Toy Review - JP MP-30 Ratchet

[BigTransformerTrev]

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

[Omega Metro]

Any paint chipping?

[BigTransformerTrev]

Any paint chipping?

Nah

[DELTAprime]

Just got my Ratchet today. I'm glad they have fixed the gun issues from Ironhide. I'm going to display ratchet in the pose from the attack on the shuttle where he was dual wielding guns at the Cons. Now to find some really good scissors to make him cartoon accurate.

[millhouse]

Are the stickers for the shoulders on a white background or on a clear background?

Just wondering if I'll use the official ones or do a custom with some red contact paper...

[BigTransformerTrev]

Are the stickers for the shoulders on a white background or on a clear background?

Just wondering if I'll use the official ones or do a custom with some red contact paper...

A white background

[DELTAprime]

It was easy to cut up the official ones. You can only tell when looking really closely that I stuffed up a singe edge which is curved.

[kurdt_the_goat]

Dunno if anyone's swapped their Ironhide's shoulders... but i ended up swapping his back and doing Ratchet's instead tonight.

The shoulders looking better are definitely a red herring! Basically, the piece that people have been swapping has a screw tube coming out of it, 90º to a hollow slot beneath it. If you look directly at the hollow slot on both pieces, you can see the screw tube isn't dead centre, it's offset by... exactly the size of the gap that appears when you have nice shoulders.

You can see the difference again when you place his arm back onto his shoulder. Have it almost in car mode and look at Ratchet's right arm, with the front window swung up. With Ratchet's cross facing out towards the side of the car, look at the right side of the shoulder block. That piece has a wedged angle, that will either line up with the end of the shoulder joint above it (gap, pretty shoulders), or sit the offset amount to the left (no gap, ugly shoulders)

The reason some people have gaps on one side and not the other after making the shoulders pretty is simple... You can't slide his arm since it's offset, so you have to twist the arm to get one side looking good. Doing so pushes the other side out more, since the shoulder blocks are supposed to be right up against each other, but instead one is angled.

Seems to me based on that, that it's Ratchet who is misassembled, though really what you choose to do is up to personal preference!

[FruitBuyer]

I've recently received my Ratchet and I'm in love. He's so good and imposing despite being a medic, since he's just a hair below Shockwave in size.

I don't have Ironhide so Ratchet is a new experience for me and I love so much about him. The white paint is nice, compared to Wheeljacks' white plastic and he has a pretty snazzy transformation that showcases a lot of TT's innovation with the Masterpiece line.

I was worried about Ironhide's diapers when I first say him but it's not a problem in the slightest for Ratchet, they just don't seem that noticeable.

[willocrew]

Received this robot a few days ago. Just transformed him formthemdirstntime tonight.

Very nice figure. Iron hide was reallyngood. But ratchet looks even better. The white colour really suits this mold. The hip kibble disappears.

I went to town with a knife and gave ratchet two Red Cross stickers on both shoulders. Would have preferred decals rather than stickers. Hope they don't lift.

Overall, if you are choosing between iron hide and ratchet, I suggest getting ratchet. If you can get both that's even better.

Hopefully if I get time this weekend, I'll open up shockwave to have a look.