Transtopia: Fix Universe 2.0 Ironhide's "Low Self Esteem"

I might try this, altho I have slightly altered his transformation to put his rear wheels down at his waist.

I sense at least one badly-cut finger. Rememebr folks, use a sharp blade, it's safer than a dull one! And think about where the blade can possibly go if it slips or breaks.

Nice write-up, great pics and text. Thanks

Geekee1 wrote:
Poor ole Ironhide. he just can’t catch a break with his head can he? For as long as we’ve known he’s gotten screwed when it comes to his head. First he had no head, then he had it blown off in the movie, and now with Universe the poor bastard just can’t stop looking at his boots.

It's true. But you forgot to mention Energon Ironhide! I just got him yesterday. His head can't do ANYTHING; it can't even hide in alt mode!



Movie Ironhide has a good solid head.

Geekee, your face looks silver in the pic...did you mod it or is it one of the in-line changed figs?

As for Ironhide in general, he's kind of a fun fig to mess around with, but he is pretty fugly. Alt mode looks like a crappy lego car or something and his bot mode...I dunno, he looks a bit chunky.

Nope, I painted it. I mentioned it in the post.

And actually I really love him after I did the mod, he has lots of character.

Those mods really do make a difference, but I'm a little aprehensive about taking this on. Ironhides are still pretty hard to come by around here. If I come across another one I'll give it a shot.

there's no way i will spend money on that ugly piece of crap.

That's a pretty good mod--I may give it a shot!

And BOO to all those who continue to demonize this figure. Obviously, you don't realize how long some of us have wanted a figure to do this character some justice... (although the past Botcon attempt was pretty good, too).

that's actually the point. i actually don't mind the bot mode-he looks like what most of us imagine ironhide should look like. he really does. but that alt mode is just so half-assed. it really is bad; it's like someone took the figure, threw it on the ground, picked up the pieces and glued them all back together. considering how well the movie version came out, i think hasbro could have does quite a bit more to make this one WAY better than they did.

jduckworth27 wrote:but that alt mode is just so half-assed. it really is bad; it's like someone took the figure, threw it on the ground, picked up the pieces and glued them all back together.

If you read his bio, you'd understand why he looks that way. It's not half-assed at all; it's intentional. That "broken up" look is to represent all of the battle scars he's received over the eons, all the times he's been busted up and put back together. I thought it was dumb-looking too, until I understood the reason for it; now I think it's one of the cooler things about this mold.

"IRONHIDE was built at a time when armor was thick, and circuitry was simple. He is the oldest of the AUTOBOTS, tested in thousands of battles, over countless centuries. He has been injured many times, but never deactivated. For every scratch and scar that he bears he has a tale to tell, and most of the younger AUTOBOTS are all too eager to hear them. Gruff, and sometimes grumpy, he is also naturally protective of the other AUTOBOTS. He is tough, rough, and nearly impossible to damage."

i see. i still don't like it very much, but i'm not completely against it now. i guess i would rather see actual "damage" in the mold. also, why make ironhide an escalade? he needs to be an old beater jeep cherokee or something. ya know?

damn. sorry.

I never noticed my Ironhide looking down. I might try modding it.

Great mod there Geekee! I'll give it a try once Ironhide hits up here in Canada.

I will wait for the Henkei version. I did mod my Animated Lockdown, but still haven't done Bumblebee. I just can't figure out what to cut away and it really doesn't cut away that easily that plastic is pretty thick. FYI i am using a hobby knife and hobby drill from Games Workshop. I can tell you that a kitchen knife is much sharper, what a waste of 30 bucks meh.

GuyIncognito wrote:

Geekee1 wrote:
Poor ole Ironhide. he just can’t catch a break with his head can he? For as long as we’ve known he’s gotten screwed when it comes to his head. First he had no head, then he had it blown off in the movie, and now with Universe the poor bastard just can’t stop looking at his boots.

It's true. :lol: But you forgot to mention Energon Ironhide! I just got him yesterday. His head can't do ANYTHING; it can't even hide in alt mode!



Movie Ironhide has a good solid head.

RiD Ironhide has no problems with his head.

I think i will try this on the Henkei Ironhide and Ratchet as soon as i have them of course. I believe this also can be done on Ratchet since they have the same mold.

I'm not sure if I did something wrong in step 1. After my mod, the bumper now sits flush against the torso and his head looks forward. but now the crotch hits bumper, which gives him the appearance of having a bigger crotch. Did I do something wrong or do I need to sand down the top of the crotch?

