TFARCHIVE FORUMS

(Note to self: next time I start writing something on an iPad, post before I put it on standby for the night)
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Christmas, 1985: I was in the Christmas pageant at school that year, which was something of a lucky break for my parents. While I was at practice, they went out and hit the stores, looking for a Transformer. Which wasn't as easy as it might sound. Transformers was still the hottest, or at least one of the hottest, lines out there, and finding anything besides mini bots was pretty hard. Finally, they hit Zayre's, a chain that, like so many others, is no longer with us, once again hoping that if they'd gotten in another shipment of figures, they might still have some left. And one night, they did. There was one figure left, making me a happy kid that Christmas. I got Ironhide.

Christmas, 2011: I'd found online that a company called iGear was going to make a version of Ironhide, one that promised to be even better than the BotCon 2005 version, and I thought that was a great figure. Of course, my luck being what it is, production delays meant that what I was supposed to get for Christmas, 2011, I actually got in August, 2012. And now that my internet problems are mostly cleared up....

Christmas, 2012: I've got the iGear Ironhide. Was he worth the wait? Read on to find out.

But first, the Profile. The almost Universe entry long Profile.

From peaceful Farm-bot to Police Force, the road to Weapon Specialist was a long and arduous journey.

Fresh from his protoform, he was designated a life-time of agricultural work on the Energon farms of Broga-957, working with a small cluster of fellow farm-'bots, generations of whom were birthed from the same protoform batch.

His life changed one day upon seeing his first flying 'bot, but wonder changed to terror as the flying 'bot razed the land, destroyed many Energon vaporators and left several Farm-'bots as charred husks of wire and twisted metal. From that day, Weapon Specialist vowed to leave his homestead and protect his homeland.

Against his friends wishes, he gave up everything to enlist in the Police Force. Despite bullying at the hands of hot-headed recruits, who picked on him for his cyber-rural background, he strived to improve himself, pushing harder, faster than the other 'bots. He passed all of the tests with flying colours, grace and and civility, earning the notice of an Elite Cadre of guards, and en route earned his famous nick-name due to his "nothing can upset me" facade and gentle personality - nothing could faze the 'bot with the bright future, and no insults could penetrate his armoured hide.

Finally the day came, and like all Police units he was due to be upgraded to the standard police 256-OZU-004 body type. It was meant to be the biggest day of his life and the start of an illustrious career, however during the spark-transplant procedure something went wrong......

An attack on the centre during the critical moment of spark extraction almost claimed his life, but instead left his body incomplete and malformed. His head missing? His face in his chest? His arms, by his waist? No rotator manouverability in his legs?

He was put on spark support, and trapped in that body for 26 long cycles. Finally, after years of waiting, an experimental procedure by a Medical Specialist who was afflicted by the very same uncommon condition freed them both and made them mold brothers.

After vast cycles trapped in his hideous body, during which time he was passed over for the best of the best guard unit, Weapon Specialist's once jolly demeanour has been replaced with that of a gruff pragmatist, one who has set out to make a name for himself and re-invent himself as a Weapon Specialist, siding with a new leader, a leader he has faith in, who has stood up and taken charge, voicing his opinion against the council to warn about the coming tide of evil....

But this was just the start......

The first of many.

The first of many what? I know I've been wondering that since I got it.......

The important question is, is this figure worth getting? Simply put, yes. Until I got this figure, all I knew of iGear was that they'd made alternate heads for the Generations Kup figure. And while the heads looked cool, I just couldn't talk myself into getting them. After getting this figure, I kind of wish I had.

I know, I know, they can't call the figure 'Ironhide', and I shouldn't, either. Neither Hasbro or Takara made the figure, after all. And if I thought either or both companies would get off their collective tail assemblies and give the public the Masterpiece Ironhide we've(fine, fine, I've) been waiting for, this will do nicely as a stand in.

He's Ironhide, from the Centurion-type piece on his helmet to the windshield in his chest, from the G1 toon style handgun to the fact that he turns into a solid looking, suitable to smash through Decepticon barricades van.

