Review of 76031 The Hulk Buster Smash and 76104 The Hulkbuster Smash Up

[kaelthas]

'The end is near.' 

Are you excited to see Thanos destroy half the universe this April? I am! So let's snap our fingers and start this new combo review of mine. 

Six sets to collect is quite heavy to my pocket so I start with this much sought after set, plus a combo with the previous Hulkbuster set as a comparison. 

Is it too much to hope for a support set (UCS Hulkbuster) from LEGO for me to review? Hmm...

'I hope they remember you' 

 

Introduction

Tony keeps making new suits for himself and Hulkbusters with Banner to contain Hulk that lose control. Here we got Hulkbuster Mark I from Age of Ultron and Mark II from Infinity War LEGO sets. The main build of these two sets are the Hulkbusters itself and a small build of the partial Hulk cage and a ball shooter piloted by Proxima midnight and outriders.

Let's start. Oh, spoiler alert, the soul stone is here!

Overview

Name: 76031 The Hulk Buster Smash
Year: 2015
Pieces: 248
Minifigures: 4
Price: £29.99 / $29.99 / 34.99€

Quote

Topple Scarlet Witch with super-jumping Iron Man and free the mighty Hulk!

Hulk has been trapped by the powers of Scarlet Witch and she is ready to fire an electrical bolt if he tries to escape! Place Iron Man in the cockpit of the humungous Hulk Buster suit and rush to the rescue. On the way you must fend off aerial attacks from the flying Ultron Prime. Adjust the Hulk Buster’s arms and legs to create fearsome battle poses and grab the villain with the powerful hands. With Ultron Prime safely in the mech’s grip, attach Iron Man to his Super Jumper. Then take out Scarlet Witch with an accurate jump and free the imprisoned Hulk! Includes 3 minifigures with assorted weapons and accessories: Iron Man, Ultron Prime and Scarlet Witch, plus a Hulk figure.

• Includes 3 minifigures with assorted weapons and accessories: Iron Man, Ultron Prime and Scarlet Witch, plus a Hulk figure
• Hulk Buster suit features an opening cockpit for Iron Man, 2 stud shooters, posable arms and legs and gripping hands
• Prison features an invisible levitation stand for Scarlet Witch and opening sides
• Weapons include Scarlet Witch’s 2 magical power weapons
• Accessories include Iron Man’s iconic helmet and Super Jumper plus Ultron Prime’s thrusters
• Place Iron Man in the cockpit of the huge Hulk Buster suit
• Adjust the arms and legs for powerful battle poses
• Grab Ultron Prime’s with the Hulk Buster’s gripping hands
• Target Scarlet Witch with the stud shooters
• Knock Scarlet Witch down with a perfectly-aimed super jump
• Free the mighty Hulk from the prison
• Hulk Buster suit measures over 5” (13cm) high, 2” (7cm) deep and 6” (16cm) wide
• Prison measures over 5” (14cm) high, 3” (8cm) deep and 4” (11cm) wide
• Hulk figure stands over 2” (7cm) tall

Name: 76104 The Hulkbuster Smash-Up
Year: 2018
Pieces: 375
Minifigures: 4
Price: £29.99 / $29.99 / 34.99€

Quote

Overpower Proxima Midnight and the Outrider with Bruce Banner’s Hulkbuster in this LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes 76104 The Hulkbuster Smash-Up set. The posable Hulkbuster features an opening minifigure cockpit and bashing arm function. This action-packed set also includes a ball-shooting gun turret with an opening rear compartment containing the Infinity Stone element, Falcon's buildable wings with a detachable Redwing drone element and 4 minifigures.

• Includes 4 minifigures: Bruce Banner, Falcon, Proxima Midnight and an Outrider.
• Hulkbuster features an opening minifigure cockpit, wheel-operated bashing arm function and posable fingers, arms and legs.
• Gun turret features a minifigure seat, ball shooter and an opening rear compartment containing the Infinity Stone element.
• Includes Proxima Midnight's spear and Falcon's buildable wings with a detachable Redwing drone element.
• The new-for-March-2018 Outrider minifigure has 6 arms.
• Play out thrilling scenes inspired by the Marvel Super Heroes Avengers: Infinity War movie.
• Hulkbuster measures over 5” (14cm) high, 2” (7cm) long and 6” (16cm) wide.
• Gun turret measures over 3” (8cm) high, 4” (11cm) wide and 1” (5cm) deep..

