[Shin Densetsu]

Iron Monger has subtle paint applications of metallic blue. So subtle that I did not even notice them at first! It's much more apparent on the armor cards, and thankfully so, as the blue shown on the cards stands out too much. On the figure, the blue paint apps are applied just right.

The metallic paint apps are a great touch on Iron Monger. So it looks good, but does it play, and pose well? Well...

Yes but it can be frustrating. Why? The figure has tight joints. For a big figure, rather good range of motion, though the hips could use more(nowhere near as disappointing as the hips on Marvel Universe Hulk though). Fortunately for me, my figure did not suffer from stuck joints(it took a while to move the hips though). So where's the frustration?

The frustration is due in part to some of the joints being way too tight. Another figure that this reminds me of is Iron Man Mark I(you'll see in a later review). Trying to move the hips on my Iron Monger figure resulted in the joints FINALLY moving after applying much force BUT also my finger ending up getting scraped by the leg after losing grip on it. Not cool. If you're a parent buying this figure for your children, this is the main thing I'd watch out for.

Now I don't mind tight joints so long as the joint(s) in question are not stuck, but these were too tight in my opinion. The other joints, aside from the hips are alright.

The figure features full articulation, it just lacks the double jointed knees that most of the other Iron Man figures have, as well as an ab joint. In lieu of a ab joint(which might have "broken" the sculpt), it has a waist joint. It also has a ball jointed neck with decent range of motion. I love how this figure has ball jointed wrists, we rarely see these joints on 3-3/4"-4" scale figures by Hasbro and it's a welcome surprise.