Sideswipe's getting another go-around at the 1-step changer size class for RID2015, and this time around he looks pretty accurate-- not QUITE as accurate as the 2016 mold, but certainly moreso than the 2015 mold. In this mode the car proportions on the front two-thirds or so are pretty spot-on, but the spoiler is a bit de-emphasized due to the transformation, and the rear third doesn't fan out from the sides QUITE as much as it should (this last one is a real minor deal, though). As with most other RID2015 Sideswipe toys, the main color is a moderately dark milky red-- on this version there's a bit of glitter mixed in, making it look semi-metallic and a bit better than your average red. Black, of course, serves as his main contrasting color, with charcoal black plastic used on places like the wheels and rear spoiler. It's a decent shade, but a more "pure" shade of the color would have looked better. There's a bit of slightly metallic-looking black paint used on the front window and part of the side windows (a small portion of the side windows that is on the rear third part is not painted). There's also some moderately light blue paint on the headlights, but no other paint is in this mode-- nothing representing Sideswipe's Japanese symbols that should be near the rear sides. The mold detailing is generally what you'd expect-- generally angular detailing overall, with the windows and headlights rather stylized, while much of him is rather undetailed because he's a sleek sportscar. There are some details on the top back, though, which mostly represent the lower legs in robot mode, and there's even (unpainted) taillights on the back end. Surprisingly, there's also some cool engine detailing on the bottom of the rear of the car mode, which isn't seen easily in EITHER mode. On the roof of this mode, there's a port for you to plug in either a Mini-Con Weaponizer or a weapon with a similar-sized port.
    To transform Sideswipe, you simply twist the rear third or so of the car mode (except for the spoiler) around 180 degrees, and the rest of the toy auto-transforms along with that motion. It's not the most amazing 1-step transformation ever, but it's solid and it gets the job done. In robot mode, Sideswipe looks a bit more "solid" than his other two 1-steps, in which I mean all his robot parts have more obvious mass and aren't hollow-looking. The main body looks fairly good, with a detailed "skirt" and faux headlights around the abs as well as on the chest. His chest still has its "crumpled" look a bit, but not as much as on his other toys, as it has to double as his ACTUAL car front on this toy. It's also definitely more square in its look than I'd like. Sideswipe's headsculpt is spot-on with his usual "punk hair", silver face, and light blue eyes, but his expression is rather neutral, compared to his usual smirk. He's got a big tab of his car mode back sticking up behind his neck (and much of his roof behind his back), but for a 1-step changer, I consider this a minor sacrifice for the gimmick. The arms are a bit small and the shoulders are a bit further down than they should be, coming out of the sides of his chest. The only point of articulation in this mode is that his elbows can move forward, but his lower arms just, again, look too small. The legs start out nice at the top, but given the transformation, it looks like his lower legs got stuck in a block of cement. Oh, the molded-in details like his kneecaps are there, but they're both very obviously one thick piece, with the feet being on the underside of his spoiler piece. For paint apps specifically for this mode, beyond the face there's the blue on his waist and some black paint on his abs, as well as more black apparent on his upper legs and lower arms. The color breakup's a bit better than his vehicle mode, but adding in a couple of paint apps on his lower legs would've been appreciated.
    The 2017 version of 1-step Sideswipe probably has the best "balance" of the 3 1-steps of him in terms of modes. It doesn't have the best robot mode-- I'd give an edge to the original 1-step in that respect. It doesn't have the best vehicle mode, either-- that goes to the 2016 1-step. But neither mode is particularly BAD for a one-step, even if there is some kibble issues in robot mode. The transformation also isn't particularly exciting, but if you want a 1-step that doesn't put all its eggs in one basket, go for this version. (That said, I still like the original 1-step version of RID2015 Sideswipe slightly more.)
 

Review by Beastbot

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