Transformers Arms Micron: Ironhide AM-20

The Japanese series of the Transformers Prime line of toys, Arms Micron, has given collector's a choice when it comes to what version of a particular character they'd like to add to their collections. In addition to this there have been several characters exclusive to the Arms Micron like. While this mold was released in the Prime series as Kup, this mold was made for Ironhide. Why Hasbro opted for Kup over Ironhide confounds me.

At first I didn't care for the Arms Micron packaging, but it's really grown on me over time. The CGI rendering of Ironhide looks really nice. It's a good mesh of G1 and movie-verse Ironhide.

Like most of the other Arms Micron releases, the back of the packaging shows off how the figure can interact with other Microns from the series. Ironhide is already tough, we all know that...but check out his extra firepower! Ironhide's included Micron is Iro. He's one of the cooler Microns, but I fear his plastic may not stay strong overtime. More on that later.

 

Both Ironhide and Iro rank pretty high in their respective Tech Spec rankings.

If there is a downside to the Arms Micron toys is the fact that the toys are devoid of tampographs and painted details. All of the figures come "naked" right out of the package. If you want the "chrome" look, more details or faction symbols you have to sticker up your figure. I have never enjoyed stickering my toys.

Ironhide's stickers apply pretty easily, something that I can't say about all Arms Micron releases. Most of his stickers are applied in vehicle mode. The sides get 3 shiny graphite stickers with a metallic red trim across the top. A single Autobot sticker on the hood and two more graphite stickers on the tailgate.

The stickers do really help break up all of Ironhide's red, but I wish the wheels had been painted as they look really cheap looking as is.

Iro forms a very large and round cannon for Ironhide. He can be placed on either side of Ironhide or in the bed of the truck. The gun looks really odd in the bed so I just leave him stuck on the side while in vehicle form.

Ironhide looks like the rough and old veteran that he truly is and his Arms Micron version is no exception. I really like his overall look in robot mode, but I wish the truck's grill would snap down a little further. 1) His mid section is rather large and 2) His head is slightly hidden by the truck's front bumper. As far as I know the Transformers Prime version of Kup suffered from these same issues.

Iro has one of the more defined robot modes when it comes to the Micron partners in the series. You can clearly make out the robot's head, arms and legs. Iro assembles fairly easy, but what most concerns me is how the arms clip onto the main body. The clips are basically "c" shaped and this goldish colored plastic seems very brittle. In fact one of the c clips on mine shows some serious stress marks just by clipping the arms on! Be very careful when transforming him. Like most of these Microns there are plenty of stickers to apply. Thankfully other than the faction symbol that goes underneath the pink crystal, none of the stickers are super tiny.

In a surprising move Hasbro did eventually release Ironhide in their Prime series, but only in the Cyberverse scale. I grabbed him more out of curiosity because at the time I hadn't yet purchased AM-20. He's pretty cool actually. I like having two weapons. The new head sculpt is a little more G1 looking with the head crest and I like how the truck's windshield forms the chest. Perhaps if he was more red I'd like him even better.

With AM-20 being exclusive to Japan not all collectors will bother to add him to their collections. Since Ironhide never showed up in the animation I'm sure a lot of collectors will skip over him, however if you do choose to pick him up I think you'll be pleased with your purchase. While not a perfect mold, it is far superior over Hasbro's version as Kup.