Ironhide
(Recon) [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.)
Not content with just
one remold of ol' Ironhide, the voyager class version of him gets a DIFFERENT
remold than the initial Revenge of the Fallen
Voyager. And it's a pretty extensive remold-- but more on that in a
minute. As far as color schemes go, there's little to differentiate Recon
Ironhide from his "regular" versions-- which is intentional, to be sure,
but still something to keep in mind. He's still almost entirely black,
with a bit of dark brownish gray (mostly in robot mode) to give him a secondary
color. Needless to say, it doesn't exactly stand out against the black.
He's got some light gray, but it's a rather obnoxiously boring shade--
like the kind of unpainted ghastly shade of gray you'd get from a box of
Warhammer figures. It gives him a contrast color, but it's a really unappealing
one-- and it doesn't help that most of it is unpainted. The silver streak
paint apps across most of his vehicle mode are his most obvious departure
from his classic movie color scheme, but they're kinda odd, too, in that
I'm not sure what they're supposed to represent. Lightning bolts? Rain
water dripping off his form? Some weird kinda camoflauge pattern? Regardless,
it does help to liven him up a bit, considering how relatively few paint
apps he has otherwise.
As far as Recon Ironhide's
remolding goes, this is DEFINITELY not a minor remold. Pretty much the
entire middle section of his vehicle mode has been revamped, with "armored-up"
detailing on his windows, hood headlights, and racks on his underside,
and topside. He also has a BEEFY bumper add-on, which definitely makes
him look like a force to be reckoned with, more than ever before. All of
his weapons are new-- his arm-mounted cannons have been remolded, one to
be more show-accurate (but non-missile-firing), while the other incorporates
the front bumper add-on in a rather ingenious way to become a crossbow
(that fires a spring-loaded missile). As if that's not enough, he also
comes with FOUR additional weapons-- two big guns and two dagger-like weapons.
They can each either be handheld or mounted on any of his new molded-on
racks via the clips attached to them-- a fun play feature that starts with
this toy and is incorporated into many more Transformers down the line.
He also has (yet another) new, even MORE movie-accurate head mold on this
version. It's not all positives, though-- the remolded middle section of
the vehicle mode transforms slightly differently than on previous versions
of this mold, giving him more back kibble.
The fun in Recon Ironhide
doesn't come so much with the ever-so-slight change in his color scheme--
which, minus the silver streaks, is pretty boring-- but in just how PUMPED
UP he is. An incredibly armored vehicle mode, two new cannons, and FOUR
new weapon accessories that either he or any other Transformer sharing
similarly-sized bars on them can use? Awesome, and a lot of play value
for a voyager price. Granted he does have a bit more kibble in robot mode,
but it's worth it, in my opinion. Highly recommended, even if you have
a previous version of this voyager class Ironhide design.
Review by Beastbot