I might try this if I can find a second Ironhide to tinker with, but right now the one i've got is the ONLY one i've seen around here.

Though, the head doesn't bother me too much. Old people tend to not hold their heads up as steadily, so it kinda goes with the whole 'beat up and put back together more times than you can count' look Ol' Hide has. I'm one of those that's just happy to finally have a G1 related Ironhide figure thats good AND has a head.

Now if they could just get a darn copyright on the name properly and do a Trailbreaker. Then I'd be really happy.

GREAT MOD!!!! looks so much better, have been waiting for this one. ive found that toenail clippers work great to take the bigger chunks of plastic out then use the exacto to clean up.

thanks geekee1

Quaternion wrote:I'm not sure if I did something wrong in step 1. After my mod, the bumper now sits flush against the torso and his head looks forward. but now the crotch hits bumper, which gives him the appearance of having a bigger crotch. Did I do something wrong or do I need to sand down the top of the crotch?

The crotch will protrude slightly more now, if you try to push it all the way in like before he will go back to looking down.

Sanding the top of the pelvis may work, but the tops of his legs might hit the bumper then. I'm not sure as I haven't tried it. The thought has crossed my mind, and I may try it eventually if I pick another one up.

Ironhide's "Low Self Esteem"? So THAT'S why his face is blue...

omega666 wrote:Ironhide's "Low Self Esteem"? So THAT'S why his face is blue...

I read somewhere that Hasbro has stated that his blue face is a mistake and that next runs of this figure will have his silver face again as it was intended...
Lucky us again... :s

Btw, I never ever change anything about a figure; I want it original and that means that if it has a flaw, so be it...

You call that easy??? I'm sweating just imagining how much plastic shaving involved in the process.

Anyway, it's a damn good job you did there. He look so much better with the head proudly held high.

A question. His legs look a little bit.. uh.. short. Or is it just me?

I really want to try this but part of meis afraid of getting hurt again after an accident fixing Animated Grimlock. Still have no feeling in the end of my finger and I don't want to have it happen again.

Still, thanks for the help. I appreciate it. I was getting tired of him just hanging together.

Starscream6 wrote:GREAT MOD!!!! looks so much better, have been waiting for this one. ive found that toenail clippers work great to take the bigger chunks of plastic out then use the exacto to clean up.

thanks geekee1

I'm planning on using a Dremel drill to do the cutting. If you have some experience with plastic model building like I do, the mods actually look fairly straightforward.

I went to Wal-Mart and they had a good amount of animated, and next to the animated was three vertical pegs of classics that was completely empty except one lone Ironhide on the top peg. He was the last figure I need (I'm not going to buy powerglide) but I was really hating on the figure. Had there been more of him I would have left him, but there was just the one and he was the only classics they had so I decided what the hell.

I have to say, this figure is incredible. Far better in hands than in pictures. So to all of you haters, I was one of you, and I've changed. For $7.77 he is a steal!

He's an awesome figure, and the listed mods make him even better!
I agree with the original post, though. I can't believe he got out of engineering QC with the ill fitting back kibble. But even so, he is a great representation of the character.

I did the mods over the weekend and it really adds to the fig.

On additional bit, I had to sand down the top of the hip plate to accommodate the fact that the chest sits lower.

If you are a bit afraid to cut on a hard to find figure, simply leaving the wheels down looks decent and allows the head to reach a normal position. This is how I had him for the first week or two till I got time to make the mods.

i did the mod once three quarters of the way and found out and hour ago that i missed a step. so i did the last step and he looks awesome! but i will do some thing about the windows. he looks like he was broken into. any way awesome mod. if u dont have ironhide get him and do this mod. it is the missing piece to the classics. besides blitzwing. and reflector.

Thanks for the awesome mod. I finally got around to doing this last night, took a couple of hours and shaved off a bit of plastic but it's done the trick and now he looks awesome.

Gotta say, I love this guy in robot mode. He's really poseable and full of character.

There's another nice mod that you can do with him. If you unscrew the shoulders you can shave down the plastic that keep his arms out from his body. It gives him a much nicer range of motion in his arms.

I also did a slightly different mod to his waist. I shaved down the opposite side of the spine and posed him with the pelvis reversed. Same results different look. Doing the mod this way does align his head, shoulders, hips and knees nicely though.

Enjoy!

Please do upload some pics when you get the chance.

Ironhide was always one of my favourite characters and I want to get his toy as kick-ass as possible