Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 18, 2010 10:58:00 GMT
Transformers Skids
Skids, like all the 1984 & 1985 Autobot cars, has his origins as a Diaclone Toy. The first version of Skids to appear in the Diaclone toy range was Diaclone #6 Honda City Turbo R. The car and the robot body are essentially the same design as Skids but there's a different robot head, a Diaclone Driver and an additional fold up motorcycle for the driver to ride on that can be stored in the back of the car. This toy was issued in Silver & Red. The silver version has a red head, hands, waist and feet while the red version colours these parts blue The second Diaclone version of this toy, Diaclone #9 Honda City Turbo, is essentially the same mould as Skids with an identical head plus the driver and bike. This was sold coloured red, black or the more familiar blue. The blue & black versions have red hands, waist and feet while the red version has these parts coloured blue. All three versions of Diaclone #9 have a head coloured the same as the car's bodywork.
Skids is a blue version of the Honda City Turbo featuring opening side & rear doors. The front, door & roof windows are moulded in clear blue plastic. If you pull the bottom of the rear of the car back a bit then fold the rear of the car down you'll be able to easily get at the compartment for the Diaclone driver to sit in which is moulded in black plastic.
Transformation: pull the bottom of the rear of the car back a bit then fold the rear of the car down under the car clipping it under the front bumper. Fold the rear of the car back to form the lower legs. Pull the legs apart. Fold the rear wheels flat under the legs. Open the side doors out. Fold the arms, running along the base of the door frame, down to the sides of the robot. Fold the roof back. Pull the back of the bonnet forward to open it,fold the head up and close the bonnet. Swing the arms up so they point out to the sides, bend them forward and then fold them back so the wheels face forward at the shoulders. Turn each hand in 90 degrees.
Skid's robot mode moves the black that was inside the car onto the legs and reveals some red on the feet, hands & waist. You can fold the feet down to give him a wheeled robot mode but that leans forwards somewhat. His articulation is limited: the shoulders turn & fold out to the sides and the wrists turn. The hands are solid, they don't have a peg hole to hold a weapon. Instead his three weapons, a single barrelled gun, a dual barrelled gun and a missile launcher, clip over the arms. Unfortunately the clips have a habit of slipping when you do get them on or are too tight to pass over the arms in the first place. There's also only space for one weapon on each arm so you've always got one remaining left over. Maybe the missile launcher would have worked better clipped to his shoulder some how.
Skids doesn't really float my boat. The design of the car isn't that interesting, and the robot is a little limited not being able to hold his weapons and having long fixed arms. He's non existent in the cartoon so his fame mainly comes from his extensive comic appearances where he's essentially used as a punch bag being captured by humans for a few issues and then spending a lot of time trapped in an alternate dimension.
Skids was released in 1985 in the USA & UK. Apparently he was packed less per case than any of the other 1985 Autobot toys. In Japan he wasn't released by himself but was part of the VSZ set with Sunstreaker and Buzzsaw.
He was re-released in Japan individually in 2004 as Transformers Collection #03 and reissued in the same year in the USA as part of Transformers Commemorative Series VIII where his missile launcher, weak on the original western version and fully powered on the Japanese versions, is completely depowered. He had another Japanese re-release in 2009 as Encore release #18.
E-Hobby Cross Cut
Cross Cut is based on the earlier diaclone toy version of Skids, the #6 Honda City Turbo R which has a different head. Cross Cut is the silver version of this toy, with a red head, hands, waist & feet.
Cross Cut was an exclusive for E-Hobby in 2002 released at the same time as Transformers Collection #3 Skids.
Generations Skids
Generations Skids is one of a pair of exclusives, sold through a mail order offer found in the book Transformers Generations volume 3, published by Million Publishing. The blue & black are swapped for green and the red for grey in a homage to Movie Skids.
Generatrions Screech
Generations Skid's companion, released through the same offer, is Screech. Screech takes the Cross Cut version of the mould painting it an orangey red and swapping the red for grey in a homage to Movie Mudflap, Movie Skids' twin brother. Why they didn't use the Mudflap name, I don't know.....
