M'Kyuun

Actually, I think the SP-Striker, a set I've never owned, would be an excellent candidate for updating. Granted, any update would likely eschew the lighting functionality of the original, alas, but so far as the canopy goes, they'd likely use element 98878 which first appeared in Buzz Lightyear's XL-15 set.

With undeniable charisma and talent, Val proved himself to be a versatile and instinctive actor. For me, his most notable role will always be that of Doc Holliday in Tombstone, probably the only Western that I actually enjoy (never was much of a fan of Westerns or Old West related media). He wasn't without his controversies, oft rumored as being difficult on set, but I think the results of his work stand for all that bother. I was happy to see his appearance in Top Gun: Maverick, and the warmth between Val and Tom felt genuine. His battle with throat cancer left him quite literally speechless, and he continued to have health issues, finally succumbing to pneumonia at only 65. What a loss to stage and cinema. RIP Val

Yep, I get that. Copy on the majority of the others you mentioned. As to Prime and Animated, I'd rather they'd made them as straight updates within the original style instead of hybridizing them with G1. We get enough G1 without making everything that's not G1 the same.

I wasn't thinking Studio Series, but a regular Legacy release, even if they just did one a year over the next three. I'd rather have them over Rescue Bots hybrids and stuff like Kranix. I really wish they'd been represented in at least one ep of the old toon; it's a shame they weren't, or weren't included in the mainline releases.

The issues with both the Classics and ER Seeker molds are the too shallow nose section, which should extend all the way down nearly even with the bottoms of the intakes, the crappy chest brace which shouldn't be there at all, the huge gaping hole between the intakes in fighter that should be taken up with forward fuselage, and the hump under the nose for the swing bar (which the Classics didn't have). Positives: I like how the arms integrate smoothly into the fuselage on both, and the Classics mold is actually more accurate to the F-15 than the ER, although it should be the other way around. Anyway, a new mold that corrects these flaws is sorely needed. Astrotrain should never have been released as it was, with noticeably misaligned wheels in train mode and a huge portion of the cargo bay door area missing, both of which the G1 toy did better. The G1 toy should never be superior to its modern equivalent- it shows a decline in engineering and care. I don't understand how a bot that turns into a space gun that looks nothing like a real gun can't keep its proper alt mode. And while I bought WFC Shockwave, I was rather disappointed with it with its price point, and with the bevy of useless accessories that he came with to justify his leader price point. I hate his default alt, and turning him over and trying to arrange him into his gun mode just doesn't lead to a satisfying result. He'll likely be my last official G1 Shockwave toy purchase so long as his gun mode is off the table. Likewise Siege Megatron. I'm curious to see what they do with SS86 Megs, but ultimately Newage's Romulus is the CHUG Megatron I've been wanting for decades. I thought the Sunstreaker mold was one of the better ER toys. I love it, missing spoiler notwithstanding. I think the transformation is clever and both modes look good. The omission of a proper rifle was also a sore point. Thank goodness for 3P add-ons to remedy such shortcomings. My god, Krannix turns into a fugly robofish. Horrible. If that's what they go with for an alt, easy pass. 🤢 I can't believe they're doing Kranix over the Omnibots. C'mon Hasbro, that's bull$h!t. 😠

The drop function was really the only 'wow' moment- it works great, but I wish Lee had put the trigger forward of the rover and made the back open like the original, as at least then you could land, drop, and still drive in and out of the ship. I also thought the way that flag fits up front was clever and smooth, another standout moment during the build. Beyond that, nothing else really had that 'wow' factor. The gear are indeed difficult to pry out of their alcoves and I wonder why he didn't choose to either make the pads smaller or the alcoves bigger so you can hook a finger around them easily. Overall, it's a bit underwhelming after building the Galaxy Explorer and the Space Cruiser alternate. Hopefully the next entry is closer to the GE in terms of, well, everything. 😄

