Skyquake (Botcon 2009 Attendee-Only Exclusive)
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Deluxe (comes in a 2-pack with Banzai-Tron)
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Transparent lime green, bright seafoam green, dull milky bronzish orange, black, and some metallic pinkish purple, light red, metallic seafoam green, and light green
Rating: 9.2

(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 the original Energon Starscream. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Energon Starscream here.)

    Skyquake was one of those TF toys released in the late '80s/early '90s period where a lot of Transformers had... questionable color schemes. True to the original Skyquake, this new version has a rather loud color scheme, though it's oddly intriguing to me. Bright green and orangish-bronze go surprisingly well together, and the black serves as a nice dark color to help with the contrast. The transparent light green is a pretty nice "sour apple" shade too, and goes well with the others. The seafoam green plastic... I'm not so thrilled about. It's just a bit TOO ugly, even for kitsch's sake. The metallic, slightly darker shade of that seafoam green on the wings, though-- I wish that had been used over all the seafoam green parts (where applicable, of course). It just looks so much better and goes well with the other colors. And, as you'd expect from a Botcon toy, Skyquake's got tons of paint apps. Black, orange, light green-- paint apps of those colors are all over the jet and robot mode, and the "battle damage" molded into the design is painted bright red like some sort of energy leak and looks great, as well. I'm not too fond of them bringing over the pink from the original Skyquake onto this one-- it's a bit TOO obnoxious-- but at least they toned it down to a dull purplish pink and it's only used as an accent color in a few places.
    No mold changes have been made to Botcon 2009 Skyquake.
    Botcon 2009 Skyquake is a must-get if you have a bit of a thing for color schemes that are rather loud and unrealistic (which I can sometimes like, in certain cases), and the mold celebrates its ugliness and remains faithful to the original's color scheme while "dulling it down" slightly. I think that although it's better than the retail releases of this mold, Leozack is slightly better just because he's not so obviously loud, but this is still a nice homage repaint for what it is. Of course, if you prefer your Transformers colored more realistically, this is an easy pass.


Skyquake Bio:
FUNCTION: Air Commandant
MOTTO: "Even hatred is subject to improvement."
A master of body-structure science, Skyquake pioneered the development of the first mass-produced "Skyraider" body frame and he continually strives for its perfection. The development of unique "talent powers" and ever-larger and more combat-capable designs are his engineering specialities. As a reward for these feats, he was given his own squad to command, though he is far from thrilled with those whom he leads. This is no surprise, as he is filled with hatred for anything that falls short of his merciless ideals. Prepared for all contingencies, he is rumored to have a secret stash of body designs and backed-up programming culled from his various minions. He focuses his hate through single-minded rationality that drives his monstrous scientific and combative endeavors. His vast array of sensors allows him to absorb and interpret immense amounts of visual information. To outside observers, this awareness appears almost supernatural. His sensor-laced right arm is ultra-sensitive and vulnerable to attack.
Strength: 9.0
Intelligence: 10.0
Speed: 9.0
Endurance: 9.0
Rank: 8.0
Courage: 9.0
Fireblast: 8.0
Skill: 9.0

Review by Beastbot

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