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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I'm 54, so I lived through the 80s experiencing some of the cool stuff from that era. Saturday cartoons as well as afternoon cartoons reigned supreme in my kid schedule. Ironically, I neither saw Robotech nor Voltron growing up. My wife grew up about an hour north of me and she watched Voltron. I guess our particular stations didn't have it. Anyway, that Monogram model was the only Mospeada/Macross/Robotech thing I owned as a kid, as I never owned Jetfire either.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Temptation won me over- I preorderd the Pose+. My inner child is all a-giggle.
  3. M'Kyuun
    I envy you your nostalgia. For whatever reason, Robotech didn't air on any of our stations growing up, or it did and I wasn't aware of it, as I would have loved both the Mospeada and the Macross portions of RT. Southern Cross, what little I've seen of it via RT, seemed like a step backwards concerning the mecha and I instantly lost interest in watching it any further than a few eps. My experience with the Legioss, oddly enough, comes via Gobots via the Monogram Leader One model kit, which blew my teenage mind with its intricacy, its articulation, and its ability to transform seamlessly, not to mention all the opening panels and retractable landing gear. It represented everything I wished Transformers toys would be but weren't. I had little experience building models, especially one this "elite", but I managed it. I neither painted nor stickered my copy, but I loved it just the same- for the short time I had it. my dog, just a pup then, somehow got ahold of it and chewed the nose up. I was bummed but I held on to the thing for years- in fact, I may still have it in a box somewhere. there's just something about the Legioss' design that speaks to me; it's definitely more of a sci-fi plane than say the Macross valks, which are far more grounded in realism, one of the traits I adore about Macross, but there's a cool factor to the Legioss. It just looks great in both modes, IMHO. Anyway, I got the Toynami Bernard Alpha years ago, craving a decent looking Legioss/alpha toy. Of course, the Toynamis were riddled with issues, and my copy was not immune. I still have it, but it's just a deskoration at this point- I try not to handle it too much and transformation is pretty much not happening. I jumped on Sentinel's Legioss, a beautiful toy that's a touch fiddly. It hangs out in my Detolf. Now the Pose+ shows up with the potential of being a more robust, easy-to-handle toy, and I'm slavering all over it. 🤤 As I mentioned, I'm extremely tempted to get it, if only to have what's basically the most detailed version of the Legioss yet produced, right after the Sentinel, which previously held that title. That they're making it with an eye to playability appeals to me as well, as I tend to be a little heavy-handed with my toys sometimes, which is why I tend to refrain from transforming the more involved ones in my collection, short of initial procurement. I have a lot of transforming toys, but most of them have only been transformed a couple times, or just once b/c I'm afraid of breaking them or b/c the process frustrates me. Patience is definitely not one of my virtues, so it's better that way and I enjoy them as the beautiful things they are. Anyway, that's my ramble. Here's a pic of the box for that model. Of course, they had a same-scaled version of the Ride Armor that they called Cy-Kill. Kinda funny now looking back. I knew these weren't actually Gobots, but I had no awareness of Mospeada, either, so for years I had no idea where the design came from. I believe I owe it to this site, actually, for educating me on Robotech, and all that's associated with it, so thanks MacrossWorld!
