Review of the Crazy Toys Bones statue (retro edition)
I don’t collect 1/6 scale figures such as Hot Toys. Yes, I do have two: Silver Centurion and Heartbreaker, and if you want to know why I picked those you can go take a look at this blog (which just so happens to feature Hajime Sorayama’s Metropolis Iron Man variant). But in general, Hot Toys are pretty expensive and I only get the ones I really like.
Still, when I commissioned my Ablative Armor statue, 1/6 scale just made sense. Easy to ship, cost-efficient, and, as a bonus, it could fit in with the two figures I mentioned above.
Then I got weak one night and bought something that ebay steered me to: the Crazy Toys Bones retro edition.
Iron Man Axol statue and the Crazy Toys Bones
Am I a Bones fan? Kinda. But this retro edition just looked too good to pass up. Of course, it helped that this Bones, being a statue and not a figure, only cost $49. Before we get into a short review, here’s a gallery of the statue along with its stand and box.
What Does the Bones Iron Man Suit Do?
Iron Man 3 concept art for Bones
Bones — Mark 41 — appeared in the 2013 movie Iron Man 3 as part of the Iron Legion. This skeleton suit is the last armor Tony Made before the “Prodigal Son” (Mark 42) that was featured so prevalently in the movie. It’s possible that the break-apart nature of Bones inspired Tony to create another piece-by-piece suit and ended up with the Prodigal Son. The ability of each piece to fly independently, like the Prodigal son, seems to support this theory.
Bones is the lightest Iron Man suit ever created, built for speed and maneuverability…and it’s the easiest to walk in! It has no armor plating but can attach armor plating from other same-era Iron Man suits. It can also mix and match from damaged armors; if Striker is incapacitated, Bones can pick up and attach Striker’s piston arm.
Bones is a perfect candidate for rapid testing of new equipment, much like the Model 42 Black and Gold armor from the Marvel NOW! comic books. Since they do the same thing and are the same color, there’s no doubt that the comic armor directly influenced the movie armor. In fact, the first appearance of the Black and Gold sees Tony battling Extremis soldiers just like in Iron Man 3.
Bones was the second armor featured in the Roxxon oil platform fight. J.A.R.V.I.S. simply says, “Gentlemen,” before separating Bones into six pieces and punching/kicking four Extremis soldiers. It’s likely this armor received the Clean Slate protocol and self-destructed.
Why the Retro Repaint?
The Bones retro color scheme does not appear in the Art of Iron Man 3 book. As I understand it, the redesign to a “retro” version started at the Marvel Age of Heroes Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan in 2017. Hot Toys already had the gray/gold Bones figure, so it was probably an easy decision to repaint and release.
The Crazy Toys Iron Man Bones Statue
First off, this is a statue with no moving parts. While a couple of Crazy Toys allow the head to move a little, this thing is nailed down. Arms don’t move, legs don’t move. The stance is very typical for Iron Man.
Being 1/6 scale, this statue is approximately 12” tall. It weighs about 1.5 pounds.
The Sculpt
I was quite surprised by the multiple layers of intricate design and the fine detail. We’re talking Bones, after all, so you’re supposed to be able to see a little deeper into the armor. The fact that Retro Bones hasn’t appeared anywhere else except for the Hot Toy — and the fact that the sculpts are so close — leads me to believe that Crazy Toys probably used the same mold.
The Paint Job
Color me impressed. This statue sports the three most common IM colors: red, gold, and silver. It’s not perfect, but considering the fine detail work due to its “retro-ness,” it’s really quite impressive for something so inexpensive. There are so many tiny pieces that I don’t mind when something is a little off; the whole thing is busy enough that a little bit of stray paint isn’t really noticeable. Get within two feet and you might find something off. Stand back from a normal distance and it’s quite impressive.
The arc reactor is just a shiny white sticker, and nothing on the statue lights up. Something with a little more opalescence would have been nice.
The Box
The box isn’t bad. It’s not Hot Toy good, but it’s okay. It says that it’s limited to 999, but I’d probably take that with a grain of salt. Hot Toys aren’t limited, and I’ll bet that Crazy Toys wouldn’t stop at 999 either.
Open the box and the first thing you’ll see is the artistic spacer. For some reason they went with a honeycomb theme; maybe they just had it when working on Starboost. I actually like it because it reminded me of the Ablative Armor’s honeycombed (but not honeycomb) tiles.
The inside of the box has a black and white image of Bones in the Hall of Armor. Kinda bland, but I don’t mind. I don’t display boxes, especially not the interior. of them.
This statue ships in a clear bag. Not only does this protect it from rubbing against the inside of the box, but it also protects the paint from…
The Stand
The stand is the worst part of this item. It has a little plaque that says “Iron Man Bones Mark 41.” Seriously, as impressive as the statue is in other ways, there’s no way I’d ever use the flimsy stand. The good thing is that Retro Bones stands very well on its own.
The Codpiece
For anyone new, just know that I’m always trying to stay at the top of the rankings for the term “iron man codpiece.” If you’d like to know more, simply check out this blog about the Ablative Armor’s codpiece.
Bone’s codpiece is perfectly fine, thank you for asking.
Conclusion
If you’re the kind of person who likes to hear, “wait, I’ve never seen that Iron Man armor before,” the Crazy Toys Bones (Retro Version) is a cheap and easy way to add a little something unique to your collection. The pic below should probably convince you that it’s a surprisingly well-painted and complex statue.
