Review: 31199 Marvel Studios Iron Man
Posted by CapnRex101,
Iron Man launched the famed Marvel Cinematic Universe during 2008 and numerous impressive armours populate this exceptional series. 31199 Marvel Studios Iron Man contains three designs which include the classic MK III, Hulkbuster and MK LXXXV armours.
This review discusses the three smaller mosaics and my favoured method for disassembling the models, in preparation for building another one.
Box and Contents
The packaging for LEGO Art incorporates opening flaps, corresponding with the LEGO Ideas range. The instruction manual slots beside the bags containing colourful 1x1 round plates and the 16x16 mosaic panels are stored in their own box. Removing the cardboard inserts from the box allows you to place the mosaic back inside when completed, albeit without its frame.
Further to the two-dimensional building instructions, the manual also offers information about these Iron Man armours and comments from Christopher Stamp and Kitt Kossmann. I was particularly interested to read that development began with standard 1x1 plates but they were subsequently replaced with 1x1 round plates which can create smoother curves. Furthermore, square plates might prove difficult to line up.
An enlarged brick separator has been produced for the LEGO Art theme, assisting with the quick removal of plates or tiles when disassembling each mosaic. I found the most effective method to be removing the plates around the edge of each mosaic panel before stripping the remaining elements in two bands across the centre. This process is inevitably tedious but was surprisingly fast.
The Completed Model
Each mosaic comprises nine panels which are connected using Technic pins. Despite their repetitive construction, bringing separate sections together is interesting as the images only become visible when their constituent panels are combined. Smaller details on those panels, such as reflections or shadows, appear mysterious until assembly is complete.
While the large combination mosaics are reliant upon frames to maintain structural integrity, these smaller designs do not require such reinforcement. The simple frames are reasonably attractive in my opinion, although the mosaics might look more impressive without their black borders under certain circumstances.
Iron Man MK III seems comparably striking in either configuration, faithfully recreating the first red and gold armour from Iron Man. The reflections across the faceplate look brilliant, creating the illusion of a metallic finish which corresponds with the source material. The shadows under the helmet appear similarly authentic, interrupting the otherwise consistent combination of dark red, reddish brown and red 1x1 round plates around the shoulders.
The sunken cheeks are also rendered effectively and I appreciate the gradual transition between pearl gold and medium nougat plates, alongside scattered dark orange elements. Moreover, the sand blue 1x1 round plates around each eye are remarkably successful and I think the dark blue and black background looks good, contrasting with the focal subject.
Viewing the model from behind reveals two hanger elements that would slot over standard screw heads. These black components are fixed to the mosaic panels with Technic pins and therefore seem secure. Unfortunately, dedicated stands are not included, should you prefer to display the mosaic on a table like the recent Brick Sketches. Assembling your own stand would be simple though as numerous connection points remain available.
Tony Stark develops the mighty Hulkbuster armour to subdue the Hulk, should Bruce Banner ever lose control. This suit appears particularly unusual and stands out among these mosaics, occupying more of the 40cm square image than the alternative designs. Additionally, shadows and reflections are less prominent here, with greater focus upon graduated colours across the golden faceplate.
Once again, the white and sand blue eyes look outstanding and I love how different bands of colour recreate the subtle lines that appear across the Hulkbuster onscreen. The only section which looks somewhat awkward to me is beneath the helmet where several dark brown plates extend onto the torso. They are disguised in the dark official images but appear quite apparent in person.
Nevertheless, the broader design is undoubtedly accurate, even featuring the tiny chin studs which are distinguished by pearl gold 1x1 round plates! The pronounced red band across the shoulder looks magnificent as well, particularly in contrast with the reinforcing strip beside the helmet. Exactly the same structure is visible on the Hulkbuster during Avengers: Age of Ultron.
The third mosaic takes inspiration from Iron Man's MK LXXXV armour which appears during Avengers: Endgame. While the MK III and Hulkbuster MK I designs are relatively central, this example is offset to the right. That does generate motion in the image and allows the designer to include more colour around the shoulder, although I would rather the helmet was centred.
Furthermore, the dark orange patch across the left eye seems slightly awkward in my view. I understand the intent as Iron Man's faceplate should appear very shiny, although the contrast between pearl gold and dark orange 1x1 round plates is too strong. However, the shape looks exceptionally accurate when compared with the movie and I like the vital Arc Reactor which is visible on the chest.
Viewing each mosaic from further away significantly improves the resolution and accordingly generates an attractive image. The only imperfection which remains consistently visible is the angled mouth, where reddish brown plates are positioned in separate rows and a pronounced step can be seen. Levelling the helmet would have rectified this issue but might have seemed too similar to the MK III armour artwork.
Printed 2x4 tiles are provided for each LEGO Art set, replacing eight 1x1 round plates at the corner of these mosaics. This component is decorated with the Iron Man branding and looks reasonable, although I prefer to leave the colourful plates intact. Nevertheless, the option for either configuration is welcome.
