"Go chew on a microchip!" is Ironhide's slogan. Prefers action to words. Oldest, toughest, most battle-tested Autobot. Bodyguard to Optimus Prime. In charge of guarding anything of importance. Gruff, but kind. Trithyllium-steel skin makes him nearly invulnerable to attack. Shoots variety of liquids from supercooled nitrogen to superheated lead. Has sonar, radar, radiowave detector. Slowest and most fragile of the group.
First/Last Comic Appearance (UK) - Issue 47, February 8th 1986 / Issue 288, September 15th 1990
First/Last Cartoon Appearance - Episode 1 (Season 1 #1), September 17th 1984 / The Transformers: The Movie, August 8th 1986
Figure Details
Manufacturer - Hasbro
Toyline - Universe
Additions/Mods:
- Added an Autobot symbol to the bonnet
Review
Ironhide was everyone's favourite cantankerous old git until
Megatron rather brutally blew his head apart.
Hasbro were obviously sick of having such a cliched character and wrote him out which was why their next step was to immediately introduce a character called
Kup, who was soon to become everyone's favourite cantankerous old git. Ironhide was my first Transformer bought for me back in '85, and I spent many a moment furrowing my brow, trying to work out how this paraplegic-looking automaton with no face bore any resemblance to the cartoon model. I concluded it didn't and that my dad had unknowingly bought a knock-off from Singapore as opposed to the real 'bot. Let's all face it, the original Diaclone Ironhide mould was an unmitigated piece of crap, which is why I feel Universe Ironhide gets an unfairly bad time. Yes, it is a bit rubbish in places, but compared to the G1 toy? Let's have a look shall we.
Appearance (Robot Mode) 8/10
Ironhide has always been a grizzled veteran and I think that his robot mode complements this well. His headsculpt is fantastic with the bonus being that this figure actually
has a headsculpt; it's just a shame that it is difficult to see his chin because for whatever reason the windshield piece sits a bit too high. The open hands are seen as controversial but I don't mind them, and I like the double edged weapon attachment. Paint apps are a bit lacking as with most Hasbro deluxes but his red is nice and vibrant at least. Ironhide is also endowed with a rather generous groin area, a shame then that I only have the one fembot to go around and
she is already in a love triangle with
Hot Rod and
Springer.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 5/10
Oh dear. the minivan looks like a cross between a jigsaw and a shattered egg, owing to the admittedly clever transformation. I feel this could have been mitigated a bit more by Hasbro. Also, the paint apps of the windows are nowhere near the right colour for the clear window sections. It is just ugly.
Transformation 7/10
Really unique which deserves praise, but is responsible for much of the ugliness in vehicle mode. The arms unfold in a rather complex manner from the rear of the cab, with the legs forming from the bonnet, via the removal of various tabs. There is a thin central 'spine' which has a habit of separating easily, thankfully it is easy to reattach. The automorph feature whereby the symbol pops into place in the chest is a nice touch.
Poseability 7/10
Ironhide's arms are always splayed apart quite wide, he continually looks like he is in a duel and about to draw his six-shooter. His head always looks slightly down. This is a shame, because otherwise he has a nice range of movement, and large feet which make balancing pretty easy. He has head and waist swivel, ball-jointed hips, and lateral and side-to-side movement in his shoulders. He has elbow joints and his forearms can swivel, as can his wrists. He is also blessed with thigh swivel and joints in his knees and ankles. However there is no Bicep swivel which is pretty inexcusable.
Quality 7/10
He is solid enough but I do worry about the aforementioned spine weakening, which seems to be stressed during transformation. While it has a socket which does pop out to avoid breakage, I feel that over time the socket could become loose.
Overall - 35/50
A shoddy alt mode lets this figure down somewhat, as there is so much about Ironhide that seems right. Although it's not like Ironhide spent much time in his alt mode anyway, so I'd still recommend this figure over the expensive and too large
iGear alternative. And obviously he is miles better than the G1 monstrosity. If you can, try to source the
Henkei version, which has better paint matches for the windows but is rare as hen's teeth.