Review: 76326 Iron Spider-Man Bust
Posted by CapnRex101,
LEGO Marvel has included numerous character-based models in recent years, between various buildable action figures, many character mechs and the Helmet Collection. I think the selection was already enough, but two busts have been launched this summer.
While perhaps unnecessary, 76326 Iron Spider-Man Bust looks great on the whole. This model definitely captures the suit's distinctive colour scheme and chest pattern, without relying too heavily on printed parts. Additionally, a unique Iron Spider minifigure is included, complete with decorated arms.
Summary
76326 Iron Spider-Man Bust, 379 pieces.
£54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99 | 14.5p/15.8c/15.8c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
This rendition of the Iron Spider armour is vastly overpriced, but looks pretty good
- Impressive sculpting
- Outstanding minifigure
- Head seems out of proportion
- Far too expensive
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigure
The infamous 76323 Avengers: Endgame Final Battle introduced a new Iron Spider minifigure earlier this year and the same figure appears here, albeit with arm printing! The existing design was already good, though looks considerably better with decorated arms to continue the details from the torso, including the dark blue and gold spider symbol.
Dual-moulded legs are welcome too, but a few gold highlights on the boots would elevate the minifigure even more. Also, I marginally prefer the more articulated arms connected to Spider-Man's back in 76323 Avengers: Endgame Final Battle, which allow many more posing options, but these pearl gold claw elements work.
The Completed Model
Armoured characters like Iron Man, or Spider-Man wearing the Iron Spider suit, often translate effectively to brick-built form and this model illustrates that well. The overall shape seems fairly faithful to the onscreen character and gaps between parts are readily excused as seams where armour segments join.
Additionally, the bright colours look fantastic, distinguishing Iron Spider-Man from the relatively muted 76327 Iron Man MK4 Bust. Their difference in size seems odd initially, but makes sense when you consider how Tony's armours developed over time. While the MK4 armour was pretty bulky in Iron Man 2, the later Iron Spider was more form-fitting to Peter Parker.
Like the Iron Man MK4 Bust, this model rests on a black plinth. The diagonal angle looks good and there are spaces for the minifigure and a printed nameplate. Alternatively, you can remove the minifigure and attach the plaque in the middle. I prefer the angled configuration, but options are appreciated.
However, the head seems disproportionately small to me, compared with the shoulders. I think their shaping is quite effective separately and changing the size of the head would definitely be difficult at this scale, but it simply looks strange. On the other hand, the dark blue and pearl gold stripes on the shoulders look excellent, as do the mechanical arms on Spider-Man's back.
The arms are fully articulated and pearl gold claws capture their shape well, although the blue accents visible onscreen are missing. The anchor points on the back look good, however, with accurate gold details and a red 2x3 pentagonal tile in the centre, matching the printed piece on the front.
Even though it should be bigger, I am impressed with the sculpting of Spider-Man's head. The printed web pattern looks superb from the front and the eyes are also stunning, making clever use of 1x2 semicircular tiles. There is perhaps too much blue, but the white and silver designs look marvellous.
Unfortunately, the web pattern does not continue on the sides or rear of the head. Focusing on the front makes sense though and I imagine the patterns would look messy on the sides, given the number of different elements used. Even if they were individually decorated, there would be lots of noticeable seams between pieces, probably spoiling the design.
Overall
LEGO sculptures have greatly improved in recent years, taking advantage of the many curved elements and wedge slopes developed lately. 76326 Iron Spider-Man Bust seems accurate on the whole and the curvature of the shoulders is particularly impressive, given the complex brick-built pattern.
There are two major problems, however. I understand that options are limited at this scale, but either the head is too small or the shoulders are too large. Even more frustrating is the price of £54.99, $59.99 or €59.99, which seems much too expensive, despite the several printed pieces and an exceptional minifigure.
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12 comments on this article
Looking at the minifigure, what is that stuff on the arms and why are the legs two colors?
-LEGO Star Wars collector
Neat idea, but I probably don’t plan on getting it. That minifigure is sweet (except for those arms on the back — I also prefer the longer ones).
I’m hoping that the Iron Spider fig with the arm printing shows up in another set that I want, as I’m trying to collect one minifig of every MCU Spider-Man suit.
@yellowcastle said:
"Looking at the minifigure, what is that stuff on the arms and why are the legs two colors?
-LEGO Star Wars collector "
Also, why isn’t there a sticker sheet? I see decorated elements… but no sticker sheet?
I really do like the concept! I think it’s a great way to incorporate NPU, printed elements, and fantastic new techniques. The price is iffy… and I think something like $50-400 and one awesome figure would be great! The rumored Star Wars batch is a bit underwhelming, I’ll say that. But, if in the future we start to see a bit of a lower price, and some new figures (not Vader and Yoda, we already have a million of them), I’d totally be in. All told, I hope this eventually swaps with the helmet series, although I’m not sure how much these will improve in quality. I do love the concept though!
Doesn't the Iron Spider minifigure from the 2018 Sanctum Sanctorum have printed legs in addition to printed arms? Making it better than the one here?
I want people to buy these solely to sell the minifigure at Bricklink so I can buy it.
I may be in the minority, but I absolutely hate this. Feels half done, ugly, big gaps.
I didn't think it could get much worse than the Helmet series, then these busts came out.
@JasonBall34 said:
"Doesn't the Iron Spider minifigure from the 2018 Sanctum Sanctorum have printed legs in addition to printed arms? Making it better than the one here?"
Yeah, but that one doesn't have dual moulded legs. So you either get printed legs with no dual moulding or dual moulded but no prints.
@CapnRex101 , The too small head may not be true to the film but it is in keeping with comic book art. In the early days of the genre, artists realised they could make characters seem more dramatic if they reduced the size of their heads and increased the size of their hands. It’s partly why early representations of Superman seem off to us now. His proportions then were realistic but defy our current expectations of what a drawn superhero looks like. I’m not claiming that’s the reason that LEGO made this bust’s head small, only that it may actually make its shoulders - and by implication its physique overall - more impressive.
@Zander said:
" @CapnRex101 , The too small head may not be true to the film but it is in keeping with comic book art. In the early days of the genre, artists realised they could make characters seem more dramatic if they reduced the size of their heads and increased the size of their hands. It’s partly why early representations of Superman seem off to us now. His proportions then were realistic but defy our current expectations of what a drawn superhero looks like. I’m not claiming that’s the reason that LEGO made this bust’s head small, only that it may actually make its shoulders - and by implication its physique overall - more impressive."
I suspect it's really just a reflection of which pieces the designer wanted to use for the set. We don't have a designer noted, but @Nabii did the 76327 Iron Man MK4 Bust which doesn't seem to have the same size concerns. It would seem that the Iron Man bust looks good from multiple angles while the spider webbed costume may limit options for the design here.
he looks like he's got a pig snout or something and I can't unsee it
Iron Man, Iron Man,
Does whatever an iron can
Not much