Toy Biz Marvel Legends Series 1 Review & Guide
Toy Biz Marvel Legends were first released in 2002 as a spin-off to the Spider-Man Classics line, copying the same clamshell packaging design and comic insert that had proved to be very popular with fans.
Originally, it was only produced in the 6-ich scale but later lines also included 4, 8 and 12 inch figures. The Marvel Legends line was an instant hit because they weren’t just imposing, but they were sculpted meticulously with amazing details and articulation that was hard to find in other figures.
Toy Biz was also smart with their marketing, and the inclusion of accessories such as stands and bases, alternate suits, posters, and comic books, made these toys more desirable because each figure came with something unique.
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Toy Biz Marvel Legends first introduced the Build A Figure (BAF) concept in 2005, and remains a popular part of the line to this day. Each figure released in each individual wave or series came with part of a Deluxe figure that was only available as a BAF figure, and in order to complete this figure you had to collect all of the figures, generally 6 in each wave/series. However, that said you can usually find complete BAFs selling on eBay
In 2007 Hasbro acquired the Marvel license and continued to produce the Marvel Legends line but without the comic being included in the packaging and the finger joints, which had become standard, were discontinued.
Hasbro also scaled down the number of new Marvel Legends waves so much so that it was rumored that Hasbro was going to scrap the line. However, at the 2010 San Diego Comin Con, SDCC, Hasbro announced that due to fans requests and the upcoming Marvel slew of Marvel movies that the line was to be resurrected in 2012, and since then the line has gone from strength to strength with no signs of letting up.
All in all there were 16 series of Marvel Legends figures released and since then there have been approx. 17 more waves released by Hasbro.
This doesn’t include the numerous exclusives and variants etc that have been released over the years also.
Toy Biz Marvel Legends POA
- Rocker ankles
- Hinged ankles
- Swivel calves
- Double knees
- Thigh swivels
- Ball hips
- Ball waist
- Ball chest
- Swivel biceps
- Double elbows
- Swivel forearms
- Hinged wrists
- Hinged fingers
- Ball neck
- Ball head
- Ball shoulders
Toy Biz Marvel Legends Series 1
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Toy Biz Marvel Legends (Series 1) was released in 2002, there were 4 figures in all that came packaged with a display stand and either a 32 page comic book or a foil poster. Toy Biz also used clamshell packaging for this line rather than blister packs, which tend to be stronger, more protective and collector friendly.
This meant that the “backing card” was actually inside the packing rather than a blister mounted onto the backing-card giving both the figure and the comic book or poster protection and both were clearly visible.
The back of the packaging featured photos of the other figures and vehicles in the set as well the characters bio, stats and over info at the top as and a proof of purchase coupon at the bottom.
Although there were only 4 characters, and three variants of Iron Man, in the first series there were a total of 18 figures released, which meant there were between 2-3 of each character produced!
The prices here though are for the standard figure, unless otherwise stated. Because of the number of variations and the differing levels of rarity finding exact prices for all of them is difficult.
I would therefore suggest you watch my video on how to value an action figure to get up-to-date accurate values.
The figures that made up Series 1 were:
● Captain America US
● Captain America w/ Gold Poster US
● Captain America w/ Gold Poster UK
● Gold Armor Iron Man US
● Gold Armor Iron Man w/ Gold Poster UK
● Gold Armor Iron Man w/ Gold Poster CA
● Hulk w/ Articulated Hands US
● Hulk w/ Bendy Hands US
● Hulk w/ Gold Poster and Articulated Hands CA
● Hulk w/ Gold Poster and Articulated Hands UK
● Hulk w/ Gold Poster and Bendy Hands UK
● Iron Man Yellow US
● Iron Man Yellow w/ Gold Poster US
● Iron Man Yellow w/ Gold Poster CA
● Stealth Armor Iron Man w/“Stealth” on label
● Stealth Armor Iron Man w/o “Stealth” on label
● Toad US
● Toad w/ Gold Poster UK
Toy Biz Marvel Legends Captain America
- Captain America US
- Captain America w/ Gold Poster US
- Captain America w/ Gold Poster UK
The Toy Biz Marvel Legends Captain America figure in this series was one of the most iconic figures Toy Biz Marvel Legends released, with the super soldier standing 6 inches/15cm tall, ready to protect the universe.
