Transformers Studio Series 86 Ironhide review

Ironhide's a pretty unlucky Autobot regarding his toys in the CHUG range. Fans that wanted a cartoon-accurate version of him that wasn't a reuse of the Energon Towline mold first received a Universe 2.0 version of himself that was a mess of panel lines and proportion problems that hadn't been seen in any other toy in the line somehow. He was a retool of the okay-at-best Offroad from Combiner Wars, and while he initially started off strong with Siege as a competently tall and visually robust Deluxe in spite of how cheap he felt, he became a mixed bag as an Earthrise release. That version was riddled with issues outside of how hard it was to obtain it; the lack of synergy between the newly tooled parts and the remaining Siege tooling did not help in any way, shape, or form. So now that we have SS-86 Ironhide into the mix, we can only hope he'll be worth getting not as a Deluxe but as a Voyager.

Here is Ironhide in his vehicle mode. Once again, it's a Vannette that he's known to turn into during the old days of G1, and it's something I can't really complain about since it at least does the job here. The design looks complete, the windows are picked out, and it does not look like it's borrowing any reused parts from a previously made toy. I'm pretty sure there's supposed to be a bit of color break up on the front of the alt mode where the silver resides, but a bigger issue might be from the inconsistent shades of red. Between the shaded used for the normal plastic used on the general parts of the figure as well as the unpaintable red plastic used on some of the hinges, and anything with red paint applied because it was originally clear blue plastic, we get a fair bit of inconsistency present with this toy. 

It's more noticeable on the sides depending on the lighting, but another issue comes from the numerous hinges that are present. Ironhide has two present close to each other as well as one near the door. It's nowhere near as bad as Universe Ironhide, but it is rather eyebrow-raising that they bill this as a Voyager yet it has more prominent hinges that would be a bit more acceptable for a Deluxe. Also not acceptable at this price is the lack of a yellow stripe.

You do have some weapon storage in the bottom fo the altmode, as there are not 5mm ports for the altmode to go use; the guns being the exhaust pipes makes for a pretty genius idea if you ask me.

For a vehicle mode comparison, he is definitely a much better vehicle mode than his Earthrise counterpart; that version was so close to nailing it, yet the robot shoulders, unpainted rear windows, exposed feet, and unchanged wheels held it back pretty well. And of course, that version partsformed while this one doesn't, yet I still don't think that it's worth the Voyager asking price. At least the old one has a silver stripe, but no painted rims on top of them not fitting in well.

And for a vehicle mode scale with some other Autobots, here he is with Earthrise Optimus Prime and Netflix Bumblebee. While one may be filled with more sculpted details and the other is a fairly straight-forward Volkswagon Beetle, Ironhide fits in pretty well with his Autobots from a different line; after all, SS-86 is meant to go with these guys if you ask me. Oh, and I forgot to mention the tabs on top: changes are those'll be saved for Ratchet's lightbar.

Transformation is a much more involved version of his Siegerise counterpart, having more panels to move around in order to make the robot mode looks as clean as possible. But most of it's done with the legs; there's some neat engineering that folds everything away on top of having a hidden panel that lifts up for the hinge on the ankle; meanwhile, the upper torso more or less works similarly to the Siege version apart from having the waist swivel rather than a unique swivel for the chest and arm assembly in addition to the hinges applied within the window and the shoulders. It's honestly not that different from a non-86 Studio Series Deluxe figure's transformation; those guys have fairly solid affairs in comparison to this guy, despite him being a Voyager, and while the robot mode may look great for a cartoon-accurate take on the design, especially with how little to no kibble remains apart from the bumper, torso wheels, and the windows on the legs, it's not really that complex for the price tag he's going for. And while I like how they handled the torso as well as giving him the skirt panel, they still could have made his hands less hollow from the back (the forearms being hollow from the back would also be fine if this was a Deluxe). 

Head sculpt looks nice as always, though it's amusing how they keep making the robot heads less and less detailed than the last versions. And yes, he has blue eyes underneath the shadows of the head obscuring them. His articulation consists of a ball-jointed neck, shoulders that move front and back, in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, wrist swivels, a waist swivel, hips that move front and back (along with the skirt flap), in and out, swivel at the thigh, bend at the knees, and pivot at the ankles. His sole two guns are moreso a Ratchet thing, and I would have loved to see a few more accessories or even blast effects go with him.

His weapon storage is pretty cool, as it goes on the back and sort of results in a bit of a mini-jetpack look. Now for a robot mode comparison; he definitely flows a lot better than the Earthrise version; everything that was made from the ground up works a whole lot better than retooling a figure that was meant to adhere to a specific style and not have its newly made parts clash with what already remains. Siege Ironhide worked since that Cybertronian G1 style was meant to go with his design first, so the only way an Earth mode Ironhide would work is by making an entirely new mold. And hey, no partsforming! However, I still question the Voyager price point if he's slightly shorter than his previous iteration.

Ironhide was reused not as Ratchet but for a set that was initially a joke according to a Hasbro employee before it was made official right away because Hasbro will milk anything Geewun. But anyways, this is Ironhide as he was shot down and said one last NOOOOO before Megatron commented on the heroic nonsense he displayed. Released in a Buzzworthy Bumblebee set with Prowl, he is entirely opaque and has some battle damage on the torso.

And now for a robot mode size comparison, he once again fits nicely with the other figures in the line. We just need Ratchet as well as Buzzworthy Hound to pop up as well as new versions of Brawn, Gears, and Windcharger to exist so we can finally complete the Ark crew! And he's slightly taller than SS-86 Hot Rod, and honestly, Hot Rod is probably worth the Voyager price point; his transformation has more going on than Ironhide, his articulation consists of butterfly joints, finger articulation, and double-jointed knees, and even having some accessories that add to the price; such as the buzzsaw, the flame effect pieces, a Matrix with an effect piece, and the guy even has some tricks up his sleeve, such as the visor and the swivels within the hands that have either a 5mm post or a torch. I know Ironhide is a bulkier character compared to Hot Rod, but I can't see him as being justifiable for the price point compared to the turbo-revvin' punk. If Ironhide has a few more accessories like the blast effect pieces, nozzles, or a drill gun, he'd be a little easier to stomach. I'd also love to see those hands filled in from the bottom, too. So ultimately, Ironhide is using the Voyager price tag as a case of Hasbro using character popularity and buzzwords like "complex engineering" to justify making this guy a Voyager rather than a Deluxe. Yeah, he's better than Earthrise Ironhide and is definitely the best retail G1 Ironhide yet, but I doubt I'd want to get this mold again at full price once I get Ratchet just so I can be done with this mold.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