Susp's Review: TAKARA ENCORE SKY LYNX
Sky Lynx has an intimidating appearance, impressive size, incredible speed and strength, and an immense ego. He never misses a chance to point out his superior skill at transporting fellow Autobots over vast expanses of space or mopping the floor with the likes of Predaking. He also played a major role in helping to bring Optimus Prime back to life at one point.
With the recent passing of voice actor Aron Kincaid, I thought a review of Takara’s Encore Sky Lynx would be a nice tribute.
Vehicle Mode: Sky Lynx’s vehicle mode consists of a Space Shuttle and a crawler-transporter. The shuttle is white with black thrusters, gold chrome viewports, and gold stickers running down its length and along its stabilizer fin. Huge metallic red and gold Autobot symbols are on the wings and a rub symbol is located just behind the cockpit.
From nose to tail, the Shuttle measures 26 cm(10.2”) long with a wingspan of 19 cm(7.5”). Opening the bay doors reveals an assortment of gold chrome machinery.
The crawler-transporter measures 20 cm(7.9") long and is red, white, and blue with red and gold stickers and a small Autobot symbol on its front. On its underside are four wheels, a black battery cover, and two switches marked, ‘Walk/Roll’ and, ‘Off/On.’ Two AA batteries are required.
The Shuttle attaches horizontally to the transporter via three pegs. Switching on the motor causes the vehicle to rumble steadily and noisily across your bare floor or desk. Carpet is a no-go. Also note that the front set of wheels can be adjusted so that Sky Lynx travels around and around in a circle if you so desire.
Transformation: Separate the Shuttle and the transporter. Swing down the legs on the latter until they click into position and unfold the paws. Slide out the tails and unfold the neck and head. Extend the front of the shuttle to form the bird head and neck, open up the rear and pull out the tail, slide out the wingtips, and lower the feet. Very easy.
Beast Modes: Sky Lynx’s component beast modes are a prehistoric bird and a lynx. The bird measures about 50 cm(20") long from nose to tail tip and has a wingspan of 30 cm(11.8"). Its main colours are now red, white, and blue. With sharp teeth, huge talons, and a large blade on its tail, this is not something a Seeker wants to see coming at it. Housed inside the mouth is a dark grey acetylene blaster, perfect for sending opponents crashing down in flames. He also has what appear to be laser cannons mounted in his neck. The bird’s jaws open and close, its neck has four hinge joints, its tail has three, and its legs have two each.
The lynx is a very strange specimen, with a relatively small head, a massive body, and two tails. Nevertheless, it looks rugged and strong, capable of batting aside Decepticons with its enormous paws. Its head is gold chrome with bright blue eyes and sharp fangs. From snout to tail tips, it measures 27 cm(10.7”) long and stands 12 cm(4.7”) tall at the head.
The lynx’s main feature is its ability to walk jerkily but steadily across smooth surfaces when you switch the motor from ‘Roll’ to ‘Walk.’ Not exactly the swift and agile creature depicted in the cartoon and the comics, but still pretty nifty.
Robot Mode: Fold in the lynx's head and tails, fold up the bird's legs, snap the two creatures together, and Sky Lynx’s full robot mode, if you can call it that, is complete. He can best be described as a European dragon with four stout legs, massive wings, and a long neck and tail.
Standing up to 23 cm(9.1”) tall, Sky Lynx is one of the biggest Autobots in the entire G1 line, right up there with Omega Supreme, Metroplex, and Fortress Maximus. The components hold together firmly and the walking function works just as well.
Overall, Suspsy Sez: As a child, I thought Sky Lynx was one of the most wonderful toys of all time, and my sentiment has changed little since then. Good vehicle mode, easy transformation, fun beast modes, and a very intimidating combined mode. The motorised feature works well in both modes. Some fans may balk at his lack of a humanoid robot mode, but for me, that’s one of the appealing things about him. 5/5
"Now, remember. Before you do anything, think: 'Is this what Sky Lynx would do in my position?' and you will not go far wrong."
With the recent passing of voice actor Aron Kincaid, I thought a review of Takara’s Encore Sky Lynx would be a nice tribute.
Vehicle Mode: Sky Lynx’s vehicle mode consists of a Space Shuttle and a crawler-transporter. The shuttle is white with black thrusters, gold chrome viewports, and gold stickers running down its length and along its stabilizer fin. Huge metallic red and gold Autobot symbols are on the wings and a rub symbol is located just behind the cockpit.
From nose to tail, the Shuttle measures 26 cm(10.2”) long with a wingspan of 19 cm(7.5”). Opening the bay doors reveals an assortment of gold chrome machinery.
The crawler-transporter measures 20 cm(7.9") long and is red, white, and blue with red and gold stickers and a small Autobot symbol on its front. On its underside are four wheels, a black battery cover, and two switches marked, ‘Walk/Roll’ and, ‘Off/On.’ Two AA batteries are required.
The Shuttle attaches horizontally to the transporter via three pegs. Switching on the motor causes the vehicle to rumble steadily and noisily across your bare floor or desk. Carpet is a no-go. Also note that the front set of wheels can be adjusted so that Sky Lynx travels around and around in a circle if you so desire.
Transformation: Separate the Shuttle and the transporter. Swing down the legs on the latter until they click into position and unfold the paws. Slide out the tails and unfold the neck and head. Extend the front of the shuttle to form the bird head and neck, open up the rear and pull out the tail, slide out the wingtips, and lower the feet. Very easy.
Beast Modes: Sky Lynx’s component beast modes are a prehistoric bird and a lynx. The bird measures about 50 cm(20") long from nose to tail tip and has a wingspan of 30 cm(11.8"). Its main colours are now red, white, and blue. With sharp teeth, huge talons, and a large blade on its tail, this is not something a Seeker wants to see coming at it. Housed inside the mouth is a dark grey acetylene blaster, perfect for sending opponents crashing down in flames. He also has what appear to be laser cannons mounted in his neck. The bird’s jaws open and close, its neck has four hinge joints, its tail has three, and its legs have two each.
The lynx is a very strange specimen, with a relatively small head, a massive body, and two tails. Nevertheless, it looks rugged and strong, capable of batting aside Decepticons with its enormous paws. Its head is gold chrome with bright blue eyes and sharp fangs. From snout to tail tips, it measures 27 cm(10.7”) long and stands 12 cm(4.7”) tall at the head.
The lynx’s main feature is its ability to walk jerkily but steadily across smooth surfaces when you switch the motor from ‘Roll’ to ‘Walk.’ Not exactly the swift and agile creature depicted in the cartoon and the comics, but still pretty nifty.
Robot Mode: Fold in the lynx's head and tails, fold up the bird's legs, snap the two creatures together, and Sky Lynx’s full robot mode, if you can call it that, is complete. He can best be described as a European dragon with four stout legs, massive wings, and a long neck and tail.
Standing up to 23 cm(9.1”) tall, Sky Lynx is one of the biggest Autobots in the entire G1 line, right up there with Omega Supreme, Metroplex, and Fortress Maximus. The components hold together firmly and the walking function works just as well.
Overall, Suspsy Sez: As a child, I thought Sky Lynx was one of the most wonderful toys of all time, and my sentiment has changed little since then. Good vehicle mode, easy transformation, fun beast modes, and a very intimidating combined mode. The motorised feature works well in both modes. Some fans may balk at his lack of a humanoid robot mode, but for me, that’s one of the appealing things about him. 5/5
"Now, remember. Before you do anything, think: 'Is this what Sky Lynx would do in my position?' and you will not go far wrong."