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Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Ironhide and Autobot Ratchet [Swapticons]

The Summer of Swapticons continues with probably the most obvious set: Ironhide and Ratchet!

Ironhide and Ratchet almost always share toy molds, so having a toy where the two combine to form an alt mode makes a lot of sense. Normally Ironhide becomes a red van while Ratchet becomes a white ambulance. As a Swapticons set, they both form a white ambulance because synergy is important when you're a team.

I've always been a little attached to Ratchet thanks to his starring role in the early issues of the Marvel Transformers comic. At the time those issues were on newsstands, I was staying at my Grandmother's house while my parents handled the arrangements for our relocation across states. I must have reread those issues a million times and, despite being a cartoon guy, I always think of comic Ratchet cooking hot dogs with his laser scalpel.

I wish I had a story about Ironhide... but I just enjoy him for him.

His southern drawl. Being a good old soldier boy. He's an enjoyable character who's been around since the beginning, but I don't really have something that endears him to me the way Ratchet does. With as many characters as Transformers has, I can't be attached to them all.

But I do like Ironhide.

How couldn't someone?

Admittedly, First Aid would have worked pretty well in Ironhide's place... but Ironhide is the obvious choice.

They're both your standard Swapticons: chonky, silly, with a tiny bit of articulation in the arms and impossible to hate. They're also not as flashy as some of the other Swapticons we've looked at during the Summer of Swapticons... and that's a good thing.

You need standard bearers, and these two are cornerstones of Transformers.

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