Figuarts Hulkbuster Will Crush Your Dreams and Your Wallet
We've already seen the rest of Bandai's planned offerings from Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the Hulkbuster was teased not that long ago. Now we've got our first official look at the magnificent beast, and it is glorious. And expensive.
There are currently very few ways to get a standalone Hulkbuster action figure, and there are even fewer ways to get one at a reasonable price. While the price point on the upcoming SH Figuarts Hulkbuster is likely to turn many of you away, it is still quite a bit cheaper than the Hot Toys version. It'll also be just a tad bit more expensive than trying to hunt down all the figures in Hasbro's Hulkbuster BAF wave coming this summer.
There's no two ways about it though, this Hulkbuster is a piece of work to be admired. Forget the LEDs featured in the head, chest and knees; it's all about that articulation. A piece this large (9+ inches) having the range of motion shown in these promo shots is ridiculous. Given just how much armor plating there is, that it's anywhere near as poseable as Figuarts is showing it to be makes this a remarkable piece of manufacturing.
The only question is, will you be able to make those poses easily and keep it there? It'd be a shame if something went wrong given the investment you're making in purchasing one of these bad boys. Still, the paint app is sharp, the sculpt looks terrific, and this would truly be a centerpiece type of figure if you could afford it.
At this point hoping for a Black Widow or Hawkeye from Figuarts is a futile effort. Maybe one day we'll get the hyper-articulated Widow we've always wanted, and her little friend from the dude ranch, Hawkeye, can join her on some adventures. For now, it's the big three over and over again. It's not necessarily problematic in this case, as we've gotten very few Hulkbusters, but getting yet another Iron Man armor variation is growing quite tiresome.
Pre-orders for the SH Figuarts Hulkbuster will begin on May 29 on the Tamashi's site. It'll set you back a cool ¥34,560 (~$285), which is a bit much, but will likely skyrocket on the import and second-hand markets.