Different strokes: I like it. It's an improvement on MP-10, fixing the issues I had with that figure while maintaining a similar look. I like the Hasui era design aesthetic; I don't like the toon-centric direction that the MP line and so many others have taken. I love it when vehicle details come through and inform the bot mode. I suppose I'm in the minority within the fandom, and that's ok; we like what we like. I own a lot of recent toys, especially 3P legends figs who sport the ultra-smooth toon look, and many are gorgeous toys taken on the whole. However, I prefer Takara and Hasbro's approach to the mainline toys, which feature molded details as well as various vehicle bits that inform the bot modes. I think the simpler, practical design direction necessitated by smaller budgets often leads to cool figs that capture the essence of the characters, especially G1 in my case, with more surface detail than one gets in a far more complex and expensive MP fig. Looking at MPG Prime, I like the overall approach. I wish they'd found a way to collapse or otherwise transform the feet into a convincing part of the truck so they're not forming large clumps at the tail end of the hitch bed. The feet, more than anything else, ruin the believable look of the truck. So too, to a lesser degree, the two sets of fuel tanks on the side; it beggars the question of why the smaller tank couldn't have been hidden within the large tank in truck mode. I wouldn't mind having the MPG Prime in my collection, but I've so little space left in my house (with more mainline stuff coming all the time) with full shelves and full Detolfs that I've pretty much stopped buying MP figs in lieu of smaller legends. I still enjoy them vicariously via reviews, but let's face it, nothing compares to having a cool toy in-hand. That said, I have to exercise some resolve. Moreover, I already own MP-10, and both of Magic Square's MP scaled Optimus Prime figs. I love both, and IMHO, their MS-02 Light of Peace, despite being toon slavishly devoid of detail, is the best G1 Optimus figure ever produced and the bar for everybody else to beat. I keep hoping they'll upscale both their legends Light of Victory (Optimus) and their legends Doomsday (Megatron), which is IMHO the superior Megatron toy out there currently, to mainline CHUG scale. I like Newage's Romulus a lot, but Doomsday has it beat in overall aesthetics and if they made it to scale with SS86, they'd have a surefire winner on their hands.