The sculpt of this figure had great attention to detail especially his facial features. His biceps and muscles were all big and burly to match his strength. However, the body proportions seemed to be a bit off.
The abdomen was unnaturally short and narrow, the arms were longer than usual, and the thighs were long, but the shin was a bit short.
However, all-in-all this didn’t take much away from the overall coolness of the figure.
Toy Biz also did an excellent job with the paint. The paint was all glossy and replicates the original character from the comics. His suit is painted in the blue, red, and white of the American flag, the scales were also painted, rather than sculpted. The paint on the figure was well applied, with little overlapping.
One of the best and most exciting features of the Marvel Legends line was the amount of articulation the figures had, with about 32 different points of articulation on this figure! Previous to this most action figures typically only had 5 points of articulation.
Captain America didn’t have any action features, but he came with his trusted shield, of course. The figure came with a mountable wall display stand featuring a destroyed window and tank, also there was a 32-page Captain America comic book.
As a collector, this is one of the most collectible figures being amongst the first of the Marvel figures and being such a popular character.
There were two variations of this figure produced, one for the US market and on for the UK. There wasn’t any difference in the sculpting of the figures, and they both came with gold-framed posters of Captain America.
MOC High Price $40 Low Price $11.70
w/ GOLD POSTER (UK & Canada) US $30:00 - $60:00
Loose Low Price $19.99 High Price $27.99
Toy Biz Marvel Legends Gold Armor Iron Man
- GOLD ARMOR IRON MAN US
- GOLD ARMOR IRON MAN W/ GOLD POSTER UK
- GOLD ARMOR IRON MAN W/ GOLD POSTER CA
Toy Biz Marvel Legends series 1 marked the first
release of the gold armor Iron Man. Although this armor only lasted for about
two years in the comic, lots of fans loved the look.
The figure’s sculpting had a decent level of detail. Iron Man appeared super bulky, in full gold and red-colored armor, with a horned rimmed look and despite his armor you could see his abs and well-defined muscles.
There were circles in his palms where he could aim and fire at villains and his trademark power spot on his chest. Iron Man stood tall at over 6 inches. He also had a removable horn-rimmed mask that could easily be popped on and off to reveal Tony Stark’s face. Surprisingly they used a different head sculpt on this figure and the Yellow Iron than the Stealth Iron Man, which wasn’t painted as well and wasn’t as accurate or detailed as the Stealth Iron Man head sculpt.
The paintwork on this figure is pretty basic, with his standard red armor on a yellow body.
Like Captain America, Stark also has over 30 points of articulation, so he can take various stances before a fight.
For an accessory the figure came with an energy tower. This was a platform Iron Man could stand on to recharge his suit. He also came with an Iron Man Comic. Variations for the UK and Canada had gold-framed posters of Iron Man in battle mode.
Prices for this figure on the secondary market fairy quite considerably depending on which variant your are looking for and it’s condition, but here’s a guide to the current prices:
GOLD ARMOR IRON MAN US
MOC $12 - $50
Loose $6:50
Toy Biz Marvel Legends Yellow Iron Man
- IRON MAN YELLOW US
- IRON MAN YELLOW W/ GOLD POSTER US
- IRON MAN YELLOW W/ GOLD POSTER CA
This yellow Iron Man figure made his first
appearance in the earlier Toy Biz Iron Man line, and the same sculpt was also
used for the Gold Iron Man figure in this line, except that this figure had a
different mask. The gold Iron Man had a much fiercer looking mask with two
“horns” at the top and two bar like “teeth” on the mouthpiece, whereas the
yellow Iron Man looked almost as if he was smiling!
The articulation and accessory were also the same. Variations of this figure came with gold posters of Iron Man.
On the secondary market this figure goes for around the same price as the yellow Iron Man figure.