  4. M'Kyuun
    Great review, as always, Mike. My copy of this guy and Thundercracker are on their way, so I should have them in hand soon. It's a shame they didn't expend just a wee bit more engineering effort towards cramming more of the roof/hood kibble into his legs to clean him up a bit and make his legs look a bit slimmer in bot mode. Perhaps a third party will come up with a solution. Love the integrated weapon storage, which at this point in the franchise, IMHO, should be a standard feature for all Transformers. I hate tabbing guns willy nilly on the outside of vehicles, as it looks terrible and ruins the whole disguise aspect. The ankles are indeed weird, but as you pointed out, totally within sacred toon accuracy. 🙄 Regardless, I'm glad we finally got him. Now they just need to give us a proper G1 Mirage- the WFC figures were inaccurate to both toy and toon in numerous ways and it deserves a good representation like the others we've been getting. 'Til then, my Classics Mirage is filling the role. Love that figure but, admittedly, it's not entirely accurate either. We need a proper G1 Mirage in Legacy.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Jeepers, this thing looks amazing, and it' sounds like it's engineered to be handled and played with. I'm so tempted, but I'm having a hard time finding spots to display my HMR figs, so I don't know where I'd put this monstrosity, and the price tag is a bit steep. I love my Sentinel, but I don't really like handling it. This chunky beast looks like it might be a little handier. All the features they baked into this thing just tug at my core being- just beautiful and cool. It's a most impressive toy judging from these early looks.
  6. M'Kyuun
    This has Kill Bill vibes- different premise, but the snark and fighting feel similar. Looks like an exceedingly fun film. Rip looks interesting as well. Will give it a watch.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Well, if other folks are like me, they're less concerned with the character and more so with the design. Done right, like SS86, he has both nice looking bot and car modes which makes for a desirable toy. Design and aesthetics have always mattered to me more than lore. I've never quite understood not getting a cool looking toy due to its portrayal in media. Toys appeal to me on their own merits. Wouldn't mind owning the Earth version of Hound (I have the Siege toy), but Classics Hound, one of my favorite figures, has been filling the role in my first season G1 display for years, and I'm fine with that being a continual state as I already have the other four characters in their non-toony goodness and I feel no compunction to double-dip. I think they're all good figures on the whole, though, so for those who didn't manage to get their hands on the previous individual releases, this is a nice set, especially if you're down with the plain toon look. First, what a wonderfully terrible pun! I actually LOLed when I read it, despite myself. Bravo, sir, bravo! Second, is it me or does he look more like some alternate universe Iron Man than a Transformer? To me, it looks more like a weird suit of armor or like it's a guy doing cosplay. Give me the G1 designs any day b/c at least they look like they turn into stuff.
  8. M'Kyuun

    Arcadia VF-5000G

    M'Kyuun replied to daBlah!'s topic in Toys

    Man, those look good. Experten's really strutting his stuff with that design; unlike a lot of his garage kits, which betray their compromises, this thing looks so well-designed and put together. It just whetts the appetite for a proper toy.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Really?!!! I had no idea. That show was so kitschy and appealing to kids (with some adult humor in there too, just like a lot of Looney Toons). I thought it was great when I was little. However, the Superfriends cartoon largely eroded Batman's appeal for me as I got older, as he couldn't really do anything without his utility belt. I called him Utility Belt Man for years until '89 rolled around and Burton's Batman was announced. As it happens, I had a friend who was huge into Batman, including the comics. I got him a copy of one of Frank Miller's graphic novels for his birthday, and of course, I read it before I gave it to him.😄 That changed my perception of Batman quite a bit as well as all the info my friend and his brothers told me about the character, as I think they were all versed somewhat in the comics. Batman: TAS went a long way towards righting the wrongs of the old 70s and 80s Batman toons- just an excellent show. Warner Bros also started turning comics into animated movies, which also lent some grit to the character for me. Rocksteady's Arkham Asylum/Knight series still stand as some of my favorite games and just a fantastic depiction of the Caped Crusader. It's a shame they stopped at three games. With all his tech wizardy, Batman and Cyborg definitely qualify as sci-fi staples, at least for me, as they both rely on neo-futuristic tech to do their thing. Batman Beyond certainly qualifies, as that's sci-fi through and through. I still need to finish that series. I started it last year and kinda fell off. It's good- I'm just easily distracted by shinier things and then I forget.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Beautiful lineup! Some of Kawamori's most striking designs, especially the YF-19. Love it!
