Review: 76327 Iron Man MK4 Bust
Posted by CapnRex101,
Although it started in the Star Wars theme, the Helmet Collection soon jumped to Marvel, with 76165 Iron Man Helmet in 2020. Various others have followed, but I have never considered the format very interesting for Marvel, so the new Busts are welcome.
76327 Iron Man MK4 Bust received a relatively lukewarm response when it was revealed in April and understandably so, as the sculpting of some facial features is questionable. However, I think the model looks reasonable for its size and the exclusive Iron Man MK4 minifigure is definitely a bonus.
Summary
76327 Iron Man MK4 Bust, 436 pieces.
£54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99 | 12.6p/13.8c/13.8c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
76237 Iron Man MK4 Bust looks reasonable, but the price is simply too high
- Accurate shaping on the whole
- Clever shoulder cannons
- Appealing minifigure
- Mouth could be improved
- Overpriced, relative to its size
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigure
LEGO has filled a number of gaps in the range of Iron Man minifigures over the last couple of years and the Iron Man MK4 is another, featured in Iron Man 2. The design is relatively basic, closely resembling the Mark III armour and therefore re-using a faceplate originally created for the Iron Man MK3 minifigure in 76216 Iron Man Armoury.
Similarly, the printed legs return from the Mark VI armour. These look reasonable and roughly match the source material, though with silver knees instead of dark red. However, the torso is new and employs the now-typical combination of red and dark red shades to denote reflective metal, which looks superb.
The faceplate opens to reveal Tony's usual double-sided head, with a smile on one side and a heads-up display on the other. This head continues to suffice, but more variety would be lovely, given how frequently Tony Stark minifigures appear.
The Completed Model
Although not suitable for all characters, given the limited opportunity for facial detail, I think the bust format works for Iron Man. The expected mix of dark red and metallic gold looks excellent and I am impressed with the shaping, especially on the torso. Additionally, the model measures 17cm across and tall, which is a nice size for easy display, albeit relatively small for its price.
The plinth is simply constructed using black bricks and slopes, but looks good, thanks mainly to its unusual diagonal angle. The actual bust is mounted on a turntable, hence you can adjust the angle of the base and its attached plaque, identifying this as the Mark IV armour. There are also studs available to display the included minifigure.
Alternatively, you can assemble the base without space to attach the minifigure, positioning the plaque in front. Though I appreciate this option, I much prefer the angled plinth, simply because that design looks more interesting.
Tony Stark's early Iron Man suits include relatively defined armour plates, which are translated quite easily to LEGO form. The two panels forming the upper chest, for instance, look splendid around the arc reactor and even the little gaps between those panels and the shoulders appear accurate to the onscreen armour.
I love the mechanical texture around the neck, incorporating ice skates and robot arms. Again, details like these are typically absent from the more advanced Iron Man armours, so I am glad an earlier example was chosen. Also, the metallic gold parts on either side correspond with the armour from Iron Man 2.
The Mark III armour is armed with shoulder-mounted micro guns, which presumably remain on the Mark IV, despite not appearing in the movie. The bust therefore includes fold-out guns in its shoulders, using tread elements for the multiple barrels. These treads are not completely hidden when retracted, but the function still works remarkably well.
Furthermore, flaps on the back of the armour are adjustable, serving as dynamic air brakes in flight. The surrounding armour looks suitably smooth and corresponds with the film, other than the dark bluish grey hinges beneath the shoulder cannons.
The rounded shape of the head is probably harder to capture at this scale, but still looks fairly accurate to me. The metallic gold faceplate is particularly striking, making fantastic use of 2x2 curved wedge slopes. Similarly, I like the white eyes and even the mouth, although I could see benefits to using a printed piece for the latter.
The head is attached on a ball joint, but cannot look up or down because of the neck structure underneath. It can move sideways though, as shown below. The sides and back of the helmet seem less interesting without any gold highlights, but the shape is effective overall, putting the 2x2 curved corner slopes introduced earlier this year to perfect use, among other pieces.
Overall
I have never been a particular fan of the Helmet Collection, especially in Marvel, so 76327 Iron Man MK4 Bust makes a welcome change and I prefer this format, thus far. Including the upper torso and shoulders suits Iron Man's armoured design and I appreciate the adjustable features, such as the weaponry hidden in the shoulders.
