General Information: Images:
*Image from Hasbrotoyshop.com
Text from Hasbrotoyshop.com: Join this mighty AUTOBOT hero in the fight to take on the DECEPTICON enemies! With interchangeable arm tools to help him take on anything that steps in his path, this brave AUTOBOT RATCHET figure is ready to do battle. And when it’s AUTOBOT RATCHET hero to the rescue, store the tools in his backpack, convert the mighty robot figure to rescue vehicle mode and help the AUTOBOTS battle against the DECEPTICON forces! Figure comes with interchangeable arm tools. There are several characters who were largely ignored for quite some time between Generation 2 and the "Robots in Disguise" era who were quite prominant in G1. One of these was Ratchet, who was thrust back into the limelight with 2007's live action Transformers movie. In an attempt to provide both an older "mentor" character and continuity from the movie, Ratchet was added to the roster of characters featured in "Transformers Animated".
Vehicle Mode: Ratchet is cast in four plastic colors: light grey, dark red, translucent blue and black. Most of the body is light grey with dark red used on the top of the canopy and the side sections over the rear wheels. Translucent blue is used on the lightbar and windshield while black is used for the wheels. Red paint details are used for the hood, the sides and the top of the vehicle towards the rear. This red does not really match the darker red plastic, though the effect is not as jarring as one might expect. Red paint is also used on the sides of the vehicle to create a "lifeline" type detail in a circle, a nod to a similar detail on the 2007 movie Ratchet. Other small details include yellow used for the headlights, a silver Autobot symbol on the car hood and light blue side windows. Truth be told, the only parts that aren't painted that I wish the designers had not left out are the sideview mirrors (which are half red on the TV show) and yellow on the smaller lights in the front. Overall the deco job looks very nice and has a good amount of detail. Transformation to Robot Mode:
Robot Mode: The robot mode of this figure does a spectacular job of emulating its animated counterpart. Ratchet's head is interesting as it takes influences from both G1 Ratchet and Cliffjumper. The central crest and "horns" sticking out the sides are distinctly influenced by G1 Ratchet, but the "mutton chop" like details on either side of the head look very much like Cliffjumper's from G1, especailly with the small horizontal line details inside. I love his facial expression and how the designers stayed true to having the left side horn broken and a bit of an indentation on his lower jaw, giving him a grizzled look. I love the way the side panels fold over to reveal symbols just like those on the sides of the vehicle mode, again matching up with the animated series using a bit ofa "cheat". His arms are big and rounded, with the lower arms looking like he's wearing some type of long surgeon's glove. I also like the way his fingers and thumbs are articulated separately, something rather uncommon among Transformers figures. Having the middle of the front section from the vehicle mode fold down on a hinge was a brilliant idea as it helps keep him from looking like a "front of car as my chest"-bot such as G1 Prowl or Bluestreak. His legs are very much humanoid/organic looking, being more tube like than squared off. Again this matches the show, with smaller thighs and larger lower legs that come to feet with sectioned off soles/heels visible from the side. Ratchet shows off more of his primary plastic colors in this form. More grey appears on the robot head, fingers, thighs, shoulders and feet. More black appears via his elbows, arms and shoulder joints. His lower arms and parts of his hands are dark red, along with the waist/hips and lower legs. Most of the new paint applications are found on his head, which uses red for the horns and parts of his face and light blue for the area with his mouth and chin. A bit of black is used on his knees as well to give some line detail, but overall the designers stuck as close as they could to the animation model without embelishing. Ratchet features twenty one points of articulation. This includes five on each arm and four on each leg. Attached to each lower arm is a claw like device that is actually one of his magnets as he is often seen using on the television show. Those are made up of two prongs (and looks sharper to boot), but the limitations on this design necesitated only making half of them. Truth be told, I would have been happy with sacrificing the other tools if it meant creating a more show accurate design, but I'm glad they were not eliminated altogether! These flip out with a gentle push into his hands if you keep the fingers extended forward. You can also attach each of his tools into the hands and swing them up on their hinges and close his hands around them as if he were holding them with only his fingers and palms. Each of these weapons can clip onto one of the circles inside his back pack for storage, but they do not store in vehicle mode.
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