Overall
31199 Marvel Studios Iron Man offers surprising variation between its three designs, despite their shared colour scheme and focus upon metallic surfaces. The different shading methods are remarkably successful and I am particularly delighted with the MK III armour that appears faithful to its onscreen counterpart. The tan reflections across the centre look wonderful.
The alternative Hulkbuster and MK LXXXV armours also seem accurate when compared with their respective source materials, although certain areas of those designs may be improved in my opinion. I believe the price of £114.99 or $119.99 represents reasonable value based upon the size of each mosaic. Of course, the volume of 1x1 round plates which remain after building these models should also be taken into consideration and I will publish a separate article about the leftover elements, discussing both this set and 31200 Star Wars The Sith.
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35 comments on this article
This is very nice, though I think I'd struggle to decide which picture to make!
I love all the shades of yellow that make up the mask
Do you know when/if you’re going to review the individual Sith ones? I’m interested in these, and would like to know how the Darth Maul looks.
Imho the third one with the MK LXXXV armour is the best. He looks ready for business.
All three iron-men seem to share the same disappointment at the coffee they've dribbled down their chins.
MK III looks great but the rest are a bit disappointing
My favourite is the third panel with the Mk LXXXV armour. I like the overall look of the first one, except for the large block of tan on the faceplate, it's too harsh a contrast with the pearl gold for my taste.
What's the weight of an assembled picture?
Can't really justify the price for the end result in my mind. If I want an Iron Man picture, I can get legit signed movie posters for less then this. As for it being a lego item, the end result doesn't look too impressive to me.
Great review, I look forward to the next article about the spares. I really want the four Beatles ones and if I can get away with getting only three I’d be happy.
@CapnRex101, do you think Command Hooks will fit into the new Technic wall hanging element? I don’t particularly want to put nails into my walls. Thank you!
Honestly, without someone telling me which armors they based these on, the Hulkbuster is the only one that I could pick out just based on the mosaic itself. But the character's name isn't "Hulkbuster", so I imagine that one will be the least likely to be displayed by itself.
@NathanR2015 said:
"What's the weight of an assembled picture?"
Reading this comment got me wondering this myself. To help satisfy my curiosity I went ahead and tallied up BrickLink's weights for all the parts used in a completed picture.
No guarantees about how precise these results are, but the net weights I arrived at were:
50x50 Picture with 1x1 Tiles: 988.28 grams (+1.22 grams with nameplate)
50x50 Picture with 1x1 Plates: 1011.32 grams (+1.14 grams with nameplate)
50x146 Picture with 1x1 Plates: 2776.28 grams (+1.14 grams with nameplate)
Its just a question of time until someone makes a frame to create a 3x3 sliding puzzle from these.
I have a hard time telling the difference between the first and the third version. To me they look very much alike. Oh wait, the first one looks more like Donald Duck while the third has more of a Duffy Duck vibe.
As is quite obvious, I know very little about Iron Man, nor have I seen the movies. I only like the colour scheme very much.
@Aanchir:
Almost certainly your weights are off, but I couldn't tell you if they're higher or lower. The tiny size of some of these parts makes an accurate weight difficult to obtain, any rounding errors will be compounded by the volume of parts, and if you were to weigh exactly 10,000 of each of the different colors 1x1 round plates that you get in the Sith/Whingy and Ironman mosaics, you should expect to get wildly different results based on the pigments used to color them.
w i d e separator
@SeekerBear said:
"w i d e separator"
No, it's a thicc separator.
@Aanchir Brilliant, thank you so much for the numbers! Looks like 3M Command strips would be strong enough to hold this on the wall. I think an order will be being placed soon... :D
Thanks for the review, it's a shame theze are well priced but the DV singular panel is worth it.
I'd love to construct the combined Iron Man mosaic but I think I'll need to distribute the cost and buy one at a time over a few months
If you can’t see the difference between the two versions of Iron Man, it’s cool. But it’s you, it’s not the suits or the subject matter. It’s you not caring enough about the details and that’s not a bad thing, some do some don’t. But they’re there and they are different.
I wonder, as a visual experiment, if it would be possible to replicate these builds in tiles instead of studs. Do the same colors exist? The studs definitely carry a different vibe than the tiles, I am super curious what they looked like in tiles. If TLG attempted it and said “Um...no, this has GOTTA be with studs“ based on realistically concluded visual evidence or was it a decision motivated more by production availability?
Hmmmm...
@blogzilly said:
"If you can’t see the difference between the two versions of Iron Man, it’s cool. But it’s you, it’s not the suits or the subject matter. It’s you not caring enough about the details and that’s not a bad thing, some do some don’t. But they’re there and they are different.
I wonder, as a visual experiment, if it would be possible to replicate these builds in tiles instead of studs. Do the same colors exist? The studs definitely carry a different vibe than the tiles, I am super curious what they looked like in tiles. If TLG attempted it and said “Um...no, this has GOTTA be with studs“ based on realistically concluded visual evidence or was it a decision motivated more by production availability?
Hmmmm..."
Dark Tan and Dark Orange don’t exist as 1x1 round tiles, but the others all do I believe.
