Robots in Disguise 2001 Universe Side Burn Admittedly Not As Impressive As the Y2K Debut Transformers Legacy United Deluxe Item No.: Asst. F2990 No. F8538 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Blaster, spoiler Action Feature: Transforms from robot to car Retail: $24.99 Availability: June 2024 Other: Or Speedbreaker, if you're nasty
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Remaking this figure has got to be a massive challenge. Robots in Disguise 2001 Universe Side Burn is a figure in a collector's line that's trying to remake a "kid line" toy - the 2000 Speedbreaker (or 2001 Side Burn) figure. It was ambitious. The original toy had a Dodge Viper-ish alt mode that was so good, the US release eventually demanded an actual license - unusual for the time. It was wildly difficult to transform, mega-articulated, and included a vac metal knife as well as a rocket-firing blaster plus a kibble arm shield. It was awesome. It was a pain in the neck. It was, also, one of the first widely released Autobots in quite some time after Beast Wars and Beast Machines ended - and of course Machine Wars came and went. If you put both of these toys next to each other, I assume fans might point to the 2000/2001 toy as the fancy collector line figure, and this one as the original, just because it punched so hard above its weight class.

It's a perfectly fine toy - as in, it's fine. The mold does double duty as Cyberverse Shadow Striker, and she's also fine. I wouldn't necessarily throw out your OTFCC subscription Side Burn or original Side Burn for this one, because they all do different things fairly well. For example, this one has a pretty good silhouette with really good robot colors and lets you remove the shield if you want. It's also not (yet?) discoloring.

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While not a 1:1 recreation of the original toy, the major landmarks are all there. The mostly blue Autobot has some white trim, yellow windows, a unique blaster, a yellow eye piece, a red engine test, and so on and so forth. Comparing this toy to the cartoon model, you'll see a lot of differences - some better, some worse. The 2024 toy is much better about getting car kibble out of the way, with a generally pleasing silhouette. Unfortunately the feet are the wrong color (I don't care) and the Autobot logo from the 2000/2001 model's forearm is missing. Aside from that, it more or less gets the job done though. It may not amaze you, but it's competent and gets the job done fairly well. If you want Side Burn on your shelf, this is Side Burn, and he looks pretty good.

I wish he had the silver knife accessory or a working spring-loaded rocket launcher, but Hasbro seems to have de-toyed many of its action figures for "fans." It is unfortunate, because there are a lot of fun reasons to buy toys. You can hit things with them. Shooting off rockets is fun. Once the action feature is reduced to "posable," it satisfies a certain vocal collector contingent but is also rather unsatisfying. There is nothing wrong with the product we have been given, but toys often have a hard-to-define "magic" quality that kids remember for years. Maybe it's Luke Skywalker's slide-out lightsaber, Zartan's color-change face, He-Man's slashing action, or the magnet-powered wind-up mechanisms in StarCom toys. Older action toys frequently had unique sounds and powers that transcend "has ankles." And I appreciate having ankles, I myself have two of them and use them almost every day.

The fate of many modern collector toys is to stand upright, arms at the side, once removed out of the packaging. This is why I am increasingly contemplating the needs of modern collector toys. If you compare a fancy super-articulated robot of today to a 2002-2003 Armada robot, they were cheaper, had a buddy, and had more play features - but weren't very posable. Most collectors I know do not like the thought of losing wrists and ankles, but I find I may not even miss them much of the time - I transform my robots a few times, play with the mechanisms, and then they go on a shelf. There's not enough room for battle poses - so mine, too, stand with their arms to the side so as to not touch their neighbors should paint or plastic leech color some day. I think Hasbro did a good job squeezing two very different characters out of this mold, and deserve massive credit for design work well done. But also, they could probably shave a few bucks off the price and sell a simpler product - and I bet I'd have exactly as much fun with it.

Related, the 2000/2001 version of Side Burn has incredible articulation for its day (and today) with a far more realistic alt mode, real rubbery tires, vac-metal bits, and so on. Fans have not been kind to it compared to toys from subsequent lines. I guess what I'm saying is this: as long as you have other options to compare things to, it's going to be hard to find any real satisfaction with what you have in your hands.

Side Burn has a blaster and a spoiler, which you can merge together in some approximation of the original spring-loaded launcher, sans functionality. It's clever, I give them points for a job well done.

I found this toy easier to transform than Shadow Striker, and I'm not even sure why. Things seem more intuitive, so bully for me.

The car mode looks absolutely nothing like a Dodge Viper, as I am sure nobody wanted a call from Legal. The broad strokes of the design are similar, with those glittery yellow windows and some blue flames - but they're very different blue flames. The exposed engine evokes the original without being identical, and the car mode itself shares the blue - but not much else. The design is its own thing, and while I don't dislike it I doubt it will satisfy fans wanting an improved remake of the original toy from over 20 years ago. It's fun, sturdy, and I daresay probably a better overall toy for the adult fan wanting a robot on their shelves. But for those demanding toy and/or anime accuracy, I don't know what to even suggest as a good option for future designers. The original design had some pretty unsightly kibble, and it was a bit of a chore to transform. This one streamlines a lot, but it might not look exactly right. It's a trade-off, but I think if I had to do it over and only pick one toy? This might be the better option available today.

For the reasons stated above - or just a lot of product hitting in Q4 for the holidays - this guy was easy to get. You could stroll into Walmarts and easily score one right off the pegs, but he tended to sell quicker than his wave mates in most locations. The kids love Side Burn. If you want a snappy blue car with sparkly windows, I think you'll like it! But if you want wheels that roll smoothly, keep looking. It's a perfectly good action figure with an acceptable car mode, and I don't know that I anticipate seeing a better one made unless Hasbro revisits the Alternators and/or BinalTech formats in the next few years. And even then, if they do, I pray they take lessons from this toy so I don't have to deal with massive car wads hanging off a robot. (Look, I didn't say I had good advice for a future designer, no matter what they do fans are going to complain for what they did[n't] elect to do.)

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