General Information
Release Date: June 2025
Price Point: $34.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc. - preceding links all help support BWTF)
Accessories: Missile launcher (non-working), Fins x 2, Shoulder Armor x 2
Official images and text in italics are from Amazon.com:
- SKY-BYTE ACTION FIGURE: This 7-inch (17.5 cm) Sky-Byte action figure toy features deco and detail inspiration from the Transformers universe
- 2-IN-1 CONVERTING TRANSFORMERS TOY: Transformers action figure converts from robot toy to shark toy in 28 steps
- AWESOME ACCESSORIES: This Sky-Byte Transformers figure comes with 2 fin accessories and a double missile blaster accessory that attaches in both modes
- ARTICULATED FOR PLAY AND DISPLAY: Transformers figures feature articulated heads, arms, and legs for action poses
- GIFT TRANSFORMERS COLLECTIBLES: This Sky-Byte action figure toy makes a great collectible figure gift for any Transformers fan
- AGE OF THE PRIMES: The Thirteen Primes are the very first bots in Transformers mythology. Every battle, bot, and power in the Transformers universe can be traced back to them
Unite your favorite characters from across the world of Transformers robots into your collection with the Transformers Age of the Primes Voyager Class Sky-Byte action figure! This 7-inch Sky-Byte action figure converts between robot mode and shark mode in 28 steps. Includes 2 fin accessories and a blaster accessory that attaches to the figure. The Sky-Byte figure is inspired by the character from the Transformers universe and features articulated head, arms, and legs for awesome action poses. Transformers: Age of the Primes opens up the world of the Primes, the very first bots in Transformers mythology, a pantheon of Thirteen beings, each with a unique ability and personality. Every battle, every bot, and every power in the Transformers universe can be traced back to one of The Thirteen. Collect and combine different characters to create your ideal Age of the Primes lineup. TRANSFORMERS and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.
Background:
The time period between 2000 and 2001 was one of big changes for the Transformers toy line. The "Beast era" which featured toy lines and shows like Beast Wars and Beast Machines was ending and a transition was being made back to Transformers that focused on vehicles as alt-modes. The transition line for this was known as Car Robots in Japan and Robots in Disguise outside Japan. This series mostly recycled tooling from previous lines with new deco including figures from G2 and Beast Wars. One of the Beast Wars figures that appeared in this line was originally Transmetal 2 Cybershark, now given a new deco and released as Sky-Byte. This quirky character became known for his tendency to recite poetry even as he battled Autobots. He quickly became a fan favorite character and has since popped up now and then in other lines like Cyberverse and more recently on Cyberworld. there was a previous Generations version of Sky-Byte in 2014, but this figure is an all new figure with original tooling.
Packaging:
Age of the Primes represents a dramatic shift in Generations packaging. Unlike previous years of the War for Cybertron trilogy or Legacy which went in dramatic directions with packaging shape and artwork, the designers have dialed back the look of the boxes a lot. The Age of the Primes packaging winds up looking a lot more like Studio Series packaging. The boxes are now rectangular. No weird angles or anything. The background is just plain black. The "Transformers" logo is no longer vertical (dropping a trend that began over ten years ago) and is now horizontal in the front of the packaging with the "Age of the Primes" name underneath it. Character art is featured to the right, but it's only partial art showing a bit of the character in robot mode with focus on the vehicle mode underneath. To the left are icons describing how many steps the character takes to convert from one mode to the other and the age recommendation (8+ in this case).
Sky-Byte sits inside the box attached to a cardboard tray. You can see almost the entire figure in robot mode thanks to the return of plastic windows! Fans will recall that for the last few years Transformers toys have had no plastic windows in an effort to (ostensibly) make more eco-friendly packaging. However, this led to damaged toys with heads being yanked off and sometimes figures being outright stolen. For many fans, the return of the plastic windows is a welcome one.
