Series - Masterpiece
Sub-line - Movie Masterpiece
Size/class - N/A
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - N/A
Released here - N/A
Approximate Retail Price - USD119.99
Approximate Size - 19cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Customised Hummer H2 search and rescue vehicle
Main Features/Gimmicks - Screen accuracy, licensed vehicle mode, Masterpiece detail and engineering
Main Colours - green, grey
Main Accessories - laser cannon, circular saw, missile clusters

Vehicle mode











A Hummer H2, customised to resemble a fire department search and rescue vehicle. The figure was moulded in bright green plastic, with some transparent blue plastic around the cabin painted to match. The paint is a fairly good match to the colour of the plastic, but this can really depend on the light one is viewing the figure under. There are a lot of paint applications for the vehicle's decals and moulded details, including the lamps on the corners of the rear compartment.

Several parts are moulded in soft plastics - the wing mirrors and the tools attached to the roof of the vehicle. The bull bar and sections of the roof rack are more rigid than this, but softer than the hard plastic that makes up the bulk of the figure.



All five Movie Masterpiece Autobots together in vehicle mode.

Transformation

Lengthy, but not quite as involved as Starscream. In terms of difficulty, I would say that Ratchet is comparable to MPM Optimus Prime in terms of complexity, maybe a bit more complex.

Note that the windscreen and the roof-mounted light clusters are designed to pop off if too much force is applied.

It should be noted that transforming the shoulders properly by securing the tabs on the front wheel arches into the slots on the shoulders will actually immobilise them. If you want to move Ratchet's shoulders, you will need to undo this connection.

I found that transforming back to vehicle mode the first time was more of a challenge, because the instructions aren't totally clear on how exactly to orient the arms.

Robot mode









Ratchet is a beautifully detailed Masterpiece. Parts of the thighs and feet are made of diecast metal. He is 19cm to the top of his head, and 21 cm at the highest points of the roof rack on his shoulders.

Ratchet's proportions are largely pretty accurate to the CGI model, save for the torso being too chunky by necessity. The only other really glaring inconsistency in Ratchet's shape is the panels on the inner legs, which are large and chunky - more sop than the inner leg panels on the CGI model.

Articulation is good. The mouth opens, and the head rotates and can tilt up and down. The shoulders have the usual two axes of motion, although the Hummer's front wheel arches can impede motion somewhat. Fortunately, they're mounted on ball joints and can be moved out of the way. There is a rotator just above the hinged elbow, the wrist rotates and has flexion, and both thumbs are hinged and the three fingers are moulded together with two joints.

The waist rotates, the hips have two axes of motion, and there is a thigh rotator above the hinged knee. The ankle rotates up and down and has limited inversion.



Ratchet comes with four weapons - his arm-mounted automatic cannon, a dual circular saw, and two small arm-mounted missile clusters.



The saw consists of two saw blades mounted on a common axis, and being separate parts, both blades can rotate independently.

The missile clusters are in fact screen-accurate - they're small, easy to miss, and Ratchet is never seen to actually use them in any of the four movies he appeared in, but they are there.







All four weapons can stow in vehicle mode.



All five Movie Masterpiece Autobots together in robot mode.

Verdict



Ratchet is a great piece, and I would say that he is worth buying, but he is pricey - you'll be very lucky indeed to find him below $200 posted.

Obviously you'll want him to complete your 2007 Autobot lineup, and if you're otherwise a Masterpiece or Ratchet fan, you'll want him, but beyond that, I would recommend hunting for a bargain. Waiting for the price to drop isn't guaranteed to give the result you might want, though - Ironhide and Megatron can now be had for decent prices on eBay, but Jazz is more pricey.