G2 Skyjack
When I was a kid I played with toys as old as G1 Thundercracker (thanks, Robot Points!) all the way up to Beast Wars, but G2 is what I have the strongest memories of collecting. And I think it's fair to say that this toy is where Transformers peaked for child me...the first time I handled something that was a Transformer
and an action figure. I loved this thing...for about three years, until I'd played with it so much that the hips, elbows and knees barely stayed connected. My new Skyjack came MOSC. It isn't anymore.
It's nice to be reunited with a childhood favourite, and even nicer to pull it fresh off the card again 26 years(!) after the first one. I've had Universe Air Raid for the last...eighteen years(!!!), so it's not like I've been missing the mold, but there's a lot of good memories attached to this toy.
The F-117 is probably the weakest of the Cyberjet toys, but that's mostly because it's "only" very good when the others are two of the best Transformers of the 90s. The poseability really isn't any different than a modern toy of the same size and the pressure-firing missile gimmick is neat. As a toy, it's lots of fun. As a memento, I'm not sure many could top it.
G2 Strafe
Unlike Skyjack, I didn't even know the Autobot Cyberjets were a thing when I was a kid. I remember my Toys'R'Us having several deep pegs full of Skyjack, Space Case and Hooligan well into the Beast Wars days, which is probably why. He was honestly kind of an afterthought when I bought him, a "What else does the seller have so that I'm not paying this much to ship one toy?" sort of purchase. But I think this might actually be my new favourite Cyberjet. The drab green and bright blue are a great contrast.
Damn, but I love the Cyberjets. I've probably said this before, but if G2 had led off with the Cyberjets, Laser Rods, Dreadwing, Hero Megatron and Optimus instead of a mix of G1 redecos and mediocre 90s Euro molds, I don't think Beast Wars would have ever happened. I say that as someone who really enjoyed the redecos as a kid, but this stuff? This was what you needed to make an impression on
new fans instead of just collecting a few bucks from kids who were old enough to watch the cartoon but too young to be getting the toys in 1984/85. An entire line of vehicular toys with the same design sensibilities as these guys would have been
amazing. As-is, they're basically a preview of what Kenner wound up doing a year later with animal alt-modes.