General Information:
Release Year: September 2007
Retailer: Target Exclusive
Price: $6.99
Accessories: Crane/rifle, Cyber Key
Difficulty Level: 2

Images:

• On Card (Front)
• On Card (Back)
• Cyber Key
• Vehicle Mode
• Vehicle Mode (Side)
• Vehicle Mode (Back)
• Vehicle Mode (Forward view)
• Vehicle Mode (Missile hatch open)
• With Cybertron Armorhide and Timelines Huffer (Vehicle Modes)
• Robot Mode
• Robot Mode (Side)
• Robot Mode (Back)
• Robot Mode (Close up)
• Robot Mode (Holding weapon)
• Robot Mode (Missile hatch open)
• Robot Mode (Key inserted in back)
• With Cybertron Armorhide and Timelines Huffer (Robot Modes)

Tech Specs:
Up against an enemy like MEGATRON and his followers, the AUTOBOTS can't afford to be nice. To ARMORHIDE, this fight is about nothing other than total victory, and the only way he sees to achieve that is to become as much like the DECEPTICONS as possible. He knows OPTIMUS PRIME doesn't approve of his methods and he doesn't care. Once the DECEPTICONS are wiped out the historians can argue as long as they'd like about whether his way of fighting this war was right or not, but at least they'll do it in peace and safety.

Armorhide is the third use of this sculpt in the Transformers line. The first was Cybertron Armorhide where this figure quickly became one of the fan favorite figures of that year. This year the figure was given a new (but not wholly unexpected) identity as Timelines Huffer, an extension of the Classics line. Check out those reviews for a closer look at the sculpt and the changes this sculpt has gone through. This review will focus on the changes made to the toy for this release.

Vehicle Mode:
The three main plastic colors used for Armorhide this time around are black, dark grey and light grey. Aside from the black parts, the rest of the plastic colors seem to be slight variations on the colors used on Cybertron Armorhide. This is especially visible on the rear section of the vehicle (which later becomes the robot arms). The colors are almost the same as Armorhide's, though to me it looks like the lighter grey is slightly darker than Cybertron Armorhide's and the darker grey is slightly lighter. The black plastic is used for most of the forward section of the vehicle with the exception of the windshield flaps, which are cast in grey.

Armorhide's paint applications are done in metallic silver and yellow, contrasting nicely against the black plastic. His deco pattern is (thankfully) different than the two previous uses of this sculpt. The visor sections on top of the windshield are painted metallic silver with yellow hazard lines. Smaller details such as a notch above each side window are painted yellow along with three horizontal lines on each side. The front grille and headlights are painted metallic silver in a different pattern than any of the previous versions of the toy. The row of rectangles on the front of the vehicle are painted yellow. The third use of a sculpt is interesting as it really gives you perspective on the myriad of ways one figure can be painted. The darker color pallette makes sense since they designers were edging towards darker (or more muted) colors for most of the vehicles in this line to look more like "real world" vehicles.

The weapon/crane arm is cast in black, with yellow painted on the top and the end of the barrel. On the top of the weapon, towards the end is the Sector 7 symbol and the "S7" letter/number combo painted in silver. The crane hook itself is the same light grey color as the parts seen on the rear of the vehicle. Oddly, instead of coming with the Earth Planet Key he comes with the Decepticon Key, leading to some speculation that one time this was intended to be a Decepticon. The Key is cast in black with some yellow paint on the vertical edges. Since it is cast in black and the Decepticon symbol is on the back, it is a moot point (similar to the Keys we used for the Botcon 2006 set). Still, it is a curious thing to see since the swapping of Keys is often a conscious choice, not one that happens by accident in production.

Robot Mode:
In robot mode the only newly revealed color is on Armorhide's head. It is cast in black with a silver face and yellow eyes (matching the colors from the vehicle mode). All the other colors carry over from the vehicle mode, giving paint detail to the robot mode. This includes the yellow rectangles on his chest and the hazard lines on his knees. This sounds dull, but really it's not. There is enough yellow and silver between the torso and the legs to actually give a rather even color distribution. Also, when he holds his weapon in this form, the yellow on top stands out a lot, so it adds a striking bit of color to an otherwise very dark figure.

All of Armorhide's joints are tight, and his knee joints are tighter than the ones on my Timelines Huffer. However, when I transform him back to vehicle mode, on occasion his arms pop right out of their sockets. They snap right back in and they're not loose at all, but it does show that running a mold a few times can sometimes cause a bit of wear and tear.

Final Thoughts:
With the Target exclusive Scout Class waves coming to a close, Armorhide is actually the only sculpt in the group that has not already been used for a previous wave, making it a bit more desirable. Armorhide is a strong toy to begin with, so if you're into redecos (or are a completist) then he'll simply be a must buy, otherwise enjoy your Cybertron Armorhide and/or Timelines Huffer and you'll be okay. Recommended mainly to completists.