Toy Review - Titans Return Sky Shadow

Series - Generations
Sub-line - Titans Return
Size/class - Leader
New/remould/redeco - new (pretool of Overlord)
Wave - 4
Released here - Feb 2016
Approximate Retail Price - $90
Approximate Size - 23cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-modes - Jet & Tank/Base
Main Features/Gimmicks - compatible with Titan Masters, can link with other Leader and Titan Class figures
Main Colours - Black, Grey and Red
Main Accessories - Gun, Ominus Titan Master

Robot Mode
http://i.imgur.com/DiW9yp8.jpg?1
Sky Shadow is, actually a pretty decent toy. Obviously this is a pretool of Overlord, but clearly the toy was designed with both in mind. Why Sky Shadow? I'm not too certain even though we had one 6 years ago, but hey I never had that toy so this is my first Sky Shadow toy!

Articulation wise, he is more articulated than most of the other figures in the toyline. While he does lack wrist articulation, he does have ankle articulation and even his neck has some!

http://i.imgur.com/A5cRjwD.jpg?1


Tank/Jet Mode
Despite being advertised as a quadruple changer, I would call him a triple changer because his Jet and Tank modes are made by splitting him in half (again, because he is a pretool of Overlord)
His Jet mode looks nice, and does look like Sky Shadow's Jet mode. His tank mode doesn't look bad, but doesn't interest me as much cause his name is Sky Shadow, not Land Lhadow

http://i.imgur.com/LxIgzjs.jpg?1

Base Mode
http://i.imgur.com/5vZSVP4.jpg?1
Base Mode is, amazing. Like seriously. It looks amazing and has a few things the Titan Masters can do.
What's also awesome is that because it's a leader class toy, it can combine with other Leader class toys to form part of Decepticon City!

http://i.imgur.com/NYc8EqV.jpg?1

Overall
Sky Shadow is an awesome toy, and I really do enjoy him. I recommend, only if you had any interest in him in the first place.

Note: His titan master is based off Mega, so if anything I recommend picking up both Sky Shadow and Overlord.

No interest in this toy, but I can't wait to get Overlord! :D
I like the term "pretool" ("predeco"). :)
Also interesting to see that Ominus is based on Mega as I was expecting Giga. So I guess this might meant that Overlord will be a male Decepticon with a female Headmaster component (although this isn't the first time it's happened - re: Daniel/Arcee).

Not sure what "Ominus" is meant to mean unless it's just a misspelling of "Ominous." Ominous comes from the Latin ōminōsus ("foreboding") and it's not spelt as "ominus" in any of its declensions. So 'Ominus' is either a misspelling or a nonsensical made-up word. :confused: "Mega" (and likely "Giga" too) are probably too common/generic words for Hasbro to trademark. Although they might have gotten away with adding a suffix to it, like "Megacon" or something like that.

As the inverse to Gok, I have no interest in Overlord but want the hell out of Sky Shadow :). I bought him from Robot Kingdom to save the hassle of finding it here but have to wait for a preorder to come in before it ships.

Looks good though Handsprime. It's sounds like I'm gonna love it :)

The design of this guy looks really good, I was initially just waiting for Overlord, but the colours on BS just manage to work really well (in fact, I think might like them a bit better than OL!). I will wait for Overlord and hope that he comes with two TM characters (maybe).

Does BS have a chst holding area for another head?

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

Not sure what "Ominus" is meant to mean unless it's just a misspelling of "Ominous." Ominous comes from the Latin ōminōsus ("foreboding") and it's not spelt as "ominus" in any of its declensions. So 'Ominus' is either a misspelling or a nonsensical made-up word. :confused: "Mega" (and likely "Giga" too) are probably too common/generic words for Hasbro to trademark. Although they might have gotten away with adding a suffix to it, like "Megacon" or something like that.

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I would go with Ominus going with rodimUS/OptimUS theme and being a play on Ominous. They wouldn't name this guy Giga or Mega because those characters belong to Overlord, so there is no need to call Ominus those names. They had to make a new name for the TM.

