Yeah, I’d have preferred them painting the wheel wells black instead of wasting the paint budget on weathering.

 

I doubt the choice was “well we could paint the inside where the tire connects or give the figure weathering”. That area is little to never painted especially since it could hinder how freely the wheels spin. If it’s that big of deal get it and take a sharpie to it. Wheels just pop off anyway.

 

Oh man, if the entire vehicle is painted (like on some MPs), the paint on the hinges is gonna rub off real quick. You can see it already in these pics.

He's near-perfect, I really wish they would have just painted the black trim over the front wheels. That's the most glaring paint omission.

 

Now THAT’S my Ratchet! It sadly took 3 too many years but he’s here now and that’s good enough for me.

 

Remember when the Studio Series line was supposed to be THE definitive and most accurate figures when they started?

 

It would have been cool if he came with saw and gun instead of only the saw

 

I still definitely think that it is that, but like all Transformers toylines it's just suffering in the paint apps department, and movie designs tend to require a bit more paint than G1-style figures to bring out the detail, so the lack of paint stands out more.

The sculpted detail in Studio Series is still far and away the best we've ever gotten for these designs, and when you have a proper paint job to match it, you truly get some mini-Masterpiece type figures, like Grimlock, Jetfire, Shockwave... etc.

 

Coulda done without the scuff looking paint on the shins/feet. It looks odd, especially when the rest of his bot mode is clean.

 

they kinda still are. 6 figures in a Japanese exclusive line from a line of 77+ doesn’t make it obsolete. I still think SS ratchet is really good as with most of the figures from it. Much like 3P add ons it’s always easy to take something released years previous and either add more paint or add something to it then creating something from the start but let’s not forget that these figures is nearly twice the price of the originals and not a wide release for just extra paint apps.

the fandom loses their shit over a couple dollars increase. Would you really want this level of paint on wide release while also being $35-$40 per deluxe?

 

Guess I\'m keeping my 2007 voyager. 

 

not a bad toy at all

 

Well that just got me to cancel a bunch of these premium finish figures that I was on the fence about. I was pre-ordering them all out of the compulsion for completionism but that chipped paint on the vehicle mode is a deal breaker for me on ratchet and if I'm not going to be buying all of them, I'm probably only going to be buying one or two of them.

 

definitive and most accurate*

*except for about half the paint apps, the giant kibble backpacks and the even more definitive ones we'll charge a premium premium for later on. does not include characters we couldn't bother to finalize the design of before selli--- DELIVERING the product to you. you're welcome loyal fans!

 

I'm not 100% in this case until someone gets it in hand, but keep in mind that a lot of these early in hand examples are hand painted prototypes and the paint chips very easily. I would be very surprised if it chips like that for the production versions. I have zero interest in these figures, I just wanted to keep others informed. I guess wait for reviews to see for sure.

 

I feel a like they were trying a little harder back in the early days. But they've always needed more paint. I've had a lot of fun painting these guys.

This line is definitive simply because it comes closer to being complete at something resembling one scale and aesthetic than any other movie line. Previously they kept changing the size from movie to movie and the sculpts just varied too much.

Honestly more than half these guys are in a bin and will probably never be displayed again (especially the ones that have gotten MPM or 3P mom treatment), but I keep buying because this really is the definitive movie line just because it's so much more encompassing. It does help that I have fun painting them!

Edit: There are a number of figures where I feel older versions from other movies or 3P versions are actually superior.

 

I'll second this.
And though I'm not a fan of that eye-searing green (if those photos are truly representative and not just the result of bright photography lighting, which wouldn't apply under ordinary circumstances), this is still worth a purchase for me thanks to everything else it brings to the table. All the silver detail really goes a long way, especially compared to the washed-out original release.

 

They still are. The PFs don't negate Studio anymore than MPs do.

And they were never billed as "the definitive and most accurate..." that's what fans labeled them. Which isn't true. They're still subject to all the same limits as your typical retail figure.

 

No toy will ever be The Final Ever. Tech, materials, engineering and budgets can always change. At best a toy can be "the most accurate yet". Even G1 Optimus Prime has gotten 3 Masterpieces, and I bet you that a Convoy 4.0 will happen before 2030. Ultimately, you were never going to get perfection at $20USD. And hey, PF is NOT $20, so it's not supplanting SS's place.