#20: Iron Man 2 movie series Mark VI Iron Man

So far, the Iron Man 2 line seems plentiful in stores, so for the most part you can find whichever figure you're looking for. I was thinking I'd like a movie style Iron Man in this scale, so I decided to go with the Mark VI which is apparently going to be the most advanced suit Tony Stark wears in the upcoming movie. Sure, I have the similarly styled "Extremis" Iron Man figure from the Marvel Universe line, but these movie figures seem to be of a higher quality (and lower price!) than their MU counterparts. Speaking of price, these figures are on sale for $5.99 at Target this week.

There are two versions of the Mark VI figures, this one, and one that has a light up chest. Really, it's just supposed to be the unibeam on its chest that lights up, but in practice the entire chest glows. I decided to stick with the basic version. As we've come to expect from the figures in this line, it's high quality stuff. I think it would be nice if the left hand had a swivel joint so he could point his repulsors at something without lifting his entire arm up, but that's not a major complaint. The big missile launcher is of course removable, which is fortunate. I'm really digging this line, so I'm curious just how many more I'll end up with through its run.

#19: Star Wars Legacy Collection Stormtrooper

Not surprisingly, I have a few Stormtroopers in my collection. And yet, this one is unique in my collection. All the other Stormies I have with plain white armor have removable helmets, while this one does not. This guy isn't attached to any particular wave, but is one of the figures included to fill up case packs, and this particular Stormie includes the right arm of HK-50 (now I only need the left arm to complete it!), so he's shipping with the Empire Strikes Back figures. In my book, it's hard to have too many Stormtroopers in your collection, so it's always nice to add another, especially if it is unique within your troopers.

My local Target has lowered its prices on Star Wars figures back down to 6.99, which is a welcome change. I don't know if this is a chain-wide change or just local, but it's worth noting. From what I've seen, Hasbro figures in general seem to be going down a little in price, except for Marvel Universe figures. Hopefully they catch up with this trend as well.

#18: Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Divebomb

Remember Ransack? Divebomb is a repaint of him. I may be willing to buy just about any repainted clone trooper that Hasbro puts out, but when it comes to Transformers, I'm usually not so keen on buying repaints. In this case, I dig the new color scheme so much that it is an easy sell for me. Although Divebomb is not the same kind of plane as the one the Red Baron flew, it is similar enough that it is a completely obvious repaint for this mold. On Ransack, the Decepticon symbol was combined with an iron cross, a really cool piece of design which unfortunately wasn't replicated here. One advantage of having two versions of the same mold is that it allows you to display both the robot mode and the vehicle mode at the same time. Divebomb is definitely going to be displayed in vehicle mode.

#17: Marvel Universe Thor

Hey, it's Thor! Remember that movie "Adventures In Babysitting"? I think that's the only reason I care about Thor. I was thinking about getting the comic pack Thor, which has his more classic outfit, but I decided to save a few bucks and not get stuck with a figure for a character I'm completely unfamiliar with. So I got the Thor with a costume I'm unfamiliar with. Either way, it does look pretty cool. His face has a lot of personality. By which I mean it looks kind of funny. Maybe that's the way they draw him these days, but I think his face looks more barbarian than Norse god. More befitting a god is his size: he's pretty tall, about as tall as the MU Hulk figure. Aside from a display stand, Thor comes with the only accessory he could need, his trusty hammer Mjolnir. He's a pretty neat figure, and he can even stand up without the stand despite the big cape.

#16: Star Wars Legacy Collection Zuckuss

I'm pretty sure I've never had a Zuckuss before. I know they made one in the 90s, but I think it's a figure I missed out on. Anyway, with this being the 30th anniversary of Empire Strikes Back, I have been struck with a sudden desire to get the bounty hunters from the movie. So that just leaves 4-LOM, Dengar, Bossk, and IG-88 to go. The first thing you may notice about this figure is its flaring skirt. I need to play around with it some more to get it to lie more flat, which I hope it can do. That looks kind of ridiculous. You can't tell from the picture, but Zuckuss is short. We're talking Princess Leia short here. Wookieepedia says he is only 1.5 meters tall, so that is true to the character. Overall it's a good figure, just right for Boba Fett to make a fool of like in the Bounty Hunter trilogy of books (fun reads!).

