Anywho...
Ironhide:
One word...small. Yes, small. In order of size, this is how the Voyagers break down...
Blackout (about the size of a Deluxe at Voyager price, BOO!)
Ironhide (not much taller in robot mode, nor much bigger in vehicle mode)
Ratchet (nice size, not too out of scale)
Starscream (bigger than you'd expect...)
Anywho...
Ironhide is plagued with a few problems..
1.) Spring loaded in his Automorph gimmicks (Hood/doors, and legs) and the hood/doors assembly suffers for it. Very floppy until you lock the shoulders into place. In fact, the movie look (shoulders at an angle, instead of flat) won't even hold on mine. They just flop around and nothing locks in place. However, the shoulders being flat looks better imo.
2.) His stance. He's somewhat hunched over, and I see why...with his face looking like a bull's, it looks as though he's ready to charge into battle. (Which is normally cool, but looks kinda stupid when translated to plastic, plus when you factor in that he's supposed to be an old man, it make him look like he's got a humpback. Armed to the teeth, but a humpback nonetheless.)
3.) So tight in some joints, so very loose in others. (At certain points, I thought he was going to break. He won't, he's sturdy, but it does nothing for your nerves.)
4.) Speaking of the shoulders, his transformation involves everything locking into place, whether it's a tab, post, whatever. It doesn't seem to be tight enough in some spots, and too much in others. I guess you could say he's a kibbly shell former. He feels like the movie's version of Big Convoy. Everything has to lock up just right, gotta get the vehicle shell just lined up, or it won't hold. (This isn't always a bad thing, it's kinda neat on some figures, but...this one heavily relies on it.)
5.) His massive weapon sucks. It looks much better attached to both arms, rather than one massive cannon, which puts him off balance.
6.) Needs more paint apps. He's rather bland in the paint department. So much detail on this guy, and not a thing to bring it out. (Shame.) He doesn't need to be technicolored or anything like that, but something...
All in all, Ironhide's not bad, especially considering he's a movie toy and has to fit his movie design (which is something we're not used to) but he's far from perfect. Worth a purchase? Yes. Will he be a favorite among many in their collections? I doubt it. He's one of those mediocre figures.
I do recommend a purchase, I just want you to know he's not super, he's just cool.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
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Ratchet:
Where to begin with him...hmm.
Oh yeah...he's pure love. That's right, his neon green ass is pure TF love goodness, damnit.
His nice and even, his robot and vehicle modes are solid, and he has a nice amount of detail, which translates well into plastic.
His weapons aren't any better than Ironhide's, but they actually fit with him. The roof rack is also a stretcher, and a claw. (Both could be used in a rescue.) His ax is great for close combat (melee weapons! Yay!) or for rescue as well.
His transformation is a lot of fun too. For all intents and purposes, he basically turns inside out (to a degree) and it's such a neat process. He doesn't focus on the Automorph gimmick as heavily as Ironhide does. His legs are the only parts affected by it. (Which I have no complaint...I'm loving the Automorph gimmick, it's one of the neatest things we've had come along in a while.)
His face looks like a kind old mustachioed doctor, not a harsh line on it. Plus with his big size, he gives a teddy bear vibe, which would make for one hell of a great bedside manner.
I just can't convey how great he is, you have to have him in hand to see how kick ass he really is. (Yes, he'll kick your ass, then tend to the wounds.)
5 ***** out 5 stars for me. Well recommended, highly likable and I do believe he'll be a favorite in people's collections.
----------------------------
Starscream
One big fella, in jet or robot mode. Again, I come back to the detail...such a great amount. Not too many paint apps, but with his light plastic color, they come through just fine and he really looks the part of an Earth plane.
To everyone who complained about the Raptor/Monkey aesthetic...BOO. Yeah, Boo you.
It's one of the neatest features about him. I was amazed how good it looks in plastic.His face is definitely different, but again...since this is a re imagining of Starscream and he's in the movie...it works. (Had this been G1 revisited...I think we'd have had more people go apeshit...) It's actually growing on me, though.
