Rest of Thursday's items

Before I reveal what I picked up at the post office this morning, I should finish off commenting on the toys I got on Thursday... before they get shelved and forgotten.
Since starting this blog, I've found that I'm making more time for my toys. Something I've been missing, and longing to revive, as recent years they've mostly just been coming in, recorded, and being shelved into the collection.
I get to explore again... to enjoy the collection once more.

Aaaanyway...
Gen Sky Shadow

 The colours of this seem to work, and since I have no exposure to the toy this is apparently homaging (Blackshadow from the Japanese Original Series), I'm not being biased or blinded by what it may or may not be supposed to look like. I think it would have been a nicer homage if they gave it the actual name too, but I guess Hasbro either needed to keep the Sky Shadow name valid, or didn't want to pay for registering the Blackshadow name (or couldn't).
This figure is not just a redeco/recolour of the Thunderwing toy (which was released about a year ago). I was surprised to find a couple of alterations to the actual mould itself - a new head and new chest panelling. Something that I wasn't aware of between the original Thunderwing & Blackshadow toys (Blackshadow is a recolour of Thunderwing but with a new head and chest detailing. I may have noticed this before, but since I still don't own Blackshadow (yet) it was only through exploring this new Sky Shadow toy that I really realised it. 4/5
The photo below shows the differences of the two Generations toys.

Generations Junkheap

This is an interesting figure, because it is the third "mould" version of this motorcycle toy. Hasbro first released it as Wreckgar last year, then Tomy released it with a new head in Japan as part of a special 3-pack with Kup & Rodimus... and now this one has a third robot head and colourings. It just seems strange that the three different heads don't appear to be all released in either market. It looks like one or two of the heads will remain "exclusive" to either Tomy's market or Hasbro's market.
I also like the way the three different Junkions have all managed to maintain a Junkion colour scheme, without any of them being similar to either of the other two. 3/5
The colours of all three.

And the three different heads, which all seem to have the back part of the head made of clear plastic. (I didn't get a good angle on the pic though)

 

DotM Darksteel

Oddly enough, the colouring of this toy and the new head actually make this figure seem completely different to the Sideswipe toy it was originally released as. So much so, that this mould would have been best to only be released like this, and not as Sideswipe at all. (they shoulda just used the TF2 mould, which didn't have the big hole in the middle of the car)
The gold colouring on the chest and metallic aqua on the car are nice touches, and very "Tomy". 3/5
A closer picture of Darksteel, next to Voyager Ironhide and Legion Soundwave:

Air Raid

 A gangly, skinny robot mode, which was to be expected from a long skinny jet form. I like the colouring of this figure, and the jet mode, but the robot mode has a few flaws to it. The right arm is too long and stringy, and there is a fair bit of back-pack kibble... in addition to the skinny legs. 3/5


Armor Topspin

 As mentioned in the posting a couple days ago, I love the detailing on this toy. The robot mode is a bit lanky, with a lot of back-pack kibble. This one is very shell-formerish, as the legs and arms are all pretty much contained within the car shell that now sits on its back (folded up). The colours are good on this one too, just like the first release of Topspin (in dark blue). 3/4

Legion Soundwave

I already talked about this one too, but wanted to add that its robot mode is probably a little too simplified. At least, compared to the Human Alliance version I got recently, which makes the impression a little biased. Here's hoping the Deluxe version is just right (not too simple, not too hard). This one is still worth getting, to add to the collection of small-scale Movie cast figures. 3/5

Speedstars Leadfoot  
Already spoken about, so just enjoy these new photos instead. (only worth getting if you collect RPMs/Speedstars)
Front of card & top of car.

 Back of card & bottom of car. (click on photo to see full-size version if you want to read the bio)

Next to Topspin, to show it is just a redeco on top...

...but the underside is new, to feature Leadfoot instead of Topspin.

DotM Specialist Ratchet

I may have called this one "Rescue Ratchet" in the previous posting, but I was getting mixed up with a previous Ratchet redeco. Ratchet is just one of those characters I've had enough of, after nearly 5 years of Ratchet toys... so having it in red doesn't make this any more desirable, because it isn't even homaging the Ratchet from the Original 80s series. It does however replicate the proposed Movie Ratchet colours before it ended up being changed to green. I just don't know if it was intentional though. 1/5

United Tracks
This is the best JP version of a Hasbro Classicverse toy. It doesn't have any random splashes of chrome of Henkei, and the half-assed metallic colouring of United figures actually pays off with Tracks - because the robot mode isn't ruined by joining panels of metallic and matte like other United toys (giving us a mismatch like Hasbro yellow Alternator & Classics Sunstreakers). For Tracks, the car bits on the robot mode are only on the chest, away from the matte blue parts on the legs and wings. Plus, it has a proper Autobot symbol on the chest instead of the black (rubsign) square on the Hasbro version. The rest of the robot mode is mostly identical to the Hasbro version (the shoulders and crotch and eyes are different), but the car mode is the big improvement, with metallic blue colouring, and the proper Gen1 flame deco on the hood. It's no wonder this one sold out so fast when released, and has been difficult to find cheap. 5/5

See... look at how he glistens.  Tracks, the real Tracks, wouldn't be seen dead with that crappy Hasbro colouring. :p

United Jazz
This was released at the same time as Tracks in Japan, and similarly sold out fast. Mostly because it had a few extra paint details in car mode. I mostly wanted it just to add to my Henkei collection, as it was one of the few United toys that would fit in. I don't like the legs on this figure... they just bug me.

Aside from the added car decos, and Autobot symbol, the JP Tomy version has silver parts instead of the grey Hasbro gave their toy. 4/5

A photo of these new figures together.