With Missing Link Ironhide having just been fully unveiled, there's a lot to talk about. Perhaps more than any other release in the TakaraTomy line, this one has defied fan expectations and delivered something that no one could have predicted by entirely reimagining the classic toy from the ground up. The result feels in the spirit of a vintage design, but much more in the style of the character's fictional portrayals from over the years. But what did we make of it all?

On the one hand, it's not hard to see where the inspiration has come from. The original toy was a real hand-me-down oddity from Diaclone, featuring unusual proportions, a separating 'sled' module and, most infamously of all, a very non-traditional stickered seat face set behind its windshield. People have been imagining a suitable 'upgrade' of it ever since the childhood playgrounds of the 1980s, with plenty of custom efforts and add-on kits made available over the years. In that sense, Missing Link Ironhide feels like the culmination of decades of fan desire.

However, there's also no doubt that some collectors had a firm idea of what Missing Link was all about — rightly or wrongly — and were hoping for something a little more faithful in terms of overhauling the original, causing palpable disappointment upon reveal. Are those expectations fair, though? And do they sit in line with the core brief of what Missing Link is supposed to be about? We explore whether the line was ever really about pure vintage accuracy, or if it's always been about something more interpretive.

This episode was recorded just prior to the subsequent reveal of Missing Link Ratchet, but still, there's plenty of relevant speculation and in-depth discussion about how this latest effort has landed, whether we're excited for it, and just what it might mean for the future of the line.

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