MOC $24:99 - $69:97
Loose $24:98
Toy Biz Marvel Legends Stealth Armor Iron Man
- Stealth Armor Iron Man w/“Stealth” on label
- Stealth Armor Iron Man w/o “Stealth” on label
The sculpt for the Toy Biz Marvel Legends Stealth Iron Man was the same as the other Iron Man figures in this series. The most noticeable and obvious difference is the paintwork. Stealth Iron Man sported a dark blue armor that gave him stealth abilities. His mask could easily be popped on and off to reveal Tony Stark’s face, which was very detailed and well sculpted.
Other than the paintwork on his face there was very little paintwork on the figure as his stealth suit was a solid nay blue except for the red power cell in his chest and the power cells in the palms of his hands.
The articulation was very good with an excellent range of movement but some of the joints were very loose.
The figure also came with a mountable display stand with a Stark Enterprises sign, and a comic book. There were some variants of this figure that didn’t have the “Stealth” sticker on it.
MOC
$19:00 - $69:97
Loose $6:74
Toy Biz Marvel Legends The Hulk
- HULK W/ ARTICULATED HANDS US
- HULK W/ BENDY HANDS US
- HULK W/ GOLD POSTER AND ARTICULATED HANDS CA
- HULK W/ GOLD POSTER AND ARTICULATED HANDS UK
- HULK W/ GOLD POSTER AND BENDY HANDS UK
The Toy Biz Marvel Legends Hulk in series 1 was an amazing figure that stood out, literally! Made to scale, The Hulk was an awesome figure that stood hand head and shoulders above the rest of the line. The figure was very detailed, with awesome muscle exaggeration. The sculpt did an excellent job of capturing the Hulk’s power and anger. The sculpt had his veins running across his arms and chest and his green eyes and face were filled with anger as he growls with bared teeth.
Overall, the sculpt was simply amazing, but the Hulk’s upper body seemed to be a lot larger and out of proportion to his small lower body. However to keep him in proportion to the other figures in this line he stood at over 7 inches in height. The paintwork compliments the sculpt, capturing every detail even down to his hair.
The articulation was, as with the other figures in this line, superb but depending on which figure you got, he came with either bendy hands or articulated hands, otherwise all the variations had the same articulation as the other figures, with over 30 POA.
The figure came with a base that looked like a smashed wall to pose your figure on. Some of the variations also came with a fierce looking poster of the Hulk, or an Incredible Hulk comic book.
This figure generally has a lower price point than Iron Man and Captain America but again, this depends on which variant you are looking for and it’s condition.
MOC $9:74 - $36:00
Loose $13:99 - $22:90
Toy Biz Marvel Legends Toad
- TOAD US
- TOAD W/ GOLD POSTER UK
The sculpting and paintwork on this figure was
probably the hardest, and best in this series. The detail on him was superb. The
stitching and texture of his clothing and the weathering were perfect, bar some
overlapping in a few places.
According to the Marvel universe, Toad, AKA Mortimer Toynbee, was an evil mutant that who taken in by Magneto to form the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. He’s basically a mean, vengeful villain.
From his evil looking face to his entire outfit, little was spared in terms of detailing. Even the rubbery toad in his hand was well designed with a mean look to follow. Although the character wasn’t as tall as the others, at 5.5-inches, he it made up for it in spades with his look! .
Toad was not as well articulated as the other figures in this series with only 10 points of articulation.
For a display stand he came with very detailed sculpted swamp complete with snakes, bugs, skulls and reeds . The water was a clear plastic cover that could be removed to reveal the detail underneath.
The package also includes a free X-men comic book. However, the variation of the Toad figure comes with a gold-framed poster of the villain.
This figure, probably because he wasn’t that popular a character, was extremely hard to find as as a result sells for premium prices on the secondary market.
One word of warning though, this figure is fairly delicate and is prone to break quite easily.
MOC $125:00 -
Loose $25:00
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PLEASE NOTE: All prices and values quoted on this site were correct at the time of publication based on the average value across several online and offline auction sites etc. The prices quoted ARE NOT an offer or solicitation to buy any figures at these prices.