Hot Toys Iron Man 3 Armor Details Analysis & Prediction for coming Iron Man Release

Hi guys, as you all know I am a fan of HT Iron Man Series, I was thinking is that possible for HT to make all 42 different iron man armors in future, my answer now is YES, after I spent couple of hours to analyze the similarities of each armor, I fount that actually HT only need to make 14 different armors and by reusing the parts of these 14 armors and apply new paint-job, they can actually produce all 42 to armors.

These 14 armors are (actually should be 13 armors because Mark 7 design is from Avengers)

1. Iron Patriot or War Machine 2.0 (Already made by HT)
2. Mark 7 or Mark 21 Midas (Already made by HT)
3. Mark 17 Heart Breaker (Already made by HT)
4. Mark 33 Silver Centurion (Already made by HT)
5. Mark 35 Red Snapper (Already made by HT)
6. Mark 38 Igor (Already made by HT)
7. Mark 39 Star Boost (Already made by HT)
8. Mark 41 Bones (Already made by HT)
9. Mark 42 (Already made by HT)
10. Mark 15 Sneaker
11. Mark 16 Night Club
12. Mark 25 (Prototype shown by HT in 2014 HK Toy Fair)
13. Mark 27 Hammer Head
14. Mark 40 Shotgun (Bust has been made by HT, higher chance will be the next HT Iron Man)

So which means HT left only 4 armors to develop in order to have all parts available to form entire iron man 3 army. They are

Mark 15 Sneaker 

Mark 16 Night Club 

Mark 27 Hammer Head 

Mark 40 Shotgun

Below is the analysis to show you Iron Man armors from Mark 8 to Mark 42, how are they being combined using other parts from diffrent armors to form a new armor.

MARK 15/ MARK XV SNEAKY

(Unique Design)

MARK 16/ MARK XVI NIGHTCLUB

(Unique Design)

MARK 17/ MARK XVII HEARTBREAKER
(Unique Design)

MARK 21/ MARK XXI MIDAS
(Mark 7 Repaint)

MARK 22/ MARK XXII HOT ROD
(Iron Patriot/War Machine 2.0 Repaint)



MARK 23/ MARK XXIII SHADES
(Mark 40 Shotgun Repaint)

MARK 24/ MARK XXIV TANK
(Mark 17 Heart Breaker Repaint)

MARK 25/ MARK XXV STRIKER
(Unique Design)

MARK 26/ MARK XXVI GAMMA
(Mark 25 Striker Repaint)

MARK 30/ MARK XXX BLUE STELL
(Mark 33 Silver Centurion Repaint)

MARK 33/ MARK XXXIII SILVER CENTURION
(Unique Design)

MARK 35/ MARK XXXV RED SNAPPER
(Unique Design)

MARK 37/ MARK XXXVII HAMMERHEAD
(Unique Design)

MARK 38/ MARK XXXVIII IGOR
(Unique Design)

MARK 39/ MARK XXXIX STARBOOST
(Unique Design)

MARK 40/ MARK XL SHOTGUN
(Unique Design)

MARK 41/ MARK XLI BONES
(Unique Design)

MARK 42/ MARK XLII
(Unique Design)

Based on current developed Iron Man armors, I can summarize for you to have better idea what HT is planning on next release.

There are 10 armors can be formed without developed new parts by using existing released Iron Man armors. HT just need to apply new paintjob and combine other parts from different armors, they can easily release another Iron Man armor again.
Out of 10 these armors, 2 have been released (Midas & Python) and 2 are announced in HK Toy Fair (Blue Steel & Peacemaker), check out the complete list for the rest are here.

