Review – Iron Man Mark I Mini Bust

Released last year by Gentle Giant (Amazon.com search*), the Iron Man Mark I mini bust was the company’s first Iron Man statue and pitted them directly against Bowen Designs’ line of Iron Man mini busts . . . a few of which I already own. So how did Gentle Giant do with their competing mini bust? As remarkable as I was expecting.

Gentle Giant’s Mastery in a New Direction

I’ve already been impressed with the company’s toys and statues in the past, and this Iron Man Mark I mini bust demonstrates why my faith in their artists remains strong. At 7.25-inches tall the mini bust fits in nicely with the work by Bowen Designs — Space Armor Iron Man Mini Bust review, Iron Monger Mini Bust review, Iron Man Hulkbuster Mini Bust review — and I have no reservations in suggesting that anyone collecting the Bowen Designs Iron Man mini busts should take a close look at this statue.

Let There Be Light!

Gentle Giant has installed light effects in a number of their statues, and in this Iron Man Mark I mini bust the built-in light illuminates the chest and gives the statue a cool look that, unfortunately, I won’t get to enjoy all that often. If I were tasked with working on these mini busts and statues I would work on a system in which the different pieces can be chained together and driven by an outside power source; what I want is to be able to flip one switch and activate all of the built-in light effects at once. But as they exist now, each statue uses batteries and must be activated one by one. That’s just too time consuming to work as a daily event and that leaves my collection not as brilliant as it should be.

Sculpt

You don’t need me to tell you that this Iron Man Mark I mini bust features an awesome sculpting job; the photos scream that as you as soon as you start looking at the design. The Gentle Giant team is world-class and everything they create looks amazing on my shelf. My only real complaint is that they make far too much cool artwork for me to own it all — I have neither the space nor room for everything — but that’s not a real complaint and is me just rambling when I should be telling you: Look at the pics!

Paint

And as awesome as the sculpt it I am happy to report that Gentle Giant (Amazon.com search*) didn’t cheap out when it came to the paint apps. Though it’s mostly silvers and grays, there are all sorts of dings and weathering effects that make the statue more than just a simple representation of Iron Man. And when you look through the slits in the helmet and see the painted Tony Stark face you can really start to appreciate just how much effort was sunk into the entire design, from sculpt to paint.

Closing Thoughts

Once you add in the rotating helmet — Iron Man can look left or right — and note that the statue was limited to 520 pieces it all starts to look like one hell of a cool design that should be in any Iron Man fan’s collection. I’m a bit tight on space at home for the bust so I’ll be taking it to the office — I still have some display space there — and I am certain I’ll be happy to view the statue every day when I’m working away.

I’ve no idea what Gentle Giant’s plans are for more Iron Man mini busts — I’m sure that’s a crowded market to break into — but regardless of what they try next for the character I’ll be right there to support them and give it a shot. The company has earned my respect and their fabulous customer service makes me happy to support them and to recommend their work to everyone.