#15: LEGO City BBQ Stand

I went to the LEGO store with James last week, and helped him fill his bucket of bricks Tetris style, and as thanks he offered to buy one of the small sets for me. It was either this or something from Atlantis, and the idea of being able to feed my LEGO Imperial and clone troopers won out. It's a nice little set, and the grill works pretty well for being so simple. And there's a LEGO chef. With a ridiculously oversized drumstick. That's my favorite part of the set.

#14: Iron Man 2 comic series Iron Man (Mark I armor)

This is it, the original Iron Man suit of armor as it appeared in the comics. It's not the first figure to be made based on the design, but by the time I started paying attention to Marvel Legends, it was already long gone. I already have the movie version from the first movie's line, so although they have released it in the smaller scale, I think I can pass. I definitely wanted to pick up the comic version, though. Like Iron Monger, I dig its retro aesthetic, which in this case is genuine since it's a 60s creation.

The figure itself is really cool, and does a good job of adapting the look to toy form. Particularly cool is the paint work, which does a good job of representing beat up old metal. On the front, anyway. The back looks relatively clean. It also comes with a detachable repulsor blast. Even though the song isn't exactly about Iron Man, this version is what comes into my mind whenever I hear it.

#13: Iron Man 2 movie series Iron Monger

The first time around, for whatever reason I never got an Iron Monger figure. Now I have corrected that omission. I really dig the design of movie Iron Monger because even though it is high tech, it still has a sort of retro feel to it. It wouldn't look too out of place terrorizing small town America in a 50s sci-fi drive in epic. It looks good and it moves well. Also, it's probably the bulkiest figure in the entire line. Although it is big, it also brings up my only complaint: that it's too small. Movie Iron Monger is pretty towering, and so to be in scale with the rest of this line should be... well, it should be the 6 inch figure from the first movie's line. I think I'm going to have to pick one of those up. Aside from the scale issue, I really like this figure, and even if I end up with two, I don't regret picking this one up.

#12: Iron Man 2 Comic Series War Machine

Like last year's Wolverine movie line, this year's Iron Man 2 movie line will feature figures based on the movie and comics. I decided to get the comic version of War Machine, mainly because the weapons over his shoulders don't have a missile launching feature, and consequently don't look so goofy. Also those blast effects are removable, which is as always a cool feature.

It's a pretty sturdy figure so even though it comes with a stand it doesn't really need it. The figures in this line have unusual stands that are meant to also hold the three included cards. It's one regular card with two transparent plastic cards with different pieces of the armor printed on them. When you put them together, you get a full picture. You can probably even mix and match between different sets.

Anyway, the figure itself is well made. It's got articulation where you'd want there to be, and the joints all feel like they'll hold a pose well. The sculpt is a good one, and the paint is a nice mix of shiny and dull finishes. I'm not necessarily interested in picking up version after version of Tony Stark in armor, so the addition of War Machine to the movie and consequently the toy line is welcome.

#11: Star Wars Legacy Collection Luke Skywalker (snowspeeder pilot)

Aside from this Luke figure, I've already got five or six others already. So, why another, especially since I have a similarly outfitted X-Wing pilot version of Luke? The answer is simple: the AT-AT. We all know it's coming out, and I intend to get one, I even set aside money from my tax refunds for it. I want to have Luke hanging off the bottom of it, and this is just the Luke for the job.

Fortunately, it is a good figure aside from fulfilling a very small niche in my collection. Although Hasbro could have easily reused parts from the X-Wing pilot version of Luke, this is an all new figure. Underneath his helmet is a new headsculpt complete with headsock, which even manages a decent likeness. Oddly enough, this is probably the only Luke figure that comes without an ignited lightsaber. That's kind of funny, especially considering that the medical frigate Luke figure had one even though he had just lost his lightsaber. This Luke merely has the hilt. He also comes with the requisite harpoon gun for hanging off the AT-AT with. The only other thing you could ask for here is a thermal detonator. With a completely new sculpt and two other weapons, that's on oversight that is easy to overlook because this is a good figure.