Retro Discussion: Bandai/Tamashii Nations SHFiguarts Infinity Saga: Iron Man Mark 85 (5 Years Later) Action Figure.
- Dan Hickman
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Hey everyone, welcome to another Dan's ToyBox Action Figure Review. I know this guy has been out for quite a while. I figured it was time to add an SHFiguarts Iron Man to my collection and, quite frankly, this was on sale. Never, ever pass up a sale, especially when it's on a figure as nice as this.
The Iron Man Mark 85 armor, featured in Avengers: Endgame, is Tony Stark's final and most advanced suit. Built using nanotechnology, it offers seamless transformation and weapon deployment, including energy blades, repulsors, and a powerful nano shield. The Mark 85 enhances Stark’s combat abilities with improved durability, flight stabilization, and energy projection, making it his most versatile and powerful armor. It plays a pivotal role in the film’s climax, as Tony uses it to wield the Infinity Stones, sacrificing himself to defeat Thanos. The sleek red-and-gold design pays homage to classic Iron Man suits (specifically the Model 4 armor) while integrating cutting-edge tech.
To say that this is my favorite iteration of Iron Man's MCU armor would be an understatement. Regardless of how cool the updated tech looked in the comic books, the Model 4 will always be my favorite. It's the armor design that I basically grew up reading. When I saw the Mark 85 for the first time, I immediately drew comparisons to the Model 4. Sure, the shoulder pieces are different and there are no pods at his hips, but the gold arms and legs, red boots, gauntlets, and body piece are so evocative of that 70's and 80's comic armor, and I just love it!
ACCESSORIES: 9/10
SHFiguarts packs in a lot of extras with this figure. Inasmuch as I like all of the stuff included, I think a battle-damaged Tony face would have been excellent. With that in mind though, let's take a look at what he's got.
Masked Headsculpt
Unmasked Headsculpt
One pair of fists
One pair of flight hands
One pair of relaxed hands
One pair of Repulsor Blast hands (with peg mount for blast effect)
One Nano Gauntlet with Infinity Stones and Electric effect
One Nano Gauntlet with Infinity Stones Finger Snapping pose
One pair of "Claw Blasters" that can replace his forearms
One Nano Lightning Refocuser
Six Refocuser Blast Effects
Two pairs of Repulsor blast effects
One pair of boot jet effects.
One plug for the back port
All things considered; this is quite a bit of great stuff. The refocuser blasts plug in easily and have designations as to which port they plug into. I was surprised that the repulsor blasts fit on pegs on the hands, rather than plugging into holes in the hands, but then, this is my first SHF Iron Man, and that may be the norm. It's a pleasant difference from what I'm used to with other manufacturers. I do enjoy having the extra Infinity Gauntlet hands, but they look somewhat out of place with the pristine state of his armor. That being said, I'm certainly not going to complain because they look really slick. As I mentioned before, a battle-damaged Tony Stark head would have looked great, but I'm certainly fine with what we do get.
APPEARANCE: 10/10
I'm a bit biased as I mentioned that I really like the fact that this design is so reminiscent of the Model 4 armor. When I first opened the packaging, I honestly thought this was an entirely die cast figure. Even though I knew it wasn't, the incredible metallic paint job really does a fantastic job of selling the armored look. In fact, the feet are the only die cast pieces on the figure and the paint job is so well done that it's very hard to tell the difference between feet and legs by visual inspection alone. I really combed over this figure and the only paint flaw I was able to find was a result of trying to remove the plug for the port on his back... yes, I accidentally scraped the paint a tiny bit. Thankfully it's only noticeable to me and then only when I'm looking at the back. The amount of detail on this figure is astonishing. Close inspection turns up a number of small turquoise blue "lights" on the suit. As with previous iterations of the MCU Iron Man armor, this version has a wonderful mix of gold and red, along with the gunmetal trim running throughout. Probably my only real issue is with the unmasked Tony Stark head... his eyes are a bit off center for me. It's not enough to be off-putting, but chances are I'll keep this figure displayed with full armor.
The arc reactor is a very nice piece, but I wish that it were just a bit brighter blue. Even though it stands out from the red armor, it's still very dark and looks inactive.
The sculpting on this figure is where it truly shines. There are so many fine details on the armor, which helps make it even more MCU authentic. I am marveling (no pun intended) at the amount of detail work on this figure. Couple it with the excellent paint work and you've got one of the best-looking Iron Man figures out there. I regret waiting so long to buy this, but I'm certainly glad that I finally have one.
ARTICULATION: 7.5/10
As many of you know I have several SHFiguarts in my collection and I've always been pleased with their articulation engineering. I will say that this Iron Man is a bit of a letdown. Starting at the top:
Both masked and unmasked heads turn side to side on the neck pieces but up/down motion is fairly limited. Both of the neck pieces sit on the ball peg and can tilt forward and back, allowing for greater range of head movement. There is some side-to-side tilt, but not much. Quite frankly, I have the most difficulty turning the masked head. I thought about popping it off the neck to try and loosen it a bit but decided against it. The shoulders have fairly decent range with the hidden butterflies. The shoulders themselves can also shift up and down which helps with raising the arms out to the sides. They will go to just beyond a T pose and can also rotate the full 360 degrees. The bicep cuts work fine and will rotate with ease. I really am impressed with the elbows too. Full range allows you to bring Iron Man's hands right up to his shoulders. The wrists pivot, but hinging is somewhat limited, due to the design of the hands. The torso has a multi-point design. The upper torso will rotate and can crunch forward to a degree, tilt back minimally, and can lean/tilt side to side. The lower joints do help with crunch and back bend somewhat, but I feel they really exist more to prevent gapping when posing the figure. Overall, the figure's ability to bend forward and back is limited, making the multi-point articulation somewhat useless. Surprisingly, the hips move fairly well. The figure can't do very deep splits... Marvel Legends have better range! But you can kick the legs up fairly high and rotating them slightly at the top increases the range. The thigh actually also rotates, giving the leg more range and allowing for more posing options. The knees are also double-jointed and have very good range. Be careful though as the "kneecaps" plug into the front of the leg and can come off if you aren't paying attention. I discovered this quite by accident and spent ten minutes crawling around on the floor before finding the missing piece! While I expect the torso articulation to be underwhelming, the ankles were the most disappointing for me. They hinge up and down but are limited by the shin design. If there is any pivot, I've yet to make it happen, which leads me to believe there isn't any. My left ankle is fairly loose too, which is something of a problem when trying to get him to stand in a dynamic pose. The toe articulation works fine though and is, at least, stable.
AFFORDABILITY: 8/10
I got this on Amazon and it is currently available for $80. BBTS has it listed for $104.99 so if you can get it on sale, as I did, it's worth the price. Would I say it's worth $104.99... Even though I'm a fan of import figures and I'm really impressed with the gobs of accessories and the look of the figure, I'd be hard-pressed to pay full price for it. Ultimately though, pricing and value are in the eye of the collector and an amount I might be willing to pay is certainly going to differ from what someone else might. All in all, I can say this is a solid figure for $80-$90 and if you can find it at that price, it's worth adding to your collection.
Overall, I am suitably impressed with this figure. In spite of the fact this figure is two years old, it definitely stands the test of time. I'm very happy to have this in my collection and am pleased to give it a solid score of:
9 out of 10 ToyBoxes
I am much more impressed with this figure than I expected to be. Even the minor issues I have with it don't bring the score down much at all. The Bandai/Tamashii Nations SHFiguarts Infinity Saga Iron Man Mark 85 (Five Years Later) Action Figure is a true joy to have in my collection. Thank you, as always! Until next time... GEEK OUT!!!