The Box

 

The front of the boxes featured the Hulkbusters in action and the minifigures included. The size of both sets are the same but the 2018 version is with 375 pieces at the same price. No wonder it had become a hard to find item in my place. 

At the back of the box you can see Bruce jumped out of the Hulkbuster and grab the soul stone. I thought he is supposed to Hulk out? The outrider looks scared and ran away, quite weird of what's happening here. The old box features scarlet witch and ultron in the battle but in the movie, the fight is only focused on Hulk and the huge iron man. So is it telling us that the new box art is not that accurate to the movie? I guess we'll know this 25th of April. 

Proxima Midnight and Iron Man Mark 43 in actual size. I think the super jumper (minifig leg destroyer) is not being included anymore. 

The Content

 

The comic book is very nicely printed and I'm glad that sticker sheet is so small. Hulk is still in the plastic and three numbered bags.

In 76104 we get four numbered bags with a sticker sheet. bag one, bag two, bag three, and bag four. We get four infinity stones in bag one still attached to the sprue. 

The Build

 

These are the small builds in the sets. I didn't pay much attention to them as I'm very excited to proceed to the Hulkbusters! The turret shoots a ball by pressing the serrated arm. The center of the arm is flexible enabled it to squeeze out the ball. For 76031, the cage for the Hulk is built with a trans clear bar to make scarlet witch fly above the Hulk. 

There is a compartment storing the soul stone at the back of the turret. So the stone is with the outrider all these times? How confusing! 

Here you go. I love the trans orange new part for the infinity stones. Can't wait to get Thanos and the gauntlet along with all the stones!

The Minifigures

Iron Man Mark 43. He is with a round chest piece and the gold red prints. The torso is very detailed as usual and Tony's face is similar to most of other LEGO iron mans. 

A comparison with a later version of iron man in civil war. Mark 46. Tony added blue lights all over the torso and covered part of the chest circle. The helmet is pretty much the same.

Blue lights at the back too. You can check all previous versions of iron man here. 

Scarlet Witch. This is a younger version of her that serves Ultron to avenge her parents. I like the dark red jacket here but why her power is blue instead of pink?

The civil war Wanda has longer hair, a skirt and a more matured look. The faces and red eyes are the same, but the torso changed. But where did the leg printings go?

Hulk! Now you are outnumbered. We have two Hulkbusters. This is the angrier version of Hulk affected by Wanda's magic. Seriously, what did she showed Banner made him so furious? 

Compared to previous versions, this one actually have a line at the collar bone area indicating that the head is shaped by new mold just to make his hair like this. But it is not separable from the torso. The skin tone is similar to the Ragnarok version. Only the pants changed color after two years in Sakaar. Pollution maybe?

Ultron Prime. This is the Ultron which amputated Klaue's left hand. I like the overall printings on his head and torso and legs. The red lights also looked glowing like fluid flowing through his body.

Bruce Banner. We have another Banner in human form after Ragnarok. All things similar but there are some dirt on his shirt in my copy. 

Can anyone clarify? Or is it a minute difference that makes him exclusive to this set?

 

Falcon. He is another highlight in this set who had a new brick-built wings. They are attached to him with the trans clear 1x2 rounded edge plate. Underneath the plate the printings also resembles a closed wing as a backpack. 

The brick built wings are actually quite heavy for him as a minifigure, but the trans red cone fire gave quite a good support for him. The wings are awesome as it is flexible in horizontal way! It can now folded in front of him to block bullets.

Thanos does give the Avengers some level of stress making Falcon's suit darker than the civil war version. He is in Wakanda in the trailer with Cap, does that means that the wings got vibranium upgrades too? No more carbon fibre? I think the brick built wings are so much nicer than the previous one.

Proxima Midnight. One of the Black Order of Thanos. She gets a bright blue hair treatment in LEGO form and a sweet smiley face. However, you won't like when she is angry and holding her spear. 

