Product Description

Racing across the sands of the northern Sahara desert, the roar of his engine echoing off the ever-shifting dunes, AUTOBOT RATCHET charges towards the inevitable confrontation with MEGATRON and his assembled DECEPTICON army. Though he has battled against odds this bad in the past, no fight before has meant so much. He knows the fate of the universe rests on the outcome of this conflict, and he will do everything in his power to see to it that his allies come through it safe and victorious.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1057 in Toys & Games
• Brand: Transformers
• Model: 92802
• Released on: 2009-05-29
• Dimensions: 7.88" h x 11.00" w x 4.00" l, 1.00 pounds

Features

• Recreate exciting movie scenes or stage your own living room battles with this awesome Autobot ally
• Features an Automorph forearm cannon in robot mode, this fun figure is also sporting a secret weapon accessorya hidden axe
• In vehicle mode, unleash a Hummer H2 truck thats ready for action
• With a convertible roof rack that becomes a shield or a combat stretcher, this super-cool vehicle is ready to roll out

Customer Reviews

Much, much better than no Ratchet at all.
Of the four Autobots that survived to the end of the first Transformers movie in 2007- Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Ironhide, and Bumblebee- Ratchet was the only one I didn't get in the Premium (extra-painted) series released towards the end of the first movie's toyline. This much shows in looking at him. His blocky vehicle mode makes him more of a mix between the blended-shrapnel look of the robots in the movie and the more traditional pile-of-blocks Transformers aesthetic. He looks less like the his screen incarnation than Transformers Movie 2 Leader Optimus Prime, Transformers Movie 2 Deluxe Bumblebee Figure, and even the oddly-colored retool Transformers Movie 2 Voyager Iron Hide. But he's all the Ratchet you get until the third movie comes along, so love him or leave him. I do like the desaturated "desert" green better than than the brighter hues of previous versions of this toy- it just seems more "Michael Bay-like". And the dark grey plastic replacing the previous black for his "metal bits" is fine by me; it puts him in a transitional area, colorwise, between Optimus Prime on one side (light grey "metal"), Ironhide on the other (all black, in the original paint color).

Don't get me wrong, he's a fine toy. His transformation scheme is fairly simple, yet with lots of nice clicky bits as you snap things together. He's got some parts that are prone to falling off- the rear bumper of his truck mode tends to pop off the back of his knees if you bend them too much, and the H2-labeled undercarriage that covers his robot head in vehicle mode hangs awfully loose on mine. And of course, any detachable weapon- like his roof rack/grabber claw assembly- has good odds of getting lost. But even minus all of these, he's still a big chunky robot that turns into a big chunky truck. And for the robot-loving, toy-car-driving little kid in your life- or in your heart- what more could you want?

SOMEBODY CALL A DOCTOR!
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)