I remember when everyone was complaining that this guy wasn’t Ratchet.

I’ve been around long enough to remember discourse and arguments about Animated, a show that’s almost 20 years old. One sticking point a lot of people had was that Ratchet wasn’t Ratchet, he was Kup in Ratchet’s skin.

Hard to believe it but back in the day, Ratchet being an old, grizzled veteran was new and controversial. I didn’t mind it back in the day and almost everyone likes Ratchet’s old man characterisation now.

Well, after years of just missing out on finding Animated Deluxe Ratchet, I finally have him! And now I’m going to review him!

Vehicle mode

Ratchet is a cute little cartoony ambulance… which is hilarious because he’s a grumpy old man. Seriously, this is one of the cutest alt modes ever on a Transformer.

Ratchet seems weirdly plain at first but all of his details like his headlights, windows and taillights are picked out with paint. I guess ambulances are just supposed to look plain?

For playability, Ratchet can roll on all four of his wheels. I was expecting an action feature or something but nope. You can’t even store Ratchet’s accessories in ambulance mode.

Transformation

Pretty much every Animated figure I’ve gotten so far has had a really cool transformation and Ratchet here is no exception. It’s simple and straightforward but the fact that it’s so easy to go between one clean, show-accurate mode to another is mind-blowing.

Also, I always love a spring-loaded head reveal.

Robot mode

I am always impressed by how show accurate all the Animated figures are and Ratchet here is probably on the upper-end when it comes to show accuracy in terms of molding and paint. Seriously, it’s nuts.

I really like Ratchet’s head-sculpt because that broken headpiece and his facial expression just scream that he’s tired.

Ratchet is actually pretty spry for an old coot and a figure from 2008. The only problem is that he’s a bit tricky to balance since he’s top heavy. Not surprising, look at his gut.

• His head can rotate from side to side.
• His arms can rotate as well as go in and out at the shoulders.
• He has bicep swivels.
• He can bend at the elbows.
• His fingers and thumb are hinged to open.
• His legs rotate as well as go in and out from the body.
• He has thigh swivels.
• He can bend at the knees.
• His feet can point down.

Gimmicks

Ratchet actually has a bunch which is impressive for a Deluxe and he’s an outlier even among the Animated figures for how much play value he has.

First things first, he comes with his signature arm-mounted magnets that he always uses in the show…kinda. He has half of each of them since they’re supposed to be dual-side which I’m guessing is a compromise to make them spring-loaded. They’re fun but I wish they were accurate, removable accessories instead.

Which definitely could’ve been done because he comes with like four interchangeable and removable tools. He comes with a hammer, a flathead screwdriver, a wrench and a… can opener? They all snap-on into the inside of his wrists or store inside his back kibble.

My favourite is the can opener but the hammer is cool too.

Lastly, his left arm has a port that’s compatible with Animated Lockdown’s engine. This feature’s really neat because Lockdown stole the thing from Ratchet in the show.

Wow, this section got really long.

Toy or collectible?

Ratchet here is firmly a collectible because of how hard he is to get.

He’s actually pretty simple despite how cleverly engineered he is and he’s a ton of fun… but he’s so rare, I’d feel bad giving him to a kid.

Ratchet is rare but surprisingly affordable unless you’re trying to get him MISB. You can find him loose and complete for about RM120 ($30) if you’re lucky enough to find him in the first place. If you want him new, MISB… get ready to fork over two to three times his loose price.

Closing

I came into this knowing I’d love Ratchet just because I know I love everything from Animated… but Ratchet is objectively great. His ambulance mode is adorable while his robot mode is full of personality and play value.

He’s aged very well for a figure that came out in 2008 which is funny in a cosmic sort of way. The old man that was way past his prime from the beginning aged the best of the lot.