i just picked this guy up at a local specialty store and was pleasantly surprised. i had intended to buy the BT version (which i've been putting off) but picked up the alt version on impulse. despite initially disliking the packaging and flame decals from net pics, ive to say they look much more appealing in person. the packaging looks 'fresh' and the decals look kinda sweet actually. while the scion may not be to everybody's taste, its kinda neat to have a non-car alt, the last being swindle. the bot mode looks sweet too, tho the transformation is a bitch - in particular when hooking up the rear/front portion of the torso. (just to brag i didnt need the instruction to transform skids...except the part where you flip/fold the roof. yay me!) on to the bad. the glitter effect on the screens arent that bad actually. whats bad abt it is the application. on the front windscreen, they have problem finishing the bottom corners and around the wipers. on the sides, the part where the bottom/top tint meets may be less than precise, depending on the sample you pick up. the box, while aesthetically nice, functionally blows. after 2 previous packaging, this time around, the packaging is NOT resealable. i didnt want to spoil the base, so i actually cut the bubble at the 'gable' end (the non-rounded end) so i can put skids back in later. despite the complaints, i'm happy to have a new alt mold, even if its a lame character like skids. at least he gets bath by charlene, lucky git.
Just got mine tonight along with Sunny... I must say, I'm really impressed with Skids... And you're right, the transformation is a BEEYOTCH... One area of MAJOR concern for me... The doors... Namely the front ones... I dunno about you KA, but I was TERRIFIED that they were gonna snap off at any given minute during transformation... So for those of you who just got him or are getting him, BE CAREFUL WITH HIS FRONT DOORS!!! Other than that, I love this new mold... All of his doors/trunk/hood open very well in car mode... I just had a little trouble opening the doors though... For some reason they don't like to open... I takes some careful coaxing... One last thing, there's no way around this shin guard thingys... Wish there was another way to put them, but nope, there isn't... Not that bad though... For some reason it makes his robot mode more "hip..." Overall, Skids is a VERY nice addition to the ALT/BT family...
man u guys took ur own sweet time to reply. XD what i do with the shin guards, push em all the way down so they look like part of the feet. i dont like these new feet designs anyway (similar to prowls) which are not formed by car parts. also, notice how there is no way your going to open the hatch door on its own. no tabs or nuthin. design flaw right there.
I tried pushing his shin guards all the way down, but I thought that they covered up too much of his feet... The hatch door??? You mean the trunk??? Mine opens fine...
what i mean is, in car mode, theres no way you can pry it open on your own without a tool. they couldve actually notch the inside of the handle, the one above the plates (?).
Ahhh, I see what you mean... Yeah, there is no notch where you can use a fingernail or something to open it up... I've been just applying pressure near the top where it swivels and using leverage to open it up...
I forgot to mention on this thread, but I'll mention it here and the Sunstreaker thread... The box design SUCKS ASS for those of you who are MIB collectors... Maybe even MISBers... KA's right... Looks nice, but functionality is out the window...
Is it really not resealable? That would seriously suck. No WAY am I boxing up my Alts. loose for storage. -XCN-
If you're just using the box for storage, I can see it still working... Because there's actually two parts to the bubble... The interior one is just like the bubble from the red boxed ones where there are four tabs on the bottom that are taped to the cardboard... The outside bubble is the actual fishtank looking thing... That's the one that people are gonna have problems with since it's glued to the cardboard... There's pretty much no way around opening that without either cutting the plastic or just tearing it off the cardboard... So for storage purposes, I can see it still useful, but for display, it sucks...
I find Skids is a bit top heavy although the Alternator is pretty sturdy, at least most likely compared to the BT version which I can image in very top heavy and prone to falling over. But with the Alt from my personal experience with him though he has this issue it is not to bad, just find you have to position him properly and he stands pretty well. At any rate though I would say this is a minor issue with him it is only minor as again if you position him right he stands well which is not that hard to do. As well as he is a pretty poseable figure overall Oh and before Soundwarp comes in here looking for pictures here’s my pre-emptive strike http://www.tfw2005.com/gallery/Toys-Alternators-Autobots-Skids
its like the dog on the beggin' strips commercial... bacon! I smelllll bacon!!!! bacon bacon bacon BACON!! Andy
I dunno if a hair dryer has enough heat to melt the glue... Maybe a heat gun??? But that's some hardcore gear...
I've written a review of Skids Vs. Broadblast in the general discussion area. Skids, unlike his BT bretheren is a bit easier to pose. I didn't care for the flames, or the windows, and have changed both. I plan on further kitbashing my current Skids into a custom 'bot.
Quick take: Man, did Hasbro cheese this guy up. The flame stickers look fine in person (as I thought they would), but the weird spray-on window tints and the giant "SCION" sticker just make me cringe. He's still a Scion xB, which means he's still the ugliest looking box car on the planet, but I've made my peace with that. Transformation is awesome. He's crazy complicated, but in a good way -- and parts don't go flying off ala Grimlock's doors. (Well, except for the feet.) It's one of those deals where the vehicle mode explodes into a tangle of stuff, then coaleses in some mysterious fashion into a robot, leaving you to wonder "how the HELL did they think of that?" The instructions are (SURPRISE!) spot-on accurate -- a first for the Alternators line -- only thing I missed was extending the legs. The rear hatch folding up and collapsing on itself is very cool, though I'm still mystified as to why there's a full circular pivot joint on it (allowing the hatch to be displayed two different ways in bot mode). Robot mode is pretty cool. The forward pelvic thing is a bit creepy, and I wish they'd done something with the windows on the rear doors, but otherwise he looks really cool -- a lot better (and less bulky looking) than I expected. Unfortunately, just like Windcharger, this guy has serious ankle issues. Part of the transformation involves a full 90 degree foot pivot around a ball joint -- while pulling on said ball joint to move a hinge into place. The first time I did this, the right foot popped off. The ball joints are really, REALLY loose, and certainly not fit for load bearing -- which is, unfortunately, what they need to do. Without tighter ball joints, leg posability goes out the window. I like the transformation enough that the ankle issue doesn't completely turn me off, but it does bug me. I'll probably pull the feet off and slop the joints in Future polish at some point. Skids' hands are smaller than the standard Alt-size hands, and his gun is TINY; sneeze, and it's gone. The gun can be mounted as a hat-gun, due to the transformation scheme. Basically, he's awesome. If you hate the paint scheme, go BT, but don't miss this guy. Final grade: A -XCN-
On my Skids the doors in robot mode can only open like this: \o/ and not all the way like this: --o-- . (the "o" is his head) If I try to open them further they rub on the back of his arms and I'm afraid the flames will chip. Anyone else experience this? By the way I'm not really digging his beer-belly. Otherwise he's pretty cool.
