By Baylee Alger
Baylee Alger is a blind man who has a deep love of collecting and reading. He has been blind since the age of 2 due to cancer on his optic nerves. He loves to play drums, fish, and above all, read books. He loves playing video games, and writing reviews for AFJ are one of his favorite pastimes as well. When not collecting, reading or pursuing his lifelong dream of being a writer, he'll often be watching movies, such as Batman, Spider-Man, and the occasional comedy.
What would you do if you were locked in a cave by terrorists? Would you be afraid? Would you cry? Would you write your memoirs finally? In the case of Tony Stark, he built a suit of armor that could withstand their firepower and fought his way out.
Today, we look at one such armor, in it's classic, comic book form.
Let me begin by saying: This is the holy grail of my collection, the crowning jewel... for now. I loved it from the moment I first saw it, and feel no buyer's remorse whatsoever. But, I'm getting ahead of myself, let's begin.
Iron Man's helmet is known for its blank features and relatively basic appearance, but this one has a bit more to feel. he has two little ridges that appear almost like eyebrows, and two circular screw things on the sides of it. His neck joint is ridged, like much of the rest of his armor.
The arms and torso are my favorite. His arms feel like muscles were built into the shape of it. The chest plate is smooth, with two smaller bolt shaped things, one on each side, and a circular arc reactor in the center. The back feels like that of a muscular man, with every ridge and curve uncannily done. His arms are spread out to his sides, both poised for a repulsor blast. The gauntlets feel very glovelike, right down to the hem, which is like a sleeve in some way.
Moving on to the bottom half, he is standing in a position that looks like he's trying to keep his balance, and his legs feel as organic as the rest of him. His boots share the same real quality as the rest of him, right down to the tops of them. His left knee is up as if he's leaning on it, the other behind him. It almost looks as if he is lunging. On his hips, he has a circular piece, where the joints are connected to the rest of the suit. But then, comes the base he is standing on.
He is standing on a pile of crushed bricks and rocks, and this is what initially caught my eye. The bricks, while made of resin, feel spookily real. I was captivated by them, how utterly perfectly they were done, right down to the spikes of rebar poking out of them. You can feel the rough side of them where it was forcefully cracked from the building they were a part of.
Below that is the simple circular baseplate, but this statue was an extremely amazing piece. It was also my first Diamond Select Resin Statue piece, and it will not be my last. Diamond Select, you've officially taken your place as my favorite toy company.