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Transformers Toy Review Archive (older series, 1984 to date)
Robot Mode:
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Knightdramon's review of: Cybershark

Name: Cybershark
Allegiance: Maximal
Function: Ocean Attack

Just when the Predacons thought it was safe to go back in the water. Cybershark rises to the surface for a fearsome feeding frenzy! Like a turbo-charged torpedo speeding through the sea, Cybershark searches the ocean depths for Predacon enemies. Upon finding the enemy he launches his robotic hammerhead to knock 'em out cold, the finishes the job in robot mode by filleting his prey with his switchblade tale.

The BW toyline was the last "complete" toyline here in Greece. We only missed Tigatron and Blackarachnia. After that, BM releases were very limited, ones for RID were minimal and so it went.

Part of Wave 3 here in stores was Cybershark. He was released along with BBoom and some Predacons (can't remember them). Spotting him on my way to school one day, I couldn't help but purchase him later that day.

I was impressed back then, and the fun continues. As you'll figure out later, you can have immense amounts of fun by using your imagination.

Beast Mode:
I'm not sure if this is an actual creature or not, but Cybershark is a combination of a hammerhead and a regular shark. Being one of the first underwater Maximals to be released in the line, he is also one of the simplest.

There are like...10-15 lines used for detail throughout his hole body. No sculpting details are used at all for his skin. In all honesty, the whole thing is some pieces of plastic with no moulding and green dots all over. The eyes are not moulded, they are painted red over plastic.

The colour scheme is fairly plain. There's a total of 5 colours used for his beast mode. The most dominant colour is light blue, used throughout the upper surface. Dark green is used for colouring a pattern of dots throughout his body. Red dots are used for the eyes and flat silver is used for the teeth. The most interesting aspect is how the blue blends with the yellowy white at the bottom of the shark. Pretty simple, but it works.

As far as playability goes, Cybershark in robot mode dissapoints. Being a shell-former, he has almost no articulation. His two fins are connected to the main body via ball joints and can be turned and twisted in all directions, but that's it. You can stretch it and have his tail move upwards and to the sides, but that would leave a humongous gap in his rear and his feet would be revealed.

Finally, one of the action features can be used in this mode. His upper head part can be launched simply by pressing the white button at its end. Upon removal, the remaining shark head is now silver and full of lines, totally in the robotic side. It should be noted that the launcher can go upwards in a 90 degrees angle.

Poor beast mode, but kind of long for a deluxe.

Robot Mode:
The BEST feature of this toy. By detaching the tail and opening his shell, then swinging the head and legs down, you have one of the coolest non TM robot modes in BW.

There's one more colour introduced in this mode, and that's bronze. His former beast mode sides are painted bronze on the inside. Minimal mechanical details are shown moulded on that colour, mostly vents and some sort of bolts. His legs and arms cleverly alternate between white and blue, his waist is silver and his upper chest is the back of the beast mode's head. Details include sculpted scales on all limbs, giving him a beast feel even in robot mode.

His head sculpt is one of my favourites. It's a very simple, yet characteristic design. The chin is very angular and the upper part ends in three fins -- the middle one being much taller and edgier (if that's a word). His face is white and his eyes devilish-red. The best part is the mouth -- serrated shark like teeth adourn a black background. He reminded me of Dinobot's CGI model, but he's much fiercer.

Articulation wise, he's pretty decent for BW. He has four points in each leg, focused on ankles, knees, thighs being able to swivel and the ball joints that connect it to the main body. With that sort of legs, he has balance issues. It would help tremendously if the ankles were ball jointed like gundams, but they can only move backwards. His arms have three points of articulation each, focused on shoulder, twisting just below that and 180 degrees elbow articulation, something that's missing from today's toys. His head rests on a ball joint. Due to the transformation sequence, he has no waist articulation. His 15 points of articulation can put him into some nice action poses, but balance issues prevent most of them.

And here's the funnest part -- the accessories. If the launching beast head is not enough, his huge weapon is. At the press of a switch, a silver "blade" springs up. There's quite a distance between the blade and the shark tail, so don't expect him to be gripping things with it. As if his huge laser gun of doom isn't enough, he can hold the beast head and use it as a shield or something to bash his enemies. Moreover, two shark missiles are included, stored behind his head. The missiles can be launched from the working mechanism on the chest OR...yes. He can hold them. He can use them as swords. And if that's not enough, he can hold both of them on the same hand like Darth Maul. Now if that's not awesome, what is?

All in all, he is probably my favourite non TM deluxe from the line. He has a poor shark mode, but most of the early deluxes didn't feature lots of articulation in beast mode. His robot mode rocks. Huge pincer-laser weapon, lame chest launcher, hammerhead basher, pseudo swords, cool head... wow. Definitely recommended if you can get him.

Transformation: 2. Seriously, nothing difficult. Nothing gets in the way. Just be careful when removing the tail.
Durability: 10. He saw heavy playwear like most of my BW toys and he's still alive and in one piece. Nothing broken, but some paint has chipped.
Fun: 10. Are you kidding? Shark missiles\swords, other accessories, good articulation, fun head sculpt...just ignore the robot mode.
Price: 5. No clue really. He wasn't featured in the show and he rarely comes up in lots on e-bay. He was remoulded in BW II into the much more expensive Hellscream and into another kind of aquatic creature in BW Neo. The Neo version should be cheaper.
Overall: 9. Get this if you can. He is one of these gems that you have to go random-shopping to discover. He doesn't disappoint in the very least.
 
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