Ironhide's vehicle mode is a GMC Topkick. This mode is pretty nice, proportionally-- there's essentially no robot extras. The arm-cannons are pretty visible on the underside in this mode, but they look like huge exhaust ports in this mode, and I think actually add to the overall "tough" look of this mode. Ironhide also has transparent windows (except for the rear window), but the transparent plastic is so dark you can't see the robot parts inside, which is what should ALWAYS be the case if you have transparent windows without taking the design efforts to have a detailed interior inside. My main complaints about this mode regard the color scheme and the detailing. The color scheme is just black, black, and more black-- it's certainly not the worst color if it's the only major color you're using on a TF, and it is broken up here and there by headlight & tail light paint apps and the like, but overall the vehicle mode just looks duller than it could have been. (It is realistic, though, which is what the movie line is all about, of course-- most vehicles DON'T have more than one major color. What bugs me more about the color scheme is that it stays "just black" in robot mode instead of revealing another secondary color to make him look more interesting.) The mold detailing is also pretty sparse in this mode, being just barely the essential details on the main body of the truck. A few more mold details here and there-- especially on the truck bed-- would have gone a long way, in my opinion.
    Ironhide's robot mode is excellent, almost all-around. There's a few downsides, though, so let me get to those first. First off, Ironhide's waist connects to his stomach at a slight angle, which is really odd as there's no reason transformation-wise why that needs to happen. This means that Ironhide's either jutting his pelvis out or looking slightly downwards all the time. Secondly, there's a rather large gap between Ironhide's chest plate and his head-- there's an attempt to "cover it up" by extending a piece of plastic across the gap, but it's not wide enough to cover up the entire gap, and it still doesn't help the fact that Ironhide's head is too far back in relation to his chest anyway. Lastly, the halves of the front of his vehicle mode that make up his large shoulders tend to wiggle around a bit as you move Ironhide, which can get a bit annoying. Other than that, though, this is a fantastic robot mode, especially considering the design Hasbro had to work with. The proportions are pretty good (except for the aforementioned chest), and the mold detailing is exquisite on his robot parts, especially on his face, waist, and feet. It definitely stands in start contrast to his vehicle mode detailing, that's for sure. The bits of gold paint also look nice, though I wish there was a bit more of it so Ironhide wasn't still so "all black". Ironhide's vehicle parts tend to tuck out of the way very nicely, with his roof & window panels on his back collapsing into each other and out of the way pretty well, and his large shoulders actually complement the look of the mode rather than subtract from it. Ironhide has pretty nice articulation, as well-- he can move at the head, shoulders (at three points), elbows, wrists, hips (at two points), and knees (at two points). Plus, his already nifty-looking arm cannons can combine into one long one, which can fire each of Ironhide's four missiles individually by pushing up on one (or more) of the four round pieces on the back end of said missile launcher. Ironhide's transformation is very complex, especially for a Voyager-class toy, and it can get rather frustrating when trying to line up everything just right when transforming him back into vehicle mode. One major help, though, is that Ironhide has some darned cool automorph features on his legs-- just move the feet downwards and everything else on his legs slides into place, including his heels, a few side panels, and the wheel on each leg.
    Movie Ironhide is a great toy, though a very complex one that shouldn't be purchased for young kids. He has a few flaws in each mode, but they're all fairly minor in the grand scheme of things and don't come anywhere close to ruining either mode. Highly recommended.

Review by Beastbot

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