The two Leader class figures haven't brought as much inspiration to the table in comparison to the ROTF Leaders. While fans mull over when Megatron will get the Leader treatment, Hasbro presents us with an Ironhide. Ironhide hasn't translated very well into an action figure, and his current Deluxe figure is a prime example of that. Will the Leader class size correct that mistake?
Ironhide is a veteran Autobot soldier. He relies on knowledge gained from the countless skirmishes with the Decepticons to persevere in battle. He chooses MechTech weapons for their adaptability and power - the Decepticons don't stand a chance!
Strength
Intelligence
Speed
Endurance
Rank
Courage
Fireblast
Skill
Fron first glance, it looks like Ironhide finally gets a robot mode that showcases him properly. The legs are mostly cyan in color, with the chest and forearms in black. The upper arms are PVC gray. The fists are a gunmetal blue. The head mold is a bit off, but that's due to the battle plate covering his mouth. The eyes are jeweled green. Pressing down a lever behind his head will blink the eyes green and activate one of two voice prints:
A) Ironhide here!The voice sounds more like Patrick Star than it does Ironhide, unfortunately.
Being a weapons specialist means you have lots of weapons at the ready. Ironhide takes his title seriously. Each limb features a different special weapon. Pull back on the exhaust stacks behind each arm to unveil a weapon. The right arm conceals a gatling cannon, while the left arm unveils a plasma cannon. Simply push on the stacks to retract the weapon. Pulling the sides of the lower legs down reveals more weaponry. The right leg hides a missile launcher. The missile can be stored while armed. The left leg holsters a combat knife that can be wielded in either fist. We're not done yet. Flip down the panel with the Autobot insignia on his abdomen and push down on the gray tab behind his head. A large gatling cannon will expose from his chest, spinning, making noise and lighting up upon it's exit. Too bad it doesn't stop making firing noises and blinking until you release the tab to retract it.
One thing Ironhide suffers from is kibble. While the legs aren't too bad, the arms just reek of it. It's due to the quarterpanels of the truck folding up against the forearms. To make matters worse, they have a tendency to not hold into the tab and work loose.
Because of the sound pack, the waist is solid. The legs are surprisingly restricted due to the joint design. Arms are set up great but that forearm kibble will get in the way.
Robot Mode Summary:Packed with features but a little short on posing
The front/top section isn't as frustrating as it is annoying. The fenders keep popping off their ball joint mounts.The roof/windshield section is also a very tight fit. In contrast, the leg transformation is ridiculously simple. Oddly enough, there is no 'automatic conversion sounds' as the box depicted. Could be I got a bum figure, could be they left it out.
The alt mode is a mixed bag. The overall feel is very truckish and big, but it offers nothing new versus other class sizes. Using clear windows for the cab only shows off body parts. It might have done better to use tinted windows. It also makes too much contrast versus the black painted rear windows. The backglass is also painted black, except that the rod connecting the windshield is PVC gray. They could have at least painted that black too.
Ironhide's arm weapons are accessible in alt mode as well. They are still activated by pulling back on the exhaust stacks. There is also a button behind the backglass that, when pressed, will depict Ironhide pulling to a stop and idling his engine for a few seconds.
The biggest gripe by far are the rear wheels, which have absolutely no ground clearance. Seriously, this has 4x4 scripting on the quarterpanel. How do you intend to pull it out of a driveway? On top of that, the tabs which (barely) connect them to the arms in Robot mode stick out like a sore thumb in alt mode.
Alt Mode Summary:Flawed in ways that bring it down.
There are several things that can hurt the long term durability here. The loose ball joints on the fender are of particular concern. There is also the tight fit of the rod that connects the windshield to the backglass. The virtually non-existent ground clearance in alt mode will scrap up the leg paint if you're not careful. At the Leader price point, that's not too impressive.
Perhaps HasTak set the bar too high with Leader class Starscream. The latest offerings have been lacking to say the least. Unfortunately, that includes Ironhide. The flaws in both modes bring the value down quite a bit. It might be best to wait for clearance on this one unless you're a die-hard Ironhide fan.
Final Verdict:
| Reviewer | Blitzwing |
| Date | July 8th 2011 |
| Score |  (5 out of 10) |
| Reads | 26096 |
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