Review : LEGO Marvel 76210 Hulkbuster

Today we are quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Marvel set 76210 Hulkbuster, a large box of 4049 pieces which will be available at the public price of 549.99 € in VIP preview from November 4 before global availability announced for November 9, 2022.

Everyone will have had plenty of time to form a very precise opinion on this interpretation of the Hulkbuster since the first leaks via the usual channels followed by the official announcement of the product, but I want to go back in detail to a few points which seem important to me and which may help tip the balance one way or the other when it comes to checkout.

What I remember from this product after having assembled it, handled it and presented it to those around me, is that LEGO has not really chosen sides in this file: the construction hesitates without really deciding between an exhibition model at the certainly perfectible but detailed design and toy for children which puts in the foreground the only real integrated functionality and is then satisfied to dress all that as best as possible while not arriving on arrival to completely free itself from many technical constraints.

The possibility of installing the figurine of the set 76206 Iron Man Figure at the controls of the armor is indeed only briefly mentioned in the official description of the product but we nevertheless have the impression that it is indeed this functionality undoubtedly placed at the very top of the list of the specifications which dictated a large part of the designers' work. From the beginning of the assembly of the torso of this Hulkbuster, we understand that it is imperative to leave room for the figurine and that everything else or almost is only a consequence of this choice.

The assembly of the product is divided into three separate booklets and the progression remains rather entertaining despite the inevitable somewhat repetitive phases when it comes, for example, to building the limbs of the armor. We don't get bored, there are some good ideas, but we quickly realize that we will have to be very careful when moving the object with many decorative elements that only fit on a tenon. The fragility of the model is then quickly confirmed and it is easily annoyed when it is necessary for example to recover some parts unhooked following the rather brutal insertion of the Mark 43 version in the entrails of the Hulkbuster.

The torso is a large cage with a relatively basic structure on which we place a few decorative sub-assemblies and then fix the members of the armor. On the way, a first luminous brick is installed which will be used to highlight theFace Reactor integrated into the torso via an apparent pusher and the side sections are fixed, which are too far apart with the resulting transparency effect, the latter only being attenuated later by the insertion of the small headstock in the Mark version 43. The light brick is installed behind the Fresnel lens in the LEGO version already seen in the LEGO Ideas set 21335 Motorized Lighthouse, the element here is perfectly adapted to obtain the desired effect.

The 3.2 kg and 52 cm high figurine needs stability, so we assemble a pair of static legs filled with Technic beams and covered with decorative elements which are also often a little too far apart to convince, as if the designer had obligation to save money on this specific point by skipping a row of pieces as soon as possible. The feet are rather detailed but they are also lined with extremely fragile decorative subsets.

The arms of the armor are of the same barrel with points of articulations which remain too visible especially when they are fixed with blue pins. It may be objected that it is only LEGO and that these pins are in a way a "signature" effect of the brand, I still remain unsatisfied with the level of finish of the set.

The Hulkbuster only has four fingers on each hand and that's normal. In the palm of both hands, there is a light brick in the usual format very well integrated, you will have to press the pusher to take advantage of the promised light effect. The fingers are well articulated, it will be possible to play on the positions according to the posture that you want to present on your shelves. The mobility of the arms is however limited with decorative subsets which quickly come to a stop and which cause a little frustration.

Almost everyone agrees that this Hulkbuster has rather rough proportions, especially when it comes to comparing it with other high-end resin models inspired by the same armor seen on screen. in the movie Avengers: Age of Ultron.

It must be admitted that the shoulders or the pelvis of the armor are here far from being faithful to the reference armor with on one side the feeling of dealing with a Japanese mech or a samurai in uniform with a garment that would fall on the front and on the other the fleeting impression that this Hulkbuster is as if swaddled in a toddler's diaper. The front side of the torso lacks its volume side with two pectorals that are too flat and a waist that is too thin. Once again, I have the feeling that it is above all the possibility of sliding the headstock of the 76206 set that takes precedence over everything else.

The Hulkbuster's helmet is pad-printed and I find it aesthetically rather successful even if I would have preferred eyes of the same blue as those of theFace Reactor and repulsors installed in the palms of the hands. There is also a pattern missing on the back of the helmet, it's a bit empty. It's not its positioning on the armor that seems questionable to me, it's the shape and thickness of the sub-assemblies placed around it that gives me the impression that the helmet is in fact installed one or two studs too down.

We make in passing the usual point on the manufacturing defects which annoy me especially on a top-of-the-range product sold for 550 €: I do not even insist on the many scratched parts from the unpacking, they are there and it will not take do not hesitate to contact customer service to obtain their replacement if you consider that their condition is definitely not acceptable.

Worse, the set makes use of 242 elements in Metallic Gold with for many of them a level of finish that is not compatible with a resolutely high-end product (see close-up in the gallery below). After 90 years of existence, LEGO still does not manage to offer correctly covered parts and it is frankly disappointing. If this is once again about impressing potential customers by showing them what can be done with a few bricks, you might as well do it right by making sure the finish lives up to the claims. 'a manufacturer who keeps telling us he's the best.

LEGO does not hesitate to impose a very large handful of stickers in this box. Beyond the ordeal of having to stick large stickers on a top-of-the-range model intended for an adult audience and sold for €550, it is the color of some of these stickers which, in my opinion, increases the visual confusion: between the pieces in Pearl Gold, those in Metallic Gold and the yellow of these stickers, we get a little lost and the whole thing becomes a little too messy in places. Special mention for the stickers that take place on the bodywork elements used for the shoulders of the armor, they are to be stuck diagonally on a curved surface and they inevitably end up peeling off at the ends after a few hours.

The included Tony Stark minifig doesn't raise the overall level of the product, it's an ever so minimalist interpretation of the version of the character already seen in the LEGO Marvel promotional set 40334 Avengers Tower. Neutral legs, torso successful but not stunning in the absence of pad printing on the right arm, usual head: the figurine plays its role perfectly as a decorative element on the display stand provided but it does not add much to the product. The most complete collectors will obviously want to add it to their Ribba frames, but many of them will no doubt wait wisely to be able to obtain it via the secondary market instead of burdening themselves with a pile of parts sold for €550.

You will understand, I am generally very mixed about this Hulkbuster. However, I wanted to like this imposing and original derivative product and this was the case when I discovered the first visuals of the armor presented from its best angles by the manufacturer. Having since had it in my hands, I have become less enthusiastic about it both in substance and in form. I am one of those who expect at least an acceptable finish from products for which they pay a high price and this Hulkbuster pays the price for a lack of care which seems unacceptable to me.

I also readily understand the few approximations and other aesthetic shortcuts often imposed by the passage to the LEGO grinder but this model seems to me to have been a little disfigured by the desire to make it at all costs a luxury case for the doll of the set 76206. Wanting to seduce too many people with the integration of a dispensable feature, LEGO ultimately misses its main target and misses the point a little.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at November 5, 2022 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Figure from set 76206 is NOT included.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.