And to the non-Ironhide fans out there who may be thinking, 'Should I get this?', the answer is still yes. They put a lot of thought into this figure. About the only thing they didn't do was give him posable fingers. And if you like guns, the PP05 Ironhide is the figure for you. He's practically got enough guns to make a Roadbuster weep with jealousy.

And if you're looking for alternate heads, iGear threw a couple of those in as well.... For good or ill. Both seem to be IDW Ironhide inspired, but as another reviewer pointed out, they look a bit Popeye-ish. The flatter plain of the lower face would work better on Kup than Ironhide, and one head is scowling while the other is smirking. The default head is in the G1 style, and could have come from the toon or comic.

Robot Mode:

These guys really went all out to make a design that incorporated elements from different designs. The upper body is pure G1, while the lower torso is detailed enough to have come from the live action movie. The shoulder pauldrons are from IDW, while the sides, which appear to have been part of a design feature that got dropped, look like they were inspired by the image of Ironhide that was in Dreamwave's MTMTE.

The feature being that the grille and front bumper are supposed to swing up and let you fold the sides in over the front wheels, which you can do....... but I'd rather not break anything for a design concept they dropped. The hinges are all there to do it, but I think it looks better this way.

The panel behind his head looks like it was inspired by E.J. Su's IDW design, or you can flip the panel down for a more standard G1 design. Both arms have flip-up panels on them, the panel on the left arm hiding a keypad while the one on the right covers a peg hole that can hold the replica of the original Ironhide's static gun. And both panels have mount points for the .5 mm clip weapons...... bit overkill, really, although they do make good handles to flip the panels open.

As for the guns themselves, there are a lot of them. Aside from the blaster pistol, Ironhide comes with two under slung arm cannons like the Movieverse Ironhide, a couple of nozzles that fit over the hands, the afore-mentioned static gun, a replica of the original figure's battle platform launcher, a targeting visor, something that looks like a Cobra Assualt Cannon, and some kind of big rifle. For getting up close and personal, he's got a survival knife and a couple of buzz saws that mount the way the spray nozzles do.

Stability seems fairly good, although the cats keep knocking him over, but he's pretty durable because nothing's broken off of him yet.

Transformation: It's a bit complex. Not terribly, dauntingly complex, but a good kind of complex. And it reveals a few more touches they included. For one thing, they managed to replicate the way Ironhide's arms transformed in the toon. For another, they managed to deal with the sunroof section by putting the pieces on these stalks, one on each leg, that you will worry over every time you transform him.

Vehicle Mode:

He's a van. No longer a late 70's Nissan Cherry Vanette, but still a van. Actually, he looks like he's big enough to be a conversion van compared to the standard Generations Deluxe figures, which back in the 'old days' I thought he was. And I love it. Chrome rims, rubber tires, chrome grille, headlights and tail lights with plastic lenses...... These guys put a lot of effort into doing this right.

Overall:

This is an excellently done figure. Thought and care was put into designing and producing the figure, not just for this adult Ironhide fan, but for the 12 year old kid that's still inside me, who got his favorite Autobot for Christmas all those years ago.

He's actually pretty decent. I have Ratchet and am working to save up money for Ironhide as well.

Didn't like [Ratchet] initially but he grew on me, especially after sitting on display with the MP figures.

I've been debating getting the Ratchet. I do know that I want to get their Brawn and Outback figures. And Cosmos, Huffer, and Gears.

I'm with you on wanting a Masterpiece Ironhide!

Is the iGear figure of that standard? And is he worth the £90+ GBP he seems to cost (with delivery)?

It's the price I have a hangup on, to be honest. I almost preordered this guy but I couldn't bring myself to given he's 3rd party and I have no idea the quality he'd be, and knowing I'd have to have an argument with my wife if I did buy him at that kind of price too (any Transformer purchase above £10 is sure to bring on an argument, while there's only a 70% chance below this price just now...).

I'm very pleased with iGear's Ironhide. He 's well engineered, well designed, and well done.

IGear is coming out with a slightly cheaper version, although from what little digging I've done, the "Patrol Specialist" figure is their homage to the Micromaster Tote. Slightly different color, no trim stripe, and different head.