Due to the fact that Play Imaginative basically took several years to release any of their super-cool Super Alloy Iron Man figures, there were many, many cancellations and few remaining collectors who ended up with their under-produced 6″ Super Alloy Iron Man Mark 42 figure. As a result, that 1/12 Mark XLII Iron Man figure has become quite rare these days. But Comicave Studios is giving 1/12 collectors another chance–their Omni Class Iron Man Mark 42 6″ figure goes up for sale this month!

I was absolutely on cloud nine several years ago when I saw the incredible line of die-cast Super Alloy Iron Man figures that Play Imaginative was showing off on the convention circuit way back in 2013. I was more than ready to fork out thousands of dollars to own every 6″ Iron Man Play Imaginative put out for me to buy.

The trouble is, Play Imaginative only managed to release a couple Iron Man figures–period–before giving over the die-cast Iron Man line to Comicave Studios.

As a result, only a short run of 1/12 Play Imaginative Iron Man Mark XLII figures were actually produced–and while the quality on that action figure disappointed many, the figure has become expensive and difficult to obtain due to the low production numbers.

Nobody was more disappointed than me that Play Imaginative dropped the ball with their Iron Man Super Alloy line, but I’m glad that P.I. at least managed to release my favorite armor of all in six-inch form.

That said, the Super Alloy Mark 42 was maligned because of quality control and articulation issues. As such, Comicave Studios clearly thinks they can do better–and are planning to do so with their own like-scaled Omni Class Iron Man Mark XLII figure this summer!

(For those wondering, Comicave Studios has recently gone back and retroactively labeled all of their 1/12th scale figures to be “Omni Class”, by the way. Their 1/4 quarter scale figures are now labeled as “Master Class”. Don’t ask me.)

Not only does Comicave promise superior QC and articulation to its predecessor, but the figure will be composed of over 75% die-cast metal, have electronic LED light-up eyes and chest reactor, and include interchangeable hands and four effects pieces for the hands and feet.

With this being my absolute favorite armor, picking up this masterpiece is a no-brainier for me, even though I already own this armor from a variety of companies.

The Die-Cast Iron Man Mark 42 Comicave Studios figure will be up for order later this month, and is expected to retail for $100. As crazy as that price sounds for a 6″ figure (and believe me, I would have thought I was insane to even considering a hundred bucks for a six inch figure five years ago), these Comicave Omni Class figures are some of the best quality and most impressive 1:12 figures I’ve ever held in my hands–and while I don’t purchase them all, I’m definitely planning to upgrade to this Mark XLII myself once I can.

Three full years after the Iron Man 3 movie hit theaters, the potential best 6″ Mark XLII action figure ever looks to be arriving from Comicave Studios in July. Are you still interested in this armor, Marvel collectors, or is this another movie figure that’s too little, too late to ensnare your dollars?