Tf Prime, Deluxe Ratchet review

Thanks to a good pal o mine who went to Singapore, this cool little Prime version of ratchet has made his way into my hands.  Since I am all excited about this video shenanagins and had some quiet time, and the toy in my hands, I have whipped up a little video review.  Well, 13 minute ‘little’ video review.

I will also go on like I normally do, since I get more enjoyment from photographing the toys than videoing them.  I have also now worked out what it is that is ‘Unsatisfying’ his transformation, which I wasn’t sure of when doing the video.

Ok firstly I would like to say, that in the cartoon, love Prime Ratchet!  He is the same style for Ratchet that began in the Animated cartoon, but with less old man grumpy this time.  Which is OK, as I think Animated levels of Grumpy old Ratchet would be too strong.  With that in mind, I was bound to love the toy no matter what.

Luckily though, it isn’t all that bad either.

So there is the box.  It’s good to see the Bios (although short) and the physical stats are still about.  The back has the usual photo that has been heavily photo-shopped to make it look cooler and more expensive than it really is.  The toy in the blister is noticeably small in the packet.  You can get a good view all around the toy, except underneath though.


Pretty cool artwork with his ‘Battle blades’ looking like they should.  Nice angle on the car as well.


I hate the way the official shots give the toys a metallic sheen to them…  It’s so far off the actual figure itself…  At least they didn’t add fake ‘emergency symbol’ on the picture…

To see me opening this toy, have a watch here.

Now onto the robot mode! Ha ha ha !

Mmmm, Nice robot mode.  He is a little small for a deluxe though, and this is especially noticeable in the vehicle mode.

Robot mode is nicely sculpted and the chest looks nice.  As it should.  After all, it is completely sculpted with faux car doors on it. The head is well done and the silver on him is effective.  Awesome light piping eyes and from the right angle, you can see pupils.  The eyes light up really easy, it’s fantastic!!

Sadly the reason the chest is so well sculpted is to do with why I find the transformation unsatisfying.  He had his head reveal feature when you clip the backpack back and the head pops up from hiding in the chest.  I found this the same with Cliffjumper as well.  You transform he legs and arms and the head pops up by itself.  And that is it.

I find that really really annoying personally.

Nice face sculpt and great light piping. Behold!

Done with barely any light any directed on the back of his head. Tick Tick and TICK!  Nice work Hasbro!  And pupils!!  Extra Tick!

The waist has a swivel joint in it and his legs has a lot of articulation as well.

Despite the lack of ankles, his legs actually allow for some dynamic posing.  The feet are angled in the first place and his balance is good enough to  carry the body well.


Sadly despite all the big gaps, there is nowhere to stash his weapons in robot mode unless he uses them…


Big hole, no weapons storage!!


Big backpack, and there is a tab on the very corner, which is just a touch too long to hold the blades.  If it had been shortened just a little, it could be used for holding the vehicle together AND holding the weapons…

Clever how they made him bear the weapons like in the cartoon, whilst also allowing for knife style holding in his fist.

And his weapons are very very squishy, he won’t be cutting much with these!!

I did discovere one way to hold the blades, and it works due to their gummy like yummy abilities.  It involves the backpack.  I also followed Peaugh’s idea for another way as well.  My way jams the blade down, bending it a bit, but it comes straight soon enough.  Peaugh’s way does it differently.

My way, see the bent blade?  But it is very secure and the handle looks a bit like his antenna.  From all angles. Albeit small.

And Peaugh’s way, looks like a good antenna from the front, but from the side, looks like a knife.

Vehicle mode is … OK.  It’s small for the type of vehicle and when put next to a small sports car (like Wheeljack), it still looks small.  Which is a real shame.  It’s missing the emergency heart beat sign on the side, which sucks and you can see the start of the line on the side of the truck as well, which sucks even more.

Its almost like they wanted too, “Naaah, can’t be bothered finishing the paint work.”  He also has a small spot for an Autobot insignia on the bonnet,  But LO!  no insignia…

They did do a good job on the white paint however and the plastic matches VERY close to the paint.  Impressive!  But needed.

The blades can go onto the front of the van and the top too.  In vehicle mode the blades can be stashed under the car.  But they also look cool on him.  There are two obvious ways.

And then there’s the way i found to simulate Stealth Force.  After all, nothing more scary than an ambulance with GUNS!

Or Blade wings.

Time to compare with other deluxes.

See, sadly he is only just bigger than a scout in vehicle mode.  And below average in robot mode.

Luckily though he is a very dynamic robot and having seen him kicking lots of arse in the cartoon, I feel quite happy putting him in awesome action poses!

Hooo-Waaah!

And there you have it.  Ratchet in all his Prime glory.  I really like the robot mode which is good as he spends most of his time in it anyway.  Vehicle mode is a bit small, but serviceable and lacking paint.  Transformation, well I said it at the start, unsatisfying due to lack of chest changing it almost feels like half the figure is done for you, which is a no-no in my books.  However, I suspect this is the same for all the deluxes from the Prime toys, since they are supposed to be classed as ‘Revealers’ (i.e the head).  Stupid name, but there ya go.

I’d be interested to see the Japanese version of this toy, as it comes with stickers, which would make up for lack of paint on this guy, but then they are stickers, which could be a bit of a bummer. 

Let’s see what the future holds!