12.15.03 
Transformers:Energon - Skyblast
  
    Man, I've forgotten just how little Basics are. Skyblast is part of the initial 
wave of basic Transformers Energon figures. I'll come up with some pictures eventually. 
Review originally posted to alt.toys.tranformers.
  
Vehicle Mode
  
    Everyone keeps talking about how much this guy looks like Skyfire. Honestly with 
any other color scheme you'd never see the resemblance. As it is the colors are very 
similar to the giant G1 jet. The jet mode looks nothing like Skyfire design wise though. 
Skyblast is 4.5 inches from nose to jets and from wingtip to wingtip. The squareness of 
this toy is really noticeable and makes the jet look kind of funny. Adding the Energon 
parts to the front help the look a lot and increases the length to 7 inches. Skyblast 
includes 4 clear red "Energon" pieces. One is a long cannon that pegs in under the nose 
of the jet. Two are little wedge pieces that clip on the wings. I've had a lot of 
trouble keeping them attached. The last pieces is a cover for Skyblast's spark crystal. 
I'm wondering if these covers are going to be a regular gimmick for the line. If so 
it's an Autobot thing as Starscream didn't come with one. The cover does fit on 
Starscream's spark though. Skyblast also has a pair of claws that can open on the 
bottom of the jet. They seem useless in general and don't look to great visually so 
I imagine they serve some unknown purpose. I've heard the smaller toys are supposed 
to act as weapons for the larger ones, you could probably clip the claws around the 
arm of a larger figure. The instructions don't list anything though. They also work 
as landing gears I suppose.
  
    I'm just going to amend here instead of editing things. It turns out that the barrel 
of the long gun can be removed from the base. About the only use I can find for this is 
to attach the spear head to the front of the jet for a larger nose. This can be done 
with the handle attached too. It's possible it could combine with other Energon pieces 
from other figures.
  
Transformation Notes
  
    I kind of like the way Skyblast's head turns around on it's own when you rotate the 
chest. the ratchets are lose enough hat you can still turn the head but you'll have to 
adjust the jet nosecone.
  
Robot Mode
  
    Skyblast is close to 5 inches tall tot he top of his head or 5.5 to the nosecone. 
Back on the Skyfire note, the head does resemble the old character a bit. Skyblast 
still bears no physical seminaries to the old Valkyries. For this mode the Energon 
pieces come together and form a spear. The two wing pieces clip together and then peg 
onto the large end of the cannon. The spark cover doesn't connect to the spear. Looks 
like the removable handle has some more use in this mode, the spear head can be removed 
and the head used as a weapon itself. The handle can still be used as a sort of axe 
like weapon, though the blade isn't sharp. One letdown is articulation. I can forgive 
the somewhat limited arms, they are still plenty poseable with universal shoulders and 
hinged elbows, the legs however have no knees. The real problem I have with the legs 
is that with a minor design change they could have had knees. I guess Hasbro didn't 
want Skyblast to have hollow shins. I'm tempted to pull the heels off and turn the 
legs sideways anyway. The head also rotates on a ratchet hooked through to the chest 
but you have to fold the jet nosecone up to free up the joint. One final note, the 
silver Autobot spark crystal looks really nice. It's located on the center of his 
chest.
  
Minicon Compatibility
  
    Skyblast has no Minicon ports or plugs on his main body but the Spear handle has 
a port on it. This means it's only good for hooking up other large Transformers or 
Grindor.
  
Overall
  
    Kind of an iffy start for Energon. The design is nice but there is still the 
poseability issue from Armada. Looking over the other basics, they all look to have 
similar problems. Also the Energon pieces don't attach to the wings like they should. 
However I like the return of the Basic toy, and for the price he's pretty neat. If it 
turns out he can hook up to the larger toys, that makes him that much better. 
Recommended.