Tomcat Robo was one of the last figures issued in the Machine Robo Series in 1985. It is currently one of the rarest figures from the line, having not been reissued at a later point (unlike most of the later figures from the range). The toy was one of the few released Machine Robo figures held over for the end of the Gobots series.

However, it was possibly intended for an earlier release, as Spike - a character by this name and clearly based on this figure, was a semi-regular Renegade in the cartoon from the second mini-series, "The Gobotron Saga" onwards. The name was changed to Sky-Jack for the 1986 Gobots release (both the American and European releases had a significantly modified sticker sheet, and were a slightly darker shade of grey).

Quite why the toy was held back is unknown - unlike the aborted Snoop, the figure had a later number, so might not have been intended for release so early on. Maybe Hanna-Barbera were working from prototypes? On the other hand, it could have been allotted a number which was then reassigned (the late release of the BuggyMan recolour with a mid-series number, for example, could have taken the designation). Dunno, you go mad trying to work out what Tonka were up to half of the time.

Sky-Jack's alternate mode is modelled on the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, in around 1/144 scale (roughly consistent with Mach-3 a/o).

While this has been used on a few transforming robots over the years, this is about the only one to go for a realistic look. The downside to this is Sky-Jack is rather dull grey plastic for the most part. To be fair, though, what stickers and paint apps there are work well. The swing-wing design is present and correct, as is a retractable nose wheel, while the proportions are good.

On the negative side, the plastic (diecast for all but the most functional parts had been dropped by this stage) is a little brittle (several examples I've seen suffer from stress marks on the wings), while the moulding is unusually poor - there are massive cracks all over the place, while the tail section just won't go flush.

Bandai plumped for the trusty 'Macross Valkyrie' transformation sequence, simplified a little (with the arms coming out of the sides of the fuselage, and simpler legs).

While there's nothing wrong with this per se, it seems a little ordinary once you've owned Jetfire and a score of Cyberjets (not Bandai's fault I'm reviewing this figure two decades after its' release, but probably something to bear in mind if you're thinking of buying him). The robot mode itself looks a little plain, and not much thought has gone into the detail either. The legs make no attempt to disguise that they're the bottom part of a jet, while the underside of the wings are covered in various stampings. Sky-Jack has passable articulation in the arms, though these are a bit flat.

The use of the fins as stabilisers in robot mode means he tilts back a bit, while the head is one of Bandai's poorer efforts, looking too much like a bald bloke. Indeed, the face is pretty much a dead ringer for the cartoon version of Leader-1 - this isn't a good thing… It's all a bit disappointing and half-finished.