Skids, like all the 1984 & 1985 Autobot cars, has his origins as a Diaclone Toy. The first version of Skids to appear in the Diaclone toy range was Diaclone #6 Honda City Turbo R. The car and the robot body are essentially the same design as Skids but there's a different robot head, a Diaclone Driver and an additional fold up motorcycle for the driver to ride on that can be stored in the back of the car. This toy was issued in Silver & Red. The silver version has a red head, hands, waist and feet while the red version colours these parts blue The second Diaclone version of this toy, Diaclone #9 Honda City Turbo, is essentially the same mould as Skids with an identical head plus the driver and bike. This was sold coloured red, black or the more familiar blue. The blue & black versions have red hands, waist and feet while the red version has these parts coloured blue. All three versions of Diaclone #9 have a head coloured the same as the car's bodywork.
Skids is a blue version of the Honda City Turbo featuring opening side & rear doors. The front, door & roof windows are moulded in clear blue plastic. If you pull the bottom of the rear of the car back a bit then fold the rear of the car down you'll be able to easily get at the compartment for the Diaclone driver to sit in which is moulded in black plastic.
Transformation: pull the bottom of the rear of the car back a bit then fold the rear of the car down under the car clipping it under the front bumper. Fold the rear of the car back to form the lower legs. Pull the legs apart. Fold the rear wheels flat under the legs. Open the side doors out. Fold the arms, running along the base of the door frame, down to the sides of the robot. Fold the roof back. Pull the back of the bonnet forward to open it,fold the head up and close the bonnet. Swing the arms up so they point out to the sides, bend them forward and then fold them back so the wheels face forward at the shoulders. Turn each hand in 90 degrees.
Skid's robot mode moves the black that was inside the car onto the legs and reveals some red on the feet, hands & waist. You can fold the feet down to give him a wheeled robot mode but that leans forwards somewhat. His articulation is limited: the shoulders turn & fold out to the sides and the wrists turn. The hands are solid, they don't have a peg hole to hold a weapon. Instead his three weapons, a single barrelled gun, a dual barrelled gun and a missile launcher, clip over the arms. Unfortunately the clips have a habit of slipping when you do get them on or are too tight to pass over the arms in the first place. There's also only space for one weapon on each arm so you've always got one remaining left over. Maybe the missile launcher would have worked better clipped to his shoulder some how.
Skids doesn't really float my boat. The design of the car isn't that interesting, and the robot is a little limited not being able to hold his weapons and having long fixed arms. He's non existent in the cartoon so his fame mainly comes from his extensive comic appearances where he's essentially used as a punch bag being captured by humans for a few issues and then spending a lot of time trapped in an alternate dimension.
Skids was released in 1985 in the USA & UK. Apparently he was packed less per case than any of the other 1985 Autobot toys. In Japan he wasn't released by himself but was part of the VSZ set with Sunstreaker and Buzzsaw.
He was re-released in Japan individually in 2004 as Transformers Collection #03 and reissued in the same year in the USA as part of Transformers Commemorative Series VIII where his missile launcher, weak on the original western version and fully powered on the Japanese versions, is completely depowered. He had another Japanese re-release in 2009 as Encore release #18.
E-Hobby Cross Cut
Cross Cut is based on the earlier diaclone toy version of Skids, the #6 Honda City Turbo R which has a different head. Cross Cut is the silver version of this toy, with a red head, hands, waist & feet.
Cross Cut was an exclusive for E-Hobby in 2002 released at the same time as Transformers Collection #3 Skids.
Generations Skids
Generations Skids is one of a pair of exclusives, sold through a mail order offer found in the book Transformers Generations volume 3, published by Million Publishing. The blue & black are swapped for green and the red for grey in a homage to Movie Skids.
Generatrions Screech
Generations Skid's companion, released through the same offer, is Screech. Screech takes the Cross Cut version of the mould painting it an orangey red and swapping the red for grey in a homage to Movie Mudflap, Movie Skids' twin brother. Why they didn't use the Mudflap name, I don't know.....
