Where there is sunlight, there is shadow, where there is wealth, there is poverty and where there is Ironhide, there is Ratchet. It’s just the laws of the universe at work.
Luckily, the Siege line is following those rules with gusto, and seems Ironhide’s design is spectacular, so too, is Ratchet’s. But Ratchet comes with a few new surprises, upping the ante a bit on his red brother-in-arms.
Ratchet will be released as a retail exclusive for Siege. In the States, Walgreens was smart enough to snag him, in Canada, it looks like EB Games, and in Asia, Toys R Us will have him available. Because of his fancy “exclusive” title, Ratchet has a few extra cents in the budget for a more variety of accessories. He comes with a small laser pistol/scalpel, a crane-like attachment for both robot and vehicle mode AND A WRENCH!
He also has the swanky luxury of having a blue tinted windshield/chest, which is a nice contrast to Ironhide’s, which is clear. Naturally you can mix and match the accessories as you see fit, the extending arm folds up nicely behind his back in robot mode, should you not want it as a shoulder mounted attachment.
Another neat “addition” is the Medical Bay mode. Homaging his G1 toy, Hasbro/Takara actually included this in his packaging as an official mode! He’s essentially half transformed, and there’s nothing here you can’t do with Ironhide, other than a different attachment loadout. It’s still a nice nod and wink to the older fans and I appreciate the heck out of it.
BOTTOM LINE
As a repaint and new head sculpt, Ratchet might not seem like there’s a lot going on here, but he’s a fantastic addition to an already amazing line and most people will want to have both Ironhide and Ratchet on their shelves. It’s a fun design with no drawbacks (they even adjusted the leg panels so they don’t fall off like on Ironhide) – so if you see him, GRAB HIM.
Pax Cybertron 