Hot Toys Enlists War Machine for ‘Age of Ultron’

If you were hoping Hot Toys would release images of another Avengers: Age of Ultron character who's already had a figure before and is merely getting a repaint before we got to see the Vision, Quicksilver or Scarlet Witch, then you're going to love this War Machine news.

While we've known Don Cheadle would have at least a minor presence in the upcoming Avengers sequel for quite some time, it wasn't clear whether this meant his War Machine persona would show up as well. If Hot Toys' upcoming War Machine MK II figure is any indication, it looks like Tony and the rest of the Avengers will be calling their friend and his suit of armor to their aid against Ultron. Spoilers? Unfortunately, James Rhodes won't be getting an entirely new suit of armor, and will instead just get a new paint job.

There are a few minor differences for this version of the War Machine armor versus the nearly identical piece Hot Toys released for Iron Man 3. The colorway is a bit darker all around, and the forearm decals are slightly different, too. Where the War Machine MK II didn't include a Rhodey head sculpt in its Iron Man 3 iteration, this updated Die Cast edition will feature Don Cheadle's likeness. Sadly, it too is not a new piece, as it's just a reappropriated sculpt from the Hot Toys Iron Man 3 Iron Patriot. Still, it is a very nice Don Cheadle likeness.

A few new hand pieces will be added, as will new wrist guns that weren't previously part of the War Machine MK II. Aside from that though, it's a rather bare bones improvement. Will it give people who didn't previously purchase a War Machine the chance to get a new one? Sure. But I'm willing to bet there are going to be plenty of people who just bought the Iron Man 3 model that are going to be rather annoyed that a slightly better version is being released so soon.

The most disappointing part is how we've yet to see any of the actual new characters from Avengers: Age of Ultron besides Ultron himself. We already know Hot Toys is planning on releasing Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and the Vision, but there's been nary a glimpse at any of them. It's particularly frustrating when so many of the figures thus far have only gotten slight tweaks to previous sculpts and designs. To a degree, I understand wanting to slowly dole out the reveals, but we've seen Thor and Iron Man ad nauseam; let's get a look at the new blood already.

Pre-orders aren't yet available, but the Avengers: Age of Ultron War Machine MK II will likely be up on Sideshow Collectibles in the coming days. Based on the Iron Man MK XLIII, you can probably expect to pay upwards of $300 for this version of James Rhodes. We'll update this story when official pricing and release dates are available.

Update: The War Machine is available for pre-order at Sideshow Collectibles now for $339.99, and is expected to arrive during the end of Q2 2015.

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