Pearl gold arm and the white colored arm is very nicely matched with the armor printed torso. Do you think the grandmaster would show up in Infinity War? Hmm..His melt stick would be a great weapon against the mad titan, no?

Thanos's new minions, outriders. He has the other four arm attached to this new part that attached to him like a backpack. I love the black and gold color combination here. He does look like spider from the side.

The back also printed very well underneath the four armed backpack.

Bad guys army. 

The head does look like an eye, right?

Go get the Avengers!

The Highlights of these two sets.

 

Are you ready for some Hulkbusting? 

Let's start with the most exclusive part in the set. The dome shaped head with gold color printings. Mark II have more lines and the eyes looks angrier than the previous version.

Side by side. Wow, just wow. Both are very fine build of the robot but I prefer the Infinity War version as it looks bulkier and detailed compared to the skinnier version. Mark II also looks 'complete' with the stickers applied.

Let's open up. The first version is with a brown 2x4 tile inside, looks primitive. Mark II looks more technologically advanced as it got a interconnected gear inside the pilot's seat.

Spoiler alert. It's a bit late for this spoiler though. Now everybody knows Banner is the one piloting the latest version of hulkbuster. I like the fit of a minifigure inside the space. Just nice rather than spacious in the first version.

Sideways. Mark I have a straighter posture. Mark II kind of lean forward but both are very stable. I really love the trans blue knob that turns his right arm 360 degrees creating a hurling action. It can be locked just by clutching in the knob.

Mark I is using the bionicle shoulder pad while Mark II has a shinier buildable figure era shoulder pads. The back looks nice too as the antistuds are quite covered up.

Sitting position. Mark I has a better articulation at the hip area enables him to sit more properly than Mark II. Mark II kind of lack one angle at the hip area. Some modifications are needed to help him sit.

Comparison of LEGO buildable figures. Mark II is taller than Mark I and quite similar height with Giant man. Sadly I don't have the UCS version to compare here. Tree beard and K2SO are way taller than them. 

The sole of their foot is quite wide enabled them to stand with one leg and dance off!

Conclusion

Both sets are so nice and I can't find a reason not to have them in my collection. The Hulkbusters are so nicely built and they looked great standing next to each other. 

Review Summary
Playability: 9/10 - They are very nice to play with especially the posability of both Hulkbusters.
Design / Building Experience: 8/10 - The design is very nice but not really movie accurate. They look quite different from the movie and still very skinny even for Mark II.
Minifigures:  9/10 - Great minifigures! All the printings and the details are marvelous! Except for Proxima who looks a little bit cartoonish. 
Overall: 9/10 - These two sets are must buy for hulkbuster fans like me. They are really nice to pose and play and photograph with! They do make me kind of ignored the existence of the minifigures in the sets. Haha.

Hope you enjoy the review, do share your thoughts in the comments! 

 

Superhero Landing!

[CF Mitch]

Thanks for this elaborate comparison review!
I wasn't gonna buy the Hulkbuster Smashup at first, but now I think I might.
The Mark II Hulkbuster looks much better than I first thought (which is why I didn't feel the need to have it initially)!

Regards,
Mitch

[kaelthas]

10 minutes ago, CF Mitch said:

Thanks for this elaborate comparison review!
I wasn't gonna buy the Hulkbuster Smashup at first, but now I think I might.
The Mark II Hulkbuster looks much better than I first thought (which is why I didn't feel the need to have it initially)!

Regards,
Mitch

Thanks for the reply. Yes, Mark II is bulkier and nicer than the first version. Here is another picture of him intimidating the Hulk!

 

[HawkLord]

Great review! It’s nice to see a licensed set with a very reasonable price point, especially given the big draw of Hulkbuster. Granted Proxima could use alittle more work, I don’t yet know how much she factors into the new movie (or even lives through this), so I’m not sure it really bothers me yet. 

Definitely a set worth getting to complete the Iron Man line-up and the Black Order. 

[Venefic]

Clever picture taking. It really improves the appeal and engagement with the review, no wonder you've got that golden star! 