The addition of a minifigure is also a positive, but as generally seems to be the case with these compact display models, the price is an issue. £54.99, $59.99 or €59.99 is simple too much for something of this size, particularly one containing just 436 pieces. Nonetheless, I am curious to see how this series develops in the future.
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35 comments on this article
"It's a bust!"
If they keep doing these, I wonder how many of them will just be the various different Iron Man armours the MCU has given us
Should be £40.
I don't think the head looks good at all.
That's nasty gash on the gold 1x2 curved "eyebrow". LEGO need to take better care.
Overall, not impressed. The idea has potential however, so likewise it will be interesting to see where it goes.
For that price, it better actually have Jarvis AI inside
Sad Iron Man looks sad. :(((((
I like everything except how much it costs. Aside from magazine mounts and polybags Marvel never seems to hit the right spot for me, where I like the minifigs, the build and the price all at once.
“Is this some kind of a bust?”
“Yes, it’s very impressive.”
Only set reviews on Sundays. What’s up with that?
After 76215 Black Panther, I would have thought LEGO would be done with busts for a while. At this size, I think you just have to make too many compromises. Like it or not, Black Panther looked good but was just too expensive, even at the prevalent discount.
I liked the Star Wars helmets at first but it started to get old and too expensive. But if a Dr. Doom helmet/cowl is on the horizon…
Wow, the price is so ridiculous.
This has grown on me since its reveal.
Notes from Mark Stafford ( @Nabii ) one of the designers:
“Designed in collaboration with Petra P. who I was mentoring for her first year. This is her first LEGO set and it's entirely as good as it is because of her input. As a new designer who didn't know the building system her vision pushed my skills to the edge. We wanted this to be fun to build but also as accurate as it could be at this scale. I'm not sure the packaging shot is very kind to it. Much better in reality.”
https://brickset.com/sets/designer-Mark-Stafford
Still looks like he's about to cry, no matter what angle you look at it.
OMG that mouth just ruins everything within seconds as soon as you look at it.
@Brickalili said:
"If they keep doing these, I wonder how many of them will just be the various different Iron Man armours the MCU has given us"
Waiting for the "Iron Man Busts" subtheme in the database?
Sounds disturbing to me.
I don't even like busts as statues, they always just look weird to me. These are no different. Just look a bit odd.
I'll grab a War Machine if they do one, but can't see how many of these they can do.
More Iron Man, Spider-Man and Black Panther. Star Lord? But beyond that?
Too much for too little too long after too many displays.
I'm full up on IM figs. No more. I won't get excited about another IM fig unless there's full arm printing, side leg printing, and back of the helmet printing... or, at least a new color. ;)
@ohrmazd said:
"“Is this some kind of a bust?”
“Yes, it’s very impressive.”"
"Nice beaver!"
"Thank you. I just had it stuffed."
59.99 USD is awfully expensive for what really amounts to a minifigure for someone's collection. All I can say at this point is that I really am disappointed with LEGO.
Sure there are a few sets here or there whose prices actually make sense, and yeah there are a few things (like the upcoming minifigure vending machine) that are neat, but most is just overpriced and/or underwhelming (to put it nicely).
I always thought of LEGO being a company that put its fans first, but apparently not anymore. Now they have joined the ranks of greedy corporations looking for any way to make a buck.
I hope this fails. The design is low quality and the price is insulting. Lego needs to start losing money on their lower quality products.
Not gonna lie, I’d much rather see Black Widow’s bust. ;-D
That chin piece that makes him look like he is crying ruins it for me. I do wonder if you turned that piece upside down wether it would improve it.
@madforLEGO said:
"59.99 USD is awfully expensive for what really amounts to a minifigure for someone's collection. All I can say at this point is that I really am disappointed with LEGO.
Sure there are a few sets here or there whose prices actually make sense, and yeah there are a few things (like the upcoming minifigure vending machine) that are neat, but most is just overpriced and/or underwhelming (to put it nicely).
I always thought of LEGO being a company that put its fans first, but apparently not anymore. Now they have joined the ranks of greedy corporations looking for any way to make a buck."
If all you want is the minifig, I'm sure there will be people parting this out and selling it for considerably less than the set costs. Not as low as a CMF, mind you, but if your plan is to just recycle the rest of the parts, that'll at least save you money. And I'm sure that most people who are dead set on collecting a full range of Ironman armors won't mind having this as a centerpiece to their display.
I actually really like the way they did the mouth - it seems to me to be some very Nice Part Usage indeed - so it’s interesting to see how many people consider it the worst part.
