(S.H. Figuarts x Chogokin) Avengers: Age of Ultron Hulkbuster Review

In a nutshell,
Paint: 10/10
Articulation 8/10
Detailing 10/10
Scale 9/10
Fun Factor 9/10

SHF Iron Man Mk 45 there for scale.

Hi guys! Here is a review of the Avengers: Age of Ultron Hulkbuster by S.H. Figuarts and Chogokin! I passed on the per-orders, regretting the decision.

The box of this figure is huge! I really love the artwork that we see on the box! When you open the box you will see a styrofoam packaging holding the figure and a small tool, along with a set of instructions. I don't own the Hasbro Marvel Legends BAF Hulkbuster, so I can't compare them. With big box comes a big figure! Not only is it big; you can feel the weight of the figure, and it does not seem hollow. The Hulkbuster does not come with any accessories, but it isn't like he needs any!

Time for an upsize upgrade!

#Sexyback

Matching colors!

Paint: 10/10
I could not find any issues with the paint job on the Hulkbuster! Love how similar the metallic red is to the SHF Mk 45 colors! The instructions, however, do warn about areas where paint rubs may occur.

How much the elbows and knees can really bend

Articulation 8/10

• Head swivel
• Neck pivot
• *Shoulder flaps
• Armpit joints
• Shoulder joints
• Bicep Swivels
• Double-jointed elbows
• *Flaps on the Forearm pieces
• Articulated finger joints
• Waist joint
• Hinge joints between the hips and legs
• Upper thigh swivel
• *Sliding thigh flaps
• Double-jointed knees
• Ankle joints
• Ankle pivot
• *Flaps on the feet
• Toe articulation

*these are more to facilitate better articulation

In terms of articulation, I'd say it is pretty good, for a huge figure. There are definitely certain parts that I wish had more articulation. Let's cover the bad points first. Despite having double-jointed arms and knees, they bend only slightly over 90 degrees. Also, the feet have articulation, but not much. There is no articulation on the upper chest area, so you rely more on the hip rotation. Also, while the head has a decent amount of motion, you cannot really make Hulkbuster look up.

Armpit joints allow the arms to raise even higher!

Flaps on the feet allow the toes to bend upwards more!

Shoulder pads have joints to allow the shoulders to shift out when raising the arms outwards!

When bending the knees, after a certain point, the sliding part of the thighs will slide downwards as you bend more! Really neat feature! 

Forearm piece preventing you from raising the hands? No problem! It is adjustable!

However, the figure does shine in other aspects of articulation. The lack of interchangeable hands is made up with articulated hands (refer to pictures below)! The features of the armor do help enhance the articulation. It is quite sturdy, although slightly less range of movement compared to SHF figures. Also, there are some armor features on the figure that allows for even more articulation, such as the shoulders! The arms are connected to the body with clicking joints, allowing you to raise those huge arms without worrying about them falling back down due to gravity!

#CivilPeace

Detailing 10/10
Looking at every part of this figure, it seems like SHF really put a lot of effort in this figure to make it look as realistic as possible, which makes that a strong selling point for this figure! Even the feet are sculpted and painted well! I totally love the small, fine details SHF bothers to give us with this figure!

A toy collector with foot fetish may wet himself here...

Scale 9/10
The Hulkbuster goes really well with the other SHF AoU figures! Especially him with Iron Man! It towers over the Mk 45 by quite a bit! As SHF Avengers are almost the same height as Marvel Legends figures, I guess the Hulkbuster can go well with Marvel Legends figures as well.

Hulkbuster with other SHF AoU figures

Hulkbuster with 3.75" Iron Man and Marvel Legends Pizza Spidey

Fun Factor 9/10
If you don't know already, this toy has a light-up feature on his eyes, chest and knees! They look really, really cool! Quite unfortunate that the hands do not have light features. I think the hands need the lights more than the knees! I guess having such a beautiful figure, and the lights function, do make up for the lack of accessories. I definitely have fun tinkering with this figure! Would love it more if we could fit the SHF Iron Man inside!

Lights on!

Reduced the lighting of the set up, to better show the figure's lights!

The lights are not photoshopped in, but captured by my camera!

So would I recommend this figure? Ask yourself: Do you want to spend that (approximately) $500? If no, then I don't recommend it, mainly because of the price. You can easily spend the money on other things you may prefer, and the opportunity cost is pretty high. You could easily use that money on your girlfriend/boyfriend. You could buy a Hot Toys figure with that amount. You can buy almost 200 Double Cheeseburgers from McDonalds for no reason. You can save that money for the future. You could donate it to me. I paid $500 for this toy on Carousell, as I did not pre-order this.

If, however, you're willing to spend the cash, I would definitely recommend it, as you would really enjoy this beautiful figure! I can't really find enough faults on this figure to make me hate it, and I have a feeling that this Hulkbuster has already secured a spot in my top 10 toys of 2016!

"I got my backup right here."