Toy Review - DotM Leader Ironhide

[STL]

I'm a massive fan of this.

It has a few points that I would have quibbles with but there's a lot of good execution in this figure.

The electronics and gimmicks are one of the best implemented in a figure for a long time. The gimmick is fun and unintrusive and shows an innovative flair. The chest cannon has a lot of nuance to it and it's very understated how well thought out it has been implemented. Compare it to the other gimmicks you've seen in Leaders, this one is by far superior.

The robot mode as well is something that is a lot better in person than it is in pictures. For instance, the teal on the lower legs actually is very overstated. Once you have the figure, the texture gives different shades and layers and it's very nice. The headsculpt is really strong and well done sans the faceplate. The alt mode is just as nice.

And remember with Battle Ops, it's scale does fit in nicely with the other figures across the movie line. It also had 3 chances to get it right.

Also, the head does articulate. Don't be afraid to give it a bit of force. Once you have that sorted out, I think you'll enjoy the figure a lot more. I initially thought you couldn't either and was a bit annoyed by that as it limited poseability and playability. However, it's there.

[Pipesqueak]

Overall I like it, particularly the ease of transformation for a leader-class figure. No wasted minutes trying to align every panel just right here.

The range of weapons is awesome - knife and missile launcher stowed in the leg compartments and pop-out guns on each arm, plus the chest cannon. Awesome. The way the weapons pop out of the roof in truck mode is lots of fun too.

However, I have some gripes:
- There should be an option to keep the face plate permanently down (why make a dull hasbro grey plate cover a cool painted face sculpt all the time?) and to keep the chest cannon open. That way all weapons could be displayed at once.
- There is only one way to position each leg joint to make him stand up. Put any joint at any other angle and he will fall over.
- A number of QC issues on mine: The weapon compartment in the right leg doesn't close properly; the right shoulder joint is loose; the need to use excessive force to get the head to turn; loose ball joints for the 'shoulder-pad' pieces.