Red-headed step child.

The Universe 2.0 Deluxe Ironhide/Ratchet mold was not well received when it first came out. Everyone hated it.

While the mold did have a bunch of problems, I didn’t and still don’t understand why people reacted so badly to it. Frankly, I think the Universe 2.0 Prowl/Sunstreaker mold was worse. But hey, personal preferences and all that.

Robot mode

Ironhide here looks great in robot mode. He has a face and everything! It’s blue for some reason but at least he has it.

When I first got my hands on the mold, I was blown away by the posablility he had. He has all the joints you’d need, even a waist swivel and ball-jointed ankles! Some of them are a bit restricted by today’s standards, but come on. This mold is 11 years old.

His weapon is interesting. It can switch between being a gatling gun and a knife. It’s cool but the problem is it’s too small.

Vehicle mode

Most of the hate for Ironhide comes from the vehicle mode. And yeah, it’s warranted. The panel lines and paint are a mess.

Later uses of the mold fixed the paint, but the panel lines…

There’s no getting around that.

The vehicle mode is functional though. Everything pegs together tightly and he can roll around just fine.

It’s just not nice to look at.

Closing

I’ve got two of this mold, Ratchet and Ironhide. I’m not gonna track down a complete copy of this mold since I’m gonna keep him in robot mode anyway.

Give this mold a try. Ironhide goes cheap now since the Siege mold was released. He’s not as bad as everyone says he is.