| 02.03.2011 - Autobots Ironhide and Ratchet are two popular characters appearing in the original 1994 G1 cartoon. They’re Autobots who went with Optimus Prime, escaped from the planet Cybertron, and crashed on prehistoric Earth until a volcanic eruption awakened those aboard the Ark in modern times, namely in 1984.
For years, long-time fans have debated the inaccuracies between their cartoon appearances and their character based on the toys. After the toys were discontinued, being ‘Killed off’ in the 1986 Transformers: The Movie, there was no fanfare for these bots until they were reissued as early as 2001 by Takara, |
Despite their differences from their animated counterparts, those who grew up with the toys have nostalgia in them. They are entirely different and obscure compared to the other Generation One characters.
The 2007 reissue is not entirely different from the Collector’s Edition released six years before. The only difference is that it’s now being produced by “Takara Tomy” rather than just “Takara,” as the year before, Takara and Tomy had merged into one company. The Encore Edition had a slight difference from the previous reissue, and it all says it in the box itself.
Originally, Ironhide and Ratchet were adapted from Takara’s original Diaclone Car Robot toy line, which featured piloted mechs rather than sentient robots from another planet. The cartoon designs are all done by Floro Dery, an illustrator who has a hand in the visual design of most of the G1 characters appearing in the TV series and in the 1986 Transformers: The Movie.
You have to thank Floro Dery for the confusion about why Ironhide and Ratchet are entirely different in the cartoons, which were not exactly how they looked in toy form. But surely, Hasbro & Takara Tomy would adapt the cartoon aesthetic in the next succeeding toy releases with their modern design in Transformers Universe and Henkei Henkei toy releases.
But with the Encore Editions, Takara Tomy would actually include something to make amends to long-time fans for their obscure design language. Inside the door flap of their box, there is a cutout of their cartoon head /bust design that you can attach to the robot mode to make them ‘cartoon accurate,’ but for all that minor correction, it’s not enough to make them close to their cartoon counterparts.
It won’t stop third-party toy designers from making an actual add-on or upgrade kit to make them more closely resemble their animated counterparts. TransforGO by BESTTOYS has put their hand in making an actual head for both Ironhide and Ratchet that you can actually attach to the back where the Diaclone Pilot sits, and where the sticker for the face can be put on.
You don’t need to ruin it by cutting the flap of the packaging anymore with these upgrade kits that are not cardboard, but actual head designs based on the characters. It’s one of those rare things you see now with modern Transformers toys that most collectors get an extra kick from: updating their favourite characters that now closely resemble their animated counterparts.
The vehicle mode is so nostalgic that fans will immediately identify Ironhide and Ratchet as a Nissan Vanette. With Ratchet, they modified it by adding a light bar. It’s the only difference between the two that includes the head design, based on Floro Dery’s concept art to make them two different robots with the same alternate mode.
The transformation for both is the same, with the upper half of the vehicle becoming the pseudo-robot (power suit if you have a Diaclone Pilot), and the lower part becomes a ‘combat/medical’ deck/platform that houses their weapons/medical tools.
Of course, they don’t have the heads in there; while the original vintage release did not come with the heads that you can cut from the box flap, they came with stickers that you put on the backrest of the seat where the Diaclone Pilot sits, which is atrocious for a kid to find out their beloved Security Chief and Medical Officer is entirely different from the cartoon version.
The add-on/upgrade kit would change that, but the design of the robot itself would not make that change. The heads won’t be a hindrance when they transform from vehicle to robot mode and back.
You can see how the arms are attached and appear awkward. It’s something long-time fans has gotten over it until a new designed version of the characters would eventually change their perspective with these two.
Since these two characters have the same design, you can actually use Ironhide to attach to Ratchet’s combat sled and vice versa. They really are different from the other G1 characters released back in the day.
Overall, Ironhide and Ratchet may look obscure in design, but you get the sense that they came first as a toy before Hasbro and Marvel Comics rebranded them as sentient robots. Floro Dery changed all that in his visual design, which would be the ‘norm’ in toy design, challenging Hasbro and Takara Tomy to create improved versions of the characters in the future.
This also inspired Don Figueroa to adapt their toy design to match their appearance in the Transformers War Within by Dreamwave Comics in the 2000s, giving them a full-circle moment that, despite the difference, sparked interest in both characters having their toys reissued again by Takara Tomy for the Encore Edition.
These were acquired in the unlikeliest places; being a Takara Tomy product, they were sold in Philippine retail at Toys R Us at a discounted price of PhP 200 each ($4.62 USD). Usually, Hasbro products are mostly distributed by Playkit, but it’s also rare to see them bring Takara Tomy products being sold in local retail, which can mostly be found only in specialty stores.
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