General Information: Images:
*Images and text in italics from The Official Transformers web site: Rush into battle with this vehicle-to-robot hero! This mighty SIDESWIPE figure changes from CORVETTE STINGRAY concept mode to battle-ready robot mode. Convert him back to vehicle mode so he can chase down his enemies and engage them in epic sword battles. As the fight rages on, keep converting him back and forth, so he’s ready to face whatever his enemies throw at him! Blaster converts to Cybertanium sword. Weapons work with any MECHTECH TRANSFORMERS figure! (Each sold separately.) Ages 5 and up.
Mech Tech Weapon: Sideswipe comes armed with a very heavy duty looking rifle/blaster. The weapon is fairly long and has a very boxy shape, with beveled layers of details that include vertical and horizintal line designs. On the top of the rifle is a targeting scope and the front has six small barrel ends. When you press the back of the rifle a sword blade swings out at the other end. The blade is really nicely sculpted and has Cybertronian glyphs sculpted into it. However, while the packaging shows the blade painted blue, the version I have is unpainted. The entire weapon is cast in dark grey and that's it. It's a cool weapon for sure, but I was a bit disappointed that the paint deco wasn't there.
Vehicle Mode: The convertible portion of the vehicle's design is perhaps the most changed detail in the vehicle. The rest matches up very nicely with the Corvette we're already familiar with. This includes the distinctive "L" shaped headlights, the grid shaped grille in the front and the very low and sharp looking lines of the vehicle from front to back. He also has an angled spoiler that looks similar, but not exactly the same as the spoiler from the previous iteration of the vehicle. Plenty of small details come into play on this vehicle as well. Inside the passenger area are two bucket seats sculpted with lines on the cushions. Look on the area across from the seats and you'll see a steering wheel. The front end of the vehicle has the trademark "checkered flag" logo used on Corvettes as well as air intake vents towards the front. Overall, the sculpt for this vehicle is very nicely done. Where this figure suffers, especially in this mode is the deco. Sideswipe is cast in light grey, black and translucent grey plastic. The light grey makes up most of the vehicle while the black is used for his seats and wheels. The windshield is made up of translucent grey plastic. Although it's mostly seen in his robot mode, you'll see some blue-grey plastic inside the passenger area on parts such as the steering wheel. The rear lights feature some translucent red plastic, which is one of the nicer touches on this figure. paint applications are relatively light. The checkered flag in front is painted red and white and the sides of the wheels are silver. His front grille is a good combination of black and silver, but that's it. The main problem here is that Sideswipe is meant to be a very radiant looking silver color. Indeed, in the "Revenge of the Fallen" toy line, that's what he was often painted as. Here however he just looks dull in light grey, as if this was the final phase for the vehicle before its metallic paint job was sprayed on. While I do enjoy the sculpt, I'm very disappointed in the lackluster deco in this mode. As part of the Mech Tech line, Sideswipe has the ability to connect Mech Tech weapons to his form in vehicle mode. The most obvious place is the hole near the spoiler on the top of the vehicle. Like most Mech Tech ports, this is cast in the same color as the rest of the area around it, giving the illusion that the hole is only there when weapons appear. On each door he has one as well, allowing you to arm Sideswipe to the teeth in this form! Transformation to Robot Mode:
Robot Mode: Sideswipe shows mostly grey plastic in this mode, but he also features more black and blue-grey pieces, especially around the shoulders, hands, forearms and most of the legs. Gunmetal grey is used for many small paint details including on his torso and thighs. A touch of light grey is used on the hip area to offer continuity with the light grey plastic. His eyes are painted blue, but a dark blue, not a light blue as most "Autobot eyes" are painted. I have the same problems with the robot mode deco as I did with the vehicle mode: it's dull. Without any extra paint applications other than a touch here and there and the light grey color dominating the figure, he's just nowhere near as visually exciting as his predecessors. Sideswipe has eighteen points of articulation in this form. This includes the ability of his door/sword weapons to swing out. Each leg has four points of articulation while each arm has five. With his large "heel" pieces, there is no problem standing the figure in this form. In terms of his "Mech Tech" functionality, you can connect two weapons to the door panels on his back and place a weapon into each of his hands. If you want to weigh his back down, you can flip down the panel with the spoiler on it on his back and attach an additional weapon.
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While the Cyberverse makes up a smaller scale of figures in the "Dark of the Moon" toy line, the size class most fans are used to returns with "Mech Tech" technology. The generaly concept behind "Mech Tech" are weapons that transform from one type of weapon to another. These have standard peg sizes that allow the weapons to be swapped between figures. One of the first figures in the deluxe class of Mech Tech Transformers is Sideswipe. The character gets a fair bit of screen time in the third "Transformers" film and he even gets a slightly updated vehicle form to boot!