[WhiteFang]

Thanks for the very fine dualistic review. I recently had the pleasure to assemble and build both of these sets. I had to conclude both sets had its pros and cons. In the earlier version, you get a better assortment of minifigures including a Hulk in the aspect of minifigures selection. Yes, there is some other exclusive characters and if I can have my way, I hope to mash Scarlet Witch in the mix as well. The repetitive of Bruce Banner is rather disappointing and I can live with the villians. As for brick-built Falcon (for his wings), I have conflicted feeling but I strongly felt the old one was better and yet at the same time, the new torso is much better looking. 

On the Hulkbuster aspect, I can safely conclude the new Hulkbuster is much better. It has a fun playability mechanism on the arms rotation. It has a much bigger and sturdy built with slightly taller height as well. The disappointment in the built could be the ton of dreaded stickers which I did not apply. I would prefer my Hulkbuster in vanilia built. 

I would recommend buying this set even though is a Hulkbuster repetitive. The overall built for the new Hulkbuster is much better and articulated. 

Looking forward to see more of the MCU Infinity War sets around and I am also busy building my fair share of sets. 

[WhiteFang]

To add and share my recent update on the Falcon minifigure. 

[kaelthas]

On 3/31/2018 at 3:00 AM, HawkLord said:

Great review! It’s nice to see a licensed set with a very reasonable price point, especially given the big draw of Hulkbuster. Granted Proxima could use alittle more work, I don’t yet know how much she factors into the new movie (or even lives through this), so I’m not sure it really bothers me yet. 

Definitely a set worth getting to complete the Iron Man line-up and the Black Order. 

And let's not forget the stone @HawkLord..  Thanks mate!

On 3/31/2018 at 5:26 PM, Venefic said:

Clever picture taking. It really improves the appeal and engagement with the review, no wonder you've got that golden star! 

Thanks @Venefic! My next review is in progress. Stay tuned!

On 4/2/2018 at 4:04 PM, WhiteFang said:

Thanks for the very fine dualistic review. I recently had the pleasure to assemble and build both of these sets. I had to conclude both sets had its pros and cons. In the earlier version, you get a better assortment of minifigures including a Hulk in the aspect of minifigures selection. Yes, there is some other exclusive characters and if I can have my way, I hope to mash Scarlet Witch in the mix as well. The repetitive of Bruce Banner is rather disappointing and I can live with the villians. As for brick-built Falcon (for his wings), I have conflicted feeling but I strongly felt the old one was better and yet at the same time, the new torso is much better looking. 

On the Hulkbuster aspect, I can safely conclude the new Hulkbuster is much better. It has a fun playability mechanism on the arms rotation. It has a much bigger and sturdy built with slightly taller height as well. The disappointment in the built could be the ton of dreaded stickers which I did not apply. I would prefer my Hulkbuster in vanilia built. 

I would recommend buying this set even though is a Hulkbuster repetitive. The overall built for the new Hulkbuster is much better and articulated. 

Looking forward to see more of the MCU Infinity War sets around and I am also busy building my fair share of sets. 

I do agree with the disappointment of getting the same Banner. (That was dirt in his shirt of my copy. I wonder why cause it was already there after I took out from the seal.) 

Falcon's wing is definitely great but it can be better if they are printed parts. 

I still haven't get my other infinity war sets.. Sob :(

On 4/2/2018 at 9:50 PM, WhiteFang said:

To add and share my recent update on the Falcon minifigure. 

Nailed it!  

[MOMAtteo79]

I'd go for 76104 :)

[Johnny1360]

Sadly I got this set to get the orange stone, as usual though when I finished the build I was quite happy with it. Since I don't have the previous version I thought I should get this one, who knows when we'll see another. The one thing I found very frustrating was how easy the chest pieces pop off, I was sure I did something wrong and double checked the instructions. So unlike LEGO to let that slide.

Great review @kaelthas look forward to more, really appreciate the time you put into this.

[ZORK64]

Great review approach here to compare both sets altogether.

While the new one looks pretty impressive (I like how its hips and feet look more massive), I'm fine with the old Hulkbuster I already got. I might modify it though to match its successor a bit.