I heard MS uses nylon because it allows for smaller parts than other plastics without sacrificing strength.

Got it because I had some points at ShowZ and I love it. Normally a Newage guy, but it's the first Ironhide - any scale - to really nail the look. And I love that MS is embracing integration of the hip skirts into the waist so they move with the legs. That's how all TFs should be done.

I have this as well as the Ratchet repaint and love them both. That hinge at the shoulder used for transformation can cheat some extra articulation in robot mode. Magic Square has to be my favourite 3P company right now - love the emphasis on toon accuracy and all the figures have great articulation and accessories. Newage falls just slightly behind MS for me but only because I prefer MS’s G1 toon-look to NA’s G1 toy-look.

I know you keep knocking MS on the lack of paint compared to NewAge, but they are knocking it out of the park when it comes to the cartoon look of these figures.

It's the best G1 cartoon Ironhide ever made at ANY scale. Simple as that. And it just so happens that's exactly what I want.

Bobby "we got our semi-weekly dose of Magic Square hate, so life is good now" Face!

The wooshing text with "HAS A DEEPER KNEE BEND" made me bust out laughing. Caught me off guard. Great review as always.

hypertoon is awesome! love this figure!

I mean, I like the nylon better than standard plastic for these little toon accurate guys. It feels great in my hand and looks like flat cartoon colors.

Thanks for the content bobby

Looks really good.

It's a cool figure. If you haven't already, I hope you also cover Magic Square's Ratchet, aka "Ryu". (They even did a Diaclone black one, but fumbled the ball by *NOT* naming him "Akuma" or "Gouki"...)

The little bitty panel that was tucked in from handling actually has a ledge on an adjoining panel that it sets against. If you don't get it in front of that ledge, it just folds in. As for the materials being lousy, I think that is a bit harsh. I get you don't like it, but the materials don't break, hold their tight tolerances over time (when they are tolerances right) and allow flexibility because we all tend to manhandled these from time to time. The materials also allow them to get away with smaller hinges and tighter gaps so that when done right, it does not look as panely as other figures. Not saying this one is great because I do dislike the alt mode, but it cleans up super well in robot mode and has practically no kibble, gapping or exposed hinges. All things NA needs work on but can't pull off due to the materials they use.

I get the impression that, given the intricacies of this figure's engineering, what it really wants is to be a larger figure.

It's funny. This is my first 3P Legends figure and I love the transformation. I've had the figure for about 2 weeks and not one day has gone by since then where I haven't transformed him at least 5 times. I really don't agree with your stance on the materials. For me at least they feel pleasant on the fingers, and the nylon allows for smaller pieces and more intricate engineering without it feeling scary. My first time transforming this was a much more relaxed experience than my first time transforming a lot of main line figures. I didn't feel like I was flexing things around things at any stage so I don't know where that comes from. To each their own, I suppose! They could make their transformations less intricate but, to be honest, I've grown to appreciate the feeling of nylon. It offers a much different transformation experience to what I'm used to, and variety's always nice. But I guess that's how a negative to some can be a positive to others. That and I just think the materials help their figures look... cuter, I suppose? If that even makes sense!

Is that a hurricane kick pose? LOL

Could we get a comparison between MS Ironhide and Newage Ironhide some day? I own the Newage one, and while it isn't 100% great, it's a cool little figure. I'm one of those people that prefer when a toy isn't 100% toon accurate, like Masterpiece used to be. A blend of toy with toon.

Great review! And I was curious what parts separator you’re using? I’ve been looking to get into legends and I have a feeling I’ll need it

I may have missed it. What did you think about the chest? Does this solve the beeer belly problem of the Takara mp?

I can't quite tell with the final alt mode if you got it or not, but the head is meant to tip back 90 degrees to have proper clearance for the arms to tuck in without bulging the sides of alt mode. Ratchet may have had the issue when you showed him, or the panel may have just come loose, it is so hard to tell on video with Magic Square.

Can someone please explain to me what t-joints and universal joints are?

If this was from Hasbro it would be a leader or commander class.

Wow that took effort. I don't like that it's not sized for man's hands. Your patience is amazing, thanks for showing the full transformation.

I've gotten a few MS figures (Stunticons, perceptor, optimus prime) and I always have issues with the parts staying tabbed in. Plus they have gone very heavy on the toon aesthetic which I don't like. It ruined masterpiece. Early on I held out hope that they would improve their paint and materials but it seems like they just don't want to. They prefer being able to hitter a lower price point than NewAge would be my guess. At least the 2 companies are choosing to stay in different lanes. The real world aesthetic people can get what they want and the toon people can get what they want. I hope both companies stay far away from masterpiece (I know MS has dipped a toe in)

figure seems awesome but it looks so cheap it's crazy how full the plastic looks

I don't care for current Legends figures because of the stupidly fiddly nature of them, but also the extreme cartoon accuracy BS is really just taking over everything and I hate it. Nothing seems safe from it any more, official nor unofficial.

Transformation's pretty disappointing honestly, I think transformers are better off if their transformations are more "chunky" and less "flappy", i.e. "the leg splits down the middle to become the side of the car" instead of "you flip out 10 thin flaps so the leg looks like the side of a car, and then 10 more on the arm so the two parts actually fit together"