Adi Granov, whose work on the Iron Man comic inspired much of the look of Iron Man 3, also worked as a concept artist on the movie and on The Avengers movie.
On his Tumblr he posted an unused design from The Avengers, that points to a plot point that was excised from the final script… a war-ready Iron Man armour maybe?
And then another piece from the Iron Man 3 movie concept art…
Keep an eye on that Tumblr, who knows what more may pop up?