  11. M'Kyuun
    Interesting. I just had an upgrade kit from TFSafari get delivered this past Saturday by Uniexpress. Normally these things come via USPS and get put safely in my mailbox. The Uni guy put the package in front of my garage instead of putting it on my porch. I wasn't aware of the delivery, as I didn't look at my email, so it sat in the pouring rain and then my dog destroyed the outer cardboard box and part of the inner product box before I discovered it on Monday. Fortunately the innards were still intact and serviceable, a lucky break for sure, as my dog is a serious chewer and would have absolutely destroyed the contents had it remained outside for much longer. The kicker is that the Uni dude took a picture of the package placement from inside his car and he caught my dog scrambling down the porch steps in the photo he sent me. Lesson learned- I need to really stay on top of tracking in the event these guys deliver another package. BTW, this was my first delivery from them AFAIK. Not the best first impression. As to the VF-19 Fire Valkyrie, the painted and lined shots look great! Kudos to the talented folks who enhance the beauty of these lovely beasties and generously share pics. Like other folks here, I'm not a big fan of the red and yellow/gold or the face, either, but I still love the design, the silhouette. I went for the HMR version of it, however, as it was the more affordable and space-saving option, since I'm out of room for 1/60 scaled valks. Moreover, it's pretty much perfect transformation, and that, too, appeals to me, as well as its being a smaller capture of the larger DX. I own a Yamato Blazer valk, and I love that thing's design, but I like the straighter nose of the HMR/DX. I'm happy to have both in my collection. The other aspect of the HMR toys is that they seem more playable, if that makes sense. I'd rather fidget about with them than the 1/60 toys, even if a little more care needs to be exercised around needle thin antennae and such. That said, and in spite of my lack of space, I'm still holding out useless hope for Arcadia to release their VF-5000G. I'd far, far prefer it in this color scheme, but I fear beggars can't be choosers, and we'll be lucky to get it at all at this point since it was revealed back in 2022 with little news since. I'd happily take and HMR, though. 😄
  12. M'Kyuun
    I get what you're implying, but honestly, I don't think anyone was really thinking that way in the 30s and 40s. I never made that correlation as a kid watching Batman in the 70s and 80s so I think that's more of a worldly adult POV. In retrospect, a lot of superheroes have questionable costumes hence the reason none of the actors in recent decades have worn skin-tight body suits like Batman '66 or Chris Reeves' Superman. Beyond that, the majority of female superheroes and villains were drawn to accentuate their feminine appeal, which generally means a fair bit of skin showing or just really form-fitting suits with ample bosom and plenty of cleavage. That trend carried over to sci-fi as well.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Well, you're not wrong. It is odd that she traipses around in a thong regardless of situation or environment and nobody bats an eye or shows any discomfort. I realize she's fully prosthetic, but it seems she's anatomically endowed and fully functional. She sleeps topless in just panties next to a teenaged boy in 2nd season after emerging from the shower in said panties with naught but a towel draped around her neck to partially cover her breasts. Moreover, after he inquires whether she can have sex, she playfully invites him to find out. A bit risqué if not ethically questionable. If the genders were reversed, I think there would've been far more flack and attention given to it back when it was airing on tv. What's more disturbing about it is that she's a cop.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Cat guy, too. I thought about grabbing some of the other kits for the Constructicons, primarily the ones with replacement arms, but the expense just doesn't seem worth it to me when so much of what's in them would just stay in the box. Hence my wish for an arms-only kit. I think they'd get more sales of that than these kits with superfluous stuff in them.
