(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to Revenge of the Fallen deluxe Autobot Skids. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Revenge of the Fallen deluxe Autobot Skids here.)
Since Mudflap got a "Tuner"
deco, it was only a matter of time before Skids got one, too. Like
Mudflap's "Tuner" version, this version of Skids keeps the same basic colors
as the original version, with a little extra "color" thrown in and some
changed vehicle mode paint apps. Skids' main color of green has been toned
down a bit to more of a medium shade, which honestly looks a bit better
against the light milky gray parts of his robot mode-- more contrast. (The
painted green parts actually fit in very well with the plastic green parts--
the disparity in colors in the photos above is just a result of camera
light.) A really nice shade of brownish orange has been added to some of
his robot parts, which really helps the color scheme more than you'd think,
and makes his robot mode colors pop a bit more than in the vehicle mode,
where that color's hidden. That-- along with a bit of dark gray-- helps
to edge out almost all of that ugly light milky gray, to boot. In vehicle
mode, a patch of black has been added to his roof, which was SORELY needed
on the first release, so I'm quite grateful it's on this version. There's
also a rather neat black trim around the bottom of the mode, with some
little reverse-color "skid" marks on them (i.e, green marks "on" the black
paint). It's a very interesting deco job, though I personally prefer the
larger, more obvious skidmarks on the original version. The transparent
blue plastic has been significantly darkened on this version, which means
you can't see the robot mode bits through the windows in vehicle mode,
which I'm grateful for. However, it also makes the headlights and taillights
too dark, so it's a bit of a trade-off. On his back end, Skids has two
hilarious little paint apps tampoed on-- his license plate reads "1H8CONS"--
obvious 133t-speak for "I Hate 'Cons"-- and a "bumper sticker" that says
"I helped make the Fallen Falled!". Both fit RIGHT in with Skids' personality
and are great little touches.
No mold changes have
been made to Tuner Skids.
The deluxe version of
Tuner Skids has a slightly-improved (though still quite similar) color
scheme when compared to the initial release, and some fairly neat paint
apps. I still wish they had changed the overall scheme a LITTLE bit more
to justify a second purchase, though. If you don't have a version of (admittedly
medicore) deluxe mold and want one, get this version-- but if you already
have the RotF version, there's no reason to get this redeco unless you're
a completist.
Review by Beastbot