Sideswipe's vehicle mode is another one that's pretty accurate to the show model at Legion scale-- the back third or so is maybe SLIGHTLY larger proportionally than it should be, but that's a minor quibble. The back end has the robot knees fairly obvious in the middle, but otherwise there's no robot mode extras in this mode at all-- well, except for the robot feet on the roof. Though honestly, these wouldn't be obvious if they weren't painted differently from the rest of the car mode for no reason other than them being feet, so I'm not sure if they're quite "extras". They fit in pretty well with the surrounding parts, and don't add any "kibble" or the like. However, on a class of toys that typically gets shafted a bit when it comes to paint, I feel Hasbro could've ignored the minor "black feet" detail from the larger toys and moved those paint apps somewhere else...? After all, the only other paint apps in this mode are the metallic black on the windows and the light metallic silvery blue on the headlights. Otherwise it's all dark red-- it's an okay color scheme, but a bit dark overall. The mold detailing, as you'd expect from a toy from this line, is fairly minimal for the size, with only the "barebones" details on most of the toy and a couple of RID2015-typical "divots" on places like the rear windows and in front of the rear tires. All of this said, the front grill is quite well-done, with stylized angular headlights and bumper. The little spikes on the sides-- though artifacts from Sideswipe's robot mode-- also look cool, like they're little offensive weapons to help pop the tires of any enemies following him. The Autobot "scan sticker" is on the left door, which on this small of a toy is an obnoxious place to put it, as it kind of inteferes with the solid look of that door.
    Sideswipe's transformation is incredibly straightforward-- fold out the back to become the legs and feet, slide out and down the car doors to make the arms, and fold back the front section of the car behind the body. Voila, robot mode. Proportionally this mode is also quite good, EXCEPT for that big honkin' backpack of his front hood on the back. I mean, it doesn't even TRY to blend in by situating itself lower behind on the body-- it sticks out right behind and above his head and shoulders, and partially ruins what is otherwise a fairly sleek mode. The mold detailing is a bit more impressive in this mode, with the hands molded into the arms fairly well-- not merely being "2-D hands on the inside of doors", as is the case with many Legion-class toys. His feet are accurate, though he has no heels so he's not quite as sturdy as he otherwise would be. The faux car chest-- complete with painted faux headlights-- looks nice, as do the painted black "abs" and the headsculpt, which is molded to have Sideswipe's faceplate up (a rarity for his toys). Even his tiny eyes have little dots of blue, which is a nice touch. The color breakup is definitely better in this mode, what with the black plastic and metallic black paint more prominent, but a few extra paint apps-- perhaps on the lower legs-- would've still been appreciated. For articulation, Sideswipe can move at the shoulders (at two points), hips, knees, and slightly at the ankles-- above-average for a Legion class toy.
    Sideswipe may not exactly blow anyone's mind with his "been there, done that" transformation, but that doesn't mean he's a bad Legion class toy by any means. Indeed, his vehicle mode is pretty solid, albeit he could use a bit more paint (and having his toes painted makes them unnecessarily obvious in this mode). His robot mode is also quite accurate and well-proportioned, with the fairly large hood-backpack being the only real issue there. Recommended if you want a tiny version of this design.
 

Review by Beastbot

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