Desert Tracker Ratchet Review

I am a G1 fan and haven't seen either of the live-action films, but I do like the new transformers in the movie toylines. This is "Desert Tracker Ratchet", a Voyager class transformer from the second live-action movie, "Revenge of the Fallen." He is a redeco of a previous incarnation from the 2007 movie. Unfortunately, I am disappointed in this version of Ratchet due to its lack of durability. It's a shame because this is a very neat looking toy.

My first impression of Ratchet was as a camouflage Hummer (as packaged) when my son opened it. I think that Hummers are very neat looking vehicles, and Ratchet is no exception. It's a big, hulking vehicle that you could imagine clobbering someone with. That's one of my personal definitions of a good toy - when you hit someone with it, it should hurt. There's not a lot of detail or action going on in Ratchet's vehicle mode, although the roof rack is removable (so is the front grill, but I don't think it should be...)

I was a little nervous about working the transform from vehicle to robot. The arms and legs are solid and bulky, but the "backbone" (which I think is a transmission or suspension in vehicle mode) is very thin and felt somewhat fragile to me. Also, some of the movements were hard for me to do the first time without applying more pressure than I felt appropriate. His windshield folds out of the way in a manner that I find visually appealing. The final robot is big and solid, at least over most of the form. He has a secret axe that folds out of his arm, although I think it looks more like a giant cufflink.

My real problem with Ratchet is a fragility of joints that belies his rock-solid appearance. His front undercarriage flips away to reveal his head, but the joints are so loose that the part always falls off the robot. The door panels that make his wings (beyond the doors themselves) fall off constantly and are so loose at this point that a slight touch to the toy causes them to drop off. Unlike the undercarriage bit, this is quite visible in the vehicle mode, although neither one is necessary for the robot mode.

Ultimately, the vehicle mode and robot mode look very nice and are big and solid. Unfortunately, they are not sturdy and my son has an impressive pile of pieces that belong to Ratchet but won't stay on anymore. For a Voyager class figure, I expected better. I think the adult collector will find it an attractive piece, and maybe the youngsters will like it regardless of missing pieces (my son does)Get more detail about Desert Tracker Ratchet.