Ah, Energon Ironhide. While the character itself wasn’t particularly well-received in-series (I sure as heck wasn’t Ironhide’s biggest fanboy) his figure treatment wasn’t too bad. I rather like big, blue, and bulky.
He still ended up being one of the Energon era’s most abundant shelf-warmers though. Poor rookie.
Ironhide is actually one of the few Energon figures whose biped mode I’m actually kinda forgiving of.
The entire thing is extremely stable and sturdy; you don’t get many loose, floppy parts (barring the shoulder pad doors, which simply pop off easily) and I’m fond of the bulky proportions.
Naturally he looks very toy-ish, but the paint, like most other Transformers of this era, is very well done.
Ironhide is also able to Powelinx with other Transformers his size (such as Jetfire, his most common partner) which accounts for the presence of flat beige hands on the back of his ankles.
This figure’s most prominent feature is, of course, the giant red turret his head is mounted on.
The turret itself spins and makes sounds, complete with a firing missile launcher and mini-gun. No hand-held weapons or accessories, but I’m fairly certain one of the two turret weapons can be detached and used manually if needed.
One of the primary reasons why I don’t dislike Ironhide that much (compared to other less forgiving children and collectors) is due to his rather pleasing range of articulation.
In contrast to a lot of other figures who have limited or stiff articulation due to their transformation or vehicle modes, Ironhide has all the basics down – articulated toes, rotating and bending knees, ball-jointed elbow, fairly free swivel/hinge arm movement, head/turret swivel – it’s all there. Despite its simplicity I think this figure has pretty good play value.
Transform! SUV mode..? I’m not exactly sure what kind of off-road truck has a giant gun turret mounted on the roof but…okay! I’ll buy that.
Note the [totally not] inconspicuous head on the gun turret. Nice try, Hasbro, but flipping the cap down to cover the robot eyes doesn’t constitute “robots in disguise.”
The vehicle form is solid, compact, and pretty much feels like a giant brick on wheels. Not that it’s a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. I’m actually fond of it for that quality.
You can literally take Ironhide hiking in the mountains with you, let him loose down a footpath, and he’d make it. Might even add some character to the paint.
Yeah, it kind of looks like two halves of a truck mushed together in a vain attempt to create one vehicular module (remind anyone of a certain pair of twin Autobots from the Bayverse?) but what can you do.
As with almost all Energon figures, I’m particularly pleased by the paint work, most notably the very well detailed tires.
All in all, while Ironhide certainly wasn’t a popular figure when Energon had its hay-day, it still manages to be a fair figure in its own right. I’d give it a chance before rejecting it outright based on cosmetics alone – Ironhide’s big, blue, bulky playability may just charm you.
