Two hidden gems.

Man, this set was a pleasant surprise. I expected them to be good but wouldn’t you know it, they turned out to be one of my favourite pick ups in recent memory.

Both of them have separate reviews up but here’s a combined one for those who want a review of the whole set.

Packaging

SS-01 Skysnake

Small snake.

Now this unofficial Lord Starscream is the main reason I got the set. Sorry, I mean Lord Skysnake.

Unlike Ironhide, Hasbro gave the WFC 2010 Seekers a shock. We took a look at Thundercracker the other day. Now let’s look at this scaled down version of this design!

Vehicle mode

Now, Skysnake has a pretty good Cybertronian jet mode. Apart from one thing. The exposed hands on the sides of the jet mode are just an eyesore. Granted, they’re not the worst exposed hands we’ve seen but it’s still a pretty big negative.

Now that the negative is out of the way, onto the positives. Pretty much everything else. The jet is has a lot of molded detailing and is completely covered in metallic paint. It’s pretty to look at. They even painted the back of his head to make it blend into the vehicle mode better!

Skysnake can store his weapon in jet mode under his cockpit. It looks kind of ridiculous but at least you won’t lose the rifle.

Transformation

Another super simple transformation but it’s too simple this time. They really should have added an extra step to deal with the exposed hands in vehicle mode.

Also, it’s actually a bit different than the Hasbro Deluxe. I thought it was going to be a straight downsize but I was mistaken.

Robot mode

Okay, all my complaints about vehicle mode are moot because this robot mode is beautiful. Skysnake looks magnificent. He looks better than the Hasbro Deluxe who’s at least twice his size and mass.

Skysnake has as much molded detail as his larger official counterpart but has much more paint. Skysnake’s seriously impressive to look at. Especially when you take his size into consideration.

Skysnake has a good amount of posability. His head, shoulders and elbows are ball-jointed. His wrists are hinged to move in at the forearms. His hips, knees and feet are ball-jointed. He’s missing some things (like a waist joint) but it’s still enough posability to pull off a bunch of poses.

Toy or collectible?

Skysnake’s definitely a collectible. He’s a 3rd Party Legends scale figure from a pretty much defunct company. He goes for pretty high prices nowadays and it would be a shame to give him to a kid.

Closing

Another great 3rd Party Legends Transformer! And it’s Lord Starscream! Such a joy to behold!

Objectively, Heavy Metal is a better Transformer than Skysnake. But because Skysnake is a beautiful representation of WFC 2010 Starscream, I like Skysnake better.

12/10 stars!

SS-02 Heavy Metal

Small buff boi.

Some characters from War For Cybertron (2010) never got figures released. Ironhide was one of them. Well now he does! Say hello to ShapeShift Heavy Metal!

Heavy Metal here is basically a roided out alien robot that turns into a fist on wheels. I can dig it.

Vehicle mode

Like I said, Heavy Metal is a rolling fist on wheels. One consistent complaint about Cybertronian vehicle modes was that they had cockpits. Why would they need cockpits? No one’s piloting them! Well, look here. Heavy Metal doesn’t have a cockpit. He’s just an armoured vehicle with a massive front bumper and big wheels.

For a figure this size, Heavy Metal is painted very well. In fact, pretty much everything here is painted with metallic paint. It looks great! The tolerances are good as well. Everything pegs together well and nothing is too tight or loose.

All four of Heavy Metal’s wheels roll nicely. You can also attach the guns that come with Heavy Metal in to him in vehicle mode. With the guns attached, he’s more of a tank than an assault vehicle. If you ask me, that’s not a bad thing though.

Transformation

Heavy Metal has a simple transformation that produces two distinct modes. It’s very straightforward and there’s no surprises.

It’s nice to see something that’s not too simple or over-engineered. This is just right.

Robot mode

Heavy Metal should not look this good. He seriously looks like a downscaled Voyager Transformer. In fact, he actually looks like he has more detail than some Voyagers. That’s nuts! The painted detail is also nice and plentiful even though it’s a bit sloppy in some areas.

Heavy Metal comes with two enormous cannons that can be attached to his forearms or combine into a long rifle. Heavy Metal looks good using it either way.

Heavy Metal has a ridiculous amount of posability. His head, shoulders and elbows are on ball joints. He has a waist swivel. His hips and knees are ball-jointed. His feet move forward and back. You can pull a lot of poses off with Heavy Metal.

Toy or collectible?

Definitely a collectible. He’s a tiny 3rd Party Transformer made by a company that seems to have gone under. I got a really good deal on Heavy Metal but apparently the price of all the stuff ShapeShift released is going up.

Closing

Man, it seems like I enjoy every 3rd Party Legends scale figure I get my grubby hands on. I actually like Heavy Metal better than Tyrant because he feels sturdier and doesn’t partsform. And I like Tyrant!

You should check out Heavy Metal if you get a chance. He’s a great figure and it’s a shame ShapeShift doesn’t seem to be continuing this line.

Skysnake VS Heavy Metal

Vehicle mode

Robot mode