[Review] Bootleg/Knockoff S.H. Figuarts Iron Man Mark 43

I wasn't much of an online shopper until my sister introduced it to me early last year. Since then I've been shopping for many Marvel T-shirts and figurines until I chance upon the S.H. Figuarts (SHF) Iron Man Mark 43 bootleg at SGD$25 from China. The price of the original version is around $75.


I used to collect SHF Kamen Rider figures so I'm quite familiar with the brand's quality. That said, with this figure being an imitation, I must say that I am surprised at how its quality is almost as good as the original figurines that I own. The paint, though it has some splotches here and there, are mostly spot-on.

On the outside of the box, there's nothing that different from its original counterpart, except for the print quality and a supposed sticker at the bottom of the box. The printing seems to be of a lower resolution and a little pixelated. 

Just like any other SHF, the box has tapes on both sides and on the plastic tray. Inside the box, there is also a red background made of cardboard and a manual inside a plastic packaging taped to its back. Seems super legit right?

Right after pulling the tray out, a tear at the top was clearly visible. The plastic tray feels very thin and flimsy.

Iron Man is covered with a beautiful metallic red and gold paint along with some silver highlights at the waist. Did I mention that it has die-cast feet? IT HAS FRIGGIN' DIE-CAST FEET! And it's a knockoff! It can't get any better than that! And sadly, it doesn't (well, that de-escalated quickly).

The figure seems to be lighter and more hollow compared to the SHF Kamen Rider figures that I own. Most of its joints are also loose, especially at the torso, waist and ankles, making it very difficult (almost entirely impossible!) to pose it in flight actions. After researching online, I found a temporary fix - use nail polish to thicken the size of the joints/pegs and create more friction between the parts, thus holding the poses better. However, I do need to mention that the problem of loose joints on original SHF products are not uncommon. It could be that mine just happens to be this loose.

Like all SHFs, this Iron Man figure has many points of articulation. It has articulation at its head, neck, shoulder, bicep, elbow, wrist, torso, waist, hips, thighs, knees, ankles and toes. All of which have either or a combination of both a ball joint or hinge. However, the angle of the ankle's hinge joint makes the feet look a little disconnected from the legs (kind of making Iron Man look flat-footed from a front view). Although posing him in a wider stance does help to minimize that awkward look.

The figure comes with all the accessories the original has. These include 3 pairs of blast effect parts and 3 pairs of interchangeable hands.

There is 1 pair for the feet and 2 pairs for the hands. The blast effect parts for the feet are attached by inserting the cylindrical peg into the hole under the foot. However, these pegs are also too small to fit well inside the holes under his feet, causing it to drop off easily. As for the hand blast effects, a specially designed hand needs to be used.

This pair of hands have a cylindrical peg sticking out the middle of the palm while the blast effects have a hole for this peg to be plugged into. The armor pieces on the back of the hands can be removed and attached onto the other pairs of hands.

These armor pieces have a hinge that allows it to bend outwards to create a natural look for the hands when posing Iron Man with the effect parts.

This knockoff also have the shoulder gimmick that was specially designed for SHF Iron Man figures. The gimmick allows the shoulders to be extended for poses that require the arm to further cross his chest. It's a useful gimmick but the visible gap is a tad bit of a bummer.

Speaking of gaps, a pretty huge one can be seen when his upper body is fully-stretched sideways. However, this has to be done in order to give Iron Man a good range of motion and to create his iconic "superhero landing" pose.

Superhero poses!

Iron Man: Sorry?

Winter Soldier: Get back here!

Iron Man: Ahhh!!!!

For size comparison, here is SHF Iron Man Mark 43 next to Marvel Legends 6-inch Winter Soldier.

Overall, this figure is definitely worth the price, especially now that it has dropped to about SGD$20 online. I'm not too exactly sure how this knockoff fares with his original counterpart but as compared to my SHF Kamen Rider figures, it isn't all that bad. Other than the looseness of the joints, this knockoff is a pretty good stand-in for its original. Although it is wrong to support an imitation, the price for an original Marvel SHF has just been too absurdly high (about $80) - bummer.

What do you think, Marvel fans? Would you break some rules and buy this knockoff?