I was fooling around with RotF Deluxe Sideswipe when I made a shocking discovery! I've had him for almost a year. Until now, I have always transformed him by the instructions:



According to the instructions, the panels on his back are supposed to be positioned like this:



However, you can give him a different look by rotating them around like this:



It's tricky to do, but this way they fold neatly against his back and it makes him less back-heavy.



This makes him 100 times better! Surely I'm not the first person to figure this out?

 

Awesome!!!!!

 

This has been known about for a while...

 

you want to fix that mold? make his head horns not easily broken off

i swear, i got both hasbro releases of sideswipe of that mold from ROTF and BOTH have either a break or stress marks on that part of the toy

hell even my sidearm sideswipe has a stressmark on his horn, seriously hasbro, quit engineering your sideswipes to easily break there

 

Really? My bad. I'm just amazed that Hasbro actually mis-transformed their own toy.  

EDIT: Okay, technically it's not a mis-transformation. The instructions are correct - this is just an alternate configuration.

 

Well, its the company's policy.  

 

I have one of every sideswipe repain and have never has that problem

 

i prefer them out cuz it gives him the wing look [which is accurate]

the way they're designed, you could put them in all kinds of configurations. this is just a fan transformation that i does not like

therefore, improvement = fail

xD

 

To be honest, I first saw this in a Peaugh review.

 

So then... the instructions are technically correct? Oh well. I still like this configuration better.  

Wow. I've really stepped in it this time, haven't I?  

 

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8793/transformersrevengefallv.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/3428981244_22c7701180.jpg

http://media02.hongkiat.com/transformers-the-movie-artworks/sideswipe.jpg

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/_...s/images/4/4d/Rotf-sideswipe-game-g1color.jpg

*shrug*  

 

It's still neat if you discovered it on your own, so congrats.

I knew about this but kinda prefer the traditional configuration... or honestly, keep him in car mode and marvel at Sidearm Sideswipe instead.

 

1) I prefer the way it is in the Instructions as it has the wheel arches over his shoulders bringing the panels forwards, but he does have sticky up wings as CGI so it's not wrong for them to stick up.
However I might use that alternative method on Swerve just to make him a little different.

2) I've never had any problem with any of my sideswipe's ears/antenee.

3) I do tend to transform Version one 2009 Sideswipe's feet backwards compared to the instructions as with the door / side panel stubs forming blades they look quite similar to the foot supports on HA & DOTM & Sidearm Sideswipe and he's less likely to fall over with his feet backwards.

 

Don't worry, Ratchets Hatch, always good to get it out there. I didn't know about this and fully intend to try it out on ROTF Swerve.

I think if you check the Cool Hidden Features thread, there's a bundle of alternative kibble arrangements that augment and improve toys in ways Hasbro probably intended but didn't feel like following through on.

 

Wow, i really liked that arrangement. It also looks like a mini jet-pack.

 

Um... technically speaking what the instructions say is the correct way, anything else is just fan preference. Personally I don't see how that really changes anything.

(Pulls Sideswipe off dresser)

Yeah see because your way he's just as bulky from the side view and more bulky from the front view. Not to mention he doesn't have his proper spikes sticking out of his back because you have them in the bottom instead of the top.

His front grill isn't meant to be on the top because that's actually suppose to be his doors creating the spikes but they're being used to make his swords. You can't really tell from the front that it's actually his hood unless you put them upside down like you did.

 

Neat fan Transformation. I like it. I'll definitely use it for more movie accurate displays. I have mostly just let the vent detail hang forward Like an Anime speedster Downforce pressure cape.

 

Hey, I'm new to the site and have the red-glass version of this toy and didn't know about this.

So, I anyway, appreicate the info.

 

That's happen many times in the past few years since they got more complicated.

 

This is the way that I've done it since the release. Props to the OP for figuring it out on his own.

Don't listen to all the nay-sayers. The hasbro instructions sheets are rarely 100% correct. It seems like the person who writes those is not the designer. Even less likely to be correct is the box art.

As for the Peaugh vid, he doesn't do this formation. He does two alternate methods. This one is a bit harder to get them into compared to the normal one and other alternatives.

Also, in the film Sideswipes backpack/wing config. changes quite a bit between shots. At one point he has the wings almost straight out extended. This formation is technically wrong, but looks much better. If not for sideswipe, it should be the default config. for any repaints.