Ironhide
(Original Voyager) [RotF]
(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original Movie Voyager Ironhide toy. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Movie Voyager Ironhide toy here.)
In a surprising move,
the initial release of the Voyager Ironhide mold for the Revenge of the
Fallen is NOT in a movie-accurate black color scheme, but in a scheme that's
mostly dull gray, especially in vehicle mode. The parts break up a bit
more into black in robot mode, but still... odd choice. Still, it looks
good in its own right, and provides a bit more variety to Ironhide's color
scheme than just the "black, black, and more black" that the original version
had. Overall though, it's honestly still dull, given that gray and black
isn't exactly a dynamic color combo. I do like the few bits of light red
used primarily in vehicle mode for such things as taillights, headlights,
and a thin red line near the bottom to help shake things up a little, though.
And the Autobot "NEST" logo on the doors looks great and is a nice touch.
The keeping of the dark blue transparent plastic was a nice decision and
contrasts a bit better with the gray than it did with the black. In robot
mode, some yellow-orangish-colored bits become more apparent, and again,
help to add a bit more variety to Ironhide, even if like the gray they
still don't make it particularly exciting or movie-accurate.
Ironhide also has had
some mold changes made-- the most obvious of which are to his guns. They're
considerably larger proportionally now, and the one that goes on his right
arm can fire a spring-loaded missile by pushing forward on the back end,
which causes a REALLY cool movie-accurate "spinning action" on the front
end as the missile fires. His other, smaller gun doesn't fire a missile,
but still can slide around a bit and looks pretty cool and is movie-accurate.
Because the guns are so much larger, they can't fit on the sides of Ironhide's
arms in vehicle mode-- so, no extra undercarriage baggage there, Instead,
they can clip into four slots near the back end of the vehicle, though
they don't clip in very well-- they can still come undone rather easily,
so easily that if you turn him upside down you'll be lucky if they don't
fall out. Having the guns on the top of his vehicle mode sort ruins the
whole "disguise" bit, as well. Ironhide's robot head has also been remolded
to be significantly more movie-accurate and a bit more three-dimensional
in its detailing-- not much to say here other than that it looks fantastic
and a definite improvement on the original.
The first RotF voyager-class
Ironhide is a definite improvement mold-wise over the first movie's release,
with a much-improved head and excellent, movie-accurate guns. I hate that
the guns can't store in a less conspicious place, but other than that I'm
all for the new additions to his arsenal. The gray color scheme, while
not movie-accurate, is SLIGHTLY more eye-catching in most instances than
the black-on-black color scheme of the orignal (excluding the Premium
release), and helps to give him some variety while still making him look
undeniably Ironhide. If you want the most Movie-accurate MOLD, go for this
one. The most movie-accurate color scheme? Go for the Premium version.
Just want the coolest all-around version, forget movie accuracy? Get the
Recon upgrade to this mold instead.
Review by Beastbot