Name: Skids
Series: Generation 1
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Theoretician
Alternate Mode: Honda City Turbo
VAN MODE
Height: 4.5cm Length: 9cm Width: 5cm
A blue van with dark transparent blue windows and sunroof, save for the side rear windows which are painted black. He has large red pinstripes and black bumpers, with silver headlights, these are actually chromed plastic inserts in the die-cast metal. Oh, the front and rear are die-cast metal. The wheels are chromed and have rubber tyres on them.
Skids has a small ensignia on his hood which sits on a small raised patch, and stickers for front indicators and taillights. His wheels all roll, his doors open, although the reveal robot bits. The boot can also open, as can the hood, but not too far since it reveals the robot head.
This is a good vehicle mode, although along with Crosscut probably the smallest in this series. The colours work, the detail is great and the materials used really add to it. The only shortcomings are visible panels on top of the roof where the legs fold out. This is pretty minor since the bits showing through are black in a dark blue toy.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Open the doors, fold up the front section, swing out the arms and fold back the roof. Lift the hood and swing out the head, then push the hood back down. Swing up the shoulders, swing the arms down into place, swivel the fists around. Fold the feet down and fold the rear wheels in. Split the legs. Give him weapons.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 12cm Width: 9cm
Still primarily blue, Skids has a silver face with yellow eyes, red waist & fists, red & black groin and red feet. His legs are black, and serve well to break up the blue.
The doors form wings and the front wheels are mounted on the back of his shoulders. The roof mounts on his back. There's a real similarity to Jazz in this mode, although the transforms are different.
He has three different weapons, two guns and a missile launcher. He can't actually hold all three at the same time, mind you. Without holes in his fists, Skids has weapons that mount on his arms instead. His shoulders can swivel on two planes, basically he's able to life his arms forward and out to the sides. There's no elbows, but his wrists rotate 360°.
It's a nice robot mode, and isn't as a small as the car mode, since it unfolds quite a bit. Somewhat lanky, the arms are spindly, but you can swing them down so they're further out from the body if you like. There's no real flaws on the original, but on the 2002 Takara reissue the rear right rear doesn't fold in properly, making him lean forward and to the left. You can file down the piece it's attached to, however. Mine's an original so I don't have this problem.
VARIATIONS
Issued in 1985 and again reissued by Takara in 2002, the 2002 reissue has the aforementioned flaw in the wheel. It also has some small sticker changers. Crosscut is widely considered to be a repaint, but it is in fact a similar, unused, Diaclone mould and has a different head mould, smooth hood (no raised section) and Clutch the scooter (which Skids only came with in his Diaclone days).
OVERALL
A good colour scheme in both modes, nice robot and car modes. Desperately underused in the cartoon, although he really looks like his cartoon incarnation. He featured a lot in the comic. Skid's shoulders give him good poseability for a Diaclone toy. The reissue's standing problem is a pain, but you _can_ fix it. 7.5/10, 7/10 for the reissue for the stability issue
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