TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
STR
INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

Wildfires review - Sideswipe

Generation: Sideswipe
First cartoon appearance: Past pt 1
"With aggresive precision I will speed to victory"

Vehicle Mode: Sideswipe’s vehicle mode is a car….sorry guys, cars aren’t my specialty so I can’t tell you the type of car he is. He’s mainly dark blue with silver front and rear bumpers, metallic flake red and pale yellow head and tail lights, a silver decal that reads “Transformers” on the top of his windshield, and translucent orange windows. There are two small Autobot symbols on either side of his hood and a large one in the middle. Sideswipe has no Powerlinx points readily apparent on his vehicle mode, but he has a couple tricks up his sleeve. By pushing the small orange button on his rear bumper, you can reveal a small platform with a Powerlinx point on it. This is meant for Nightbeat, his Minicon. Place Nightbeat on this panel and flip it back around and he can store the Minicon without a hint of him being there. Sideswipe can also assume the dragster mode we saw in the cartoon. Flip Nightbeat out and press down on the large Autobot symbol on Sideswipe’s hood to extend it forward.

Robot Mode: From dragster mode, remove Nightbeat and set him aside. Push down a little on the panel in front of Sideswipe’s windshield and then pull the two door sections out and fold them back, Sideswipe’s robot chest section may swing down on it’s own at this point, if it does simply click it into place. Push forward on his head to slide it forward a bit, separate the arm sections and push them out to the sides (pushing the spring loaded blue sections back until they click back into place) and push the panel with the large Autobot symbol down to form the chest. Pull the rear car sections apart and fold them down, finally, pull the black foot sections near the rear bumper down. Remove the dagger and pistol weapons from the insides of the door sections and place them in hands, or attach the dagger to the pistol to form a bayonet. Sideswipe reveals more light orange in his arms, silver on his chest and head, blue for his visor and black on his head crest. Sideswipe is kind of lagging in robot mode. Sideswipe has about ten points of articulation in robot mode, but his legs don’t really count and he can’t really hold a bend at his elbows. His biggest problem is the kibble. Sideswipe has the standard Armada Autobot “half a car for hands” syndrome, but he also suffers from car doors hanging off his legs, and Nightbeat’s storage panel hanging between his legs. He has four Powerlinx points in this mode, the one Nightbeat’s panel, two on his shins (of all places) and the only gimmicked one on his back. Attaching a Minicon to Sideswipe’s back and pushing down on it cause him to shake his fist in anger. Well, that’s what it looks like anyways, Hasbro claims it’s a power punch or some nonsense.

Minicon: Sideswipe’s Minicon is Nightbeat. Hoo boy, these two must have been first in line the day they were passing out ugly. Nightbeat is a motorcycle. His main body is silver, his headlight is metallic red, his exhaust pipes and underbody are yellow and his tires and front axle are black. To transform him, push down on his exhaust pipes to form his robot legs, pull out and down on his rear wheel, pull up on his handlebars and turn the whole bike body sideways. Alright, no need to describe too much here, he’s a freaky little cyclops with wheels for hands and stick legs. He can raise and lower his arms, kick his legs and look up and down. He looks cool in vehicle mode, but like Sideswipe, sucks in Robot Mode. My advice is too keep both in vehicle mode.

Transformation: Easy except for the whole popping out his hood before transforming him thing.
Durability: 9 – Surprisingly stable, but his gun tends to pop off in car mode no matter what you do.
Fun: 4 – My lowest rating yet. This guy just…he does nothing in robot mode, I like his car mode gimmicks but it’s obvious he was designed around them and not much thought was given to his robot mode.
Price:8 - $9.99 American.
Overall: 5 – Not really worth your money unless you’re a completist (like me, d’oh!) I can’t really recommend him in good conscience.