Sideways!

Yep, that's who he is. How big a part does he play in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen? I have no idea--I haven't caught it yet.

But I will tonight! From what I heard, though, Sideways doesn't feature too prominently. Not that I would object. Given the choice of seeing more of the major characters vs the lesser ones like ol' Sideways here, I'd rather see some big names getting the screen time.

Hey, as long as ther toys are cool, right? :)

Check it out!

So he's a scheming little one. What of his stats, you ask?

A little below average, no?

After a little calculation, the average of all his scores is 4.625/10.

Let's hope the figure doesn't end up with a similar rating ;)








Well check out his articulation:

Backpack wings: hinge joints

Head: ball-jointed

Shoulder wings: ball joints!

Shoulders: ball joints as well.

Biceps: swivels.

Elbows: hinges

No hand articulation--but the right hand has a rotating buzz-saw

Waist: swivel
Hips: ball joints
Knees & Ankles: hinges

So, yes! This guy is super poseasble--but it seems he suffers the same fate as all movie Transformers: they have extraordinarily tiny feet!

For the love of God, Michael Bay! Couldn't you have designed Transformers with bigger feet? Anyone could tell you that a huge ass machine needs large feet to balance its massive, bulky, and surely ultra-heavy metal body!

So despite being able to pose like the he's on America's Next Top Model, Sideways can't balance to save his servos from being eliminated by Tyra. No being On Top for him. Not at all.

Well, the other problem I had was with the hand articulation, or rather, the lack of it. They way the hands were screwed on, you'd think Hasbro coudld've at least given Sideways some thumb movement.

As it is, whatever pose you put him in makes him look like he's unsure about whether to clench or open his fist.

It just makes him look that much less cool.











Hey, but here are some cool poses:

























See? If you can actually get him to stand he's an awesome figure. I mean, Look at the detail of his head (click on 'em, go "ahead". Get it? ;P):













Yeah, he's sure got some sweet light piping. It's actually translucent in the back of his head, but his eyes glow pale red. Cool. :)



















And of course, let's not forget his vehicle mode:


























See the front grille on Sideways in the first pic? Well, it's the key to his transformation.











Hit it once:

HIs chest piece in robot mode flips up!







Hit it a second time:

His wheels fold in to form his spine. The 2 wheels on his elbows (pictured here below the real ones) are actually fake and don't appear in his car mode!



Here's how I rate RoTF Sideways:

Show accuracy: 9/10 - I've not seen the movie, but from the stills and the concept art/designs, it looks pretty close. But why oh why the small feet? Oh why oh why oh why...

Poseability: 8.5/10 - Come on with the small feet already! Don't you guys think about actually putting the toy down after playing with it, Hasbro? Not everyone's a little kid! Some of us do like to pose our toys and take photos of them all day (or night) :P

I'd say the only other problem I might have besides the feet and hands is the shoulders. They're ball jointed but the shoulders wings tend to get in the way. Good thing they gave the wings ball joints too. :) Oh and yay for the waist swivel--those are rare and really make TFs come alive when they have them. 0.5 points ust for that! :)

Aesthetic: 9/10 - Great look, better than I initially thought he would be, what with the plastic looking red torso. It's got so much detail but no paint. The face is also just so finely detailed, but unlike the torso, it's been painted and highlighted way more than you'd expect in a deluxe class figure. Just take Sideswipe--his face has no highlighted detail other than the light piping.

Overall: 8.83/10 - The only reason he doesn't make a 9 is really just his feet. Their not even a feet, they're like, toes. But I love the way Sideways transforms and I just love a sleek looking car with a nice looking robot mode. Him and Sideswipe are the beginning, and the end, of my RoTF collection. They are good enough for me to want to get 'em despite not liking Bayformers at all.

Oh and guess what? Sideways is looking to fit in with the rest of the Transformers after his stint in Hollywood. :)