The Good: Not overly expensive, Generally good sculpt, Good balance
The Bad: Sloppy paint job, Overproduced, No sound or light effects
The Basics: The 2016 Team Iron Man ornament features Iron Man from Captain America: Civil War, but is by no means the best Iron Man ornament Hallmark has ever produced.
Hallmark has produced many awesome Iron Man ornaments over the years. In fact, some of the best collectibles produced since Iron Man was cinematically released came from Hallmark. As with so many things, when items are produced in quantity over the years in bulk, they often become pale impressions of the earliest works. So it is with Iron Man ornaments from Hallmark. The Team Iron Man ornament from 2016's Hallmark Keepsake line is all right, but there are vastly superior Iron Man ornaments that have been produced. Unfortunately, because this ornament has been mass produced and rushed to market in order to capitalize on the popularity of the character for this year's feature film, the Team Iron Man ornament fell dramatically short of expectations, especially on the paint front of various copies of the ornament that I found.
The Team Iron Man ornament is a common-release, mass-produced Hallmark ornament that is one of two Captain America: Civil War ornaments and one of four Marvel comics ornaments produced by Hallmark this year. The Team Iron Man ornament is one of two ornaments from Captain America: Civil War (reviewed here!). Unfortunately, the Team Iron Man ornament is hardly an impressive collectible from Captain America: Civil War.
Basics
The Team Iron Man ornament recreates the industrialist and super hero in solid plastic. The ornament, released in 2016, is a mediocre recreation of the armored character as he appears in the cinematic rendition of Iron Man from Captain America: Civil War. The Team Iron Man ornament features a fully-armored version of Tony Stark, so there are no aspects distinctive to Robert Downey, Jr. evident. The Team Iron Man ornament features Iron Man without any facial details or skin, just as one would expect of Tony Stark when he is in his Iron Man guise.
Team Iron Man is the armored hero in a leaping pose, with one arm back, as if in mid-swing, one arm foward as if punching down. The sculpted detailing on the ornament is all right and includes ribbing and plating that give the character an appropriately assembled look.
The coloring, however, undermines the value of the Team Iron Man ornament. Two of the five Team Iron Man ornaments I found featured very sloppy paint jobs, where the paint is not within the boundaries of each specific armor piece. Those painted defects are enough to make it unworth the $15.95 original issue price, at least for fans of the cinematic Iron Man, who have a lot of collectibles they could hunt.
The Hallmark Team Iron Man ornament is made of a durable plastic and has Iron Man in an action pose, painted in monotones without any depth and shading, though the metallic red paint looks good in general. The Team Iron Man ornament measures out at 4" tall, 3" wide and 1" deep.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, the Team Iron Man could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but does not. This is just an ornament, a low-cost (comparatively) option for those who might not want to shell out for the more expensive ornaments. This Iron Man simply hangs on a tree. Given that many other Iron Man ornaments feature lights and/or sound, this is disappointing.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Iron Man ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Marvel Universe Christmas Tree, Iron Man is essential, but not this version. The ornament has a brass hook loop embedded in the top center of the character's back. From that hook, the Team Iron Man ornament hangs fairly well-balanced. Iron Man in this iteration looks like he is launching an attack, which is accurate and cool.
Collectibility
Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, Hallmark has gotten into every major franchise from Disney to Twilight to the Marvel Comics universe. The Team Iron Man ornament was not at all limited. I would not bet, given how the other Marvel ornaments have met demand without leaving a lot of people wanting, and how poor the paint job is on this ornament, that the Team Iron Man ornament will not be a good investment piece at all.
Overview
The Team Iron Man ornament is a Marvel ornament that is easy to pass on and is not one that is likely to excite any of the fans who love the character.
For other Iron Man Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2015 Iron Man The Avengers: Age Of Ultron
2012 Iron Man The Avengers ornament
2010 Defender Of Justice Iron Man 2 ornament
5/10
For other ornament reviews, please check out my Ornament Review Index Page!
© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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