This year I had the Transformers Universe figures I’m keeping around the tree, but there are a few left I haven’t reviewed. We’ll be returning to the project/review formula next week but this toy’s been sitting here a few weeks waiting to be reviewed, and it’s time to do that. As a reminder, Transformers Universe was originally a series of recolored molds of the past, some being the same character and some being a new character. The plot was that a version of Unicron dragged Transformers from across the multiverse to fight each other because he fed off of the fighting…somehow. I don’t get it either, but it did allow some of us to get molds we didn’t have before since they were exclusive to other countries.

This isn’t the case for Skywarp, however. This Skywarp uses the mold of Jetstorm from the Beast Machines line, another reminder I should have gone through that box first. The mold would be used for other figures as well but these two are the only versions I picked up. This one is a Decepticon, the only other one I have in the Universe line besides the Micromaster Construction Combiners. I’ll review Jetstorm in the future, so let’s look at Skywarp.

I knew I booked the wrong airline!

Skywarp is a Cybertronian jet, built for speed but also bulky enough that he looks darn powerful as well. Purple, black, and the occasional orange is his color scheme in both modes and it makes him look fearsome. The landing gears do go up but the wheels are molded in, not separate pieces so he doesn’t roll on them. Of course not, he’s a jet. In addition to the molded-in laser cannons on his cockpit, Skywarp sports two missile launchers where you’d expect his thrusters are. This gives him a jet trail look, which doesn’t work as well when he’s not supposed to be flying. The things are also on a hair trigger so I rarely have them loaded.

“I tell you the jet was looking at me!”

Skywarp shares Jetstorm’s action feature, where the nosecone can grow a neck and look around. I’m pretty sure that’s terrible for flying but it was intended to allow him to look for the enemy in jet mode. It looks weird. The cockpit itself doesn’t open, but the hatch on top opens to reveal his spark crystal, the old Vehicon symbol covered with a tampographed Decepticon symbol. The rear wings, which look too small to be useful when flying if it were a Earth jet, can rotate so you can have them swept back or forward. I’m not sure what the point was or if that was an unintended byproduct of the engineering but you have your preference.

Note that the purple is coming out brighter in the robot pictures than it looks on the toy. This is what happens when I tried to adjust it.

Robot mode looks powerful up top but rather stubby in the legs. There’s a reason for that you’ll see later, but it doesn’t make him top heavy. The feet have decent heel spurs. He still looks like a bot you don’t want to mess with. There is no change in the color scheme. About the only thing remarkable until we get to posing is the pain this thing is to transform. Half the plane spins around to fold into the body, the chest pieces are a tight fit into pegs on the platform housing the head, and the legs have a step I keep missing. I feel like I’m transforming a Rubik’s Cube part of the time. This is where my habit of creating my own transformation pattern helps but when I haven’t done it in a while, and even when I have, I still have to go back and flip that one part over so the legs can connect to the tabs alongside the cockpit.

Skywarp likes to boogie.

Once he’s there he does look good at least. His head can turn left and right, but I don’t see any benefit in those things on the sides of his heads moving around, even in plane mode. He has full shoulder range thanks to two different joints working together. His elbows are a bit limited but I can work around them. Hips and knees work well, but that’s pretty much it for articulation. The missile/thrusters are now part of his arm and they fire rather well.

I’m actually surprised this review is as short as it is. The others have had more to talk about. It’s all aesthetics with this guy and you can see those in the pictures so I guess that’s doing most of the review for me. Well, I guess there’s this mode.

I need the stand for this one.

Jetstorm’s personality includes hating being on the ground so he has this unileg hover jet thing he does, and Skywarp can do it too. However you need a stand to show it off and I’m not a fan of it on either toy.

Decision: Stays

Skywarp is tough and cool. His jet mode may not be built for speed but you wouldn’t want to be on the ground when he’s coming. I think Skywarp’s color scheme is even better than Jetstorm’s. I want to keep this one in my collection a while longer. Next week we’ll get back to the clutter projects and more Transformer toy reviewing in two weeks.

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