Makes me wonder what Giga/Mega were called in the Euro release of Overlord. Off to google!

Hehehehe... "BS" :p

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Originally Posted by Tetsuwan Convoy

I would go with Ominus going with rodimUS/OptimUS theme and being a play on Ominous.

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...that is just stoopidz. "Optimus" is a real Latin word. "Rodimus" is a nonsense word but they were "Latinising" it from Hot Rod, so there's some reasoning there.

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Originally Posted by Tetsuwan Convoy

They wouldn't name this guy Giga or Mega because those characters belong to Overlord, so there is no need to call Ominus those names. They had to make a new name for the TM.

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Okay, that makes sense, and my previous comment about it was stoopidz. :p
Umbram Nigrum is Latin for "Black Shadow," although I can understand why Hasbro USA would avoid using the word "Nigrum" considering that an offensive N-word that rhymes with 'digger' is comes from this word. Perhaps "Umbram Tenebram" ("Dark Shadow") might be better. Or "Umbram Caelum" ("Sky Shadow"). ;) Anyway, I'm ranting over spilt milk. :p

Interestingly enough it seems that the Overlord redeco's Titan Master will be called "Dreadnaut" (sic). Like Ominus it also shares the same mould that's modelled after Mega, but the colours are based on Giga! :eek" I gotta say that that's pretty cool. If you can't give Overlord both Giga and Mega, then blending them together is not a bad alternative. ;) And it makes me wanna fansplain Dreadnaut as the son or daughter of Giga and Mega. Not sure why they've misspelt "Dreadnought" (or "Dreadnaught" - equally accepted spelling) as "Dreadnaut". Is there another character with this name which may be preventing Hasbro from trademarking it? :confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tetsuwan Convoy

Makes me wonder what Giga/Mega were called in the Euro release of Overlord. Off to google!

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I suspect that they were unnamed. I never saw Hasbro's Overlord - it was released here but in incredibly small numbers. But considering that the Motivator's "Energon figures" (Brainmasters) were all unnamed, I suspect that Overlord's would be too. TFU.info simply refers to their Anglophone names as "Engine."

I like that I don't have to de-headmaster Sky Shadow to transform him

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Originally Posted by SMHFConvoy

I like that I don't have to de-headmaster Sky Shadow to transform him

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That sounds awesome. :) This is something that I enjoy about Sixshot too. I hope that this becomes more of a standard feature with other TR figures (even if it's just the larger boxed figures; may not be possible w/ Deluxes).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

That sounds awesome. :) This is something that I enjoy about Sixshot too. I hope that this becomes more of a standard feature with other TR figures (even if it's just the larger boxed figures; may not be possible w/ Deluxes).

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Yeah just rotate the head 360°, not as fancy as Sixshot's.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SMHFConvoy

I like that I don't have to de-headmaster Sky Shadow to transform him

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Yeah it's awesome how PM Optimus, Six Shot and Sky Shadow/Overlord don't have to have the titan master removed to be able to be transformed. Perfect for the people who want the toys, but don't care about the gimmick!

Great review!

I've seen him in person and I have to say they've done a really good job to distinguish him and Overlord. The engineering is on the simple side, but I do like the leg transformation; it's a very smart use of the volume in the legs to hide the tank turret.

I will probably only get Overlord, but I suspect lots of comic-oriented collectors would want to get this as well to complete their Phase-sixers.

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Originally Posted by doublespy

I will probably only get Overlord, but I suspect lots of comic-oriented collectors would want to get this as well to complete their Phase-sixers.

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I'm a comic fan and I don't feel the urge to get this toy as I already have the previous Generations version of this toy which, as a redeco of Thunderwing, feels like a more G1 accurate figure. And you all know that I'm not that fussed about scale. ;)

Even though this is a retool/mould-sibling of Overlord, this Sky Shadow looks surprisingly a lot like the G1 toy, looking at the robot mode and jet. I think it also looks different enough from the upcoming Overlord toy to warrant purchasing both characters.