  15. M'Kyuun
    I wish one of these 3P upgrade kit makers would release a scope that transforms to make the part between the arms look like it's part of the tank, y'know grey with some tank grrebles, and make the part of the scope forming his cannon rotate up and down so that the tank mode looked and functioned more realistically. It seems like such a no-brainer to me, as that was my first and only want from an SS86 Megatron upgrade kit, and yet no one has done it. Maybe I'm just weird for wanting that? My DK-71 Long Haul upgrade kit arrived on Saturday, but I failed to see the delivery email, so it sat outside for two days in the pouring rain. To make matters worse, my stupid dog ravaged the cardboard box it was packed in, as well as taking a chunk or two out of the actual package within. Fortunately, the contents were all intact, so small mercies. FWIW, a company called Uni made the delivery and they placed it out in front of my garage instead of bringing it up on my porch. Not sure if the dog was out at the time (he's a 90lb pitbull-husky mix and looks like a German Shepard), but it seemed an odd place to deliver a package considering how many deliveries I receive. The vast majority attempt to put it on my porch, and one delivery person, afraid of my dog, was intercepted by my next-door neighbor who was kind enough to bring the package over. Either that, or, fearing my dog, they'll postpone delivery to another day. FWIW, my dog is big, he jumps a lot when he's excited, but he hasn't a malicious bone in his body. Anyway, I'm trying to think of a solution so that it doesn't happen again. My wife won't let me get rid of the dog, as much as I've emphatically declared how badly I want to be rid of him for numerous reasons beyond his ruining my toys and preventing deliveries, although those are high on my list. Alas, it's my own fault for agreeing to getting him when he was a pup. Shoulda known better. As to the kit, it adds some nice waist swivel to Long Haul and raises his legs in combined form to cover the area behind Hook, which looks better to me. Too, it lowers the wheels to ankle level in Long Haul's bot mode, which also looks better. Kinda wish they swung inward instead, but it's still an improvement. I still wish they'd release an arms-only upgrade kit with improved arms for Bonecrusher, Hook, and Mixmaster. No useless horns, no fillers- just arms. I'd buy that for a dollar, or $40-50.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I don't mind scantily clad women; however, make even the minimal apparel fit the genre. If she was wearing a two-piece bathing suit with a gun belt holding a laser rifle and wearing some sort of space helmet or even a visor with headphones and a little mic, with maybe a hint of some cybernetic limbs, at least she'd fit the part. Just, no Vikings in a robot battle, please. Having just watched GitS: SAC, Major Kusanagi comes immediately to mind as one of those more well-known scantily clad sci-fi women, and I'm good with it. More Motoko, less Viking. 😄
  17. M'Kyuun
    As popular as the Dinobots are, making new toys is like printing money. I'm sure Grimlock will sell well (heck,, I've not been interested in the line thus far, but even a Missing Link version of Grimlock has my antennae perked). I'm sure we'll get the whole team, righting a serious wrong that they committed with MP Grimlock. 🤣 Typical! I'm just now getting caught up on the news (7:30 PM), but I noticed those shoulders right off the bat, which I'm sure is the point of contention. FWIW, I don't disagree; that was a well-pointed out niggle that most fans had with SS86 Hot Rod (and Rodimus), which despite that particular wart, still stands as one of the best releases in the SS86 line. However, Takara should have the awareness that simply upsizing a retail figure or bringing over a well-pointed out weakness of said figure into a MP figure is just a no-no. This was a read-the-room moment for them and they're obviously oblivious or just don't care. Since I've pretty much dropped out of MP scale collecting, I have nothing to gain or lose. I'll just watch from the sidelines as the fans gather with their torches and pitchforks. And then fight to get in their preorders anyway. 😄
  18. M'Kyuun
    I like everything about that last painting except the out-of -place Viking chick; she's too much of a fantasy trope that sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise very sci-fi environment. For the record, I'm not much of a fantasy fan, and I generally like my sci-fi more on the science-y side than otherwise. The robots look great, the domed cities in the background are absolutely apropos, and the ships, which remind me of a cross between manta rays and the Horton Ho 229 or this set from the LEGO Ninjago Movie are fitting. If the girl was wearing some sort of space suit or jumpsuit with sci-fi accoutrement, it'd be perfect.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Unfortunately, the attempt to capture the real car as accurately as possible takes precedence over functionality. It'd be nice if they could do both, but that would entail making a lot more specialized canopy/windshield pieces as well as compromising the look of the vehicles. I came to terms with the compromise back when they were still only 6-wide. The move to 8-wide gave the designers more real estate and thus more options. Moreover, the steady addition of new elements every year to better capture the curves and contours of the cars has greatly enhanced what's possible with the brick. Kids now just don't know how good they've got it compared to what we had to work with from the 70s through the early millennium.
