Tag Archives: Ratchet

#2560: Ratchet

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

RATCHET

TRANSFORMERS: PRIME (HASBRO)

Do you ever find yourself having made a mistake, which then becomes compounded upon and compounded upon and compounded upon, and by the time you realize you’ve made it, it’s very hard to fix it?  I mean that in a sort of comedic sense, I suppose, here on the site where I like to keep things light.  But, I also do feel like maybe there’s some deeper meaning to that.  You see, on October 18, 2020, I made a mistake.  I published my review of the Power of the Force II Concept Speeder Bike, and I accidentally gave it the number “2561,” rather than its proper “2560.”  I skipped ahead one day, and I didn’t even notice.  For two years, I just didn’t see it, and it was never corrected.  For two years, I’ve been technically one day ahead.  One day out of synch.  But, on the precipice of wrapping up my ninth year here on the site, I found the error.  I found the day I missed.  Years ago, I would have made some joke, maybe written a review in the style of two years prior, as if the day hadn’t been missed.  I very much considered that.  The trouble is, it’s impossible for me to go back to who I was in October of 2020.  The worst day of my life stands between me and that missing day.  But, I want to go back, as best as I can, in some form.  So, if you’ll indulge me, this is not going to be a standard review by any stretch.  I have chosen a figure of notable significance, and what follows isn’t a review of that figure, but rather a life surrounding that figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ratchet was released in the second deluxe wave of Hasbro’s Transformers Prime: Robots in Disguise.  He came out in 2012.  This figure was intended to be added to my collection in June of 2020.  I had gotten into Prime the prior fall and I liked Jeffery Combs’ take on Ratchet, so I was looking for this figure.  He came into All Time, and I thought I was getting him for me.  I wasn’t, though, as it turned out.  But I didn’t know that for a little while.  In June of 2020, the world was three months into a global pandemic that we’re honestly still fighting.  But things were getting better for a bit, and we thought maybe the worst was past.  We were wrong, of course, but that’s our lot.  I lost my full time job to the pandemic.  I went unemployed for two rather frightening months as we all stayed inside, isolated.  At the end of May, we started to come back out.  I got another job.  A job I really wanted.  I was excited.  I was at ease.  I was happy.  I thought it had all worked out.  I was wrong again.  June was the month that Jess got sick.  After a string of frustrating doctor’s visits, she finally made some headway, and she wound up going into surgery, with an extended weekend recovery.  At the end of the weekend, we were told we could go home.  Everything was okay.  We had nothing to worry about.  Wrong again.  I bought this figure during the period of not needing to worry.  In short order, the worry returned, and Jess had cancer.  She had to go back into surgery, this time without me there to help her.  She was afraid, and she needed some small comfort.  So, I handed her the best medical expert I had on hand, Ratchet.  And he wasn’t mine, he was hers now.  He went with her to every treatment, every hospital stay, and every emergency room run.  He didn’t leave her side.  If a pandemic wouldn’t let me be there with her, he would be.  And he did that well.  He gave Jess something to rally behind.  She would fiddle with him, she would pose him, she would even show him off to her nurses and other medical staff.  She absolutely loved him.  I told her when I gave him to her that he would help her.  And for once, I wasn’t wrong.  Maybe the help didn’t take the form I expected, but it was definitely there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I took the photos attached to this not-really-review back when I still thought the figure was mine.  I intended to review him, but when he went to Jess, I didn’t want to deprive her.  After she was gone, I genuinely didn’t think I could bring myself to write about him without her.  When I discovered the missing number, I initially wanted to do a fill-in review.  Place myself in my shoes in October 2020.  And I did.  In October of 2020, Jess had finished her first round of chemo.  We thought the worst was behind us again.  We celebrated.  I thought I might just get to review this Ratchet, but maybe Jess might help me.  He was hers after all.  By November, we knew were wrong again.  But, for a few short weeks, the clouds parted, and we were happy.  When I looked through what I still had unreviewed from that year, I saw this figure sitting there.  I remembered how happy we were in that month.  And I recognized how wonderful it was, fleeting though it may have been.  I found that wonderful day I’d missed.  And I’m so happy I did.  In the chaos that is life, it’s easy to get stuck on the pain, the suffering, and the general awfulness.  But then you miss the good.  Even in my worst days, there was such brightness, even if just for a moment.

If you made it through all of this, thank you for indulging me on this little trip.

#2230: Autobot Ratchet

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

AUTOBOT RATCHET

TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON: SIEGE (HASBRO)

As I write this review, I’m feeling a bit under the weather, and definitely have getting better on my mind, so what better time to look at the Autobot’s resident medic, Autobot Ratchet (gotta get that Autobot branding in there, lest the Decepticons, or worse, the Go-Bots, get him)?  I mean, he specializes in robots, not humans, so I don’t know how much help he would be to me personally, but I feel like he could give it a try.  Of course, that could be the sick-brain talking.  Don’t trust the sick-brain.  I’ll probably edit all this out once I’m back in my right mind…or will I?  Eh, I’ll just go with whatever’s more entertaining.  Onto the review!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Autobot Ratchet is a Walgreens-exclusive offering, and is officially a Deluxe Class Siege release.  He’s one of the last Siege items to make its way to retail, though we’ve known about him for most of the year.  In his robot mode, he’s 5 1/2 inches tall and has 22 workable points of articulation.  He’s on the taller side for a Deluxe, and there’s a good reason for that.  Like his original vintage figure, most of Ratchet’s parts are shared with this line’s version of Ironhide.  I was generally a fan of Ironhide, so I’m definitely alright with the re-use.  What’s more, there were a few issues I had with Ironhide (most notably the problems keeping the leg panels properly snapped in place) which this release actually corrects.  I don’t know that there were any actual changes to those parts of the mold, or if it’s just a slightly better pressing of it.  Whatever the case, he’s a slightly more satisfying figure in hand, which makes the re-buying feel really worth it.  He’s not all re-use, though.  Ratchet gets a new head and shoulders to differentiate him from Ironhide.  They work well with the pre-existing parts, and the head in particular is a nice rendition of the G1-animation Ratchet (since the actual G1 figure had no head).  Ratchet’s alt-mode is more or less the same as Ironhide’s, being a sort of a van thing.  The transformation is still pretty simple, and he’s pretty much a brick with wheels again.  There’s also a third mode of sorts, a repair bay, replicating the original toy’s medical sled.  It’s not quite as finalized a transformation, essentially just being a mid-point between the two main modes, but it’s nifty enough.  Ratchet gets a distinct selection of extras, including a shoulder-mounted laser cannon with robotic arm, a gun/welder, and a cool looking wrench.  That’s a fair bit of new parts.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve always had something of a soft spot for Ratchet, especially his Prime incarnation, so I was definitely happy when rumors started flowing of him being added to the line.  I was also pretty happy to hear he would be a re-work of Ironhide, since I really liked that figure.  I was less happy to hear he would be an exclusive, but at least it’s Walgreens, not Walmart.  Max actually found Ratchet first, and was kind enough to grab one for me as well…or is it kindness?  What if this is way of keeping trapped in this Transformers collecting life?  Oh, that’s devious! …Or that could be the sick-brain talking again.  Don’t trust the sick-brain.