EDIT: We've had two Sky Shadows in the Generations line so far. I wonder if Blue Bacchus will be getting his turn anytime soon. From memory, he was a helicopter (single propeller). A potential retool of Generations Springer/Sandstorm or Alpha Bravo/Blades/Vortex perhaps?

I didn't have any particular attachment to this guy or Overlord, but having Sky Shadow in hand, he's one of my favourite TR molds. Every mode is great and I think he just looks better than Overlord (not that I won't buy them both anyway). I'm not thrilled about splitting in half to transform, or the heavy reliance on his weapons to complete his alt modes, but it's not enough to stop me loving this guy.

I'm keen for a Blue Bacchus to go with him, even if just a TM.

Looks great in all modes and is fun to transform. Mine is let down by QC issues including ridiculously loose arm swivels, among the loosest joints i've ever experienced on a new TF. At least they could be fixed with nail polish. But the design of the loose shoulder joints means this toy will have a much shorter useful play life for kids than an expensive leader class figure should.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FatalityPitt

Even though this is a retool/mould-sibling of Overlord, this Sky Shadow looks surprisingly a lot like the G1 toy, looking at the robot mode and jet. I think it also looks different enough from the upcoming Overlord toy to warrant purchasing both characters.

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I agree that Hasbro appear to have done an outstanding job in trying to make Sky Shadow look a least like Overlord as possible. But I still think that the original Generations Sky Shadow looks so much more like Black Shadow, and that would be because it was a retool of Thunderwing, which the original G1 toy was as well. But obviously Hasbro needed to retool Overlord as something, and there isn't a whole lot of obvious alternatives, so Sky Shadow's about as good a choice as any, I suppose.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FatalityPitt

EDIT: We've had two Sky Shadows in the Generations line so far. I wonder if Blue Bacchus will be getting his turn anytime soon. From memory, he was a helicopter (single propeller). A potential retool of Generations Springer/Sandstorm or Alpha Bravo/Blades/Vortex perhaps?

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I'd rather they produce a Generations Blades and make it a mould-mate of Blue Bacchus. The real challenge would be Vroom. Who the hell do you redeco him as? Maruten's suggestion of having Blue Bacchus (and perhaps Crossblades and Vroom) as individual Titan Masters isn't too bad.

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Originally Posted by Maruten

I'm not thrilled about splitting in half to transform, or the heavy reliance on his weapons to complete his alt modes, but it's not enough to stop me loving this guy.

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The split transformation makes perfect sense for Overlord, but yeah, it'd be weird for Black Shadow.

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Originally Posted by Pipesqueak

But the design of the loose shoulder joints means this toy will have a much shorter useful play life for kids than an expensive leader class figure should.

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And adults!

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

... obviously Hasbro needed to retool Overlord as something, and there isn't a whole lot of obvious alternatives, so Sky Shadow's about as good a choice as any, I suppose.

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Dai Atlas maybe? Like Overlord, Dai Atlas had a tank, a jet, and a base mode. But unlike Overlord, Dai Atlas was a quadruple-changer that didn't split into separate components (at least to my understanding). Thinking about it now; part of me hopes Hasbro will one day produce a Dai Atlas, retooled from Overlord/Sky Shadow. At least this way, we'd have an Autobot version of the mould.

Actually, thinking about it more; the Decepticons are out-numbering the Autobots in terms of TR Leader Class figures.

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

The real challenge would be Vroom. Who the hell do you redeco him as?

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If they use an existing mould, Vroom could be a retool of Combiner Wars Groove (the Deluxe). Or if they want to make a new mould for Vroom, they could retool it as Bulletbike (a G2 Decepticon) in the future.

I would actually consider getting a Dai Atlas redeco of this mould! :D

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

I would actually consider getting a Dai Atlas redeco of this mould! :D

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+1!

Who cares if he had to split into two, it'd work!

Have had him for a few days but finally opened him this arvo.

Great toy. Everything it does, it does very well. Both alt modes look the business and the bot mode is pretty damn posable. The transformation is simple yet clever. I love how the bottom half forms the tank.

