Decool Iron Man Set 1 [Toy Impressions]

If you need proof of how great and charismatic an actor Robert Downey Jr. is, the Iron Man movie is it. Before that film, only comic geeks are familiar with the character. Even in movie media circles, the general consensus is that Marvel Studios took a big risk in making that movie, knowing full well that Iron Man isn't as popular to the general public as, say, Wolverine or Spider-man.

Not only did RDJ fully embrace and own the role, he turned Iron Man into a household name, as well as a heavy merchandise-selling machine. Today we'll be looking at Decool's Iron Man-themed minifig set.
Prices have ticked upward a little bit in Divisoria, though, with Decool becoming known among retailers as a quality brand among the Lego clones, so we're now looking at PhP 30 (USD 0.68) per minifig when bought as a set. Depending on which vendor in Divisoria you buy from, the price can go a bit higher, though it's still cheaper than the baseline of PhP 50 (USD 1.14) you get from Greenhills sellers.

As for the set itself, here is what's included (the links point to further suit info):
- Iron Man Mark 7
- War Machine
- Iron Man Mark 39 Starboost
- Iron Man Mark 41 Bones
- Iron Patriot
- Iron Man Mark 17 Heartbreaker

Two of these minifigs, Starboost and Bones, have never been produced as an official Lego minifig. I'm not too sure if Decool retains their own in-house designers, but in a chance conversation I had with another buyer, he told me that Decool copies these designs from custom minifig makers. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. Regardless, we're getting two new, unofficial minifigs with the set, so that's good.

Each box contains the minifig, a comic-slash-build instructions, and a small platform with mechanical arms for display (a nice touch, to be honest).

Most of the minifigs are nicely-detailed, again with some minor flaws on the paint, but nothing too serious. Also, the helmets open and close like the Lego ones do. I know that should be automatic, but you'd be surprised how clone makers (not just with Lego products) sometimes cut corners with their products.

The legs are thankfully standard, too - none of those curious Sheng Yuan legs. Also, Decool provides two facial expressions with their head pieces, another nice touch. Speaking of heads, War Machine and Iron Patriot have the appropriate Rhodey heads bundled with them, and the rest have Stark heads.

Remember when I said "most" earlier? That's because I got a dud with the Iron Patriot. If you look at the photos, you'll see a very bad paint job, as if the suit were already battle-damaged. Just a heads-up. If you're able to inspect the minifigs before buying (stores in Greenhills allow this), please do so. I was able to buy another Iron Patriot later on, and that one was decent, so it's probably just a bad production run on Decool's part.

All in all, not a bad offering from Decool. Those two new models should prove handy for builders who want to recreate Stark's Hall of Armor.

Iron Man Mark 7

War Machine

Iron Man Mark 39 Starboost

Iron Man Mark 41 Bones

Iron Patriot

Iron Man Mark 17 Heartbreaker