TFARCHIVE FORUMS

DOTM Cannon Force Ironhide
Faction: Autobot
Function: Weapons Specialist
Alt Mode: GMC Topkick

In the two years of the Transformers franchise, the first three Autobots any kid could remember (thanks to the cartoon) were Optimus Prime, Jazz and Ironhide. Well, in 1986, that all changed. When Ironhide, Prowl, Ratchet and Brawn were slaughtered by Megatron and his Decepticon thugs, Ironhide disappeared from the limelight, only to return in 2005 in Transformers Energon and in a big way in 2007 Transformers Movie franchise. I must say, I wasn't very fond of the Nissan , Toyota, Diahatsu or Mitsubishi Minibox vannette in the original series. They brought him back in a BIG way! Big ,awesome and black! Whoa!! Could he shoot! For an old codger, he could also bend pretty well , too. He showed Brawl a thing or two about fighting and could hold his own to Starscream. Ironhide was incredible!
So there he is , surviving attacks from Blackout, Starscream, Crankcase and the Dreads, and because of a single gunshot, Ironhide became a pile of slag-- well, what a great segue for this newer color scheme (*cough*) . Actually, I think this one has it's ups and downs , which I will be all too happy to explain.
At a glance: Looking at this Ironhide, especially at the time I bought it, was a welcome sight. By this time, I didn't care if I got a black or red version, I just wanted a voyager class Ironhide , period. I was the "proud" owner of a Deluxe HFTD Ironhide. The guy is extremely hard for such a small-ish bot and all the wrong scale as well. It's pretty pathetic when a Camaro is larger than a Top Kick! I mean, C'mon, Hasbro! From this spingboard, I will go into the finer points of my review.
Aesthetics: Not a bad looker at all --in the box. Take him out, you soon realize that the glare from the plastic film on the box took away about half of his lustre. I know, Ironhide's tough, but that paint job was just disappointing. It was a very rough finish, something I did not expect- even for what I paid. The color was ok ( somewhat orangish-red) , but why could it not have the same glossy finish as the black versions. Also, when you stand him up against the Voyager Sentinel Prime and Optimus Prime, he is head and shoulders taller than both. Sentinel and Optimus were both much larger than Ironhide. In vehicle mode, Ironhide is bigger than Optimus and edges out Sentinel. Sentinel has the largest vehicle mode in the entire DOTM line, followed by Optimus (plus trailer ) , Megatron and then Ironhide. Scale has always been a problem with displaying Ironhide alongside any other transformers from any other line. Either he's too big (Voyager) or too small ( Deluxe) .
The alt mode-- aside from the "lack-lustre" paint job (pun intended), is classic Ironhide. However , I have a bone to pick with this version (as with any DOTM version). The bed in both 2007 and ROTF had a classy tonneau cover. Not so with DOTM. The treatment here is SO ugly! Part of it is the positioning of the feet in transformation, but the fact that since they really hit a home run with the 2007 version, why could they not add some type of tonneau cover was beyond me. It just doesn't look good. The ROTF version added a way cool bed-mounted "turret" that also used a Rambo-style Bayonnet. The holes in the feet of the DOTM Ironhide doesn't even allow for connecting a cannon-- at least not the cannon he came with. The cab-top weapon just doesn't seem as awesome as the other Voyager versions.
With all of it's shortcomings in the Aesthetics department, you can still tell this guy is Ironhide. He has strategically placed silver,orange, and yellow to make him visually appealing, just don't look too closely.Also with the "downsizing" of the Voyager line, Ironhide didn't seem to be affected.

