This year marks the 10th Anniversary since LEGO® super heroes burst onto the scene. Since 2012 the world of Marvel has inspired many great sets and more recently, iconic moments from MCU have been revisited under The Infinity Saga banner. One such set is the upcoming Iron Man Armory. But this isn’t the first time Stark’s suit collection has inspired a LEGO set. There have been two previous sets and they had the ability to be combined to create a larger set. As well as offering a few additional Iron Man suits to collect. But does this set continue those trends? Here’s my early review of the Iron Man Armory set.
Product Details
LEGO® Marvel Iron Man Armory (76216) is bursting with authentic details, cool features and iconic minifigures to delight any fan of Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga movies.
A packed playset for Iron Man fans aged 7+
This versatile and feature-packed playset takes kids into the famous room where Iron Man stores his high-tech suit gear. As well as the classic MK3, MK25 and MK85 Iron Man suits there is a workshop area with tools where kids can carry out repairs and a platform where the billionaire Super Hero can change into his chosen armor. There are also 3 holographic displays, a sports car, a robot assistant arm, loads of accessories and popular minifigures, including Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, War Machine and Whiplash. In addition, the free LEGO Building Instructions app lets kids view, zoom and rotate the model as they build, providing an amazing sense of immersion and interaction during the construction process.
- Set Name: Iron Man Armory
- Set Number: 76216
- Pieces: 496
- RRP: £84.99/$89.99/89.99€
- Number of Bags: Bags x 4
- Stickers: Sheet x 1
- Minifigures: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, War Machine & Whiplash plus MK3, MK25 & MK85 Iron Man suits
- Instructions: Booklet x 1 + LEGO Building Instructions App
- Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Release from June 1st
The very first Iron Man-inspired by Stark’s workshop was released in 2019 and offered the first proper recreation of Tony’s collection of Iron Man suits. It got a surprise follow-up in 2020. Both sets had a similar style and could be combined to expand the workshop and suit armoury. So excitement for this new version was quite high. Unfortunately, this new set features a completely different style of armour bays. It has a similar configuration, so there are eight door-like bays. These can be clipped together as well as stacked. But the design differs from previous sets. They are now bordered by a pair of shutter slats and the holo displays are now separate transparent panels. The set contains three panels showing a trio of suits not physically featured in the set. Although stickers are used, they are highly detailed. They include holoprojections of MK1 and Silver Centurion suits as well as one labelled ‘nano tech’. Some have appeared in physical form elsewhere, but the designs on the stickers have been tweaked to match the new style helmet.
I do like the new design as it offers something new, however, the fact it’s preceded by two other sets which can be combined, the new design is highly conflicting. It could be connected to the other sets but it would look odd. Which is honestly a shame. Although none of the three sets based on the hall of armour has officially suggested they can be connected, with the first two sets it was heavily implied due to the same design being used. So I guess this could be considered a reboot, still, it would have been nice if the consistency continued. Especially since other aspects of the new set could have easily been used to convey something new.
As well as the armour bays, the set features a number of smaller unconnected sections. These include a central armour construction pad, another aspect found in a previous set. Although the design seems a little simpler, I quite like the use of a transparent radar dish surrounded by dark grey elements. This section doesn’t physically connect to anything else. Other sections include various workshop-inspired furnishings, such as a workbench, a couple of tables and a robotic companion. But my favourite has to be the pillar drill. Such a simple build but it looks great.
Along with his various suits, Tony likes to keep some of his cars in his workshop. As this set is very loosely based on Iron Man 2, it features a car with a passing resemblance to the Audi Synder seen in the second Iron Man movie. The LEGO version is very similar to the original Speed Champions sets, featuring a 6-stud wide design. It also has room in the back to transport the Stark Expo map, in a similar fashion to the film. The map is crafted from a trio of 2×6 plates, when combined they create the Expo map which prompts Tony to discover a new element.
Of course, the draw of the set for many will be the line-up of minifigures it includes. It features a mix of new characters and some previously found in other sets. So Tony, Pepper and Nick Fury have all been included in other Marvel sets. Making them a little less exciting than the others in the set. So Stark is the same as the versions in the Sakaarian Iron Man set. Fury is exactly the same as the version included in the Spider-Man Mysterio Drone set. Pepper Potts matches the minifigure featured in the Iron Monger set.
Now before taking a look at the various Stark designed suits, the helmet has been redesigned for this set. When the Iron Man minifigures debuted in 2012, they used a unique helmet consisting of a helmet and a flip-up front. It was later replaced with a single piece helmet. The latest version is similar to the original design, bringing back the flip-up front panel. It sort of blends the aesthetics of both previous designs. The gold section on the new version is a lot smaller, which makes the helmet seem a little bigger. The panel also lift up a lot more than the original.
There are three Iron Man suits included in the set. They all use blank heads, so you can swap them out with the Tony Stark head. Iron Man suits include the MK3, the MK25 and the MK85, both MK3 and MK85 have previously featured in sets and as expected, their design is very similar but they use the new helmet and the MK85 has the jet wings and energy sword. The MK25 or the Striker suit is all-new and unlike the other Iron Man suits, it’s grey with gold trim and features two jackhammer hands. The minifigure version has bright yellow trim on both the shoulder armour and driller hands. It would have looked better this the yellow parts were gold in colour.
The final two characters include a new version of War Machine, which uses the new helmet piece. Unlike the Iron Man suits, Rhodey’s suit has a vastly different design, especially around the ARC reactor. His shoulder-mounted gun is also less prominent than in past versions. Finally, Ivan Vanko’s Whiplash makes his minifigure debut and is featured in the armoured suit, as seen towards the end of Iron Man 2. The suit detailing on this minifigure is very cool and the older style helmet also works well for the design of the character. The grey shoulder armour helps to bulk him up a little but maybe the chunkier armour used for Wrecker in the Bad Batch set, would have looked even better. Ivan has a great pair of faces so it’s nice to have a hairpiece included as well as the helmet.
Review Round-up
The biggest issue with this set is the redesign resulting in it having a visual conflict with previous sets, although technically there is no official suggestion they should be combined. The other is the price point, the set costs £80. The first set had more pieces and cost £20 less. Even the I am Groot set has around the same piece count and costs almost half as much. So the minifigures have certainly pushed up the cost, with wouldn’t be so bad if three of them have appeared elsewhere and a couple of the Iron Man suits are also found in slightly different forms in previous sets. That’s not to say it’s a bad set, I do like the redesigned armour bays and the new helmet is an improvement over the single-piece version previously used.
For
+ More Iron Man suits to collect
+ Stickered elements add cool details
+ Armour bay redesign is nice but conflicting
Against
– Really high price point, you’re paying for the minifigures
– Pepper & Fury seem unnecessary
– Tweaked design makes it look awkward next to previous ‘hall of armour’ sets
Coming June 1st: UKIrelandUSCanadaGermanyDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
This set was provided to BricksFanz by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
