Toy Review - Siege Sideswipe

[BigTransformerTrev]

I thought he'd look worse than the previous CHUG Sideswipe in robot mode but looking at the comparison pics I think he actually looks better. A pleasant surprise

The only thing is the size, you can really see how the classes of figures have shrunk over the years eh!

[Tha_Phantom]

I thought he'd look worse than the previous CHUG Sideswipe in robot mode but looking at the comparison pics I think he actually looks better. A pleasant surprise

The only thing is the size, you can really see how the classes of figures have shrunk over the years eh!

I agree, it's a much cleaner look in bot mode than previous attempts. Almost a shrunken down MP... Almost.

Yeah its a shame that when you put him next to CHUG scale figures from recent years he is noticeably shorter. On its own it is a fine toy, but may not work for some collector's displays.

[Autocon]

Stand him on box trick

[GoktimusPrime]

I agree, it's a much cleaner look in bot mode than previous attempts.

Yeah, but Henkei Lambor has a cleaner looking vehicle mode with fewer seam lines. It's because Siege Sideswipe's door panels fold up into the back whereas Henkei Lambor's doors sit on the arms (which is more G1 toy-accurate). Henkei Lambor also has a nicer looking rear end in vehicle mode where the legs are covered up, whereas Siege Sideswipe's knees are exposed -- but of course, Siege Sideswipe doesn't have to contend with those rear panels which become the knee pads on Henkei Lambor. And Henkei has a bit more paint ops, particularly on the vehicle tail, chrome spoiler and yellow indicators. The clear headlights are also a neat touch.

It's weird... Henkei Lambor is a more realistically detailed generic sports car, whereas Siege Sideswipe is a less realistically detailed car that looks more like a Lamborghini Countach. Obviously because Hasbro has the Lamborghini licence now so they don't need to skirt around the vehicle likeness as they did with Universe/Henkei. I'm not a fan of the try-hard battle damage on Sideswipe, but it should be removable with rubbing alcohol.

I do agree that Siege Sideswipe does certainly feel like a Poor Man's MP Lambor, which I mean as a compliment to the toy. Barring making the vehicle a more realistic Lamborghini Countach (but I understand that this is meant to be his Cybertronian mode, hence why I included Fall of Cybertron Sideswipe in the comparison pics ), this is about as close as you can get to an MP Sideswipe figure at the Deluxe price point. I don't particularly feel that either Henkei or Siege is better or worse than the other - both figures have their strengths and drawbacks which offset each other. Both are very nice Deluxe Class Sideswipes. I don't feel the need to get a Siege Sideswipe because I think that my Henkei is still just fine, but if you don't already have Universe/Henkei Sideswipe, then go ahead and get the Siege figure. It's a real treat.

[reillyd]

I love the transformation, but his weapons SUCK. The missile should be white. Shapeways to the rescue?

[GoktimusPrime]

The missile should be white.

If I were Hasbro right now, I'd release a Red Alert repaint later with a white missile. <evil.laff> Or you could just paint it white yourself.

I prefer the look of Siege Sideswipe's weapon for the G1 accuracy and versatility in being able to split into 2 weapons, but I prefer how Henkei Lambor's gun is incorporated into the vehicle mode and becomes the exhaust pipes. Siege Sideswipe's weapons just attach to the vehicle mode, which I understand works for the whole "War for Cybertron" theme that they're going for, but I personally prefer the "robots in disguise" motif.

[Paulbot]

Seeing it in person I was a little disappointed by the creamy plastic colour to what I expected to be white. Looks good otherwise.

[SharkyMcShark]

This is a great little figure. I purchased it on a whim and these are my thoughts.

- Vehicle mode is well sculpted. It's like the lovechild of a Countach and K's car from Blade Runner 2049. I always love to see painted headlights and hubcaps, but I would like to have seen the tail lights picked out and the black paint on the doors handled better. These apps sort of bleed into the black plastic window. Is there a trick to getting the legs to lock in to the front half of the vehicle so they don't keep rising slightly?

- Transformation is intuitive. It's a small scale version of MP-12, which is great to see. A touch I particularly like is the tail bumper folding into the back of the knees so you get a deep knee bend unblocked by kibble.

- Robot mode is a highlight. It is proportionally strong, posable, and stable. Something I love about this figure is the way that all the car parts get sucked back into a very slim sleek robot mode. Sometimes I find figures that use ye olde car hood becomes chest transformation end up with a bloated chest that the robot arms can barely reach beyond. None of that here! The forearms are hollow, but it's not as bad as it first looked. They're largely filled in as the hands don't need to fold all the way in for vehicle mode, so it gets a pass for that from me.

- Excellent QC. Everything is at the precise perfect level of tightness.

- It's kind of small. I don't really care. It's a dense figure that is not simple by any means.

A pleasant surprise. The only reason I picked this up was because Hound wasn't available at my local Toyworld, and I am glad that I did.