Transformation: Well, here's something I really wasn't expecting. Ironhide from 2007 till HFTD was historically insanely difficult. There were many times in my time of owning the 2007 (ouch) that I almost mortally wounded him. The HFTD Deluxe version has a problem with the arms. The worst part of any Ironhide figure seemed to be the head. If I got the head out without breaking the windshield, then I did well.
This is where DOTM shines where others have failed-- the transformation. First, Everything is intuitive, even fun. Don't try to do this in 3 min flat, because it won't happen. There are tricky parts, though. The arms are quite difficult. The legs are ok, and the head comes out on its own. BTW, the legs-- I have seen that transformation before, say-- DOTM Voyager Optimus Prime. There is one heartache, though-- the chest. I hate this chest. The reason is that you cannot get it to stay still. It needs to click or stay still or something. The two halves are joined by some kind of weird joiner piece that does not seem to go neatly under the hood halves. This is very aggravating.
Robot Mode: This is overall pretty positive because the robot mode has remained largely unchanged over the years. This time, they changed the doors, to give him "wings". Why not give him the Red Bull sign as well! He still looks like Hoss, from Bonanza, ready to pick a fight with about 10 hombres at once.
Some have pointed out the bumper pieces on the arms. They aren't bad, especially if you know where to place them. The gun looks better as an underslung cannon rather than a "pistol" . Proportionally, this weapon is huge. Articulation suffers in the arms ,largely due to the chest . Legs are pretty free. There also seems to be no waste articulation as well. However, his legs are multiposeable.

Alt Mode: This is my favorite truck from GMC. It's a pity it isn't made anymore. The wheels really turn, and it holds together marvelously, if you have all the pegs pushed in right.

Overall: I have seen and have owned better Ironhides. He's not extraordinarily bad. But if you waited around because you thought you just wanted to "fill your army" you might want to look in collector shops to see if you can find a barely used 2007-- the most show accurate version ever.
The main gimmick of this toy is the cannon, however the cannon in the 2007 version was way better than this. The paint is a major turn-off, and the fiddly nature of the plastic meant extra durability points were taken off. Overall, I felt this figure was fiddly and flimsy in some respects .
Yet for such a scathing review, I still think it wasn't bad.

Marks out of 10 for the following

Transformation:6 DOTM Ironhide has the distinction of being the easiest movieverse Ironhide . He's very easy compared to 2007 and ROTF. It's very intuitive and nearly hitchless... except for the chest.

Aesthetics: 8 All I can say is when you get him in that box, you might want to keep him there and set him with all your G1 recolors (First Strike OP, Rescue Ratchet, Starscream). This is why this particular figure was made. Looking at the rough orangy paint takes enough off of him to not give him a 10.

Articulation: 7. There is the usual Ironhide hang-up: The chest hampers articulation in the arms. Other than that, legs are great, multiposeable head is also a plus.

Packaging:10 DOTM ranks first in movie packaging in my opinion. The best thing about this package are the use of paper twist ties. Their soft enough you wont mutilate what little fingernail you might have. The space layout is also very nice.

Price:9 Price was definitely in my favor. Although not as cheap as my Shockwave from the same series, yet it went nowhere near the $20 CAD mark. I was very pleased.

Durability:7 I have some concerns here. Although a drop from 2 1/2 feet might not jeopardize the figure, a drop from much higher could yield a broken chest member. The chest area is especially weak due to the overall plastic quality. In usual play, however, and in transformation, I see no real concern.

Quality: 6 This is NOT the best rendering of Ironhide. What you lose in difficulty, you gain in overall cheesiness. I thought I got my hands on a knock-off when I first took my Ironhide out of his package. Paint was sketchy because of a matte finish. I would have been glad to pay a few dollars more for one with gloss paint.

Fun: 8 If you aren't fiddling with the upper torso so much, you will find that Ironhide is a ball to play with. He's got a great weapon, incredible posability and easy transformation. Nearly the best of all worlds.

Overall: 8 Cannon Force Ironhide is not the best Ironhide out there. For the money, if you can get him marked down, like I did, he's a steal. The best one in my opinion is Premium Version 2007. Although Leader Class Ironhide has received high marks as well. I never had the privilege to own one. The small HFTD Ironhide and the Commander Class DOTM Ironhide are really not bad, but both are black and have fairly decent finishes. I am a serious (Movie) Ironhide fan, so even getting this one made me extra pumped. Just don't expect it to butter your toast in the morning.