[Toys] Transformers Animated: Deluxe Cybertron Mode Ironhide

• Images provided by Seibertron.

I had the Ratchet version of this briefly when I was holding it for a friend, but it wasn't until now that I finally got this version of the mold. It's still a topical mold since it was recently used in BotCon 2011's Fisitron and Autotrooper exclusives. Major thanks to Jazz for hooking me up with this for my birthday! You rule!

Ah, this design. I always like seeing Cybertronian modes being made into toys, and this one is no exception.

I always really loved the vehicle too, it's-- I guess it's supposed to be a van, since Ratchet stored Arcee in the back of it at one point, mirroring his ambulance mode on Earth.

The colors on Ironhide are a strong tangerine, which may not work for those whose Ironhide is red in their mind, but I think it looks great. It makes him sort of his own character, and I think I prefer this over red - this shade of orange works for me.

The vehicle is nice and captures the look of the show design to a T, with extra detailing added to the roof, such as a pair of lights, which makes it less flat and plain. Also, despite the way both sets of treads are transformed, they all manage to have wheels that roll decently. 

Transforming this guy reminds me of ROTF Human Alliance Skids; Looks fairly challenging at first, but actually pretty easy to pull off. One particular part I like how how the treads for the legs hide the rolling wheels when you flip out the feet, leaving unnecessary kibble out of the robot mode.

The transformation leads you to a robot mode that is equally show-accurate, right down to the placement of the front treads and the the way the chest looks in the model, two details that seem impossible otherwise. A fantastic job they did with this, I'd say. The head sculpt is great, by the way - he's got a nice silly smirk, and if you look closely he also has a cocked eyebrow look going on, so yay for asymmetry~

The articulation is pretty good. He has basically all the same articulation as Earth mode Ratchet, so nothing is lost in translation. Due to the transformation with the arms, his elbows are double-jointed, leaving you with some good possibilities for poses. And due to how the legs transform, the knees can be bent sideways for some wide-legged stances, and at least in my case bending them out of the locked position doesn't make him terribly unstable. Your mileage may vary.

This figure doesn't come with too many epic gimmicks. Filling out the back of the alt mode is a pair of blocky pieces which peg onto the fists (which are very tight on mine, yikes) - For Ratchet, they are shock paddles, given he's a medic. But for Ironhide, they are painted silver and labeled as "hammer hands", but I like to call them brass knuckles because that makes them sound more awesome. The toy can't exactly mimic the character's special power to turn silver and become rock-hard, so I like to imagine this is him turning his fists silver. If you don't like 'em you can toss them aside, all they do in the alt mode is add some bulk to the back and it's not a big deal if they aren't there. Totally optional.

An additional gimmick (I guess so he had something extra) is that if you press down a button on the back of his right forearm, his arm extends out a little bit for an extending punch. It's kind of useless, but I like how unintrusive it is, so it's completely optional for you to take notice to it, not like some who have a hair-trigger that goes off everytime you move the arm.

Also, borrowed over from the original use of Ratchet with this mold, he has an indent on his left forearm for the EMP blaster that Lockdown took from Ratchet. He can use it just like Ratchet, and as far as I know this indent is present on all uses of the mold since it's probably not even something they'd consider worth making a new arm for. It's not terribly intrusive, anyway, unless you look at it from the side.

Overall, I really love this mold, especially with Ironhide. It's a nice design, solid and accurate in both modes, and it's not borked up by any of the gimmicks it's been saddled with, plus the ones it DOES come with are entirely optional and not in your way. It's definitely a keeper.