A MAT IRVINE REVIEW
The movie Iron Man turned out much better that I was expecting. Frankly, having gone off a lot of superhero movies because, well, those superheroes can seemingly get away with anything, Iron Man initially seemed to be of the same genre, but of course it isn’t. Tony Stark is an ordinary man (OK, a very rich ‘ordinary man’) who builds a power suit to help him defeat the bad guys, but it does not empower him with ‘superpowers’ as such - we are not talking the missing sibling of the Fantastic Four here. The screenplay was much assisted by Robert Downey Jr in the role, and the humorous elements mean that he doesn’t get it right all the time.
Iron Man never had the honour of being represented in plastic by the originator of the ‘super figures’ kit, Aurora. Instead, it’s been one of the companies that has taken on the mantle of ‘new Aurora’, Moebius Models. MM has reproduced the Iron Man figure in 1:8 scale (part of the instruction sheet is shown, top picture above) and made it in a style that is certainly reminiscent of what Aurora might have done. (And there is a long list of what Aurora could - or should - have done.)
The kit is moulded in the rich rub red of the Iron Man suit, so you could get away with just painting the gold section of the armour. However, for a more authentic finish, paint the whole figure gold. Wait until it’s thoroughly dry, mask off the areas that will remain gold, then spray on a transparent red. This will then match the original finish very closely. Finally add painting details to the base.
There’s one other kit you could add to this display. Although not specifically made as an Iron Man movie model, the recent Revell 1:24 scale kit of the Audi R8 could be added, as it is one of the cars featured in the movie. (Audi seems keen on such product placements). Finish the car in silver and metallic black - oddly it does not appear in the movie in matching Iron Man colours - then add California ‘STARK 4’ licence plates.
Incidentally, Robert Downey Jr (playing Tony Stark) had a cameo role in the most recent 2008 The Incredible Hulk movie; Iron Man 2 is in the works, for first screening on April 30, 2010.
Visit Moebius Models here.
And for absolutely everything you ever wanted to know about Audi R8s in movies and TV - and a lot more besides - visit the Internet Cars Movie Database here.