That's right folks, I'm talking about Ironhide; the Autobots' weapons specialist and all-around tough guy. He was built at a time when armour was tougher and transforming into a van was accepted. Of course, this didn't prevent him from dying in the movie....what the hell Hasbro. Way to contradict your own plotline.
In any case, what you see for a character picture is not what I am reviewing....OH no.....what I am about to review is arguably the worst transformer in the 84 line, equalled only to Ratchet. Folks, if you have a weak heart or you cannot take the disappointment of seeing this toy, I would suggest looking away from the blog right now....
The toy I am reviewing is none other than....
Generation One Ironhide.
Yes everyone, the bastard child of the 84 line is in my collection. Why? Because he was $10 US and I am a whore for good deals....so sue me. But in all honesty, this figure is a horrible attempt to market the name of a character. And Ratchet was no different. But what makes this figure horrible? Let us explore this shall we?
VEHICLE:
Ironhide's vehicle mode is surprisingly both quite aesthetically pleasing and also rolls quite well. The design is based off a Chevolent Vanette (lol Vanette....Van.....lame), and the main colour scheme is a deep red with a yellow stripe going along the middle of the doors. As mentioned, he does roll quite well on rubber tires, and he can be shot from Optimus Prime's trailer, which is kinda cool. However, this ability to roll well is removed when Ironhide's blaster is attached. You see, it attachs under the car chassis...and due to the poor design, drags on the ground and basically renders the toy useless as a car.
Other than that, Ironhide's vehicle mode is quite a good mode, despite the demonic face staring at you through the windshield.
Vehicle: 23/25
ROBOT:
Now we get into the interesting aspect of the review. This is where I get to butcher the crap out of his all-mighty robot mode. At first glance, I had no idea this was the toy for Ironhide; then someone tole me and I thought they were pulling a fast one. But no, it turned out that this abomination is the official toy for Ironhide. The toy was originally part of the Microman line from the late 70s and early 80s (in fact Ironhide was from 80-82 line). This basically makes him a battle suit and not a transformer, and explained where there is a seat in his battle roller and no head.
But enough of the brief introduction. Let's move right along to...
ARTICULATION:
Ironhide is surprisingly articulate for a windshield with arms and legs. His arms can rotate 360 degrees, and can swivel 180 degrees. The feet can rotate nearly 360 degrees, but are prevented from doing so because of the legs. The hand can rotate 360 degrees as well, and the head can tip back due to transformation. His legs, however, don't move at all. But all-in-all, not bad....not bad at all for articulation.
Articulation: 15/25
GIMMICK:
For his gimmick, Ironhide possesses - get this - a rolling battle sled.
Yes, it is as ludacris as it sounded.
Basically, half of Ironhide comes off to form this battle sled...thing....and Ironhide fits on the back (as shown in the picture below)
This sled also came with a peg to mount Ironhide's blaster, and a missile launcher.
What do I think about this gimmick? Eh...to be truly honest, it isn't all that bad, but it isn't all that good either. It's sorta medeocker, and that is what hurts the score. And seriously though....a battle sled. God Hasbro.
Gimmick: 16/25
FUN FACTOR:
Being realistic here, as a child, I can see myself purchasing Ironhide and opening him up, playing with him for five seconds and getting bored of him. The vehicle mode is durable enough that it could be used to play with, and the battle sled might also give some added replay value, but Ironhide himself....
like playing with a brick.
Fun Factor: 12.5/25
Overview:
Okay so, now that the total ripping of Ironhide is complete, let me start off by saying I did not do this review to rip him. I simply wished to do it because of one reason; I bought Ironhide not ONLY because he was cheap, but because I wanted him in my collection. At first, his design wasn't very good and I wasn't sure about him. But now that I have him and I have fiddled with him...it is actually starting to grow on me. Sure, I still hate Hasbro for selling out with this figure, but still it is still an interesting addition to any collection.
My Score for Generation One Ironhide: 66.5/100
Ironhide's figure was a total cope-out by Hasbro and Takara, and personally I feel they carried the weight of this up till the Universe release of Ironhide, which actually got a head.(Such a thing is the work of witches! Burn the heretics!) However, the vehicle mode, the so-so gimmick and the infamous windshield face give this figure a sort of presence, and you know what figure it is when you see it.
And that, my friends, is why people still buy it, even with its flaws.
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