G1 Ironhide (Encore)

Series: Generation 1 Encore
Allegiance: Cybertron
Categories: Autobot Car
Year: 2008 (original from 1984)

High tech circuitry is no replacement for guts.
"Go chew on a microchip," is Ironhide's slogan. Prefers action to words. Oldest, toughest, most battle-tested Autobot. Bodyguard to Optimus Prime. In charge of guarding anything of importance. Gruff, but kind. Trithyllium-steel skin makes him nearly invulnerable to attack. Shoots variety of liquids from supercooled nitrogen to superheated lead. Has sonar, radar, radiowave detector. Slowest and most fragile of the group.

Remarks: Ironhide uses the same mold as Ratchet, so look for the full review there. Just some words on the differences here. Where Ratchet was mostly white, Ironhide switches to red. He's not an ambulance, either, but just a normal red van. There are no design differences between the two, but for some reason the red paint makes Ironhide look a bit more wholesome than Ratchet. Not sure why. Anyway, despite the colour advantage the figure has the same drawbacks as Ratchet, not getting around that.

Ironhide was one of the mainstays of the first two seasons of the G1 cartoon series. The gruff veteran, spoken with a very strange Texan accent by none other than Optimus Prime voice actor Peter Cullen, was the backbone of the Autobot team. His death in Transformers the Movie (1986) was a sad day for all Autobot fans. Unfortunately, just like with Ratchet, this old Diaclone figure here barely does the character justice. So we end up with the same rating, barely average, and only because of the character's sentimental value.

Rating: C