TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Box Art:

Sir Auros' review of: Sky Shadow

Name: Sky Shadow
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Superion Maximus Team Member
Sub-Group: Aerialbots

Sky Shadow is the third of the Energon aerialbot molds I've reviewed and the final bit of evidence proving to me that Superion Maximus is entirely worth collecting if only because the individual figures are worthwhile. While Constructicon Maximus' torso and limbs have horrible individual robot modes, Superion Maximus' has two limbs with great individual modes and a torso with an adequate robot mode. Sky Shadow's mold is overall pretty good and while I don't like it as much as Treadshot, I think it's better than Storm Jet.

Vehicle Mode:
Sky Shadow has some sort of funky dunky jet mode that is somewhat reminiscent of G1 Powerglide, only not lame. The paintjob is very nice and kind of makes it look like a mundane Earth vehicle or something. Sky Shadow's coolest feature (apart from becoming the leg of a huge, badass robot) is that his head is this rotating gun turret on the underside of the plane and while it may not seem like it's one of the coolest things ever, it actually is. That little turret alone gives this figure tons of play value. Sky Shadow's also heavily armed on top too with his energon weapon attaching to the top of the plane over the cockpit and sporting twin barrels of death or something. In addition to an awesome rotating turret and two heavy-duty cannons, Sky Shadow also sports a gun under the cockpit. The one complaint I do have about Sky Shadow's vehicle mode is that the seam where the fuselage comes apart to form the legs is quite visible and musses up the paintjob and the whole robot in disguise aspect.

Robot Mode:
The robot mode reminds me of the Beast Machines (repainted for Robots in Disguise and Universe lines too) Obsidian mold because of the "gun arms;" however, Sky Shadow does have actual hands in addition to the Mega Man-line guns coming out of his arms. He can also hold his energon weapon and the gun from the nose of the jet is on his foot, so he can shoot from the toes apparently. Sky Shadow's head sculpt is good, but it seems kind of like a cheap knockoff of Armada Hot Shot's. There's not a lot of bad about Sky Shadow's robot mode, but there is one thing that bugs me that also happens to be another reason Sky Shadow reminds me of the Obsidian mold. The legs are really awkward in both articulation and appearance. They're just too close at the thighs and the range of movement isn't very good. The rest of the figure has wonderful articulation though and Sky Shadow has a better range of dynamic poses than the Constructicon Maximus limbs do.

Transformation: 8 - I did it in the car on the way out to dinner last night and I didn't know if I'd be able to do it without instructions at first, but I did manage it and it's a pretty clever transformation. It is disappointing that the robot mode interferes with the aesthetics of the jet mode though.
Durability: 9 - The barrels of the gun turret popped off, but the can be popped right back on and there doesn't appear to be many places on the figure that look prone to damaging.
Fun: 9 - Cool jet mode with oodles of weapons and a fun robot mode too.
Price: 10 - $6 for this thing.
Summary: 9 - Like Treadshot, this one's worth picking up even if you're not planning on collecting the whole set.