Review – Iron Monger Mini-Bust
A few months ago I posted a review of the Iron Man 2 Iron Monger action figure (review here). Since first finding that toy I’ve yet to see it again, so I am quite happy that I grabbed it . . . especially since the figure looks great in my Iron Man collection. But as cool as it looks, this Iron Monger Mini-Bust* is about a hundred times cooler.
Released by Bowen Designs (official website, at Sideshow Collectibles*) in 2008, this mini-bust is about 7-inches tall and as slick and smooth as any Iron Man statue I’ve seen so far. And it’s currently pretty easy to find; easier, in fact, than the Hasbro action figure.
Sculpt
Even more than the action figure, this Iron Monger sculpt looks like the character’s appearance in Iron Man #200 (Marvel Wiki). The sculpt is tight, with every detail near-flawless and having that machined look we expect from robots and powered armor. And even though the armor design is smooth and almost featureless, the statue has just enough sculpted details that it looks great without looking like we were over-charged for little to no work. Looking at the statue I can say that the details on the shoulder pads are a little soft, but other than that I’ve got no complaints with Alex de Souza Moraes’ work on the statue’s sculpt.
Paint
Again, the Iron Monger Mini-Bust* follows the comic artwork so while we get minimal paint applications — the entire statue is a metallic blue with black details — it’s only following the comic and it would be unfair for me to penalize the statue for matching the source material. But even if it’s unfair, it does kinda feel as if the paint isn’t quite as involved as we should expect from a statue. Some airbrushing, maybe in a lighter shade of metallic blue, would have given the statue a little more depth and made it feel more like I got enough of a paint app for a mid-price statue, but the paint does look good and the lighting over the display here at home helps provide enough depth.
Seriously, it’s a tight and clean paint job and I shouldn’t complain that it’s just two colors of paint. But I am, because just one other shade of blue would have helped the look (which is already great).
An Excellent Companion to the Action Figure
Toys and statues always look best in groups, and this statue goes perfectly with the action figure, the two pieces making a fantastic addition to my Iron Man collection. I understand that not everyone collects statues, but this is one I’m gonna recommend considering because it’s currently easy to find, priced reasonably ($30 to $40 online), and really is a sharp piece of work.
Closing Thoughts
The Iron Monger Mini-Bust*, while stuck in one pose, makes an awesome display piece in my Iron Man collection and it big enough to be immediately visible without being so large that finding space for it was a problem. Bowen Designs does great work with their statues, and the more of their mini-busts that I grab the more of them I want.
I wish the paint had been more detailed, but even with it’s fairly simple color scheme this is a really fun statue and one I have no problems recommending to Iron Man fans everywhere.
Philip Reed is hoping everything goes well and he gets his Iron Man Space Armor statue, because that thing is gonna be a massive and beautiful addition to his Iron Man display.