RATCHET
Series - Masterpiece
Sub-line - none
Size/class - n/a
New/remould/redeco – Remould of MP Ironhide
Wave - n/a (MP-30)
Released here - released in Japan April 2016
Approximate Retail Price – 80,000 yen
Approximate Size - 16cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Nissan Cherry Vanette Ambulance
Main Features/Gimmicks - Weapons sled
Main Colours – White, Red
Main Accessories – Weapons Sled, various guns, tools, replacement face




Vehicle Mode
Like Ironhide, this is such a blast from the past – some of us actually remember when this is what an Ambulance looked like! The paintjob is crisp, if somewhat plain looking with a palette of white (very hard to take a photo of without it glaring as you can probably tell from my pics ) broken up with bits of red and of course the blue tinted windows. There are extra stickers you can apply to break it up more but frankly I couldn’t wait to play with him so I’ll apply them later.




Robot Mode
A nice big stocky robot which is a good head above most of the MP Autobot Cars in height. Once again you are looking at a lot of white here so the included stickers are your friend. Usually stickers with MP’s irritate me, I feel all the paint details should be built it in but these feel very sticky and secure when applied. A lot of little things you can change such as attaching different weapons, faces and he comes with some actual medical tools (which considering we are dealing with robots means wrenches much like the Animated Ratchet toy). Like all MP toys he offers some great poseability for play and action shots. Whilst some may complain he still looks a tad plain, go rewatch some G1 – this is what he looked like on the cartoon and that is what the MP line strives for.




Transformation
The same as MP Ironhide but I dunno, he just seemed to go smoother somehow in a way I can’t attibute to previous experience. Whether they have made the joints a tiny bit looser or they bevelled those edges a tiny - I don’t know but it seems to be a smoother transformation. If you own Ironhide you don’t need the instructions for this – a very good level for an MP toy.

Overall
He looks like G1 Ratchet more than any toy (including the original) ever has so Takara have hit their mark. He’s not a green emergency vehicle, he’s not an updated version, this is G1 Ratchet at his best! Heartily recommended