Skids' vehicle mode is a van. Like all of the early G1 alternate modes, it's very good, with no robot extras at all. Rubber wheels, good proportions, that sort of thing, and his color scheme is nice. The windows, however, aren't nearly as translucent as they are on most of the G1 toys- you can hardly see anything through them. I mean, I don't mind, since I don't want to see the robot innards anyways, but some collectors might. Also, because of the transformation, Skids' front wheels tend to stick out a little farther from the main body than they should. But again, this is a pretty minor problem. One thing that may deter many people from buying Skids, however, is how extremely small he looks in vehicle mode (the mode he's packaged in). He actually looks like he's smaller than a basic, even though if you're going by mass, he's about the same size as one. But still, asking $30 for this guy is even more ridiculous than it was on the previous Autobot cars.
    In robot mode, Skids looks surprisingly good for a G1 toy, with great proportions, for the most part. (For once, the chest isn't too big!) The van doors behind his shoulders, while technically extras, complement the mode rather than hinder it. The robot mode also has a very "thoughtful" emotion carved into it- fitting, given that Skids' function is a theoretician. Skids' main problem in this mode is his arms- they're very stick-like, with no discernable elbows, and tend to come out of his body at his lower chest, rather than his actual shoulders. It looks pretty odd. Skids' articulation, like most other G1 toys, is also pretty bad- he can only move at the shoulders at two places, and that's it. And, although I don't usually comment on stickers, some of Skids' go in the most inane places- two, for example, go ontop of his (uneven) wheel axles. Yeah, THOSE will stay on... Skids has three weapons- a double-barreled gun, a single-barreled gun, and a missile launcher. Since the missile is so small that kids can't choke on it, it hasn't been lengthened any for the reissue, so you don't need to worry about that. The guns clip onto the tops of Skids' arms rather than him just holding them in his fists. I don't mind it much, but it is worth noting. Since Skids' has three weapons and only two arms, though, it's kinda difficult to get him to hold them all at once...
    Skids is actually a fairly good G1 toy- his only major problem is his arms in robot mode- but he is a G1 toy. So that means his weapons can't be stored in vehicle mode, and he has almost zero articulation. Plus, there's the $30 price point, which will no doubt deter all but the most dedicated collectors. If you can get past all that, though, then by all means, buy him.

Review by Beastbot

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