With a few exceptions, I think most of us as long time Transformers fans can attest that the vast majority TFs that turn into Earth ground vehicles enjoy convincing alt modes. I'm speaking in generalities- most bots that turn into cars, trucks, and motorcycles enjoy alts that present to a believable degree. They have the salient features of those vehicles that they represent. The same, generally speaking, over the course of the last forty years cannot be said about TFs that turn into aircraft, specifically jet fighters. Like the TFs that turn into ground vehicles, there are exceptions: Maverick and G1 Jetfire (by virtue of being a Macross VF-1 toy first before being added to the TF toy line) are two notable exceptions. Heck, despite being highly fictional and bulkier than most real fighters, the recent Legacy Prime Skyquake/Dreadwing mold is pretty darn good. At the very least, it hides the arms in jet mode in similar fashion to many Macross designs. Other notables are both Animated Lugnut and his excellent Reveal the Shield adaptation. They make for convincing aircraft, although the Animated toy, by its nature, is a little more cartoony. Another notable, IMHO one of the best and most unique aircraft TFs, Generations Scourge, transforms into a lovely blended wing design inspired by NASA's X-48. It's one of my all-time favorite alt modes- so well done! I feel your frustration concerning Breakdown not getting a new mold to give him a proper Countach-y appearance. I'm guessing budget was the main reason for that decision, and it sucks. Regardless, the car mode still looks like a car; it's not wonky in its proportions, it doesn't have arms hanging off of its sides or on the roof, or underneath the car. It looks like a normal car. That's the distinction I want to make between what Takara (and Hasbro by extension since Takara does the actual designing of these things with inputs from Hasbro) does with most jet designs as opposed to most car and truck designs. Both have their stinkers, but the TFs that turn into jets diverge from realism by a much, much wider margin. Again, I'm generalizing. Too, I completely disagree with the argument that it's not possible to accomplish a well-done, convincing jet mode in a $25 deluxe. Takara accomplished it with Legacy Needlenose, whose arms tuck away into the legs very satisfyingly, and whose overall profile is similar to the Typhoon, albeit quite a bit thicker and lacking intakes, alas. He still comes across as far more convincing than any of the new Aerialbots whose original alts are all based on RW aircraft. The legacy toys fall far short in any number of ways. Even the old Robot Masters Starscream, who was just a tad smaller than the G1 toy, has an F-15 mode that's better than pretty much every mainline toy made since, not to mention better than the most recent MP abomination. he also has the distinction of being the only Starscream toy besides the original to have his arms tuck into and form the aircraft's spine. I wish more Seekers, more fighters for that matter, used that design. It all comes down to engineering and how creative the designers at Takara want to be. They can cram a whole robot into a convincing motorcycle, a helicopter, a car, a truck, but for whatever reason, when it comes to jets, they generally don't even seem to try. I don't buy the argument even with combiners, as they can make just about any other vehicle look convincing and still combine, but these jet modes miss the mark on external features that could be there, like the Harrier's large scooped intakes that wouldn't affect combination. And let's not fool ourselves; since they essentially just slot into place in a frame, nothing about them, short of being able to move tails and wings out of the way is required to make them combine- there's no special engineering, unlike the Constructicons who at least form parts of the limbs as they should. I'm obviously not convincing anyone here, but I stand by my opinion that jet designs could be improved by a large margin within budget if more creative solutions were applied to their designs. Toys like Maverick and Dreadwing show that they can if they want to, but more often than not they take the simplest course making undersized nose sections, cubic underbodies, unintegrated arms that just hang out, undersized or completely omitted intakes, undersized wings, etc. which just speaks to a lack of care. And since the fandom keeps buying them, even praising them in reviews, there's little chance that Takara or Hasbro will receive the impetus to try harder. I can't unsee the aberrations and departures from basic realism that taint so many jetformers, so I'll still point them out from time to time, as is my wont. Even so, I continue to hold out hope that someday they'll hire a designer like Kawamori who has a vested interest in creating realistic transforming jets and perhaps, digits crossed, jetformers' alts will improve.

Birds of a feather... I also want a few more of the prints, and hopefully, like those of the GE, they'll show up on Pick a Brick. Good question as to how they'll approximate those old hexagonal domes. My guess is they that they'd just use a regular dome or domes, like those on submarine models, or use dishes on the sides of a brick-built cockpit made with slopes to give a rounded appearance. Or, perhaps one of the rounded Speed Champions' windscreens. Or, although highly unlikely, they'll make a new element that's similar to the old hexagonal dome. Again, highly unlikely as they have to budget out the new elements between different departments and themes, so they're pretty tightly controlled. At this point, however, it's all speculation, and we likely won't see anything announced until next year. I'd be happy if they dipped into Futuron though, as it has a clean bright aesthetic that indeed looks futuristic. All things being equal, I'm just happy that they're doing these retro-upgrade sets at all after so many years and after about a decade of nearly no original sci-fi Space stuff at all. I suppose we can expect a dud here or there, but there do seem to be some folks who are quite happy with the new Renegade, and good for them. I bought a copy and built it just to see for myself. I don't hate it but I do wish it was closer to its original in overall design.

