So I finally got Sky Shadow, and he's pretty amazing.
I absolutely adore how he looks in every mode. The colour work and sculpting is just to die for. His robot mode is imposing as hell, helped by the pretty awesome headsculpt. He has a great silhouette, and he looks so wonderfully evil. Also, almost no exposed hollow bits! Hooray!
Articulation has its hangups (knees are a bit limited, and the waist really could have been articulated) but overall he's fine. The ankles are superb. His shoulders are a tad loose but that's fixable.
His accessories are a
little disappointing (but only a little). His gun is fine, if a bit small, but it has to be the tank gun so I'm cool with it. The shield though, it seems kinda pointless. I don't much care for it. I would have liked it if he'd come with a sword or something. Oh well, Shapeways to the rescue!
The stickers kinda suck but they're very small and unobtrusive so I can deal with it.
The transformation is very interesting. Simple enough that I worked it out without instructions (the new instructions are so, so bad) but complex enough to be fun and effective. I like how the turret halves flip out of the leg cavities especially. Collapsing the arms is a bit of a bear though.
The vehicle modes are great. The jet mode is a big, badass Cybertronian gunship, and the tank mode is just gorgeous. I wish the turret could turn or the gun could elevate, but I don't really care that much. The tank is probably my favourite of the two vehicles actually, I just love how it looks. The jet mode is great too, if a bit kibbly. The "airlift" mode is cool too, though a bit silly looking perhaps.
I haven't worked out how to do the base mode yet so I'll reserve judgement on that for the while.
Overall though? I dig him. He and Blaster (who I still have yet to acquire) were the only TR Leaders I wanted, and I'm thoroughly impressed with him. I have no attachment to the character, but he's just so cool. I'd recommend him to anyone, honestly. I probably won't get Overlord, as I don't like how he looks as much and I don't like doubling up on molds (I
might get one of the 3P versions if I really feel the need for an Overlord) but I'm super glad I got a version of the mold.
So yeah. Sky Shadow is awesome.
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