To those who've complained he has no hands, etc...he does actually. His missiles are his fingers. They aren't articulated of course, but you can actually see knuckles on them and they could be great claw hands.
His transformation is much like that of Ironhide's. "Insert tab A into slot B" and so on. It works okay on 'Screamer, but it could easily wear out and become loose with time. If this is how they plan on continuing the line, they might want to rethink some of it, it won't always work.
I'm going to cut this review short...
I recommend Starscream as a purchase, he's definitely a lot of fun (especially when he's in vehicle mode and you push him on a surface, his guns rotate and automatically fire the missiles) and he's a good looking figure.
4 **** out of 5.
Right now, I can't think of much more to say on these guys. (I realize, I'm terrible at these reviews, I'm not quite eloquent enough to convey the things I wish to say.) however I will leave this as my final thought, now that I own 5 of the movie figures so far...
1.) Automorph technology is a very cool gimmick, and I love how it works. Granted it doesn't work in all situations (I.E. could've been executed better) I'm sure, but it doesn't detract from the figure. A lot of people say "Oh great, they're nothing more than fancy Beast Wars basics." and they couldn't be more wrong. BW basics, you pulled the tail (like Rattrap and the like) and his body formed, all you had to do was pull out the arms and legs. (whoopity doo) Here, the gimmick compliments the figure, and adds a flair to one, perhaps two steps of the figure, but there's still a full transformation sequence here. The Automorph alone doesn't cover it. User interaction is still required.
2.) The movie look was jarring for all of us when they first debuted. Even those of us who were positive had some concerns (in the back of their minds) they just didn't say it. I mean, how could you not? We go from boxy, to articulated, to alien and true alien at that. We've been so used to the G1, BW, etc designs that we forget one important key factor: These are not Earth robots, they are, in fact aliens. Yes, they've taken Earth designs for disguise like their predecessors, but their robot modes still carry that alien design, much more so than G1, or any that came after it. I have to say, this is not a bad thing, not at all. We're actually getting to see some TFs we've never seen before, nor imagined. We get repaint after repaint, remold after remold, and along the way we get a few original molds. Some are good, some are bad, some are right in the middle. The movie line changes all of that, and beats the hell out of your precious memories, and your ideas of what a movie line should be like. Yeah, we've already seen remolds and repaints, but the original figures are so out there compared to what we've known and grown accustomed to...that you can't even compare them. (This is, again, a good thing.)
3.) If the movie has even half the class and cool factor that the toys do, it will be one great film and a damn good time had by all.
Look, I know it's hard to accept change. I had a real problem with it when the movie designs first came out. I lied to myself and said "Yeah, I'm fine with this. Heh. Doesn't bother me." but it really did. I mean, how was I to enjoy the A/E/C trilogy figures, and the movie figures when they're basically the same characters, but look like they're from a different brand of TransFormers? Hell, when I first saw 'Screamer's design (all those months ago...) on TFW, and we all said "Oh crap, it looks like a mix between a gorilla and a Gundam" I was sincerely worried, but then thought "Nah, they wouldn't go that radical." I was wrong, we were wrong. Fortunately, we were also wrong about our preconceived notions. These are fantastic figures and the engineering behind them is something truly unique.
Hatred for no reason is ridiculous. Give the figures a try and if you still don't like them beyond that point, then no harm, no foul. You didn't like it, so what? But at least you decided to cast aside your fears and dislikes for a moment to open your mind to a new experience...and who knows? You might just like it..and a lot more than you expected.
Ladies and gentlemen, the future of TFs have arrived, and they have forever changed our perceptions of the TFs we've known for so long. Don't be afraid...embrace this new frontier, you'll be glad you did.
G1's a memory that will stay with us, the movie will take us to places we haven't yet seen and there's plenty more good stuff waiting for us to see.
Two million enthusiastic thumbs up for me.
ummmmmmmm sure, I'll keep an open mind.
My Digital Camera eats batteries like candy. With that, and my Wii Remote...you'd think I'd have invested in rechargeables by now. =\
