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M'Kyuun

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About M'Kyuun

  • Birthday 07/05/1971

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    mcquownw@hotmail.com

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Spokane, Wa
  • Interests
    Robots, especially those that transform; LEGO; sci-fi; well-engineered toys

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Thanks for the news, Mike. Concerning tracking POs, I've got a notebook where I write them down under various retailer headings. I find the number of POs I'm submitting have continued to decline, especially since my Hasbro mainline collection is mostly complete at this point, and much of the TF expanded universe doesn't interest me. Moreover, I've about run out of space for more toys, so I've become far choosier with what I buy. I do need to invest in more shelving, that's for sure.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Didn't take long for Hasbro to crank out repaints of SS86 Prime and Megs. No interest personally, but for those who are, I lament the inaccurate hole in Prime's grill rather than his left side for the shard damage. These look like very low effort money grabs to me. I'm happy with the OG releases.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Thanks for posting pics. I hadn't seen these, so I thought @renegadeleader1 was referring to something else. These look very simplistic and remind me of the City Missions sets from a couple years ago. Still, these look like they invite creativity and building one's own creations versus just building a single main model, and that gets down to the core of what LEGO's all about. I tend towards the more refined City Space and old Space themes, but I get what they're going for and hope it finds an audience.
  4. M'Kyuun
    Although none have been announced for first quarter, I'm hoping sometime this year we'll get more City Space sets, especially since they're embracing sci-fi in the theme now. I'd love to see Space offshoot and become its own theme again allowing City Space to remain grounded in reality, as it always has. But, I'm just happy to see sci-fi in official LEGO Space themes once again after a decade plus.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Those are kinda cool, but not cool enough at that price.
  6. M'Kyuun
    I like transforming toys, but these and Hasbro's Bot-Bots do little for me. I dig the idea, but the execution is underwhelming. These got me to thinking, though, I remember getting a transforming locket sort of toy for my sister when we were kids. I couldn't remember the name of the line by rote, but some Google-Fu did the trick. They were called Sweet Secrets by Hasbro. I got the bird for her, likely b/c it was unique amongst the rest and had more of a Transformers quality to it. Not sure what she ever did with it or if she even remembers it now. These came out in '84, so I'm thinking Hasbro was trying to apply the popularity of one transforming theme for boys to a girls' line.
  7. M'Kyuun
    While I'm not a model building expert-far from it-, I think it'd be cool if Moderoid would or could get the Macross license and go hog wild on all of Kawamori's pantheon of transforming mecha, even the variable police craft from M7 or the Octos from M0.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I used needle nose pliers to gently push those tabs down into their slots and only then was I able to get them to engage as they should with, what I would assume, especially after seeing the ease at which it was accomplished in a couple transformation vids, undo force. I haven't untabbed them yet to see how they'll re-engage, but as I generally display my bots in bot mode, I feel no immediate compunction to try. As it is, the torso is locked solid and I can pose it however I wish without the worry of it coming undone and going all PEZ dispenser on me. I'd recommend the pliers approach to get your copy's torso to lock as well. Of course, despite all the other plentiful die-cast in this thing (it's a frickin' brick in your hand), those panels with the L-tabs are just plastic (go figure) so exercise care. I haven't tried the toothpick trick, but I'll keep that in mind. I used my fingers and managed to get them to seat somewhat in the palms so they're not just hanging in there loosely, but y'know, with all the other clever stuff they pulled off, would it have hurt to put those shields around the grips on hinges so they could swing out allowing unhindered access to the hands for leverage? SMH I can't speak to XTB's stuff to any great extent, but first issue Eligos was my second XTB toy (after Apollyon) so that should tell you something. 