Review – Iron Man Mark II Mini Bust

Following the Iron Man Mark I mini bust review from a few days ago (review here) comes this Iron Man Mark II mini bust* by Gentle Giant. I managed to get both of these statues during a buy one, get one sale so the total price of $45/each made these incredible buys . . . but even at full price I would have been extremely happy with both Iron Man mini busts.

A Completely New Sculpt

My first assumption was that the Iron Man Mark II mini bust* would be a simple variant on the Mark I bust, but comparing the two small statues we can see that Gentle Giant crafted two unique designs. That shouldn’t surprise me — the company has proven many times to really care about the quality of their work — but I had just expected some shared parts since the edition runs on both are so low. But no, what we got are two different and excellent Iron Man mini busts.

More Light!

Like the Mark I mini bust (review here), this Iron Man Mark II mini bust* includes a battery-powered light in the chest that gives the statue some real zazz when it’s activated. Maybe I’m just too easily entertained, but the Gentle Giant statues with lights strike me as fairly neat . . . but I still wish there was a way to chain these to a single switch and external power source.

Paint’s Not Quite as Good

The Iron Man Mark II mini bust* has some attractive paint apps across the statue, but a few minor blemishes here and there make this not quite as attractive as the Iron Man Mark I mini bust (review here). But the gold coloring is more striking than the silver/gray of the other design so I can’t really say which is the cooler of the two designs; I’m gonna stick to “these look best as a pair” and leave it at that.

vs. Bowen Designs

With the number of Bowen Designs Iron Man mini busts on the market (Amazon.com search*) I think it’s perfectly reasonable to compare Gentle Giant’s first Iron Man mini busts to the Bowen Designs pieces. Both companies have similar sizes and price points, and looking at the busts in my collection from each I think it’s tough for me to say exactly which is better. Fortunately, they all seem to sit nicely together on the shelf so an Iron Man fan may — in my opinion — buy from either company without worry. That’s a great thing!

Closing Thoughts

This gold-colored Iron Man Mark II mini bust* from Gentle Giant was a fantastic bargain for me, especially when you keep in mind that I managed to basically get what is one of a limited edition of 300 statues for half price. I suggest grabbing one of these today if you like the look; at 300 pieces it’s just a matter of time before these vanish from retail and the aftermarket prices climb.

Time to take this statue to the office and display it with the other statues and toys than help make my work days more enjoyable.