Marvel Legends Avengers Series Hulkbuster Build-A-Figure Review

It’s been a while since I was completely floored by a build-a-figure in general, let alone a Marvel Legends one.  I could probably count on one hand what I would consider some of the all time greatest: Marvel Legends’ Sentinel, Marvel Legends’ Fin Fang Foom, Legendary Comic Book Heroes’ Pitt, and Moby Dick’s Resident Evil Nemesis Type 3.  It’s not a huge list, but each of those figures when completed just left me in awe.  Rocket Racoon was also a favorite of mine, but when the constructed figure is that small it just doesn’t have the same impact.

In this latest Avengers Marvel Legends wave we finally construct the giant Hulkbuster armor from Age of Ultron.  While I felt that the scene in the movie was relatively pointless, I’m still more than happy to welcome this giant hulking suit of Tony Stark’s into my collection.  The look of it doesn’t scream “movie” like some costumes do, so it works well with both comic and movie figures.  Regardless of where it comes from it’s also just a damn cool action figure.  I started to get those feels I got from some of my favorite build-a-figures.  It’s an exciting time to be collecting Marvel Legends!

Due to his size … or possibly because they wanted to space him out a bit more, he requires seven figures to complete.  They probably could have done it in six because Age of Ultron War Machine just comes with the head which is tiny.  It could have easily been included with one of the figures that contained torso pieces.  I’d give my vote to Vision since his card has a comical amount of empty space due to where his piece is placed.  They could have at least centered it!

Analyzing how many figures it would take to build Hulkbuster is kind of silly on my part because I’m going to buy the entire series anyway.  I bought the Wolverine in the Jubilee BAF wave, and he didn’t even come with a piece.  Although I must say that I found that Wolverine to be pretty decent.  It’s a sad day that I lament the lack of Wolverine Marvel Legend toys.

The first thing you will notice before even putting Hulkbuster together is how heavy the BAF parts make the packaging.  The legs and to a lesser extent the arms weigh a ton.  It’s certainly no Sentinel, but it brings me back to the time when every build-a-figure was giant and imposing.  A glorious age where men were men, and the figure you built was a spectacle.  Hasbro absolutely captured that magic again with the Hulkbuster.  The size, weight, and imposing nature of the figure is executed perfectly.

If I had one nitpick of the figure I’d ask for a little more paint.  He has a good amount detail but relies heavily on the red plastic for most of the body.  A few more spots to break up the armor, and maybe some weathering or wash would probably make him perfect.  It’s also worth mentioning that (at least on mine) that the abdomen pin, that connects the upper and lower torso, is REALLY tight at the ball joint.  So much so that simply turning the upper torso doesn’t work.  It actually feels like I could snap it if I pushed the issue.  The joint will move forward, backwards, and side to side, so if I need to position him facing a different way I would have to ease him into one of those directions and twist at the same time.  I just want to throw that out as a fair warning because I’d hate to see somebody immediately break their Hulkbuster right out of the packaging.

The Hulkbuster armor was a fantastic idea for a build-a-figure.  It enabled Hasbro to appropriately size him without having to make too many concessions.  There is no way this figure could have been a regularly carded release.  I’m also glad they didn’t try to do some type of large sized release because that worked out SO WELL for the orange Fin Fang Foom!  Personally, an entire wave of new Marvel Legends figures and then a Hulkbuster to top it all off sounds fabulous and I’d have it no other way.  This is easily a top five build-a-figure for Marvel Legends as a whole, not just Hasbro.  It may be in contention for my figure of the year list depending on how the next five months go.

Seriously, get this figure.  If there was ever any doubt that Hasbro has been killing it with Marvel Legends this year, Hulkbuster should put those doubts aside.  This wave, the Ant-Man wave, and the new Spider-Man wave seem to all be trickling out at the same time.  You can gamble your chances with Amazon, or preorder a case over at Entertainment Earth.  Or just convince some crazy person to sell you theirs.  Do what it takes to get him because you will not be sorry!

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