Top 5 Best Shark Themed Transformers Toys
Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2020 2:46 pmEvery two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Best Shark Themed Transformers Toys
There are some animals that the Transformers line keeps going back to for inspiration and cool designs. The shark is one of the main ones, and it's been a staple of the brand since the 86 film. So now, let's look at the best shark themed Transformers we got so far.
5. Transformers Beast Wars Fuzors Air Hammer
I just like the insanity of this toy. It combines water and air together, as a Sharknado predecessor and I feel it pulls it off quite well. The beast mode looks good, especially with the awesome paint job that we would never see today which has that fading metallic blue and every feather's tips painted, even on the underside of the wings. While I am not a gimmick guy, I do like chomping options whenever a beast mode has sharp teeth and we get that here in both modes. While the transformation is not mind blowing, I do like that the axis of the figure is flipped and I really like that the dual beast theme is present on the robot mode as well with he head being reminiscent of Airrazor with the three crests but having the middle crest be more prominant, referencing a shark fin. It's just a brilliant design.
4. Transformers Cyberverse Spark Armor Battle Class Skybyte
This toy came out of nowhere. Firstly, the Cyberverse line, in its first year, was just for a younger audience with emphasis on gimmicks with simpler transformations and less articulation and only had G1 characters (or retroactive G1 characters like Windblade). And then we get a line with scout sized figures that had traditional complexity (for a toon based line) and articulation and no obtrusive gimmicks aside from small vehicles that could split up into armour and weapons that attached with 5mm ports, and are also compatible with the Siege line. Plus, we got a new Sky Byte out of that, a character from RID who was a redeco of a Beast Wars toy. So it was really a breath of fresh air in a toyline that seemed rather uninspired in every way. The Transformation to shark mode is great. I really like how the legs are just the right shape to become the shark body. It’s the perfect complexity for a toy this size and both modes look great for an adorable little Sky Byte.
3. Transformers Super God Masterforce Submarauder (Gilmer)
This is one creepy looking Pretender. Submarauder is a mixture of a lot of horific designs like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, a classic Kaiju and something out of the late great H.R. Giger’s twisted imagination, all rolled up into a Shark themed monstrosity with the gills and very prominent fin. There is a lot more at play with the combination of the carapace-like armour design, gribbly pseudo-organic tubes on his chest, strange fin and sucker details and those horrible orange gills in place of a mouth that take him up a notch than just being an upright shark. His inner robot, whilst abstract like most Pretenders, kinda resembled a horseshoe crab in vehicle mode too so at least they keep the water theme going there too. This toy is as good as any other pretender but its look really sets it apart fro the rest.
2. Transformers Legends Gelshark (Generations Sky-Byte)
This is an extremely underrated toy which came and went with few caring. And that is a shame. Not only was this the representative of the Robots in Disguise 2001 / Car Robots line in the thrilling 30, he was also one hell of an update. He was still a shell former like his previous Beast Wars mold roots but unlike his original toy, the shell was very compact and made for elegant wings in robot mode which did not take any attention away from the robot mode. Also, and I can never stress this enough, Takara outdid themselves on the engineering of the chest. The original toy was a shark who transformed into a robot who had a shark-like face on his chest that was a different colour on each side (giving a hint to his states of mind). Of course, the real shark head was still somewhere on the toy (part of his massive shell) so the chest was more of a reference that he was a shark and not supposed to be the shark head. This update however had the shark head actually be the chest as well. No fake parts this time, reducing the shell considerably and making the robot far more sleek. There was even a nice panel flip on the shark's nose to give the chest new robot mode detail and to further look like the original cartoon model. Takara's improved deco for Gelshark goes a long way, longer than any other improved deco, turning a toy many dismissed into, what I consider, a must have. The deco has the head of the shark mimic the asymetric deco of the original toy's chest, something the Hasbro version ignores.
1. Transformers Beast Wars Cybershark
An extremely efficient transformer whose body length shell serves as a great disguise to a very poseable robot. The shark mode has beautiful deco which looks as good as any plastic shark toy found in toy stores in the 90s. What is amazing is that, despite it being a shellformer, it has great alt mode integration that is very reminiscent of traditional transformers with having the head of the alt mode as the chest. A main aspect of the original toys that make up what we call G1 was the disguise component and how they could infiltrate other toylines which didn’t transform. With its phenomenal alt mode, this sharkformer is a perfect example of this legacy. The deco on this toy is as masterful as that headsculpt and he comes armed to the teeth with extra shark themed projectiles (that can be stored within his back) and his pincertail. Of course, that is aside from his hammerhead shark head which he can shoot from his body!
Honourable Mentions: Sharkticons!!!!!!!!!!!!
The main army builder in any Transformers collection turns out to be shark themed too. I was personally never a huge fan of the more rotund look but I won't write a best shark themed list without mentioning these guys!
