Ironhide is a GMC Topkick truck; you're likely familiar with this general vehicle design by now, so my comments on that generally still stand with this toy, as the proportions are nearly exactly the same as on the original TF1 voyager Ironhide toy. (It is a bit smaller, though, because of the increased cost of making toys and all that.) The robot mode extras are pretty miminal; the front of the lower legs stick out a BIT from the bottom, but this isn't really noticeable unless you look at the toy from a straight-on side view. The truck bed in the back also has some odd details to it because it forms the bottom of the feet, though it's not immediately apparent that they do so. Any robot mode extras inside the windows are hid by how dark they are, so no complaints there, either. As you'd expect, Ironhide is really one-tone in this mode, with almost of his coloration being black. That said, there are a fair number of paint applications on him-- namely on the front and rear bumpers, with the exhaust pipes molded in that blah light milky gray plastic. I do wish the rear windows were at least painted a deep blue that mostly matches the transparent plastic, though, as having blue front windows and black back windows just makes it look a little unfinished. Ironhide's Mechtech weapon is one of the best in the line; it doesn't really "transform" like most of the others, but as you push in on the claw-like back end (which you can certainly turn around if you want Ironhide to have a claw weapon), then the front part spins forward, and keeps spinning for a couple seconds-- it's simple, but a fun, addictive little gimmick. I also love how there's some orange "powered-up" paint apps in the middle of the Mechtech gun that turn gray as you activate the weapon and "its energy is expended". Ironhide has three ports for Mechtech weapons-- one on his roof and one behind each of his side doors-- and the weapon itself has another Mechtech port on top of it.
    Ironhide's robot mode largely does a good job of imitating his on-screen model, but there are a few big problems I feel the need to point out. First, his legs are ridiculously tiny and short proportionally and move awkwardly; they can mostly only move up-and-down at the shoulders, which are almost right next to the elbows (?!), while his lower arm is the only part that moves like you think an arm on a mainline figure could. Like on many Movie Ironhide figures, to get the rather cool angled front/wheels look on his chest, his head is positioned a bit too far back, and that whole assembly feels a little unstable, not tabbing or pegging into anything TOO securely (there is one peg, but it doesn't do the job well enough.) Additionally, the door wings fanning out behind him and the small bumper pieces on his lower arms are definitely just pieces of kibble and don't look like his onscreen model. On the positive side, Ironhide has several different colors on him that make their appearance in this mode, despite most of them being variations of gray and blue. It certainly helps to break up all the black from his vehicle mode, and generally looks good, though not exceptional. His legs are also very well-propotioned and have nice wide, long, stable feet, and the mold detailing on his robot parts is very well-done, quite accurately depicting how he looks in the movies-- his head sculpt, in particular. It's a bummer that he only has his one Mechtech weapon-- though he can store it attached to one of his lower arms like in the movie, he doesn't have two cannons to make him more movie-accurate. Considering that this is IRONHIDE, of all 'bots, he should be packing a bit more firepower. As for articulation, Ironhide can move at the neck, shoulders (at two points, nearly hidden inside his body), elbows (at two points), wrist swivels, and he can also move at the hips (at three points), knees (at two points), and ankles (at two points, with one of those being a ball joint). As I said earlier, his arm articulation can look pretty odd, but otherwise you can get him in some mighty cool, stable poses.
    DotM voyager Ironhide is a nice second attempt at the design, and it does result in modes that are a little less kibble-laden than his first Voyager mold, with a bit more color variety and a slightly simpler transformation. That said, his head is still way too far back, and his arms in robot mode are just plain awful, knocking him a bit below the original mold in my opinion. The door "wings" on transparent ball joints also makes me a little nervous that they'll break eventually, too. It's still a decent toy, but only recommended if you can't find the older versions of the mold at a decent price or think the original's transformation too much of a pain.

Review by Beastbot

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