MARK 9/ MARK IX

Head: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Shoulder: Mark 7

Chest: Mark 7

Arm: Mark 7

Forearm: Mark 7

Stomach: Mark 7

Hip: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Thigh: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Leg: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

MARK 11/ MARK XI

Head: Mark 17 Heart Breaker 

Shoulder: Mark 7

Chest: Mark 7

Arm: Mark 7

Forearm: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Stomach: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Hip: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Thigh: Mark 35 Red Snapper

Leg: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

MARK 18/ MARK XVIII CASSANOVA

Head: Mark 7

Shoulder: Mark 7

Chest: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Arm: Iron Patriot

Forearm: Iron Patriot

Stomach: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Hip: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Thigh: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Leg: Iron Patriot

MARK 20/ MARK XX PYTHON(Released)

Head: Silver Centurion

Shoulder: Mark 7

Chest: Mark 7

Arm: Mark 7

Forearm: Mark 7

Stomach: Mark 7

Hip: Mark 7

Thigh: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Leg: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

MARK 21/ MARK XXI MIDAS (Released)

(Mark 7 Repaint)

MARK 22/ MARK XXII HOT ROD

(Iron Patriot/War Machine 2.0 Repaint)

MARK 24/ MARK XXIV TANK

(Mark 17 Heart Breaker Repaint)

MARK 28/ MARK XXVIII JACK

Head: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Shoulder: Mark 7

Chest: Mark 7

Arm: Mark 7

Forearm: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Stomach: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Hip: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Thigh: Mark 35 Red Snapper

Leg: Mark 17 Heart Breaker

MARK 30/ MARK XXX BLUE STELL  (Announced, coming soon)

(Mark 33 Silver Centurion Repaint)

MARK 36/ MARK XXXVI PEACEMAKER (Announced, coming soon)

Head: Mark 35 Red Snapper

Shoulder: Mark 35 Red Snapper

Chest: Mark 35 Red Snapper

Arm: Mark 35 Red Snapper

Forearm:  Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Stomach: Mark 35 Red Snapper

Hip: Mark 35 Red Snapper

Thigh:  Mark 17 Heart Breaker

Leg: Mark 35 Red Snapper

And now HT is developing Mark 25 Striker. Once this striker has been released. They can reuse its parts to form the below 3 armors.

MARK 8/ MARK VIIII

Head: Mark 7

Shoulder: Mark 7

Chest: Mark 7

Arm: Mark 7

Forearm: Mark 7

Stomach: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Hip: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Thigh: Mark 25 Striker

Leg: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

MARK 26/ MARK XXVI GAMMA

(Mark 25 Striker Repaint)

MARK 31/ MARK XXXI PISTON

Head: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Shoulder: Mark 7

Chest: Mark 7

Arm: Mark 7

Forearm: Mark 7

Stomach: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Hip: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

Thigh: Mark 25 Striker

Leg: Mark 33 Silver Centurion

I believe the next project for Iron Man release will be the Mark 40 Shot Gun. Once this armor is developed. They can release another 6 armors using existing parts from different armors.

FYI, HT has already done the bust for it.

My conclusion/summary

There are 42 armors in iron man movies plus 3 armors from war machine (1.0, 2.0 & Patriot)

and They actually design 7 different armors (Mark 1 to 7) + war machine/patriot + another 12 new unique armors in Iron Man 3. Therefore, Marvel has created total 20 unique designs, and then now Marvel & HT can sell 42 times to his fans.

So good luck to all HT die hard/hard core fans. This is a never ending story because the Avengers 2 and Iron Man 4 movie is coming soon. There will be new armors to be added in your collection. Happy collecting! Howard Chan will definitely earn big $ from Iron Man series.

Toy Review: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Blade Jack Form

The S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Blade Jack Form is the first upgrade but the last form to be released by Bandai. For those who are not in the know, this form is based from using the Rouze Absorber and the Jack Fusion Eagle Card, giving that golden luster to the character or in this case, the figure.

Killer on the Loose! DC Super Heroes Killer Croc :: Countdown to Halloween 2014

What's a Halloween Countdown without a killer? Killer Croc, that is!

Real Name: Waylon Jones
Known Aliases: Killer Croc, Croc, Crock Pot, Crocodile Dunderhead

Wanted for: Murder, kidnapping, extortion, and jaywalking. Also: eating puppies.

Killer Croc is a member of the Batman Rogues Gallery, and was originally envisioned as  a man with a scaly skin condition that gave him a reptilian appearance. Over the years, his croc-y mutation has grown exponentially, and nowadays he's pretty much a human/crocodile mutant. Sometimes with a tail, sometimes without. Most times more superhuman Croc than man.

