Review: #493
Name: Ironhide
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Masterpiece
Year of Release: 2018
Size Class: Masterpiece
Mold Status: new
The sixth Movie Masterpiece figure (which, coincidentally, released after MPM-7) is none other than Ironhide from the original movie.
The packaging is different in the fact that it has defaulted to being placed not length-wise but height. Otherwise, it's the same packaging you'd come to expect from the line.
VEHICLE MODE:
Ironhide transforms into a licensed GMC Topkick pickup truck and he looks great in this mode... provided you could get it to hold together (more on this later).
It is not perfect though and it's disappointing in what is supposedly the high end figure. The robot toes are visible from behind and as there is plenty of space underneath the bed, it's cost-cutting to not have extra joints to allow to fold out of view.
There's plenty of excellent detailing including the sculpting of the grill, the GMC logo, the "Road Armor" words. It is an impressive vehicle mode.
In terms of size, it is approximately the size of a Leader, above is a comparison against Leader AOE Optimus and you can see that they are about the same length and height but Ironhide is much heavier.
The robot weapons, which are his signature arm cannons, peg conspicuously on the side. Functional but looks ridiculous.
There are no gimmicks in this mode. One thing to note is good luck trying to get all the panels to clip together and sit flush, the tolerances are not designed well and it is a frustrating mess.
Assuming you managed to get it into this mode, the truck looks awesome. Unfortunately, for the huge amount of effort required, it might not be worth it in the end.
TRANSFORMATION:
If you thought MPM-6 Bumblebee (VW) had an annoying and weirdly designed transformation, Ironhide is ten time worse and this is no exaggeration. The figure comes in robot mode and the instructions start off fine, the legs form the back of the truck and there are some neat elements there. The struggles come from trying to fold his torso and arms into the front of the truck. At this point the instructions are useless (they are one of the most rubbish instructions for a Transformer ever) and you realize that the figure is horribly designed. The amount of panels is not the problem, it is the way the joints are situated (the shoulders being an big offender, and then the hinges on the various panels) and the small tolerances that makes it frustrating. You will never get everything to peg together and stay that way as something will pop off from another piece. It's no joke to say that you'll spend an hour trying to massage the pieces together and they just refuse to stay. It is one of the most unpleasant transformation scheme since its counter-intuitive and painful. In theory, the arms just fold into the cab and the vehicle shell clips together but it just does not work.
ROBOT MODE:
This is probably one of the most, if not the most, screen accurate Ironhide we've got. The key word is that it looks like it because as we'll touch on a bit further, it's not a good figure.
The back is a mess of panels. Considering only the front halves are visible vehicle kibble, naturally every other bit of the truck are panels that fold upon each other on the back of his arms, his biceps and his back.
The head sculpt is super detailed and looks amazing.
The gimmick here is that his mouth can open and close.
In robot mode, he isn't as tall as a Leader, but is a bit taller than a Voyager.
He features finger articulation for his thumb, index and then the remaining three jointed as one. A nice touch but unnecessary.
Ironhide has diecast in his feet and torso. This adds considerable heft to the figure.
His weapons are a pair of arm cannons which peg onto the panels underneath his arms.
The problem with the cannons pegging onto the arm kibble instead of the arm itself is that it situates a tad bit too far from the arms. In addition, the folded panels aren't actually pegged together so the weight of the cannon sags the panels and it is just another mess to deal with.
Articulation is okay. The leg has hips, knees and ankle joints but the knees do not bend that much more than 45 degrees.
The biggest flaw here is the fact that there is no way to peg in the hood pieces. While there the joint below is locked (but easily comes undone anyway), any movement in the arm will dislodge the hood pieces and it is frustrating. The whole thing is a mess of joints and kibble.
The shoulders are also situated behind the kibble which means it is difficult to have meaningful poses since the skinny arms don't have useful joints to overcome this liability.
While there are positives such as how the rear wheels ended up as his thighs, Ironhide just looks good but plays horribly, which is extremely disappointing of such an expensive piece.
OVERALL:
It really feels that after they put in the effort to create the amazing MPM-3 Bumblebee, everything else afterwards feels like a rushed job. Ironhide is currently the worse in the line. It is unbelievable that the issues with transformation, as well as the mess of joints in robot mode was not picked up during the testing phase and corrected. While Ironhide looks great as a display piece, as a Transformer, it is hard to recommend.
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