Also, very important caveat, I did not consider Energon Sharkticon for this list. Though the name is shark themed I felt the figure itself was just tangentially related to the animal and thus I considered more shark-like toys. If you want to see a proper entry for that toy, here it is: https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... oys/35168/
Top 5 Best Shark Themed Transformers Toys
There are some animals that the Transformers line keeps going back to for inspiration and cool designs. The shark is one of the main ones, and it's been a staple of the brand since the 86 film. So now, let's look at the best shark themed Transformers we got so far.
5. Transformers Beast Wars Fuzors Air Hammer
I just like the insanity of this toy. It combines water and air together, as a Sharknado predecessor and I feel it pulls it off quite well. The beast mode looks good, especially with the awesome paint job that we would never see today which has that fading metallic blue and every feather's tips painted, even on the underside of the wings. While I am not a gimmick guy, I do like chomping options whenever a beast mode has sharp teeth and we get that here in both modes. While the transformation is not mind blowing, I do like that the axis of the figure is flipped and I really like that the dual beast theme is present on the robot mode as well with he head being reminiscent of Airrazor with the three crests but having the middle crest be more prominant, referencing a shark fin. It's just a brilliant design.
4. Transformers Cyberverse Spark Armor Battle Class Skybyte
This toy came out of nowhere. Firstly, the Cyberverse line, in its first year, was just for a younger audience with emphasis on gimmicks with simpler transformations and less articulation and only had G1 characters (or retroactive G1 characters like Windblade). And then we get a line with scout sized figures that had traditional complexity (for a toon based line) and articulation and no obtrusive gimmicks aside from small vehicles that could split up into armour and weapons that attached with 5mm ports, and are also compatible with the Siege line. Plus, we got a new Sky Byte out of that, a character from RID who was a redeco of a Beast Wars toy. So it was really a breath of fresh air in a toyline that seemed rather uninspired in every way. The Transformation to shark mode is great. I really like how the legs are just the right shape to become the shark body. It’s the perfect complexity for a toy this size and both modes look great for an adorable little Sky Byte.
3. Transformers Super God Masterforce Submarauder (Gilmer)
This is one creepy looking Pretender. Submarauder is a mixture of a lot of horific designs like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, a classic Kaiju and something out of the late great H.R. Giger’s twisted imagination, all rolled up into a Shark themed monstrosity with the gills and very prominent fin. There is a lot more at play with the combination of the carapace-like armour design, gribbly pseudo-organic tubes on his chest, strange fin and sucker details and those horrible orange gills in place of a mouth that take him up a notch than just being an upright shark. His inner robot, whilst abstract like most Pretenders, kinda resembled a horseshoe crab in vehicle mode too so at least they keep the water theme going there too. This toy is as good as any other pretender but its look really sets it apart fro the rest.
2. Transformers Legends Gelshark (Generations Sky-Byte)
This is an extremely underrated toy which came and went with few caring. And that is a shame. Not only was this the representative of the Robots in Disguise 2001 / Car Robots line in the thrilling 30, he was also one hell of an update. He was still a shell former like his previous Beast Wars mold roots but unlike his original toy, the shell was very compact and made for elegant wings in robot mode which did not take any attention away from the robot mode. Also, and I can never stress this enough, Takara outdid themselves on the engineering of the chest. The original toy was a shark who transformed into a robot who had a shark-like face on his chest that was a different colour on each side (giving a hint to his states of mind). Of course, the real shark head was still somewhere on the toy (part of his massive shell) so the chest was more of a reference that he was a shark and not supposed to be the shark head. This update however had the shark head actually be the chest as well. No fake parts this time, reducing the shell considerably and making the robot far more sleek. There was even a nice panel flip on the shark's nose to give the chest new robot mode detail and to further look like the original cartoon model. Takara's improved deco for Gelshark goes a long way, longer than any other improved deco, turning a toy many dismissed into, what I consider, a must have. The deco has the head of the shark mimic the asymetric deco of the original toy's chest, something the Hasbro version ignores.
1. Transformers Beast Wars Cybershark
An extremely efficient transformer whose body length shell serves as a great disguise to a very poseable robot. The shark mode has beautiful deco which looks as good as any plastic shark toy found in toy stores in the 90s. What is amazing is that, despite it being a shellformer, it has great alt mode integration that is very reminiscent of traditional transformers with having the head of the alt mode as the chest. A main aspect of the original toys that make up what we call G1 was the disguise component and how they could infiltrate other toylines which didn’t transform. With its phenomenal alt mode, this sharkformer is a perfect example of this legacy. The deco on this toy is as masterful as that headsculpt and he comes armed to the teeth with extra shark themed projectiles (that can be stored within his back) and his pincertail. Of course, that is aside from his hammerhead shark head which he can shoot from his body!
Honourable Mentions: Sharkticons!!!!!!!!!!!!
The main army builder in any Transformers collection turns out to be shark themed too. I was personally never a huge fan of the more rotund look but I won't write a best shark themed list without mentioning these guys!
Also, very important caveat, I did not consider Energon Sharkticon for this list. Though the name is shark themed I felt the figure itself was just tangentially related to the animal and thus I considered more shark-like toys. If you want to see a proper entry for that toy, here it is: https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... oys/35168/
