Would rather read about jet fighters than be one... fascinated by the science of aerial warfare. Can, within the limits of his design, duplicate the flying motion of anything he sees... maybe the most skilled flyer of all Transformers. Flies at Mach 2.6, range 1400 miles. Carries laser guided missiles, uses nega-gun that crumbles objects by breaking molecular bonds. Prone to mid-air stalls. With fellow Aerialbots forms "Superion".
First/Last Comic Appearance (US) - Issue 21, October 1986 / Issue 50, March 1989
First/Last Comic Appearance (UK) - Issue 63, May 31st 1986 / Issue 278, July 14th 1990
First/Last Cartoon Appearance - Episode 57 (Season 2 #41), November 26th 1985 / Episode 98 (Season 4 #3), November 11th 1987
Figure Details
AKA 'Sky Shadow'
Manufacturer - Hasbro
Toyline - Energon
Additions/Mods:
- Added Autobot symbols to the wings, covering the tampographed ones
- Added stickers to the cockpit
Review
Skydive unfortunately shares the same mould as
Fireflight, but the colour scheme is even worse. The G1 toy was Grey, black and red, and the
Revenge Of The Fallen version of him is pink(!), grey, red, yellow and pastel blue. Someone from Hasbro is smoking something. In fact, Skydive looked sooo bad, I substituted him for
Energon Sky Shadow, who shares the exact same mould but has a much better colour scheme. But is a nice lick of paint enough to lift this figure from awfulness to mere mediocrity?
Appearance (Robot Mode) 5/10
For everything that Hasbro got right with
Air Raid/
Slingshot, they got wrong with this mould, for it is damn ugly. It's difficult to know where to begin, so let's take each part in isolation. The head is rather wide and insectiod, and is crowned by some guns which make the head look even more insectoid. The torso sports the 'middle aged spread' look, and is made to look even podgier by the snake-like hips lurking beneath it. The lower arms end in lumps as opposed to fists. The legs are as skinny as the hips, and there is a silly amount of kibble attached to the upper body. At least the gun/shield is pretty nice, but that's only because FansProject designed them, and not the Hasbro work experience guy who came up with this risible robot mode. Thankfully, Sky Shadow's colour pallette really suits Skydive, who actually looks pretty much like his old self.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 7/10
Thankfully the alternate mode is a vast improvement, but still not nice enough to warrant the detestable robot mode. At least here we have a well-proportioned aeroplane, the same model as Powerglide by the looks of it. I still don't think that an
Aerialbot should have this kind of layout though, and would have preferred a more F15-like layout. Again, the colour scheme makes a bit of a difference here too, notably the black wings and nosecone of the original are on display here as well.
Transformation 7/10
Part of the reason for the odd proportions in robot mode are due to this transformation sequence, which is actually pretty imaginative. The wings and surrounding area fold back to reveal the legs, which are then pivoted to align with the waist. It is this act of stowing the legs that make them necessarily thin. The legs also are seperated and then fitted back together differently to put the figure into 'combiner' mode. The fists become the jet engines which is also why they are pretty awful to look at.
Poseability 5/10
The articulation on this figure is actually good, especially considering the size class. His head swivels, as does the waist. The Hips, Knees, Shoulders and Elbows are all on ball joints. Even the antannae-like guns on his head can pivot back and forth. Unfortunately, the excessive kibble in the rear of the upper body gives this mould severe balance issues. Add to this a fairly gawpy-looking robot mode, means that you spend most of your time tying to find a non-stupid pose where he doesn't fall over.
Quality 7/10
This figure seems obstinately tough. It knows how ugly it is, and you sure as hell ain't breaking it any time soon. However, the gun emplacement which attaches to the head is very loose, and will certainly be lost should you decide to drop-kick this monstrosity down the stairs.
Overall - 33/50
The mould used to make these poor figures should never have seen the light of day. I guarantee that these figures would have been smelted down in their millions were it not for the fact that they are required to make
Superion. This figure is really ugly and does not fit in with the Aerialbot aesthetic, either as a robot or a plane. The only hope is that FansProject one day replace the 2 figures that share this mould with new moulds, as they did with Bruticus. At least this Energon figure makes a better fist of Skydive than the original did, and for that reason, this figure actually looks a lot nicer than his unfortunate mould mate.
