Hasbro is continuing their line of Transformers G1 inspired figures, which consists of both well known and obscure characters that have not been offered since the 1980’s. One of these figures are Ironworks, which was originally offered in 1989. Ironworks is part of the first wave of deluxe class figures, and he can transform into a construction base with crane or a communications tower, both are based on the original Micromaster station from 1989. Interestingly enough, the ’89 figure did not have a robot mode, as he was considered to be a play set and not a transformable robot.
Ironworks also has a A.I.R. (Adaptable Interconnection Retrofitter) Lock System, which is a type of modular platforms, ramps, and more that can be connected together to form bases and battle scenes. His parts can also be used to augment other figures as armor and add-on weapons, similar to the Weaponizers of the prior Siege toyline.
Thank you to Entertainment Earth for sending along Hasbro’s Transformers War for Cybertron: Earthrise Ironworks Figure for review.
Availability: January 2020
Ironworks is packaged in the standard deluxe packaging used for modern Transformers toys of today, with nicely done artwork on the sides, and images of the figure on the back. The Earthrise figures also have a clip-and-save piece of a larger star map on the packaging, and a thin red piece of transparent plastic with which to read the star map. Ironworks’ piece of the map contains the labeled location of the planet “VELOCITRON”.
Ironworks robot mode is a brand new take on the character considering that the original 1989 figure did not have a robot mode. In robot mode, his head sculpt has a classic design elements to it, including the ears and a thin crest on the helmet section, or visor eyes, and a mouth plate on the face. The body itself retains the blocky-like appearance that many Generation One Transformers toys had. His right arm has the hook, and the left hand has the traditional hand for Transformers figures. He is also a Autobot, and he has the symbol on the upper left side of his chest. There is a lot of great sculpted details on this figure,
He has black, silver, grey and metallic brown plastic, and some parts are painted in yellow, silver and red. The silver, grey and yellow colors are inspired by his Generation One figure from 1989.
In Base Mode, Ironworks takes some design cues from his Generation One counterpart, and has a flat base for smaller vehicles to roll on. On one corner is a raised platform with a crane arm on top, and this new take on the figure does not have the Earth-like design elements that the Generation One version had, and looks like alien than it does a human-made machine with a base. Even the ramp looks alien, which is fine, but at the same time it separates itself from the ’89 offering. The crane arm is where you have the 5mm ports to plug in additional accessories or blast effects.
The Tower Mode pays homage to the to the Communications Tower Mode of Generation One Ironworks’ base, and is not shown in the instruction sheet, and was intended as a hidden extra for those of you that are familiar with the Generation One figure. This features the two most distinctive aspects of that tower mode, including the fact that the crane arm becomes a cannon with the blaster plugging into it (as opposed to a missile from the Generation One figure. The top of the tower has this “balcony” like platform, and this part of the tower lacks the windmill communications dish seen on the Generation One Ironworks base, but it just so happens that there is a peg sticking out the side that may have been intended to attach a dish of some kind.
The final mode is the Armor Mode, which allows Ironworks parts to be used with other deluxe figures such as Wheeljack. Some of these parts work better than others, and might not work for each figure, but since Wheeljack was shown in the instructions, it was a safe bet that Wheeljack would work with all of these parts. This mode gives a character additional armor to wear into battle, including weaponry such as the crane and blaster as shown.
Overall, Ironworks is an excellent figure with a lot of Generation One homages. The sculpt has some great attention to detail, and what is great as far a new release is that this is the first-time you see Ironworks in robot mode, which is something that Transformers fans should be thrilled about. Make sure to pick up Ironworks now as well as other Earthrise offerings. This is a great line and Hasbro’s team is doing a great job on these.
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