The back of the box shows the character in both modes calling out a 28 step transformation. Behind the character is a starry sky background with a wheel showing some of the Thirteen Prime symbols. A small circular window to the right shows Sky-Byte using his missile launcher in beast mode. The right side of the box (if you're looking at the front) features the phrase "'Til All Are One" in multiple languages along with artwork of Primes including Solus Prime.
I think the designers were going for a more "adult" and "premium" appearance to the packaging and to that end it works. It looks like something you'd see in a museum shop, but I do feel some of the fun and whimsy of the dramatic Legacy artwork and visual bombast has been lost and I'm a tad sad about that.
Accessories:
Sky-Byte includes several pieces that detach, but only a few of them could probably be considered actual accessories. Let's go through them:
Missile Launcher:
Sky-Byte's main ballistic weapon is a missile launcher. That term is a bit of a misnomer as this piece does not actually launch anything, but it is based on a weapon from the original Sky-Byte figure that did indeed fire two missiles. This time out this weapon is just one solid piece of rectangular plastic with a couple missile tips sticking out in front. It follows the design of that original weapon, but its only functionality is a 5mm peg on the bottom that allows you to attach it to Sky-Byte in either mode. This piece is made out of yellow plastic with no paint details.
Shoulder Armor:
One of Sky-Byte's most distinctive details are two huge shoulder armor pieces formed from the sides of the beast mode. These are really not meant to be accessories but the designers made them so that they attach to the shoulder area via a 5mm port on the side of each shoulder armor panel. Sky-Byte's transformation can be a bit tricky, and the original figure's shoulder armor could easily pop off during transformation. I believe making these pieces removable was a recognition of that and to present the parts just ripping off if they were permanently attached to the figure. I appreciate this touch as it can help facilitate transformation if the panels are in your way. Pop them off, do as much of the transformation as you can then reattach them and you're generally good to go.
Fins:
Fins may seem like an odd accessory, but the two pectoral fins included with Sky-Byte can actually be detached and used as weapons in robot mode. In keeping with the Transmetal 2 era of design, the fins are actually asymmetrical. they are both slightly different sizes and the shapes are different. The one on the right side has two openings in the middle while the other has three. The edges have serrated details, but one only really has them at the end. Both pieces have 5mm pegs at the end which allows you to attach them to the sides of the beast mode or you can attach them to his fists like blade weapons. Each piece is made of blue plastic with no paint details.
Robot Mode:
As mentioned above, Sky-Byte's design originated as a Beast Wars Transmetal 2 design. The Transmetal 2 figures had asymmetrical designs, with some details on one side often not matching the other side. The designers did not attempt to make this Sky-Byte more "normal" looking with symmetrical designs on either side. Instead, they kept the quirky design of the Beast Wars toy. The result is a lot of cool detailing that really draws the eye. Among the examples of this asymmetrical design are:
- Head: The head features the shark fin on top of the head and a face with sharp teeth showing but the sides of the "helmet" section are different from one another. The right side features two small bumps (perhaps meant to represent spikes or teeth) while the other side is more flat without the bumps.
- Shoulder Armor: The shoulder armor pieces extend wide out to the sides, which helps give Sky-Byte a very dynamic look. The two are similar in shape but not exactly the same. Look carefully and you'll see very different mechanical details on one side versus the other.
- Arms: The right arm is a very "regular" looking robot mode arm with an upper arm, forearm and fist. The other arm however features the beast mode tail as a blade weapon with four blades curved forward.
- Torso: The torso features giant details that look like evil "eyes". The middle features a circular detail meant to represent his "Spark Crystal" and under the chest are sculpted details that resemble shark teeth. On the left side is a small tube like detail overlapping his abdomen.
- Legs: The robot legs look alike at first glance, however a closer look shows different details between the two. For instance, the lower part of the lower legs have three spikes in front on the right side while the left only has one spike. The feet also have different details with the right foot featuring a curved tube while the left features what appear to be mechanical details exposed from under his metallic skin.
