Welcome to our review of the 2015/6 Hulkbuster Build-a-Figure. The Hulkbuster was first released in 2015 as part of an Avengers wave of figures which included an MCU Warmachine alongside comic book figures of Angela, Blizzard, Marvel Now Iron-Man, Valkyrie, Vision and Doctor Strange.
A year later and Hasbro repacked the Hulkbuster in a European wave of MCU figures and this time round the Hulkbuster had a darker red and arguably more accurate paint colouring. This MCU wave was made up of Avengers & Avengers Age of Ultron figures including the same Warmachine and also Iron-Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Loki, Hulk and Captain America. The wave also had a Thor included, but he didn't come with any BAF parts.
The Hulkbuster has gone on to get a third release in 2018 in the First 10 Years sets from Hasbro, packed alongside a possessed Hulk figure.
Packaging N/A
As a build-a-figure, Hulkbuster has no packaging as such and is split out across the other figures in the wave as broken down below.
Sculpt & Paint 3/5
The Hulkbuster stands an impressive 9 and a half inches tall, one of the biggest Legends figure to date and a definite centrepiece in any display. The sculpt is pretty accurate to what we see on screen in Age of Ultron. The plastic is cast in red to give the figure the colouring, and in places you can see imperfections in that plastic with stress lines visible on certain areas. The red is perhaps not as metallic as I would like, but to be fair it is consistent with how Iron-Man has been executed in the Legends line - and the metallic finish is something more suited to the higher end market.
The gold is painted on top of the red plastic in places, while others are cast in a gold plastic and this can lead to some variations in colour. We also have grey and silver parts across the body particularly the joints on elbows and knees. The whole piece feels like it is missing a final level of paint detail - a wash would have brought out the panel lines and weather the figure. But there are also parts that have gone unpainted like the boosters on the back which are left plain gold.
If you are going to chase down a Hulkbuster then I would recommend to go after the darker MCU wave version. As you can see in these comparison shots, the original figure is a paler red tone - although the gold seems to be darker and more vibrant?
We do not have the First 10 Years Hulkbuster to compare at this stage, but that release does offer an easy route to add Veronica to your collection.
Articulation 4/5
Despite its size, Hulkbuster comes with 18 points of articulation, comparable with most 6" Legends figures. We start with the head which connects to the body on a ball joint which is also pivoted. The head therefore rotates as well as sliding up and down the neck peg to be posed looking forward at the top of the neck or posed looking down at his own feet.
Within the main torso there is a ball joint between chest and midriff. This is can be leaned forward and backward easily, but the sideways movement on mine feels like it is spring loaded and it always pings back to the central position. The arms start with a ball joint shoulder and a bicep swivel built between the armour parts a little further down. The elbow is a single joint and due to the bulk of the armour it wont bend too far, but it also rotates adding some options in the arms. The wrist is a joint, but with virtually no movement other than being able to bend the pivot to move the dist away from the gold side piece.
The legs are ball jointed, and there seems to have been a conscious decision here to make the top of the legs a little slimmer to allow these legs to move more freely. Just beyond this piece is a thigh swivel and then a set of single knee joints. These knees barely bend, but do enough to plant the legs in an action stance. As the knees bend the ankle rockers do then kick in to keep the feet flat to the floor. Thanks to the size of the feet, the ankle joints and the sheer weight of the figure there is no issue in standing Hulkbuster.
When you work out the extent of the movement you will also find some pretty good action poses into which Hulkbuster can be placed.
Accessories N/A
Hulkbuster comes with no accessories.
Summary
You cant argue with the sheer size and value for money of Hulkbuster as a build-a-figure. It truly is a centrepiece release, and I dont think we will see anything in that size and scale again in the BAF format. Yes, you can argue the paint is not metallic and it does need a wash - but it is consistent with the other Iron-Man figures.
Articulation is impressive for a big boy and there are some good posing opportunities, including some "fighting" poses with an appropriate Hulk figure.
I score the Hulkbuster BAF an impressive 4/5 assuming you go for the darker red version.
