Toy Review - Siege Sideswipe

[Tha_Phantom]

Sideswipe
Series – War For Cybertron
Sub-Line - Siege
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 1
Released here – ?? 2019?
Approximate Retail Price - $35
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode – Cybertronian sports car (based on Lamborghini Countach)
Main Features/Gimmicks – Hardpoints for fireblasts (not included). 5mm ports for additional weapons.
Main Colours – Red, white, black
Main Accessories – Shoulder/hand rocket launcher


In other reviews people have consistently said the plastic quality is better in this line than what we've been getting previously and now having Sideswipe in hand I see what they mean. He feels heavier than what you'd think, minimal hollowness, joints are super tight, a solid figure all 'round.
Transformation is not too basic, but still intuitive. Both robot and vehicle modes look great with loads of detail, aside from the battle damage paint apps (but I'll be removing those on my one).
He also has no annoying kibble to speak of. His back is nice and flat, and there are no hinged bits hanging off the arms or legs.
In keeping with the war theme of the line, he has plenty of ports to attach weapons and don't forget you can attach 5mm post weapons from many previous Transformer lines.


Comparing him to Combiner Wars Sunstreaker you can see that HasTak have made a much better attempt at a not-Countach vehicle mode.

Stick him between G1 and MP Sideswipe and he is clearly an excellent CHUG scale representation of the character.

For a deluxe I'd give it a 9/10.

[GoktimusPrime]

For some reason my images aren't showing up in the review.

You need to use the bulletin board embed codes instead of the direct image links.

[Tha_Phantom]

You need to use the bulletin board embed codes instead of the direct image links.

Cheers Gok! Got it sorted.

[tinyJazz]

Can this sideswipe swap heads with the universe/henkei deluxe?

[Tha_Phantom]

Can this sideswipe swap heads with the universe/henkei deluxe?

Sorry, I don't know the answer to that as I don't own that figure. I'm sure Goktimus does and maybe he will let me try out the swap when I see him next.

[GoktimusPrime]

Thanks to Tha_Phantom for lending me his 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.