We’re only on the second day of 2014, but the time has arrived for the first major Marvel pre-order of the new year! And this will sound unbelievable, but I swear that I willed this pre-order into existence by posting the Marvel Hot Toys 2014 Release Schedule last night. See, while I was lamenting the $2500 of my future money that Hot Toys had already claimed, I was simultaneously wondering if the Starboost Iron Man would ever go up for order. Hot Toys must have heard my thoughts, because the Hot Toys Starboost Iron Man Mark XXXIX Movie Masterpiece Series 1/6 figure is now available for order!

I’m pretty on top of things, so it’s been quite a while since Hot Toys managed to totally blindside me with a pre-order. They did so today, however–and I’m grateful they did, as the unexpected item going up for pre-order is an item I’ve been waiting for since last summer!

As soon as Funko accidentally showed off the Funko POP Vinyls Gemini Iron Man figure last spring, thus inadvertently leaking the existence of the Deep-Space Iron Man Armor, I knew that I wanted a Hot Toys figure of the Iron Man Gemini Mark 39 armor. When Hot Toys premiered the Hot Toys Gemini Iron Man MMS figure prototype at SDCC 2013 in July, I was certain he’d be going up for pre-order within a few weeks. Except… he didn’t.

Well, it’s taken longer to show up for order than any other Hot Toys MMS sixth scale figure shown off at San Diego Comic-Con 2013 (and the armor has undergone a name change), but pre-orders for the Hot Toys Iron Man Starboost Sub-Orbital Armor have finally opened!

Though the Starboost Iron Man armor’s appearance in the Iron Man 3 movie was forgettable (to say the least), the shiny white and grey/black space suit armor is still among my absolute favorite armor designs ever for Iron Man. Hot Toys must have thought so too, as they’ve absolutely nailed the design and aesthetic of the Iron Man Starboost armor!

The back of the Starboost/Gemini Iron Man Hot Toys figure is equally cool, and really makes me sad this this armor (like most of the armors in Iron Man 3) only got a split-second of movie screen-time. But hey, at least the Hot Toys Iron Man Mark 39 Sixth Scale figure will be able to live on forever on our shelves now, right?

Though the accessories for this figure are a bit light (just a stand, an extra Iron Man faceplate and some alternate hands), the color scheme and sculpted texture on the armor more than make up for it (at least, they do for me).

The limited number of accessories included with the Starboost Iron Man Hot Toys figure allow a 100% new sculpt to stay at a price-point under $270, which makes future me (and my future credit balance) very, very happy. $269.99 is by no means cheap, but at least this new sculpt is 30 bucks cheaper than the total repaint (albeit a beautiful total repaint) that was Midas Iron Man.

The Hot Toys Gemini Iron Man/Starboost Iron Man Mark 39 sixth scale figure is now available for order, with an estimated ship date of November 2014. It’s worth noting that this particular figure has no non-refundable deposit required by Sideshow Collectibles, so if you think you might want this one when it comes out, you’ve literally got nothing to lose by locking in a pre-order!

I know some people have said that the Starboost armor is ugly, but I love love it. What say you, Marvel collectors? Is this an Iron Man 3 Hot Toys figure you want in your collection, or is the Hot Toys Starboost Iron Man figure’s aesthetic (or price-tag) not to your liking?