Sky-Byte [Age of the Primes/Voyager Class]

It's pretty cool that I get to talk about two different new Sky-Byte toys this close to one another. Even better, both are really neat. Today we'll be talking about the new Voyager Sky-Byte figure from Transformers Age of the Primes. Like most Generations releases, this is an update of the original toy using modern engineering... and they nailed it! This is literally the original Sky-Byte toy with a bunch of extra articulation.

The improvements are specifically noticeable in shark mode, where his head can be moved around to mimic his appearance in the show Robots in Disguise (2001) in which he stole the fan bases heart. It's funny, considering the original toy was a repaint of a Beast Wars toy (Transmetal 2 Cybershark) that sat on clearance for quite some time. Yet later reached stardom thanks to that show. It's still one of my favorites and is always good to see one of the characters get some attention in the mainline.

Like I said, this new figure improves upon the original adding a great deal of articulation and improving on other things. Most noticeably, the sharks body is no longer curved. The sides of the shark become giant dramatic shoulder armor in robot mode. Not being curved makes this much more pleasant, look better, and not potentially get in the way of the arms. Those shoulder pads plug into place, so you can wiggle them around while transforming for extra part clearance. Sky-Byte has a something extra in terms of weapons as well. Those pectoral fins can be used as little swords... which I found pretty neat. His gun no longer features firing missiles but still retains the originals look. I've never cared much for it, but appreciate the effort. Honestly this is a near perfect update of the beloved original toy.

My only complaint isn't a complaint about the actual toy itself, just wishing it had paint apps the original had. Being such an improvement of the original... I can't help but to wish he had that fabulous chrome. I know it can flake over time, but it looks marvelous. That and it'd been nice if his Spark Crystal had been painted. I really liked the Spark Crystals from Transmetal 2 and when they carried over with reuses of those molds it just made me happy. So really, that's it. No actual complaints. Just wishing for a few extras that would have been appreciated. Sky-Byte was such a great character that he's managed to become a mainstay of the Transformers brand. Part of me hopes they release a Cybershark version of this new mold... just because the original's paint apps came off almost instantly. I don't know if Sky-Byte will ever get a much more premium figure... but this one feels like a Missing Link version of the original in some ways. Maybe they can release a special edition with some chrome.