Just look at that big block of robot underneath! With over 40 years' experience designing transforming robots, why can't Has/Tak make decent jet Transformers?!!! 1/10 for at least having the arms collapse and form part of the fuselage instead of having them just hang out and tab in to the side like usual. Sorry Mike, I had to. 😄 Such an opening can't be passed up. So, personal opinion of the toy aside, great review as always. I'm likely the most vocal critic concerning Has/Tak's dalliances with robots that turn into aircraft, mainly jets, and their absolute lack of interest or concern in preserving accuracy or realism. They certainly don't get the same care as ground vehicles, as I've yet to see a car or truck bot with its arms just hanging off the sides. As a 20-year veteran in the military aviation field (I worked on aircraft hydraulics and refueling systems in the USAF) and just a general aviation fan, my criticism comes honestly from having worked in that environment for a goodly portion of my life. That more Transformers fans don't take offense at Has/Tak's lackluster jetformers and demand better is surprising and frustrating to me. Surely there are other fans with similar stories to mine or are just aviation enthusiasts who see these little plastic travesties and desire better. Perhaps not and I'm the lone voice whining into the wind of indiscriminate passivity. Whatever the case, little progress seems to touch anything that turns into a jet (with a few good to great exceptions) in the Transformers toy universe. That even goes for third parties in most cases. I digress. I would really love to love these; the Aerialbots is a team that should be near and dear, but even as a kid, I thought the Aerialbots' jet modes were pretty terrible. I might mention that I had a huge poster of the F-16 on my wall and a well-thumbed book called The World's Greatest Interceptor Aircraft complete with cross-section diagrams and full color photos of all the jets, squadron breakdowns, and histories. So, even as a teen, I was invested, and I was even then critical of my favorite toy line's generally terrible depictions of aircraft. All that's changed in the last 40 odd years are my hairline, ie. pretty darn thin on top so I shave it, a single rounded ab, and I'm a little more articulate in my ability to convey my feelings of frustration and disappointment whilst elucidating on a toy's copious flaws. Alas, crappy toys did not lend themselves to improved animation, which only further sullied what little accuracy the toys may have enjoyed, so it's a double whammy against accuracy or realism where jets are concerned. Funny how the badly-skewed car modes in the Sunbow animation aren't generally carried over to the toys, though. Hmmm. Needless to say, I'm a rather harsh critic of "animation accuracy" given the animation's simplistic and often poor quality. However, where jets are concerned, the fault almost always originates with the toys before being amplified by animation. I wonder if there's a parallel universe where Has/Tak takes great care to make excellent jet modes and all the ground vehicle alts look like ass? I'd like to visit.

First, thanks for posting the news, Mike. Much appreciated! Some interesting stuff coming, far more that personally interests me than this year. Def looking forward to Windcharger to finish first season as well as the Combaticons. Powerglide and the Animated stuff interests me as well. I hope the 86 Seekers, Shockwave, Soundwave, and Astrotrain are all new and greatly improved molds; their previous releases left much to be desired. I'm curious about 86 Sunstreaker, as I thought the ER mold was purdy darn good. Kranix wasn't a Cybertronian and didn't transform; however, I'm guessing they're going to try to cook up some sort of transformation for him and it'll likely be highly questionable. 😬 Glad to see TFOne's Airachnid on the list, as I thought she was an interesting character in the film and I hope they give her a decent toy.

I don't hate Carl Macek, nor do I disdain the early days of Harmony Gold when they were just trying to bring anime to Western shores. I view that as a positive, as it was and still is an art form worthy of being shared around the globe. What sours me utterly is their overzealous, questionably ethical, and highly litigious attempts to block original Macross content for decades all the while doing little with the license themselves. Harmony Gold's greed and their steadfast stranglehold on Macross is why I detest them and wish constantly for their utter destruction. They're a contemptable company and they need to be eradicated.