😄 Gawd that thing is a PITA to transform, and like so many other Eligos owners, the tabs on the piece that go around the cockpit broke on mine the first time after I tried to disengage it to go back to bot mode. I still like the look of Eligos, but I've no burning desire to ever transform him again. That said, I was a little dismayed that XTB was the only game in town doing Omnibots, but I bit the bullet out of pure desperation and FOMO. I think they're nice-looking toys, but they're still XTB with PITA transformation stuff (needlessly, IMHO), weird design decisions, etc. However, the car modes are gorgeous, beautifully painted and detailed, as well as all the G1 sticker details in the bot modes. On their faces, they're beautiful toys- they just have their finnicky bits to contend with. FWIW, I think their Constructicons have all looked amazing thus far. I'm not buying them, but I do think, out of all the current contenders, I like theirs the best, and that's saying something b/c MMC's got skin in the game, all-in-one, no less which is my fancy, and I think I still prefer the overall look of XTB's. Too, their Long Haul, to wit, is the ONLY Long Haul toy ever to have a proper dumping bed. You'd think by now that would be a standard feature for the character, but no. That seems like such an easy thing to design, especially given all the crazy clever origami these companies manage otherwise. Go figure. Anyway, I'm glad to finally have some updated Omnibots, and overall, I'm pretty happy with how they look and handle, Fioravanti's (Overdrive's) awful leg transformation notwithstanding. That said, I'd love to see some other leading contenders, including legends makers and Tak/Has, jump eagerly on that bandwagon. More Omnibots FTW!!!!
  9. M'Kyuun
    Yes. No. I'll agree to disagree. The Feios looks like a flying pancake. Moreover, it has smooth, unbroken lines whereas the Xiwanshe design is broken up, with a great deal of obvious layering effects across its surfaces. It would be, by virtue of design, very prone to drag. The Xiwanshe is a good sci-fi design, but unlike Kawamori's generally more grounded valks, impractical. Potentially, although I'm thinking Kawamori would smooth out all the rough edges and layering effects. I like the design, I'm just looking at it from a view to aerodynamics. However, anything will fly with enough thrust behind it. regarding the DNA kit for Alpha Trion, I like the look of those wings in flight mode, and they make for a nice cape in bot. I'm not going to spend the money, but I do think this meets the criteria for a proper upgrade, as it enhances any number of aspects of the figure, which is already pretty good, IMHO. Oh my, yes! I'm waiting on my copy to arrive, but FINALLY, a complete set of Omnibots! As much as I have to grudgingly agree, Downshift being the only one I owned as a kid and still my favorite, I think the poorly named Camshaft takes the prize as their best overall design amongst the three. XTB needlessly complicated the leg design on Overdrive, making it a tentative and frustrating process to transform, IMHO. YMMV, of course. I feel there's something off about Downshift, but I can't quite pinpoint it. I like it, but I have that feeling. Ironically, Camshaft was always my least favorite of the three, but I think XTB did their best work with this guy. The bot proportions are really good, and his car mode, as do all three, looks amazing. Camshaft's G1 toy arguably had the worst weaponized mode, and that follows with this fig despite XTB's attempts to update it and clean it up a bit. IMO, anyway. Still, it does the gimmick as it should. I'll be happy to have him in hand to place alongside his two partners. Now Takara, and Hasbro by extension, needs to crank out some Legacy Omnibots. We've waited far too long for official updates. edit: After I finished this post, I checked my mail only to find my copy of Camshaft waiting for me. Great looking figure! So happy to have all three at long last. Nevertheless, two complaints: first, the back of the car that swings under the upper torso has two L-shaped pegs that basically drop down into slots in armatures and the near entirety of the upper torso is seemingly only held in place by gravity. I tried squeezing down on them to see if they'd engage a little more firmly, but they don't seem to. That means the torso instantly disengages and pops up like a PEZ dispenser with any amount of handling. I even watched a couple transformation vids and it appears I'm doing it right, so if your experience is different, correct me please! BTW, the torsos in both vids seemed to tab firmly unlike my fig, so IDK what I'm doing wrong. Second, by virtue of the shields around the guns' grips, I find it almost impossible to get any leverage to allow the pins on said grips to insert into the slots in the palms. All I can do is try to close the fingers as tightly around them as I can and try to avoid bumping them lest they pop out of the hands and go flying. Edit 2: I used a pair of needlenose pliers to push those L-shaped tabs into their slots, at which point they engaged. It just surprised me that I needed those, as they don't just drop into place and lock on mine as I've seen in other vids. I have to squeeze the armatures inwards, too, for proper alignment. As those pegs are only plastic, I'm rue to just push down with any force, as I fear breaking them off. I already broke one of the seat bits on Overdrive when it got stuck in place and I had to use some force to get it to move. Just so, I'm leery to apply force to anything.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Points to Takara for their inventiveness, which is still exciting to see even if the final results thereof don't enthrall me, as these do not. I'd rather have seen the budget go towards producing a more G1ish Mirage for Legacy or perhaps some Omnibots. And though they just rereleased the Earth mode Hound, let's face the fact that it doesn't skew at all towards the prevailing cartoon look at all. In fact, it doesn't really look like the G1 toy beyond the front of the jeep forming his chest. As with Mirage, too many liberties taken beggar for more faithful figures to follow.
