RotF Human Alliance Sideswipe Review
After kurdt gave us his great in-depth review of Human Alliance Bumblebee, I thought I'd do the same for Human Alliance Sideswipe. While Bumblebee was such a huge improvement over the deluxe and perhaps the best movie Bumblebee to get. Will Human Alliance Sideswipe be the same or you thinking of just sticking with the deluxe version? Hope to shed some light on the figure. Please be warned I will not be reviewing the Sgt. Epps figure that comes with Sideswipe.
Also with bulb lighting and consumer level camera my pictures aren't the best. There's a link to some better quality pics here:
http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=5214
ALT MODE: Corvette Stingray Concept
The alt mode is just gorgeous. The same matte silver used for the deluxe version makes this alt mode just look sleek and "premium", unlike Human Alliance Bumblebee's disappointing bright orange plastic used. The headlights and windows are all clear dark blue plastic, the brake lights are clear red plastic and some clear plastic used for the 4 exhaust/mufflers (?) in the rear. The alt mode is convincing with seams in the "realistic" places. The side-mirrors is actual hard plastic and is actually quite stiff and sturdy so it shouldn't break easily unless you place extreme pressure on it. The doors open upwards in a "scissor" style. The wheels are plastic but has painted rims and red brake calipers. The Corvette logo on the bonnet, as tiny as it is, is painted as accurately as its size can allow.
Some downsides to the alt mode is the visible robot kibble up the lower back end and the robot kibble underneath can often be lower than the wheels if conversion isn't exact. This leads to not being able to roll the car due to the robot kibble underneath touching the ground. With that in mind the robot kibble paint may get scratched on harsh surfaces like concrete. There's no number plates at all, despite having the space on the rear. Although that may be a good thing if you want a clean minimal design. The interior is nowhere near the quality of Alternators/Binaltechs and while HA Bumblebee had a decent one, there's way too much kibble inside to make it believable.
When compared with the deluxe version the Human Alliance version wins due to having less seams for a more believable alt mode. Of course the bonus of having working scissor doors and seats and steering wheel. Also the paint apps in the front grille and logo is a big plus. The deluxe version wins in the free rolling department though due to the Human Alliance version having the kibble drag underneath. Overall the Human Alliance version is just plain sexy in alt mode. For a display piece, it's perfect.
CONVERSION
Transformation is similar to the deluxe version with a few extra hinges here and there. I won't spoil much of the conversion and will highlight a few noticeable points. The shoulder conversion includes springs to protect it from breaking when pulling out the arms. Speaking of which pulling out the arm or putting it back in requires some grazing of the rear wheel panel and other robot parts but the paint job have remained safe from the play I've had. There's a tab just on the inside of the rear wheel panel for the shoulders to sit still onto in both modes. There's a strut underneath the door sitting parallel with the ground that looks attached permanently but is actually pegged on the front, best to remember to unplug the peg during conversion. The rear bonnet, windshield and roof spins as one piece 180 degrees and is quite tight. On the same scare factor of "am I gonna break it, am I doing this right" as Leader Primes chest sliding tab. But once you know how far you can tilt it, it will feel safer in future conversions. Also the rear muffler part sits on the front bonnet so there's some fear of paint scratches. There's two small "wings" for his waist that is hard to spot, so be sure to fold then in/out accordingly. The feet can be left circular or you can flip the bottom half of the inside plate to act as spurs for standing. Another annoyance is the head sculpt seems to be just slightly larger than the hole it is to pop out of so there's some grazing when positioning it in and out.
There's nothing too difficult with the conversion and mimics the deluxe version for the most part with a few extra folds and hinges and bells & whistles. It's not difficult like most Leaders or Alternators and easy to remember.
BOT MODE:
To start off, the bot mode isn't as short and stout as previous pictures have shown. I believe some of them were mistransformed and they failed to extend the legs out. This version is as slender and tall as the deluxe version. The silver matte paint is applied over the entire bot mode, so almost (there's some just above the wheel on his feet) no Hasbro grey here. His head sculpt is fantastic with great paint apps and light piping. It has the same rubber connections on his crotch to his legs as the deluxe. There's working pistons on the calves. He has shoulder mounted double barrel lasers and a larger spring loaded canon + missile on his left shoulder. The Sgt. Epps figure can be seated just behind the twin lasers using the same seats from alt mode. His hands are a little tiny and his swords are made of rubbery plastic for the safety factor. There's a gimmick with the hands/sword where if you push it towards the wheels enables his hand and blades to spin like an egg beater by turning the wheel s on his forearm. Nice but a strangely hilarious gimmick.
With that out of the way, sadly there is a fair few flaws with the bot mode. The main one is the HUGE backpack where the majority of the alt mode sits. Yes siree, this is a shellformer much like Animated Wreck-Gar. Complete with shell kibble as the convenient "backpack". Unlike the deluxe version where the front windshield sits flush on his back while the doors become moveable "wings" ala the movie. Instead, I'm guessing to accommodate for the working doors in alt mode" they just sit there with minimal movement and a fair distance from the back too. Then you have the rest of the car panels folded over each other making a right mess at the back. Then the struts that dangle down as well. His forearms is hollow to accommodate for the conversion but is just too large not to notice. The tiny hands doesn't help the look neither. His torso (fake kibble!) is also very thin and throws off his look when exposed on the side. The pistons on his calves are nice but due to conversion means that it can come off the hole it is in, luckily this isn't a huge issue as its easy to put back in.
Articulation. The head is on a ball joint, although vertical tilting is at a smaller angle. His arms have all the articulation you could want. Shoulder rotation and outward hinged. Forearms also rotatable and hinged and the hands have wrist rotation and fingers and thumb pin hinges. Sadly the swords stay out like that. There is no waist rotation. Leg articulation is very minimal. It hinges outwards from the waist and tilts forwards and back a little only as the rubber connectors obstructs it from bending forward much. There is also slightangle rotation on the thighand no knee articulation. There is knee articulation but having it anywhere outside neutral position will tip the figure backwards due to the ridiculous weight of the backpack kibble. No ankle articulation neither outside the spurs, which unfortunately folds upwards instead of downwards. Couple that with the large backpack, balancing is an issue. The pose I have on my pic is the best I can get my figure to pose...
Overall the robot mode from the front is accurate, but once you see it's giant mess of a backpack, you look back at the perfect deluxe bot mode and just think what went wrong. I guess it's to accommodate the lack of seams and alt mode working doors and interior. Compromises had to be made by the engineers. Like HA Bumblebee's tyres being inside his legs.
CONCLUSION:
I'd still recommend the figure for fans of the character and alt mode or completist. Especially the alt mode fans. Also just having figures at this size and detail is a rare treat nowadays. Just be aware of the robot mode problems (balancing, articulation, backpack) and perhaps settle for the deluxe version if that really irks. As a display piece though, this is one nice figure.
Personally, I was disappointed since I thought a larger version of the character would make for an awesome sideswipe after the nigh on beauty that is the deluxe version. My flame was doused rather quickly but embers still burn for this figure.
Where is my Legends version! ARGH!
Reply With Quote
