Toy review - MPM-6 Movie Masterpiece Ironhide

[Magnus]

Series - Masterpiece
Sub-line - Movie Masterpiece
Size/class - N/A
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - N/A
Released here - N/A
RRP - ￥15,000
Approximate Size - 20cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - GMC Topkick C4500 4x4
Main Features/Gimmicks - Masterpiece detail and engineering; licensed vehicle mode
Main Colours - Black
Main Accessories - Cannons

Vehicle mode











A customised GMC Topkick C4500. The truck has a lovely, glossy black paint job, but from what I've seen, it is vulnerable to scratching. For some odd reason, the running lights on Ironhide's roof are yellow instead of blue.

The three pieces of the bonnet don't seem to line up perfectly, even when things are properly tabbed together.

In terms of robot undercarriage that is visible from a profile shot, he's actually fairly good. There have been worse Ironhides. Yes, the toes are visible from behind.

The smokestacks are made of soft plastic. Mine are warped due to being packaged. I haven't tried it, but it may be possible to straighten them by applying heat.









Here he is next to the other current Movie Masterpiece vehicles. Ironhide seems to be well-scaled compared to the cars, but I can't help but think he's too big compared to Optimus Prime.

Transformation

Very complex.

Transforming to robot mode isn't too bad, but transforming to truck mode is fiddly - getting the truck cab panels to line up so that the pieces all attach to the proper tabs is tricky, and getting the bonnet halves to attach to the centre is surprisingly challenging and requires a little more force that I personally feel comfortable applying. The owner also has to learn the angles of the shoulder and elbow joints to allow the windscreen and side panels to align properly, although this will come after a few transformations. The only figure I have experience with that has a similar issue is Masterpiece Rodimus Prime - his multi-jointed ankles needed to be in the right position to allow the feet to fit properly in vehicle mode.

I must admit to being somewhat disappointed that even the Movie Masterpiece figure couldn't avoid using a faux folded bumper for his chest.

Robot mode







This is where Ironhide shines - he really looks like he jumped off the screen. There is lots of moulded detail all over the figure, which manages to avoid being lost in all the black, and all this detail makes him interesting to look at. Now there is some unpainted black plastic as well as dark grey, some of it painted, some of it unpainted plastic.

His proportions, particularly of his lower body - are the closest yet that Hasbro/TakaraTOMY's designers have come to replicating the proportions of his character model. Previous versions haven't quite captured the bulk of his legs.



The panels on the backs of his upper arms look ungainly, but they are screen-accurate - the CGI model has panels running along the backs of his shoulders.



Close-up of the head and slightly asymmetrical face.











The detail in the sculpt extends to his cannons, which are capable of attaching to the flanks of the truck.



Articulation is fairly good. The head can rotate and tilt vertically, and he has an opening mouth.

The shoulders rotate at their base, have two ratcheted hinges, a mid-humeral rotator, a ratcheted elbow, a wrist rotator, wrist flexion/extension, and articulated fingers - the thumb has two hinges, the index finger has two hinges, and the other three fingers are moulded together and also have two hinges. The placement of the shoulders, while screen-accurate, seems to in turn limit the placement of the arms, possibly explaining why there are two hinged joints at the shoulder and why the shoulder pads themselves are free-moving - more on this later.

The waist can rotate, and Ironhide can bend at the waist with a joint that is unlocked.

The hips are limited in their forward and backward movement, but there is a secondary joint in the hip that shifts the legs outwards to allow for greater movement. The knees have a ratcheted joint, but are limited in their range of movement due to the parts on Ironhide's calves. The ankles have up and down flexion and limited inversion, and the front of the foot - the toes - have independent hinged movement.

As with previous Movie Masterpieces, Ironhide has some diecast metal in his construction. His crotch plate and parts of his shins and feet are metal.

A major point of contention is that the truck bonnet halves that form his shoulders don't lock into the chest, meaning they move when someone moves his arms. This is screen-accurate - the truck bonnet halves could move when Ironhide moved his arms. On the toy, however, this means that the shoulders can flop around and even droop if the bonnet halves come out from behind the triangular chest piece while moving the arms. It is possible to move the bonnet in such a way that the spring-loaded part holding the front wheel becomes wedged and rests against the part that clips into the chest - this will at least minimise if not outright eliminate the risk of the shoulder spontaneously falling out of alignment.

The panels on the forearms that the cannons attach to are large - larger than I'd like, but to be honest I don't really see where else the designers could put them.





With the other Movie Masterpiece figures in robot mode. Where he seemed too big compared to Optimus Prime in vehicle mode, Ironhide now seems scaled more appropriately.

Verdict



The Studio Series Ironhide will probably be enough for a lot of people. However, if you have to have the most detailed and screen-accurate movieverse Ironhide you can get, especially one that fits in with the other Movie Masterpieces, it will have to be the Movie Masterpiece. While he's not a bad figure, he's not perfect, either.

The shoulder design in particular seems to plant Ironhide firmly into 'display piece' territory rather than 'toy', although to be fair, that's what most people buying this figure are aiming for anyway. Keep this in mind and you'll probably be happy with him.