Review: LEGO Marvel Avengers 76164 Iron Man Hulkbuster Versus AIM Agent

Time to take a quick look at the LEGO Marvel Avengers set 76164 Iron Man Hulkbuster Versus AIM Agent (456 pieces - 39.99 €), a box which, as its name suggests, allows us to assemble a new interpretation of Iron Man's super armor. This is not the first version of the Hulkbuster in LEGO sauce, we will remember the sets 76104 The Hulkbuster Smash-Up et 76105 The Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition marketed in 2018.

The construction offered in this new box loosely inspired by the Marvel's Avengers video game looked promising when the first official visuals were unveiled and it could be assumed that the presence of numerous points of articulation would guarantee an almost unheard-of mobility to this 2020 version of the armor. .

This is partly the case, but it comes at the cost of a few aesthetic shortcuts which in my opinion do not allow this Hulkbuster to be able to claim to be more than a luxury mech, a bit in the spirit of the one in the set 76140 Iron Man Mech marketed since the beginning of the year.

Joints and others Ball Seals arms are far too visible from certain angles and somewhat erase the massive side of the machine. The gray color of the different elements does not help. The torso, the legs and the feet save a little the furniture with a sufficient level of detail but it is as often at the cost of the absence of articulation at the knees.

The armor is relatively fragile and its handling can quickly become annoying with a few simply clipped elements that come off a little too easily, such as the two growths placed behind the cockpit or the fingers that barely support being oriented outward to reveal the integrated thruster. The small module to be placed on the shoulder only holds on its side via a tenon and also tends to come loose at the slightest movement.

One can also wonder what comes to do this small device placed on the shoulder of the armor: what interest to expose oneself to this point when the purpose of this armor is precisely to protect the one who uses it. The color of this firing station equipped with two Spring-Shooters is not even fitting with the rest of the armor and it is hardly conceivable to consider it as a speeder that could move independently.

We can also try to find every possible and imaginable excuse to defend the design of this Hulkbuster, but this flat dome that serves as the head of the mech is downright ridiculous. LEGO should have known this when choosing the official visuals which are online on the product sheet and the armor is always presented with the head tilted slightly forward which somewhat erases the defect.

The idea of ​​trying to "sink" the head between the shoulders of the armor to stick to the aesthetics seen in different comics is not bad, but it is still necessary that the machine has real shoulders which is not the case here. The cupola is only clipped to the rest of the armor via two skeleton arms which will also tend to detach quickly. There is no point in straining the legs to try to unfold them and it is still the skeletal arms that prevent any movement.

We will still welcome the attention to detail at the rear of the legs with the presence of thrusters which will nevertheless have a little difficulty in making people forget that the knees of the armor are fixed. We do not escape the traditional sheet of stickers but the flat dome that serves as the head of the armor and the ARC reactor are pad printed.

In short, this new version of the Hulkbuster does not put the previous two back on the ropes, far from it, and in my opinion it is only a choice out of spite for a young fan or a collector who refuses to fatten up market sellers. secondary.

The Iron Man minifigure is not new, it is the one available this year in the sets 76140 Iron Man Mech, 76152 Avengers: Wrath of Loki, 76153 Helicarrier et 76166 Avengers Tower Battle.

The Rescue armor, created by Tony Stark to protect Pepper Pots, is here a priori inspired by one of the first versions of the outfit as it appears in various comics and it displays a less girly side than that present in the saga cinematographic. Not enough to get up at night, but this very successful pad printing minifig is exclusive to this set and it will doubtless remain so for a long time.

Rescue / Pepper Pots head is the one already used for the same character in the set 76144 Hulk Helicopter Rescue but it is also that of Hermione Granger (Harry Potter), Yelena Belova (Black Widow) or even Carina Smyth (Pirates of the Caribbean).

We can also wonder why LEGO takes the trouble to provide us with heads with double facial expression for minifigs whose helmets do not open without also delivering hair that allows us to enjoy these faces a little more.

The two AIM agents are identical and are also delivered this year in sets 76143 Avengers Truck Takedown, 76166 Avengers Tower Battle, 76167 Iron Man Armory et 40418 Falcon & Black Widow Team-Up. Note the effort of the designer to try to offer an almost credible opposition to the Hulkbuster with one of the two villains who is equipped with a system of thrusters capable of launching projectiles. The minifigure has a little trouble standing with this gear on its back, but the playability is there.

The Hulkbuster is undoubtedly destined to become a chestnut tree in the Marvel range but this version is struggling to convince with limited mobility, a little annoying fragility and a questionable aesthetic bias. The endowment in minifigs is nothing exceptional with a single new figurine but the balance of power is relatively balanced thanks to the villain equipped with a jetpack.

This box probably does not deserve the 40 € requested by LEGO, but it is already offered at a much lower price by Amazon: 35.95 € with the bonus of a coupon of 2.21 € to be deducted from the final price. It is always a bit expensive for a single really new minifigure but the youngest will undoubtedly find something to have a little fun there.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at 14th October, 2020 next at 23pm.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.