  20. M'Kyuun
    I've always loved this cover illustration of R. Giskard from Asimov's Robots of Dawn by Michael Whelan. Still have my copy from when I was about twelve years old. It was the cover that caught my attention, and ever since I've always wanted to see Asimov's robots depicted in a show or film like this. Chris Foss has an impressive body of work, and while his style doesn't always appeal to me, his work manifests a great imagination and the wherewithal to make it come alive on the canvas. Harkening back to @F-ZeroOne's post above, two founding fathers of Sci-fi, the British H.G. Wells and the French Jules Verne, painted their pictures with words and established a foundation for the early sci-fi genre using their knowledge of scientific advances of their eras and weaving them into narratives that continue to influence sci-fi to this day. Much like today's authors, they engaged in speculative fiction, which built upon nuggets of accepted scientific fact and liberal license as to how that science would manifest in various circumstances.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Such a huge missed opportunity! Definitely would've nabbed a copy. Welcome to the Speed Champions rabbit hole! These sets are brilliantly executed in small affordable packages. IMHO, they offer some of the best building experiences for the size and price. I'm not a car guy, but there's certainly an allure to all these supercars, and while they don't always achieve a perfect capture, given the limitations of the medium, the designers acquit themselves quite admirably. As to Bond cars, they've already done the classic Aston Martin DB5, so hopefully that opens the door for more.
  22. M'Kyuun
    I'm so happy you were successful in scoring the Delorean. For my part, I was expecting a queue out the door, and indeed the place was packed nigh to capacity when we arrived (about an hour after they opened), but we essentially got right in. I was expecting their stock of the Delorean to be depleted, but they had a number of copies on-hand and a I happily snatched one. Ours is a pretty small store ( the Pick A Brick wall is only about five bins across) and the only one on the eastern side of WA. I think Boise is the next closest on this side. I wish it was a little bigger considering it services this side of WA, our Canadian neighbors, as well as NW Idaho, and Montana but beggars can't be choosers. After living in WA for over twenty years and hoping fervently for a LEGO Store in town or nearby, I'm just glad we finally got our own.
  23. M'Kyuun
    My 2026 haul thus far. I picked these up at my local LEGO Store yesterday. I built the Delorean first, and like most Speed Champions sets, it was full of interesting techniques and some new parts, including this new much-needed bracket in black. It was a fun build and yields a respectable model of the Delorean. It comes with a generous number of printed pieces, and the sticker sheet was downright modest by the usual standards for these sets. Best of all, unlike most SC sets, this one comes with two minifigs (Doc and Marty, complete with his orange bubble vest piece) and the ability to change the Delorean's configuration between the first film and the second with a few parts swaps, all for the standard $28. If this is the benchmark for licensed sets based on media properties going forward, I'm here for it. I have my wishlist of sets I hope they do, starting with KITT and the Mach 5. I have yet to build the Ferrari and Bugatti, but both look like the usual adventurous builds we've come to expect from the line. Moving on to the new City sets, I have a soft spot for farm and construction vehicles, and this new tractor does not disappoint- well, almost. The build is solid and looks great with the new smaller front tractor tires, giving the whole a nice congruency. The tractor has one of these hinge joints in black both front and rear for ball-joint connections as well as one of these hinge plates mounted just above. There's a sense that perhaps there was going to be some sort of attachment that was left out to keep the price at $20. However, there's a sense of purpose missing from the set due to that omission. The tractor looks beautiful, but it has no utility and I hope that's remedied by the spring or summer sets in the form of some more farm sets. I find it ironic then, as utility in the form of working features is one of the hallmarks of Designer Chris Stamp's direction for City. However, it's evident with the new Recycling