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TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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Transformers Toy Review Archive (older series, 1984 to date)
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Galvatron91's review of: Sideswipe

Faction: Autobot
Function: Warrior
Generation: One
Sub-Group: N/a
"I don't break rules I bend them - a lot"

"Sideswipe is nearly the equal of his twin brother, Sunstreaker, in the combat arts, but less cold-blooded. Relishes a fight to the finish with an opponent. Uses underhanded tactics when absolutely neccessary. Arms act as powerful pile drivers. Flies for up to 2 minutes with rocket backpack. Fires flares visible for 18 miles. Rash actions often lead to injuries to himself. Takes them all in his stride"

Alternate Mode: A red Lamborghini Countach with no engine visible (Sunstreaker's engine is rear-mounted and pokes high above the back of the car. I've seen the exact same car molded in non-TF format in gift shops. Bears the same black sunroof and door markings as Sunstreaker, and a plastic spoiler mounted on glued pegs at the rear of the car. His hood is a little thicker and wider than his twin's. Nice treaded rubber tires. In general, the more realistic-looking Countach of the pair. The only real giveaway of his TF nature in the car mode (assuming you're not inspecting the bottom of the car) is that his face is somewhat visible through the front window, but it's not super-noticeable.

Robot Mode: Transformation is simple; pull the rear of the car back to form his legs, flip the small feet out of the legs, pull the arms out of the sides of the car, flip down the hood and rotate his head out of the driver space. Not much referring back to the owner's manual there.
Sideswipe's most noted feature is his chest, which is formed by the hood of the Lamborghini, pointing downwards. This gives him a brawny appearance and helps offset the scrawny look of his arms. Those arms can be rotated up to bend them at the elbow, but have long "sheaths" left behind at the forearm level. His legs are thick and joined together near the base, and the square rear of the car makes him easy to stand. A little short, but very compact in appearance, with few of the glaring "spindly" weak points that some G1 robots exhibit. The car's roof forms his back, which gives him a slightly backpacked appearance.

Transformation:7 - Every part of the car is used - his rifle and shoulder-mounted missile launcher are the only loose pieces. The transformation itself is easily learned, with only a few steps.
Durability: 7 -The spoiler can break off, but I don't see very many instances of that since its pretty low mounted on the rear of the car. The most common damage incurred I've seen has been where the side door panels break off of the arms from too many drops on a hard floor in robot mode. His shoulder joints are a wee bit thin.
Fun: 6.5 - Sideswipe looks like a "fire support" robot, who fills out the forces nicely but wouldn't take off as a singular toy. Like fellow Autobot Wheeljack, he makes for a great weapon toter, and his quick transformation offers some possibilities.
Price:7 - You'll pick Sideswipe up for an average G1-1 price. I paid about $60 for mine, making him one of the lower-priced cars I've purchased.
Overall: 6 - Pretty damn cool if you've got first-series nostalgia, and his look and transformation is still more interesting and easy on the eyes than a lot of later TFs.
 
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