Overall Sky-Byte looks fantastic. He is big and imposing thanks in part to the way his shoulder armor extends out to the sides and his "claw" arm. The sculpted details all follow the original Sky-Byte toy very well (down to the "tears" in the shark "skin").
Sky-Byte is made up of blue, light grey, yellow and dark grey plastic. These colors match up nicely with the animation model seen in Robots in Disguise. Paint colors on this figure include silver, yellow, red, blue, gold, gunmetal grey and purple. Given the complexity of the original Sky-Byte's deco, I'm really happy to see the designers followed a lot of the deco pattern on that figure and the animation model to create this one. Among my favorite details are the red "eyes" on is chest and the band of gunmetal grey detailing overlapping the silver details on his left side shoulder armor. Interestingly, the TFWiki states that the sphere on his chest actually has a Predacon symbol sculpted into the back, indicating it might have once been intended to be translucent plastic like the original Robots in Disguise toy.
There are twenty six points of articulation on this figure. This includes seven on the left arm versus five on the right arm. I was happy to see he has waist articulation given that he has a big chunk of the beast mode hanging off his back. He has a 5mm port in his right fist, allowing him to hold the missile launcher or the fin weapons. Sadly, this new incarnation of Sky-Byte does not have a feature that allows you to spin his claw hand. It can spin if you rotate it manually, but I really wish the action feature had been worked into the arm.
Transformation to Beast Mode:
- Detach the missile launcher and set it aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Point the feet down.
- Swing the lower legs up over the front of the thighs and push them in (you'll hear a small click).
- Push the feet together.
- Swing the yellow claws on the left hand up over the blue claw.
- Pull the back section (which includes most of the shark parts) back.
- Swing the front part of the shark to the back of the head.
- Swing the beast mode head forward over the feet, which are the lower jaws of the beast mode.
- Swing the left arm out to the side, then back.
- Swing the right arm out, then forward.
- Swing the arms back, and line them up so the tab on the inside of the right side forearm connects to the slot on the left arm.
- Swing the shoulder armor pieces in and slot them into the sides of the torso.
- Rotate the sections with the pectoral fins on them and push them in.
- The missile launcher can be attached to the inside of the mouth.
Beast Mode:
The original Sky-Byte figure was designed to look like it was in the middle of turning and attacking in beast mode. This made it look very dynamic in beast mode but it also made the transformation a bit fiddly. This time out, Sky-Byte is designed to look like he is swimming in a straight line. He is facing forward and the body is not turned at all. That said, he looks fantastic. The designers worked hard to incorporate many of the sculpted details from the original figure. Many of these look like the shark skin has "torn" and mechanical bits are sticking out. There are some details inspired by the animated series including a circular detail on the sides of the jaws that look like hinges. The sculpt on this figure is top notch and I'm very happy the designers did not attempt to simplify the figure.
This mode mostly shows off blue and grey plastic. Silver and gunmetal grey paint make up most of the detailing running along the sides and front of the beast mode and his eyes are painted red. For the most part this deco does a good job of representing how he looked in the cartoon, but I would love to see a redeco one day that fills in a lot of the details from the original Sky-Byte toy. Most notably, a lot of the circular details on the sides of the beast mode had green and red details painted in, making it look like he had lights on in beast mode. This was not really used in the TV show, but I'd love a "toy accurate" deco at some point.
Sky-Byte's weapon can be attached to the lower jaw inside his mouth. There are slots where the tabs on the weapons connect. This is a callback to the way the original Sky-Byte's weapon was inside his mouth.
Final Thoughts:
The original Sky-Byte was a great figure for the time, but the design made the transformation kind of awkward. The Generations version was better, but I feel like they finally nailed it with this version. He looks amazing in both modes and the transformation is intuitive. Highly recommended!
Pros:
- Excellent sculpt in both modes.
- Great deco.
- Intuitive transformation.
Cons:
- I would have liked a bit more deco in beast mode and I would have liked the Predacon symbol to show in robot mode.
