Sky
Shadow (Generations)
(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to Generations Thunderwing. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Generations Thunderwing here.)
"Sky Shadow" here is
actually a direct homage to the Japanese character Black Shadow, who himself
was a remold of G1 Thunderwing-- get it? Anyways, Black/Sky Shadow's colors
really carry over well here, with some really nice red and silver stripes
in vehicle mode playing off of his main color of (appropriately) black.
Combined with the transparent light red cockpit and missiles, it's all
quite eye-catching. In robot mode Sky Shadow ends up looking a bit less
impressive, as most of the dynamic red & silver paint apps from his
vehicle mode are "hidden", and gray is a much more dominant color. The
light milky gray at least has a slight marbly appearance to liven it all
up a BIT, though this doesn't carry over to the dull bluish gray on Sky
Shadow's arms. The bits of tan plastic used here and there as accents go
nicely enough with the other colors, though some paint apps on the gray
to break it up a bit would've been appreciated.
Sky Shadow has two mold
changes from Thunderwing-- as expected, the head has been changed, and
is a pretty spot-on representation of Black Shadow's head, complete with
the large "antlers". The center chest piece has also been remolded to match
Black Shadow's, and has a more robotic-looking appearance than Thunderwing's
chest. The white, bronze, and silver on the chest go together quite well
with the surrounding colors, and the detailing in general is really crisp
and accurate. No complaints here.
Generations Sky Shadow
is not only the first U.S.-release of a previously Japanese-only character,
but taken by itself it has a far superior color scheme to Generations Thunderwing's,
particularly in vehicle mode. The remolds are also quite well-sculpted,
to boot. It's still merely an okay mold, but if you're looking for which
version to get, I'd go with this one.
Review by Beastbot