Interesting point, but I doubt anyone at LEGO internally thought anything was amiss given that there's usually a minimum of 18 months spent in development. My guess is the alarm bells rang when they began giving free copies out to reviewers and ambassadors to plug and negative feedback started coming their way before the official announcement at which point they probably hacked together a list of positive talking points to send out to these people to spin some positive PR. Creating a set is a laborious and time-consuming process by community- many eyes and many hands involved in refining and finalizing the product before release. Moreover, creativity is prized at LEGO, and perhaps, even while 10497 was praised for both its faithfulness and innovations culminating in a nigh-perfect update, the changes that Lee made to the design were championed as close but different enough to stand out (in a good way) by the majority thus informing the final product. I assume there were opportunities to skew it closer to the OG set, but that wasn't the intention, at least not until some point during development. The drop feature, for example, is extremely well-executed and I very much like the updated rover. However, both came at the expense of the omittance of the cargo box which removed a major defining component of the OG set and given my druthers, I'd rather have that box, no drop feature, opening back doors, and a smaller vehicle to fit in said box in order to preserve all the original features. That's my subjective opinion, but I doubt I'm alone. The original was asymmetrical even with the cockpit section removed and it had a more interesting sensor array, i.e. more greebles. The sensor array on the update looks more like a train buffer stop. It's so nondescript with little to suggest that it's any sort of array, especially compared to the original's, and it beggars the question of why it wasn't made more detailed to look the part, especially with all the parts available today. Much has been said about the overuse of yellow, and I heartily agree; it's called Blacktron for a reason, and the original sets leaned hard into the predominant use of black. The addition of the energy cells is a bit superfluous, and I could have easily lived without them. In fact they look out of place, especially the light bley bits. I think had they released it under a new name with inspiration taken from the Renegade, it would have found more acceptance as an addition to the fleet. As an update, it falls short, and I hope LEGO takes that feedback to heart. As for the alternate model, which is supposed to be an updated Blacktron Alienator, it utterly fails to capture the original model. This interpretation of the Alienator does so even more egregiously, IMHO, than the Renegade such that I have absolutely no desire to waste my time building it. I still only own one copy of the new Renegade, but I harbor a tinge of interest in cobbling together my own update which skews closer to the original design. If they ever discount the set, I'll likely pick up a second copy. I just don't find it nearly as appealing as 10497, of which I own about five copies, two of which I built into the eponymous Galaxy Explorer and its smaller sister ship, the 487 (924) Space Cruiser, both on display next to the original 497 (928) Galaxy Explorer. I'm sure the next CS update is probably already in the design process; my hope is that they'll take the negative feedback to heart. I'd be happy if they let Mike Psiaki do the bulk of the design work, as judging from his work on the 10497 Galaxy Explorer, his instincts are right-on concerning what makes for a good update. If indeed Futuron is the next theme to be updated (Futuron is mentioned in the Renegade's instruction book in relation to the grey and trans-red energy cells), the most likely ship to be made will be the gorgeous Stardefender 200, one of my all-time favorite LEGO ship designs (it and the awesome Blacktron II Aerial Intruder, which itself looks like an update to the Stardefender 200 design), and if so, I want it to be superbly done. I think Mr. Psiaki would deliver.

I think Jae won Lee was given license to reimagine the set as he saw fit. While it obviously draws from the original, too many things were just a bit off the mark for me, and there are others, like JANG, who took similar issue as you and I did with some of the designer's choices. Ultimately, my biggest gripe is the omission of the center cargo box which housed the vehicle and served as the centerpiece of the original model. I very much like the upgraded vehicle in this set, and the drop function is cool and works well, but the lack of that box, which added an additional element to the modularity of the set, is sorely missed and erodes both the faithfulness and playability of the set.

I've seen your sentiments echoed, and I echo them myself, concerning this set's design. The omission of the removable cargo box in the center, with its humped appearance, is the single biggest failure. Too, the set is renowned for its asymmetry, however, in the interest of being able to swap the engines , cockpit, and lackluster sensor array between the forward and aft positions and have them all be symmetrical, another main design feature is eradicated. there is too much yellow and the gear, while appreciated, could have been realized in such a way where they didn't require large boxy areas to contain them, which also differs from the skeletal look of the original. I'm not sure how this thing passed reviews, as many of the designers working at LEGO are AFOLs, many of whom are into Classic Space. It misses the mark in numerous ways, and I wish they'd tasked Mike Psiaki with its development as well. He is the designer of the excellent 10497 Galaxy Explorer who not only modernized the design while keeping the salient design features, but also added features like a small living quarters/lab area and a sliding airlock granting access to the cargo bay. In every way, 10497 was both homage and update, perfectly executed. The new Renegade, sadly, falls well short of its success.