@Brickalili said:
"If they keep doing these, I wonder how many of them will just be the various different Iron Man armours the MCU has given us"
Oh, they'll do more than just Iron Man. They'll do War Machine, Iron Patriot... Maybe they'll even do Rescue!
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Brickalili said:
"If they keep doing these, I wonder how many of them will just be the various different Iron Man armours the MCU has given us"
Oh, they'll do more than just Iron Man. They'll do War Machine, Iron Patriot... Maybe they'll even do Rescue!"
I'm holding out for Iron Squirrel
I'm a Halo fan and the difference between Mark IV, V, VI, and VII armor is striking, along with almost every helmet within that set (Scout in Mark V, VI, and VII for example), but I can't figure out how Marvel fans can tell the difference between like 50 different variations of Iron Man armor. Maybe 2 or 3 stand out. Can anyone confirm or deny?
@PurpleDave said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @Brickalili said:
"If they keep doing these, I wonder how many of them will just be the various different Iron Man armours the MCU has given us"
Oh, they'll do more than just Iron Man. They'll do War Machine, Iron Patriot... Maybe they'll even do Rescue!"
I'm holding out for Iron Squirrel"
Iron Beaver?
@AustinPowers said:
" @ohrmazd said:
"“Is this some kind of a bust?”
“Yes, it’s very impressive.”"
"Nice beaver!"
"Thank you. I just had it stuffed." "
I just think about baseball.
@ShilohCyan:
Not a Marvel fanboy, but there are a few more than that. Mark I looks like a kid made it out of cardboard and ice cream tubs. Mark II was basically solid silver (and I believe ended up becoming War Machine?). I only know of two that have silver instead of gold, and one that unwisely mixes silver with a gold faceplate. There’s one with hot rod flames, and a few others in weird colors. Hulkbuster is pretty hard to mix up with the rest, as is…whatever the other giant one’s called (Igor?). But yeah, when you get down to all the myriad red/gold designs, you really need to pay attention to the shape of the chest reactor…and probably have stills from the films to match them to. And it doesn’t help that most of them never got used on-screen.
@StyleCounselor:
Don’t be silly. Beaver Boy never stopped Galactus.
More of the same, seems like they are running out of ideas for exploiting the Marvel license. Ok, since Lego is now into real life objects, how about a set featuring Tony Stark glasses, actual size so that you can actually wear them? Or a giant version of the spider that gave Spidey his powers? Just some thoughts, I'm not a huge Marvel fan, hardcore fans may have better ideas, there has to be something more than just superheroe suits and armours in various scales, just saying.
@ohrmazd said:
"“Is this some kind of a bust?”
“Yes, it’s very impressive.”"
The only reason I clicked on this article, and someone beat me to it.
@bricks4everyone said:
"More of the same, seems like they are running out of ideas for exploiting the Marvel license. Ok, since Lego is now into real life objects, how about a set featuring Tony Stark glasses, actual size so that you can actually wear them? Or a giant version of the spider that gave Spidey his powers? Just some thoughts, I'm not a huge Marvel fan, hardcore fans may have better ideas, there has to be something more than just superheroe suits and armours in various scales, just saying."
Could do Tony Stark's Snacks. He had more of those hidden around the sets than he had armors.
I really like it, I haven’t seen the price but every time I see it I misjudge the scale (for instance I keep mistaking the arc reactor as a 4x4 dish) and every time I realise I become more impressed with the detail. Certainly an improvement over the helmets line!
I do collect Iron Man figures, so neat seeing a new one. But also not super new since only the torso is new. Maybe I'll pick this set up on a discount. If I find one.
I agree the mouth looked fine, until I stared at it more. There might be a different way to convey that shape, I don't know. It looks like biting his lip maybe but symmetrically.
@Zeitgeist said:
"The official count for Iron Man's armours, such as it is, is "many". A cursory Google-search teaches me that there's some 60 armours in the MCU, and some 85 in the comics (?).
There's bound to be some overlap though, but the long and short of it is: Lego doesn't need to worry its pretty yellow conical head about running out of stones to bleed, any time soon. Busts and helmets! Busts and helmets for days!"
As I pointed out earlier, they could also do some of Tony's other armors, the ones that weren't called "Iron Man." And it's an automaton, not an armor, but they could also do the Destroyer from Thor. "Is that one of Stark's?" "I don't know, guy never tells me anything."