By now, you’ll have seen the latest Avengers: Infinity War trailer – and to mark the imminent arrival of Marvel’s latest, LEGO has revisited an iconic piece of kit from the previous film, the Mark 44 Hulkbuster Iron Man suit. Yes, they have done this set before (2015’s Hulkbuster Smash 76031), and there’s another, less expensive Infinity War Hulkbuster set currently out there (76104, with that infamous movie spoiler on the box), but both models, are, well, puny in comparison to The Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition, which clocks in at a heroic 26cm tall and nearly 1,400 pieces (it took us just shy of four hours to build – the video is mercifully shorter). And it can be yours for a mere £119.99.
Of all the superhero LEGO kits we’ve built, this one feels the most technical, and appropriately so – there’s a lot of quite fiddly superstructure creating volume under the smoothed-over exterior, and you’ll need to pay very close attention to some of the more intricate sections.
LEGO has thrown a lot of cool detailing at this piece, from the curved plating giving it a nicely beefy look, to having just-visible transparent blue elements peeking out from between the joints, like tiny sparks of electricity. There’s also a light brick to simulate the arc reactor but, sadly, you can’t lock this in the “on” position, and you’ll need dexterous fingers to activate it in the first place. Clever touches include the use of pistols and gold bars (usually found in the City series jail sets) utilized here as pipework and techy-looking paneling, and a specially-printed dome headpiece, with a suitably furrowed Iron Man brow.
Minifig completists will also love the dinky Mark 43 Iron Man, which you’ll only be able to get with this set, while other neat extras to add to your display platform include a tiny hot-rod, a fire extinguisher and a model of Veronica, the orbital satellite that stores and delivers the components of the Mark 44 armour. Sadly, the yellow robot arms on the platform don’t resemble Dum-E and U closely enough for our liking, but they do give you a nice place to display one of the interchangeable left arms when it’s not on the main model – you can plump for regular, or jackhammer. If you’re a builder who likes to buy sets to cannibalize parts for other builds, one thing the Mark 44 has in spades is hinges. So. Many. Hinges.
Completed, it looks very, very cool on display, but it’s definitely not as poseable as the smaller Infinity War figure, likely down to the sheer weight of the thing – the Legs and feet are positionable solely to ensure it doesn’t topple over, with most of the articulation in the arms, so if you’re looking for play value, maybe consider the smaller set. Now, to find a Hulk figure that’s worthy of smash-up…
