LEGO Marvel 76206 Iron Man Figure review

76206 Iron Man Figure is a real curiosity within the LEGO Marvel universe, trying to carve out new creative ground in territory that otherwise is rather familiar.

A decade into LEGO Marvel as a theme, there are plenty of ways to expect elements of repetition to creep into its creative direction, and on face value, 76206 Iron Man Figure falls into such a space. This isn’t the first time we’ve had a larger scale buildable character model of Iron Man – some of the very first LEGO Marvel Super Heroes sets included something along the very same lines – and we are slap bang in the middle of an unprecedented Era of Many Marvel Mechs, which include more than one that’s Iron Man-themed.

It’s hard to keep count of the number of Hulkbusters there have been of late, while there are continued rumours of another D2C-size Marvel build coming in 2022, with speculation that it’s also a Hulkbuster, to follow on from pretty much the same set that came out in 2018.

Come early 2022 and we’ve had a lot of LEGO Iron Man in our lives, very many LEGO mechs and all sorts of things in between, and with just as much apparently coming later on. So, where does 76206 Iron Man Figure factor into all this, and why does it exist?

lego

— Set details —

Theme: LEGO Marvel Set name: 76206 Iron Man Figure Release: January 1, 2022

Price: £34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 Pieces: 381 Minifigures: 0

LEGO: Available now

— Build —

We perhaps can’t quite answer why it exists, except to say, why not? Even though 76206 Iron Man Figure takes in plenty of elements familiar across a lot of current and recent LEGO Marvel and LEGO Iron Man products, it’s very much its own creation, in concept and reality. It’s not trying to fit in with anything that has come before, and in taking a different approach in design, it’s able to carve out its own little niche area within the otherwise highly populous LEGO Iron Man and Marvel universe.

In short, 76206 Iron Man Figure is one of the most poseable, detailed buildable figures that the LEGO Group has so far produced. It is curious in design and covered in detail (it even comes with a little UCS-style display card), and it is 99% brick-built, with only the front part of the helmet mould requiring something akin to those rather forgettable LEGO Star Wars buildable figures from a few years ago.

There’s a lot that is unexpectedly different about 76206 Iron Man Figure, in ways that as you build it you can immediately appreciate, and then once complete you can really enjoy, and it’s just as fair to say then that there’s also a lot that is unexpectedly good about 76206 Iron Man Figure.

The proportions to the model will take a bit of getting used to, as they are more authentic to those of the real world than those typical to LEGO, and it results in a built figure that stands tall and skinny, with long arms, big feet and a high-placed, relatively small head. However, as your eyes settle and take in the anatomy, use of colour and smooth contours and tiling that has been applied around the entire frame, 76206 Iron Man Figure begins to come to life.

Albeit expressionless in the masked face, 76206 Iron Man Figure is full of character due to the high poseability and flexibility built into its ball and click-based joints. There are some clear limitations within its range of movement, particularly around outward movement of the legs and arms at the hips and shoulders respectively, but it isn’t to the detriment of the model’s authenticity when you consider that this is Iron Man, and that suit has always been relatively rigid in body movement.

The mask print is also excellent for catching the tricky shaping of Iron Man’s face and the head design is far better in person than photography demonstrates – it’s round where artwork makes it look flat, bulky and square.

Where quality does seem somewhat compromised is in the stickers that are applied to a couple of the drum-lacquered gold pieces, inasmuch as the colour matching between stickers and parts is not quite right.

Certainly, 76206 Iron Man Figure is by no means the perfect LEGO set (there are more humorous poses possible than there are heroic ones) but it does a whole lot right in exploring a new concept in a very LEGO-purist way. This could have been a constraction figure built with a tonne of long, skinny ball joints and custom moulds for every other limb. Instead, it’s a thorough exploration of the very interesting anatomy of the Iron Man suit in a way that celebrates everything that LEGO creativity can be.

— Characters —

There are no minifigures included in 76206 Iron Man Figure, because the entire set is just one large figure…

— Price —

There are some LEGO fans that don’t like change and may view something that is different – like a set like 76206 Iron Man Figure – as rather pricey. It doesn’t tick a lot of the traditional boxes something priced at £34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 normally would, and so it is true to say that the LEGO Group is taking a chance in asking you to whole-heartedly embrace its new idea.

It is true to say all this and to acknowledge that it may not account for everyone’s tastes, but in the same breath we can assuredly say that for those looking for something truly unique from LEGO Marvel, with an air of quality to it, and some really fun hands-on play and display too, 76206 Iron Man Figure delivers real and unexpected value.

— Pictures —

— Summary —

76206 Iron Man Figure represents some of the purest LEGO building we can enjoy in 2022. It may be based on a licensed character, but there’s no vehicle, no minifigures, no younger person gimmick built into the model and nothing that has been done before by the LEGO Group.

It’s new in concept, interesting in detail, different in design and for all those things, a welcome change of pace for a theme entering its second decade. Now see how a buildable Hulk minifigure looks…

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO Marvel sets through one of our affiliate links.

How long does it take to build LEGO Marvel 76206 Iron Man Figure?

It takes around 30 minutes to put 76206 Iron Man Figure together, across four stages of numbered bags.

How many pieces are in LEGO Marvel 76206 Iron Man Figure?

There are 381 pieces included in 76206 Iron Man Figure, including a light brick and a moulded, printed piece to represent Iron Man’s mask.

How big is LEGO Marvel 76206 Iron Man Figure?

76206 Iron Man Figure stands 26cm tall and can stretch his arms out to be 15.5cm wide. He’s skinny, with the largest depth to him coming in his 6cm-long feet.

How much does LEGO Marvel 76206 Iron Man Figure cost?

76206 Iron Man Figure released January 1, 2022 and is priced at £34.99 in the UK, $39.99 in the US and €39.99 in Europe.

Author Profile

Rob Paton
As one half of Tiro Media Ltd, I mix a passion for print and digital media production with a deep love of LEGO and can often be found on these pages eulogising about LEGO Batman, digging deeper into the LEGO Group’s inner workings, or just complaining about the price of the latest LEGO Star Wars set. Make a great impression when you meet me in person by praising EXO-FORCE as the greatest LEGO theme of all time. Follow me on Twitter @RobPaton or drop me an email at [email protected].

Rob Paton

As one half of Tiro Media Ltd, I mix a passion for print and digital media production with a deep love of LEGO and can often be found on these pages eulogising about LEGO Batman, digging deeper into the LEGO Group’s inner workings, or just complaining about the price of the latest LEGO Star Wars set. Make a great impression when you meet me in person by praising EXO-FORCE as the greatest LEGO theme of all time. Follow me on Twitter @RobPaton or drop me an email at [email protected].

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *