure never made it to Singapore. I saw all the smaller carded versions on offer at the departmental stores but it was the first time I had seen this large version of the Iron Giant.

Scroll down to see all the pictures.
Click on them for bigger and better views.

Iron Giant stands tall inside the box. It is the largest figure to be released for the movie and it comes with some pretty nifty "tricks" for its size. The back of the box details clearly what this massive Iron Giant can do.

This Ultimate Iron Giant figure could be set as a motion sensor detector and will be activated (come to life) when someone approaches. Putting tiny Hogarth in his right hand (they attach via magnets) will also cause Iron Giant to respond. You can also push a button on his left hand to make him talk.

The other cool thing is this Ultimate Iron Giant can devour objects. Three pieces of "junk food" are provided - a tractor with bite marks, a smashed car and Dean McCoppen's sculpture - for the Iron Giant to swallow from his mouth and they drop into a compartment which opens from the back.

Here's Trendmasters Warner Bros 20-inch (51cm) tall Ultimate Iron Giant robot figure out of the box, free from the twisty ties that was holding him prisoner in the paper and plastic box. There is a fair bit of articulation on this giant robot. Scroll down to see the turnaround views.

The back has two compartments, one for the batteries which I had removed as soon as I could (leaking batteries will cause irreparable damage to the electronic components - check out my toy blog post titled "Hot Toy Collecting Tip #1: Remove ALL Batteries!" HERE) and the other compartment is where the "junk food" that has been eaten ends up.

I don't think the Iron Giant will do a Bumblebee on Sector 7 agent Seymour Simmons but it's just a way to show off the articulation :p

The Ultimate Iron Giant eyes can light-up and also change shape by flipping the lever at the back of his head

A blast from the past indeed :) Back to regular programming tomorrow. Stay tuned.