Truck, which packs a number of working features into the model. The front forks can engage one of two recycling bins (one for paper products and one for plastic) and raise it up and over to dump into the truck's receptacle. The little dumpsters' lids are on frictionless hinges and open nicely with gravity. The functionality is ok- there's not really enough of a funneling effect to capture all the debris and some tends to fall overboard no matter how slowly or meticulously you attempt to dump the stuff into the truck. A for effort, though. There's a moveable baffle in the truck's receptacle that allows you to choose between paper or plastic depending on which you're dumping, and conveniently, the dumpsters' lids are printed with appropriate logos, as are the two sections of the receptacle. Once you've collected all the debris, the entire receptacle can raise and where you generally only have a single large door at the back that opens to allow all the trash to spill out, there are two doors, each corresponding to the two different types of recyclable materials. This in turn, allows you, if you wish, to dump the materials back into their corresponding dumpsters without mixing. It's a cool feature and it adds an extra element of playability to the usual garbage truck play pattern. One thing that needs mentioning- there are no stickers- any part requiring a marking is printed which makes the build process nice and smooth without interruption. I hope this is the new trend. Just from this small selection of sets, I feel like we're off to a good start for 2026 LEGO. Happy building!
  24. M'Kyuun
    Despite having been to England a number of times, including having lived there for four months (stayed at least a couple weeks at the Bell Inn in Thetford- never saw any ghosts though), I remain largely ignorant to a great deal of British media, especially comics. I've never really been into comic books, even American ones, so I'm woefully out of the loop. Of course, Judge Dredd has seen a couple retellings via Hollywood, for better or worse, and stuff like the Thunderbirds and Space 1999, as well as the wildly popular and long running Dr. Who series have been airing on American tvs for decades, not to mention toys thereof. I had to employ some Google-fu to look up the respective artists you mentioned, and I'm sure what popped up only scratches the surface of each artist's body of work. I was surprised to learn that there was a PS4 game based on Collin Wilson's Rogue Trooper called, appropriately enough, Rogue Trooper Redux. Duncan Jones helmed an animated film starring the likes of Hayley Atwell, Sean Bean, Asa Butterfield, and Aneurin Barnard as the eponymous Rogue Trooper. It was intended for release in summer 2025, but has been delayed, date to be determined. Anyway, thanks for sharing these memories of early British sci-fi. I was moved to look up other UK based artists in sci-fi and discovered Peter Elson, whose work is exemplary and definitely merits mention and a look. I never heard his name before, but I'm wowed looking through his various works. This Is Cool has a nice brief gallery as well, and serendipitously turned out to be an awesome resource for myriad international artists doing sci-fi and fantasy art. Jim Burns is a multi-Hugo-award winning sci-fi and fantasy artist, and Chris Moore, who sadly passed in Feb 2025, was an eclectic artist across themes and styles. Many of his works graced book covers, his claim to fame, if you will. I think I'll also mention the late H.R. Giger here, a Swiss artist best known for creating the Alien Xenomorph, as well as other designs across the Alien franchise. Beyond that, Giger had an incredible and unique talent for creating otherworldly biomechanical creatures, objects, and landscapes, often with sexual overtones. He also created the look of the alien leads in Species and Species II. For creating one of the most notable of sci-fi movie monsters, still highly relevant today, and for his signature style, Giger merits a significant mention.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, that was the pretense behind which LEGO shielded themselves from a potential serious endemic issue with gear failures. Instead of canceling the set outright, I wish they'd admitted the issue, put the set on hiatus to fix the issue, and released it. A bunch of lucky reviewers and LEGO ambassadors got the set for free. It quickly became sought after and the prices exorbitant.
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