Transformers Universe Ironhide, Sideswipe, and Silverstreak

We'll just get this out of the way. Universe Ironhide's vehicle mode is a great big steaming pile of fail. I hate it. The only reason why I'm keeping this figure in my collection is because it is the only G1 incarnation of Ironhide I have and it doesn't feel like my Classics Autobots would be complete without him.

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum are Sideswipe and Silverstreak. The Sideswipe/Sunstreaker mold's alt-mode is arguably the best in the Classics/Classics 2.0/Classiverse line. At least of the deluxes. While I really do like Prowl and on paper his alt-mode might sound more exciting, Silverstreak "pops" just a bit more when I compare them together. You can't go wrong with either, though. (But I am considering getting a set Reprolabels stickers for Prowl to up his curb appeal.) Sideswipe is perfect in every way.

Going to robot mode, Ironhide moves from a GBSPOF to just a disappointment. The head's range of motion is limited to side-to-side and because of the toy's design, will always be looking down. As in "at his belly-button." His face was also painted the same light blue color as the windows. (I fixed this with some Testor's aluminum paint.) His transformation is much more akin to the movie toy designs than other Universe figures. I appreciate the effort, but the execution is just lacking. The only complaint I have about Silverstreak is that his face was painted white, but that didn't bother me enough to fix it (yet.) Sideswipe, again, is perfect.

I've got all the Universe "Classics Series" deluxes except Tankor, and Sideswipe is far and away the best. You can't miss with Prowl, either. If you're a complete G1 phagg like me you'll want to pick up Ironhide, but if you're on the fence I don't mind telling you that you'll be okay skipping him.

P.S. Ironhide DOES have one neat little feature. His rear window actually becomes his chest. During transformation, you fold his rear bumper up and doing this slides a panel in to place behind the rear window. This is the little silver piece with his faction symbol you can see in the picture. That is a nice touch.

Transformers Animated Grimlock, Snarl, Swoop

I never got the Dinobot thing when I was a kid. I liked them okay, I guess, but I didn't have the G1 toys and they weren't really something I ever thought about pestering my parents to get. All the other kids thought that they were just the greatest things ever. There was even a club of Transformers fans in my 4th grade class that assigned everyone Transformers names. The coolest five kids got the names of the Dinobots.

I got to be Thrust.

I never really understood this phenomenon until recently. Why didn't I freak out over the Dinobots like all the other kids? Why didn't I think Grimlock was the greatest Autobot ever created? Next to Optimus Prime, of course. Well, as it turns out, the internet is good for a lot more than just Youtube and porn. There are also legions of disaffected fans everywhere that gather around and complain about little plastic robots, and the various retard-osities of their associated media. These places are otherwise known as message boards.

It was here I finally learned the reason for my apathy of the Dinobots. They are idiots. Retards. Comics and back stories be damned, the Grimlock I saw in the G1 cartoon and in the movie was a moron. This is also the reason the Dinobots appealed to 9 year old boys. Most of them were morons, too.

That said, I actually did have a Dinobot I liked better than all the others. Slag. I always liked Triceratops, and I guess since Slag was one, I liked him, too. So in my house Animated Snarl's real name is Slag.