He is probably best known today for his appearances in the Batman: Arkham video games. But he first reached his widest audience outside the comics as a character in the legendary Batman: The Animated Series cartoon.

Of all the action figure versions of Killer Croc ever released, I have to say that this version - made by Mattel as part of their proto-DCUC 'DC Super Heroes' line way back in the early 2000s - is the best by far.

Because essentially, this Killer Croc action figure is a serious/realistic version of the Batman: Animated Killer Croc design. What''s more amazing is that this guy is only unique in regards to his head sculpt (and paint applications) - the rest of the figure is simply a re-used Killer Croc from Mattel's six inch Batman toyline - one where Croc was far more mutated, and even had a tail!

This version fortunately does not include a tail.

But he does have a thirst for human flesh!

TMNT Rocksteady Custom LEGO Minifigure

The LEGO Chima series Rhinocerous heads are just screaming to be made into TMNT Rocksteady custom minifigures. So I tracked one down and did exactly that.

I used the cowboy torso from one of the blind bagged series releases, and some random khaki pants. The gun is from a bootleg military minifigure, and I slapped together a sewer lid 'shield' to complete the OG effect.

Rocksteady, Wingnut and Panda Khan minifigures. Now all LEGO needs to do is release a warthog with a mohawk headpiece!

Batman of Zur-En-Arrh LEGO Minifigure Bootleg

At San Diego Comic Con this past summer (2014) one of LEGO's super limited exclusives was The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. I was at ComiCon but didn't realize this fact until after it had sold out. That said, I would not have likely gotten it anyways as the LEGO exclusives are painfully difficult to obtain even if you attend the Con. Not surprisingly, The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh LEGO minifigure is now going for hundreds of dollars on the secondary market.

Thank God for Chinese bootleggers!

Every so often I seek out what's new in the Chinese BootLEGO world, so imagine my joy when I discovered they are now making a Batman of Zur-En-Arrh minifigure!

He's not an exact duplicate of the LEGO version: The symbol is slightly different, he doesn't have his 'Bat-Radia' printed on his belt (but he does have printing on his back torso,) his head only has one face printed on it, and his cape is scalloped instead of flat at the base.

He also does not come with a bat (I borrowed mine from another LEGO minifigure.)

He does come with a Bat...umm...mobile?

As far as I am aware, this vehicle is a bootleg original, and not based off of any official (or unofficial) LEGO build.

I suppose the jalopy-esque cobbled-together nature of the Batmobile or Batscooter or whatever it is  does fit into the character as envisioned by Grant Morrison, so it is a fun addition to the minifigure. But honestly they had me at 'Batman of Zur-En-Arrh.'

I believe this set is by ShengYuan, and the quality is incredible. Seriously on par with LEGO at this point. The cape material is flimsier than official LEGO capes, but that's a minor quibble. In fact, if you wanted your Batman of Zur-En-Arrh to look even more like the official version, you can use the LEGO Magneto's cape, as it is an exact match for the SDCC exclusive Batman version's cape, no scallops and all.

I got this guy off eBay and so far this minifigure is only available in a set of four Batman minifigures/mini vehicles. I can't complain, I got the whole set for less than ten bucks shipped, making this guy no more than a couple bucks alone. An incredible alternative to 200 plus dollars for an official version!

The fact that the Chinese bootleggers made this guy makes me think they really have their fingers on the pulse of LEGO minifigure fandom, and it gives me high hopes for some incredible bootlegs based on the new LEGO Batman 3 video game. I expect some great and unexpected LEGO DC and Batman themed bootlegs within the next year!

Toys R Us, Breaking Bad and an Parent's Ignorance

Most of my posts here are review related, sharing my thoughts and opinions on toys, comics, video games, etc. I rarely use this outlet to share my opinion on current events, but I had to say something here.

A Florida mom has recently taken to Change.org and launched a petition after seeing Breaking Bad action figures for sale at her local Toys 'R Us. She claims the toys are unfit for children and thinks they have no place in the store.