This is one of the best leader class toys since Animated Megatron.

Love it how this 'bot splits in two to form it's jet and tank modes because that gives more variation to my Transformers collection. Looking at the Thunderwing-like jet mode, I find it more sleek than Overlord's SR-71-like jet mode. I'm now curious to know how the impressive base mode will look hooked up to Trypticon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

I would actually consider getting a Dai Atlas redeco of this mould! :D

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I'd be up for a Dai Atlas remold, if it was done well.

I really like the duocons reference as well & makes more sense to me now why the TM Skytread (Flywheels's head) was released so I stuck him in Sky Shadows tank. He looks a lot like Flywheels when the jet is connected to the tank even though he's obviously based on Overlord.

Makes me wonder what other base modes Hasbro is planning for the extension of Cybertron City.

I picked up Sky Shadow the other week and very impressed with him. I wasn't planning on getting any thing from Titan's Returns however I relented on Alpha Trion and found him far too fun and then soon purchased Clobber (because Grimlock) and had been eyeing Sky Shadow because he's the best looking Leader in my opinion.

He has a very simple transformation all through however like Alpha Trion, the various modes and Headmaster gimmick increases the 'fun' and 'playability' so much. I don't have the funds for it however I'm really eyeing more and more figures for them to go together.

Also the ankles on this guy is magical, they really REALLY impressed me.

Just picked the guy up today and while he's decent for the most part (although seriously Hasbro, would it kill you to throw a lick of paint on the Titanmaster robot modes- it's getting way beyond old at this point), there is one niggle and one missed opportunity.

Most of the figure is pretty solid, feeling like a Duocon upgrade of Black Shadow.

However there are two areas where this toy has been let down by the design process.

The first is the tank. For whatever reason there are two gaping holes along the sides where you can clearly see the robot mode legs. Some false panels here really wouldn't have gone astray.

The second is a disappointing missed opportunity. One interesting thing about this figure is that much like the Generations homage, there is a drone which attaches to the front of the jet mode to simulate the combined vehicle mode of the original G1 toy.

While this drone is nice as a mini-jet which a Titanmaster can pilot in robot model, that being the limit of a Titanmaster's interaction with it is a disappointing departure from the norm when it comes to titanmaster vehicles in this line. The thing about this line is that Hasbro went out of their way to allow Titanmasters to merge with their vehicles, yet in this case they didn't. Had they simply put a Titanmaster head sized and shaped hole in the front of the seat and a Titanmaster leg slit sized and shaped hole in the back of the seat, then it would have been possible to 'merge' the Titanmaster with the drone, which would have been quite a nice homage to the Mega Pretenders.

Still, even with these niggles, he's a credible offering and worth checking out- just don't expect perfection by any means.

After messing around with Overlord and finding her quite enjoyable, I decided I would get this guy as well.

I held off on getting Sky Shadow, as I thought I would be disappointed by Overlord if I got this one first. Odd hey? I have more of a character connection to OL than SH. Luckily though I found OL to be an excellent figure that I really liked ( a lot more than I thought I would) and so I though I'd nab this guy as well.

SH is also pretty damn fine. He has a great presence among the other toys and aside from them having the same legs, I find it pretty hard to see the similarities between him and OL. Aside from the Transformation schematic of course.

Base mode is great, I'd actually say better than OL's. I find OL's a little lacking on mass IMO, but SH manages to make up for it with clever wing usage.

The face sculpt is great as is the helmet shape. Very nice indeed. Good pose options, glorious ankle abilities and a cool looking jet mode too.

This is my first actual Titan Returns figure (having gotten the Legends versions so far) and I can say, yeeesh. Pain those heads hasbro. I'm sure I would find Ominus a bit more endearing IF he had something to let me see some detail on him. Seriously, Ominus takes the whole Black Shadow thing too far...

Overall, I think this is an excellent figure. Not a must buy, unless you like the homage or cool looking robots but if you want a good toy for a bit of play, I think he'll fit the bill nicely. And you happen to have the bucs floating around. I got mine from amazon