Skywarp - Universe - figure


I am writing this review based on the perspective of newly discovering the Jetstorm mold now being used for Universe Skywarp.

I have been hunting down a Jetstorm deluxe ever since I read a great review in one of the toy mags (Toy Fair, Action Figure Digest e.g.). What sold me on the figure was that it had transformed into a jet that really looked like a Jet! Something I have not seen from Transformers in years. I have seen the Ultra Jetstorm at a store once and was not impressed by the beak/crane looking thing that was suppose to be the cockpit. It just looked flimsy. It didn't look like a jet. It looked like Hasbro was crossing a swan with a jet. But later I discovered that there was in fact another version of Jetfire that was really cool looking. Oh yes the hover mode was another reason to look for this guy. That was about 2 or 3 years ago. Last week I walked into a Wal-mart and found the same robot but now called Skywarp. My search is over!
Specs:
No specs or story on the guy. Just use your imagination on this one.

Packaging:
Nice work on the packaging, it shows the jet in its pose-able cockpit mode. There was even a small animation graphic that resembled the robot in a very bulky way. It was all right.

The jet:
This is where the fun begins. One statement can best describe this toy through out; "this toy has features!" In jet mode the cockpit articulation was a great surprise. You just hit the switch on top and you're in the scouting mode and you can move the cockpit up, down, or side to side. The with wings can be rotated either back swept or reverse swept. The rear stabilizer wings are adjustable and oh yes it has landing gear! There are 2 red rockets which I cut down to fit the toy better. Long extensions on the rockets protruding out of the back of the jet was senseless to me. This is a solid jet; there no loose parts nothing is fragile everything is durable. The best part is that the jet is small yet it has good features.

Transformation:
The transformation is not simple. A lot goes into making this thing work. First you pull apart the wing/arms move the legs forward. Then the head is on this mechanism attached to the arms and it moves around the jet while the jet body folds in half. This is the ingenious part but also the hard to describe part. Anyways once you straighten out the legs and set up the head right then these panels snap onto the chest area to hold the whole thing together. Lastly flip back the panels to expose the claws and open up the feet. The hover mode is done by putting the feet together and opening up the leg panels to expose and position the jets. The legs form seamless frame around the cockpit.

The robot:
This is a solid action figure! Not just a transformer but good quality figure. He's easy to pose with lots of articulation (head turns, claws move, positionable arms and legs). In a way he reminds me of the old Bandi robots before Power Rangers or Voltron. I like the hands, there are claws! Very robotic looking then humanoid looking. The head sculpt is nice very detailed, and he looks like he's wearing a respirator. Another feature I like it that when you hold him up to the light his eyes really glow. The hover mode is another great transformation. It looks really good on him and is a unique transformation on a robot. As a robot there is a lot to play with on Skywarp.

But for those of you who are saying; "I know this already I have Jetstorm and the drone" well now we get into the details. First off if you are a fan of Skywarp this guy is a must have. If you like the mold but wished that Hasbro would have made a great repaint to make up for the Stormjet and the Jhiaxus then this guy is definitely for you.

The parts:
Hasbro used a good balance of the soft vinyl like plastic for shoulders, arms, leg covers, jets, claws, hip joints, body frame robots ears/winglets, wings and heels. The black parts of the robot are made with really thick plastic on chest panels, legs, head, front part of jet body, claw covers, jewel cover, and stabilizer wings. A slightly thinner but still strong plastic was used on rocket launchers, rear half of jet body, feet and the cockpit. Red translucent plastic was used on the rockets, part of the cockpit (I guess they're eyes in jet mode), the jewel, and importantly the robots eyes.

The paints and colors:
Hasbro made up for its horrible paint jobs on the last to repaints by doing this one the right way and by staying true to Skywarps image. Skywarp likes three colors: purple, scarlet and black. First there is scarlet/orange on the cockpit window, details of the chest panels, on the sides of the front jet body half and a little bit on the stabilizer wings. The black is the main color for body, legs, launchers, all wings, the feet, and the head. There are two kinds of purple. First there is a lighter glossy purple on the jewel cover then there is an iridescent dark purple on the head, the head cover and on areas around the launchers. There is also silver color used on all exposed mechanical areas as well as silver trim on claw covers. Some yellow was used on the chest panels and white was used on part of the face (respirator part). Plastic colors used were light gray for the frame, hips, parts of the arms, cockpit neck, upper part of jets and heals. A purple plastic was used on the shoulders, claws, lower arms, lower part of jets, leg covers, landing gear, nose cannons and main wings. Black plastic was every where else.

If there were any improvements I'd like to see done on the toy they would be: Rolling wheels on the landing gear and have the cockpit open up. Then again you are getting a lot on this toy as it is.

Over all:
Based on what I've read on the reviews of all the previous versions of Jetstorm I believe that Hasbro has been paying attention. Problems such as paint chipping on the cockpit, miss fires, brittle plastic and lousy paint jobs and color scheme don't exist on my Skywarp. A lot was put into making Skywarp the best repaint of Jetstorm. Another detail I've barely mentioned is the sparked Jewel; something that has not been seen since Jetstorm. It is translucent scarlet/orange with the swirling detail and a Desepticon logo painted on top of it. Over all this is the best robot to plane mold I've seen for any Transformer line since Hasbros take on Robotech with Jetfire. There is no kibble, no bits, it is self contained, there is nothing flimsy about it, it has great features and all in a very small package. I would have liked to same thing about the new Energon Starscream but the extra ridiculous looking bits and the horrible way Hasbro did his hands (blocks with holes) just killed it for me (the hands mostly). Anyways to the point, the Jetstorm mold is one I hope to see more of in this Universe line in the colors of Thrust, Dirge, and Thundercracker just like how they have repeated the Prowl mold. I'll most likely be looking for the original Jetstorm and the drone on Ebay or where ever. This is the first time I actually thought that a toy was good enough for me to want to right a review on it. I have the RID Prowl (to me the best in that line), the Alternators Smokescreen (the best car to robot ever!) and now the Universe Skywarp. I'm giving 10 stars for the over all robot to plane mold, for the incredible paint job, and the tough quality parts used in this thing. I am just amazed at how well this toy was designed and made period! See the pictures of it on

ReviewerWarren Gray  
DateFebruary 4th 2004  
Score 10 stars (10 out of 10)  
Reads7574


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