Toys 'R Us told NBC News that "the product packaging clearly notes that the items are intended for ages 15 and up" and "are located in the adult action figure area of our stores."

Now as an avid shopper of TRU I can say that I've seen these Breaking Bad figures. I thought nothing of them as they are usually displayed alongside of horror movie, video game and other collectibles that are aimed at adults. Being a parent myself of course I'd never buy these for my children. If my daughters are with me shopping at TRU, this is usually the one aisle that I skip. Even if I'm shopping alone I usually skip this aisle as most of these types of figures I don't collect.

What really gets me is (some) parents as well as the media in general just can't accept that some adults actually collect action figures and such. They don't understand that adults without kids shop at TRU just as much (if not more) than parents with kids.

The Today Show recently had a short discussion on this topic and as much as I love Matt, Al and the rest of the cast, they too seem blind to the fact that these aren't marketed towards kids! Hoda's comment about seeing the figures, excuse me dolls, alongside "Thomas the truck" just shows her ignorance.

I know parents are trying to safeguard their children from certain things in this world, and I applaud those parents. There are just as many parents on the opposite end of the spectrum that don't seem to give a rip about what their children partake. However the ignorance I'm referring to is the thought that just because something is called or labeled a toy or an action figure then its meant for kids.

I see this same parental ignorance movies, television, music, books (manga, comics) and especially video games. Just because it's animated or looks cartoon-ish doesn't mean its for kids or marketed for kids people!

So what is TRU supposed to do now? Pull everything that a certain segment of the parental population disagrees with? What about all of the Mature rated video games TRU sells? Why isn't this Florida mom up in arms that her children saw a M rated video game alongside the newest Mario Bros. game?

Walmart stores also carry these Breaking Bad figures. Is Walmart going to follow suit and remove them? Or is Walmart too big to worry about a few thousand signatures?

TRU is already hurting thanks to kids not having that traditional play pattern that you or I may have had growing up. Toy companies are having to compete with technology and gadgets now. It also seems that kids just don't have the same level of imagination as kids once did. I believe this is one of the reasons why toy companies are started marketing certain items towards adults. These companies understand there is a whole market of adult collectors and they are more than willing to open up their wallets and spend money on collectibles such as Breaking Bad figures.

I'm not making an argument for these Breaking Bad figures. I'm not saying that a figure with a bag of Crystal Meth is cool. I'm just saying these figures along with plenty of others have every right to be on retail shelves as do Transformers and Barbies. Parents, if you don't like it or think it's appropriate for your children, then keep on walking.

So to counter balance this petition to have TRU stores remove these adult collectibles, here is a petition to keep them on shelves...or at least bring them back as it appears some stores have already started to remove them.

As a toy collecting, video game playing, comic book reading parent I try to be as level headed as possible. While the majority of my interests aren't controversial, I do make sure that my children aren't reading (or watching) The Walking Dead or that I'm playing a shooter like Halo when they are around. I try to practice something called Common Sense. More parents ought to try it.

An unexpected Holy Grail - Diaclone Countach LP 500S "Sunstreaker"

In my quest to expand my knowledge of Transformer toys I've often searched out information and websites on the history of the brand and pre-Transformers. 

I won't begin to try to go into any level of detail on the background of this piece as I'm still trying to learn it's history myself!  What I do know is I stumbled across a beautiful piece of Transformers history.  This particular piece was right up my alley which made it that much more desirable.

Growing up in the early 80's the Sunstreaker was my first Autobot car from the initial 1984 series.  I've always searched out every version of the character I could find, but I've had to draw the line when it came to the 3 pre-Transformers versions thanks to inflated prices on the secondary market.  I would have loved to own the red version, but I'm just as happy w/ the yellow Countach LP 500S.

First off you may be able to tell this is the Italian version of the toy and not the Japanese.  No big deal.  What puzzled me was the red images of the toy when the toy was yellow.  From what I've found this particular release was made during the time Hasbro was rolling out the actual Transformers brand.  None the less the box is beautiful.  Small, but beautiful.  My specimen isn't free of damage however.  The upper corner has a small ding and there is a small crease in the front bottom just to the right of  the "Auto Robot" block of text.

