Toy Review: Dark of the Moon Sideswipe

Links to pics:
Vehicle mode
Robot mode

Series - Dark of the Moon
Sub-line - ?
Size - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - ?
Released here - ?
Approximate Retail Price - $30
Approximate Size - 'bout the same size as ROTF Sideswipe
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Corvette Stingray convertible
Main Features/Gimmicks - Mech Tech
Main Colours - grey with black and silver highlights. Clear transparent headlights, red tail lights. Robot mode has cobalt blue accents (same colour as mech tech weapon)
Main Accessories - Looks like a 6-barrelled pump-action shottie with flip out blade (push on the rifle stock to flip out sword)

cbb typing a proper review - so just brief comments here.

* Colours aren't as nice as ROTF Deluxe Sideswipe. The toy mostly uses a plastic that's like a "silver" grey (i.e. it's really grey that that's trying to pass off as silver). Not as bad as Hasbro grey, but I can see how this might bug some people. It doesn't personally bother me, but I can forsee a lot of collectors repainting this toy silver themselves.

* Upper door panels on mine doesn't sit flush.

* Toy has an open roof and there are two reasonably detailed seats inside. Looks like a Diaclone pilot could sit there... I'll have to test this out when I get back to Australia.

* Whereas Skids had two MechTech ports on the roof, Sideswipe has three - one on top of the boot (in front of the spoiler) and one on either side of the car - allowing you to mount his Mech Tech Weapon either on top or on the side.

* The MechTech weapon is a big gun with a flip out blade. The blade has characters from the language of the Primes written on it which says, "Peerless Under Heaven" -- the same as the Japanese writing inscribed on Drift's sword. Okay, I made that up... I have no idea what the writing says. It could say "Chick-Chick-Boom" or "Property of Sunstreaker"... who knows.

* The transformation is fiddly as one might imagine for moofie Sideswipe - though not quite as fiddly nor satisfying as ROTF Sideswipe. The engineering in this toy isn't as complex as ROTF Sideswipe as some engineering may have scaled back to cater for the MechTech gimmick - but it's not bad either. There are some clever elements to it and the toy does offer some articulation which ROTF Sideswipe doesn't have.

* DOTM Sideswipe's arm blades consist of only a single panel which flips over, whereas ROTF Sideswipe's arm blades have two panels which both flip over and combine to form the blades. It still works well, but not quite as cool as ROTF Sideswipe's blades.

Overall ROTF Sideswipe is the better toy, but DOTM Sideswipe is still a reasonably decen figure in its own right. The engineering is relatively simpler, but not inelegant.

Recommended if you can get it cheap. Not sure if I'd pay full price for this toy.