  11. M'Kyuun
    BBTS has Swoop for $55.99, Skids for $20. Gears is available for just under $35 on this Amazon site. happy hunting!
  12. M'Kyuun
    You're the best, Mike. As it happens, I'm finding your post in retrospect, as I saw it on Target while eating my lunch and just finished my PO before popping in here to find your post. I'm grateful still, as I rarely see these preorders until it's too late and it's a comfort to know you've got me covered.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Preach!!!!!! A completely new Mirage figure that adheres to the look and basic transformation of G! Mirage is a serious omission, at this point, when all of the other G1 characters' toys have been adhering rather faithfully to an amalgamation of toy and toon forms. Classics Mirage is still the closest we have to that, and I love that toy, front wheel backpack notwithstanding. He's still my G1 Mirage until there's something better. And FFS, make the damned Omnibots already! They're spending budgets on made up Junkions, Weaponizers, creating alt modes for Primes who never had them, and doing deep dives into the lore to make really obscure characters into toys, but the Omnibots were part of G1 as well, even if they never featured in the cartoon, an unfortunate omission IMHO. I think they and Tracks should have all been a team, as they all had weaponized tertiary vehicle modes (MASK before MASK was a glimmer in Kenner's eyes!) and would have possibly started a tangential play theme within Transformers. Had they been utilized as such in the toon and comics, perhaps they would have proven popular and spawned more of the like. We'll never know. I would have been down for it, for one.
  14. M'Kyuun
    I'm not so sure I'd call that a sixth-generation fighter, as it looks to have more in common with a Gundam waverider, albeit a far sleeker one than we usually see. It's just a little too sci-fi looking with way too many gaps and overlapping panels and a lack of a proper cockpit. Visually, it's quite busy, whereas modern stealth planes are all smooth contours. It's cool, don't get me wrong, but it lacks realism in its flight mode. However, if they did an anime or a game with this as a featured mech, that'd be cool. Edited to add that there simply are not enough games where you can play a transforming mecha, a lamentable omission in the already sparse mecha game genre.
  15. M'Kyuun
    Great review, as always, Mike. I've still not seen this guy in the wild, but as I'm not really a fan of the vanilla toon aesthetic, I wonder if it's for the better should they do a toy-style retool with additional molded details and paint. I'd rather have that over the plain toon styled version. As a cassette bot fan, I'm not really feeling these ones. There are too many compromises and I'm not at all a fan of the partsforming aspect to complete the robot modes. I can understand just the weapons, but when Ravage, who looks more like a bulldog than a lithe panther, has to have his tail pinned on separately, there's something fundamentally wrong. The G1 toys did it better, and that's the reverse of how it should be. As to the cassettes' weapon storage, it's a shame they didn't borrow from the MP toy's solution and hide them in the hollows of the legs. Speaking of which, I'm not at all crazy about their reusing the Netflix Soundwave's backwards leg transformation; they should have followed the G1 toy's schema, again, like the MP. It's a bit disheartening when even the legends scaled figs are getting these things right and doing it better overall. Final nitpick, for now: I wish every version of G1 Soundwave could store his weapons, which should compress into relatively convincing facsimiles of batteries, in his backpack like the G1 toy. The original toy did so much right towards copying RW cassette players and I wish all those salient details were observed in modern iterations. I concur with your observations regarding Thundercracker: he's an upgrade from the WFC, nee Classics, mold, but honestly not really that much of one when you consider all the inaccuracies and hollow areas in fighter. At least TC's heels are proper augmenters instead of the hinged heel flaps on the WFC mold, but I really wish they'd found a way for his big chonky toes to fold into the legs and out of sight in fighter. The WFC solution at least cleaned up the plane mode in a more appealing manner, even if it was inaccurate. I wish his grey chest panels could swivel into the central gap to fill it in and reduce the fighter's profile. It would have been great, too, if his intake ramps were the proper shape and were mounted on double hinges to allow them to be moved back in bot mode for head clearance. The intakes as molded are ridiculously undersized and the wrong angles compared to the real fighter. I'm also disheartened to see the slight angle change of the trailing edge, which the WFC and Classics mold captured, omitted from the wings. Some folding main gear in the knee pads would've been nice, too instead of just resting the ass-end of the plane on his unconcealed toes. The only improvement, really, was to skew the robot aesthetic towards the toon, an aesthetic which doesn't appeal to me. I wish there was more balance to the design, with more attention given to fighter, but at this point, I'm pissing into the wind.
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