The back of the box in typical fashion shows other toys released.  Here you can see the other two versions of the Countach LP 500S.  Not sure why the white/black police version is labeled as Fairlady Z.

I LOVE the image on the top of the box.  "Sunstreaker" has got to have one of the best looking alt modes of all the Transformers.  As much as I love the traditional black and yellow it doesn't look too shabby in red either.  I so hope Takara Tomy finds a way to alter the upcoming Masterpiece Lambor/Sideswipe and make it into Sunstreaker.  I can dream, can't I?

The box's bottom shows a diagram of sorts of the vehicle.  Too bad all the text is in Italian.  It appears there are some statical information across the bottom a la a tech spec.  Can anyone shed some light on this?

Surprisingly the styrofoam insert tray was still fully intact and snow white.  The two things about this picture that I had to get confirmation on was the missing Diaclone figure and the inclusion of the 3 chromed missiles.  I was told this version never came w/ the driver figure, but the same insert was used from the Japanese Diaclone release.  As for the missiles I'm still searching for an answer.  The instructions show some goofy football shaped "bopper" missiles.  Also included are two fists and two rocket boosters.

The instruction sheet doesn't offer really anything new, although it does show a Diaclone figure in the car.  I'm guessing these images were re-used from the original Japanese release.  What I wasn't expecting was anything printed on the back.

I love old toy catalogs / posters.  I really like the blue & silver "Bluestreak".  The Lancia Stratos Turbo aka Wheeljack looks really odd.  From the head to the legs it just looks odd.  I knew "Skids", the Honda City Turbo was released in silver, but black?  Doesn't look too bad in black.  Never had that mold as a kid, but always liked the look of the van and robot modes.

Behold!  A beautiful unapplied sticker sheet!  Someone asked me if I was ever going to sticker this toy up and I had to pause and just stare at them.  Seriously I asked.  Why on earth would I want to do a thing like that?!  I don't necessarily care about re-sell value or anything like that, but this is a once in a lifetime find for myself so it's going to stay as is.  In fact I probably won't even want to remove this toy from it's packaging ever again.  

I can't tell you how bummed I was when I pulled the toy out of the tray and saw the small chip on the hood.  Argh!!!  It's not a huge deal.  In fact for a toy that is nearly 30 years old it looks pretty darn nice.  The rubber tires look great - no cracking.  The silver chromed spoiler and engine are free of chipping or fading and the yellow paint is nice and vibrant!

I never quite understood the rocket booster accessories - in either mode.  They don't look that bad in vehicle mode, but was this ever shown in the old Transformers instruction booklet for Sunstreaker?  I will mention these boosters fit inside the holes much tighter than on my G1 version.

As nice as the stickers are, I almost prefer the natural unstickered look...especially on the chrome.

I tried my best to get a good picture of the markings on each toy, but my camera and it's focus just didn't want to cooperate.  The Diaclone is on the left and the G1 version is on the right.  You may be able to see the outline of a circle on the Diaclone version.  Inside the circle is the traditional Takara stamp and Japan printed.  On the G1 version it has some Japanese characters, Takara Co, LTD 1980 * 1982 * Japan listed.

My only gripe about the robot mode are the "gorilla arms".  I've never cared for the overly long arms, but I can overlook this issue after recently finding out this toy was the very first transforming car to robot toy designed by Kōjin Ōno.  Also of note are the inclusion of springs in the forearms.  These were removed for the Transformers release due to U.S. child safety laws.  After firing one of the missiles I an see why...the missile traveled a good 15+ feet!

There aren't any real differences between the two toys outside of some of the decals.  My G1 Sunstreaker has seen better days (loose joints, sticker & chrome wear) so it is really nice to have such a tight and super minty toy!  I know this may not be the most desirable Diaclone piece, but with many Transformer collectors moving into the Diaclone collecting arena I'm glad I was able to add this piece to my collection.  I doubt I'll be buying anymore pre-Transformer toys anytime soon so for now I'll just sit back and revel in this awesome piece.