Though we’re still a month or two away from the long-awaited Avengers Hot Toys Iron Man Mark VII figure being released, today Hot Toys announced a limited-edition Battle Damaged Iron Man Mark VII Movie Masterpiece figure! Details surrounding this figure’s release are still a little bit sketchy, but we’ve seen ample shots of the figure itself and all its differences from the regular Hot Toys Iron Man Mk. VII. And I have to say: this Battle Damaged Iron Man Mark VII Movie Promo edition is glorious…

To say that Marvel movie fans weren’t expecting another version of the Mark VII Iron Man figure before the first one even ship outs would be an understatement. But in order to be used as a promotion for the upcoming Iron Man III movie, this new limited Battle Damaged Iron Man Mark VII figure really needed to be announced around now by necessity (Iron Man 3 comes out in under two months).

The Avengers Battle Damaged Iron Man Mark VII Hot Toys figure has three significant changes from the regular edition of the figure:

1) Battle Damaged Paint Apps: The most obvious change to the original version of the Iron Man Mark VII is that this Battle-Damaged version has, well–battle damage. And tons of it. While the regular edition also has a chest plate with battle damage on it, this version is covered in extensively-detailed burns and scrapes. In typical Hot Toys fashion, the battle damage paint applications look downright incredible.

2) Chitauri Base: Whereas the regular Iron Man Mark VII armor figure will come with the standard round black base, the limited Iron Man Mark VII Battle-Damaged figure will come with an immensely elaborate diorama-like base with a downed Chitauri alien warrior on it. Many collectors are bored with the same-old bases that every Hot Toys Avengers figure has included and will welcome this terrain base with open arms.

3) Extra Head: Whereas the regular Hot Toys Mark VII figure comes with an extra Tony Stark head without any Iron Man armor on it, the limited Battle-Damaged Mark VII will include an exclusive Mark VII helmet head with the visor open to show off Tony’s face. It would have probably made more sense to include the alternate heads the other way around (to recreate the Shawarma dialogue), but I’m not one to complain about an all-new extra head.

This particular release may be a bit polarizing to the Marvel Hot Toys figures collecting community. The Avengers Iron Man Mark VII Movie Masterpiece figure was solicited close to a year ago, and a huge number of collectors have already put down pre-orders and deposits on that figure. To show a limited version with more paint detailing and a far superior base–not to mention an exclusive alternate head–before the regular Hot Toys Iron Man Mark VII figure comes out seems like a bit of a low blow.

Hot Toys’ Battle-Damaged Iron Man Mark VII is scheduled to be released in Q3 2013. As of writing, American distribution or pricing for the Battle-Damaged Iron Man Mark VII figure has not been announced, but it is expected to be a fast sellout (as it’s part of the ultra-popular Iron Man series of Hot Toys figures). I’ll update with ordering details for this figure once they become available.