@blogzilly said:
"If you can’t see the difference between the two versions of Iron Man, it’s cool. But it’s you, it’s not the suits or the subject matter. It’s you not caring enough about the details and that’s not a bad thing, some do some don’t. But they’re there and they are different.
I wonder, as a visual experiment, if it would be possible to replicate these builds in tiles instead of studs. Do the same colors exist? The studs definitely carry a different vibe than the tiles, I am super curious what they looked like in tiles. If TLG attempted it and said “Um...no, this has GOTTA be with studs“ based on realistically concluded visual evidence or was it a decision motivated more by production availability?
Hmmmm..."
Dark Blue studs haven’t been in production for a decade-ish so I don’t imagine that was it. Imagine lining up all of those 1x1 tiles though, that’d be awful
I have to admit that these look incredibly good. I actually prefer the last one, the off centered nature of it gives it quite a bit of style. However, I find this set to be rather boring as it is just 3 images of the same person, even if they are wearing different suits. If I was to buy any of these it would most likely be the Sith set. I’d actually prefer the Beatles, but without getting all 4 I feel like owning one would be rather awkward.
Of course, since money doesn’t grow in trees, would I be happier with a mosaic or a Razor Crest? Yeah, I’m much happier with the fact I ordered a Razor Crest, although if I was looking for wall art then maybe...
@fakespacesquid said:
[Dark Blue studs haven’t been in production for a decade-ish so I don’t imagine that was it. Imagine lining up all of those 1x1 tiles though, that’d be awful]
Apologies...I am likely using incorrect terminology. I’m talking about the round flat pieces that are used for the Monroe and Beatles Art sets. I don’t mean square tiles, just the round discs. Would they have to be lined up somehow? Haven’t built one yet.
Love this. But also love the Marilyn too. Can’t decide which to get
I never noticed the sand blue until you pointed it out
@blogzilly said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
[Dark Blue studs haven’t been in production for a decade-ish so I don’t imagine that was it. Imagine lining up all of those 1x1 tiles though, that’d be awful]
Apologies...I am likely using incorrect terminology. I’m talking about the round flat pieces that are used for the Monroe and Beatles Art sets. I don’t mean square tiles, just the round discs. Would they have to be lined up somehow? Haven’t built one yet.
"
You’re not entirely wrong in your terminology. According to most online and offline AFOL discussions as well as BrickLink, ‘tiles’ are smooth while ‘plates’ have studs on top. To differentiate between ‘round’ and ‘square’, you need to specify that. In the case of LEGO’s recent mosaics, they’re all 1 x 1.
I can't say I'm overly interested in any of the current sets offered but I really like the theme's idea, at first I felt iffy about it but they do look quite nice once finished and I really like how you have three options, at least with the ones you've reviewed so far, not sure if all of them have that.
Also I'm curious but is there any viable option for hanging these on the wall? I don't think they're heavy enough to make that difficult.
Shame you cannot choose between different superheros rather than 3 of the same, as I think there is probably enough red, black and blue to do Spiderman? I wish they would give you the round plates inside plastic bowls, as the box seems large enough to accommodate assuming there is just empty air on the left hand side under the instructions? The white, gold, tan, brown and black are also good shades for doing human faces.
The only Art set so far that I'm interested in.
Great review @CapnRex101 !
@Zander said:
" @blogzilly said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
[Dark Blue studs haven’t been in production for a decade-ish so I don’t imagine that was it. Imagine lining up all of those 1x1 tiles though, that’d be awful]
Apologies...I am likely using incorrect terminology. I’m talking about the round flat pieces that are used for the Monroe and Beatles Art sets. I don’t mean square tiles, just the round discs. Would they have to be lined up somehow? Haven’t built one yet.
"
You’re not entirely wrong in your terminology. According to most online and offline AFOL discussions as well as BrickLink, ‘tiles’ are smooth while ‘plates’ have studs on top. To differentiate between ‘round’ and ‘square’, you need to specify that. In the case of LEGO’s recent mosaics, they’re all 1 x 1. "
Thanks I appreciate the clarity. :)
@Veyniac:
Nope.
@blogzilly:
I can see differences between the two armors depicted, but I can't look at an image of a random Ironman armor (especially when it's just the head with a hint of shoulders) and tell you which one it is. Except Mark I and Hulkbuster. Most of the suits have a similar dark-red/gold color scheme, and most have a similar shape to the faceplate. None have the number stamped across the forehead. I imagine that's the case for most people, just as most people can't look at all the different Batman minifigs and pick out what sources they're based on, and doing a Batman mosaic in this style would make it just as difficult to identify the source image based on such a small portion of the costume. Without being able to see the bat symbol on the chest, or the utility belt, you're basically relying solely on the shape of the head, which at least have distinctly different profiles compared to Ironman's perpetually smooth noggin.
The official statement was that they weren't sure whether plates or tiles was best, so they tried both for the first wave of sets. Most people will be able to figure out what you mean by "studs", especially if they've played a few of the LEGO video games (studs are the in-game currency that you collect, which are represented by 1x1 round plates of different colors).
I like these but I'd have to buy 6 of them which ends up being $720.
i think that the set is cool and i am going to triy and get and if i do not do that then for crist mas