M'Kyuun

This was the only Space Police I set I owned for decades until I finally got my hands on a second-hand copy of the Spy Trak I in my forties, a set I'd really wanted for all those years. I honestly never noted the lack of obvious powerplants on the SP sets, but that's an interesting observation. It makes me like them no less. Anyway, the Galactic Peace Keeper struck a chord with me as a kid due to its sleek styling and, always a fan of transformative features, I loved the pop-out winglets with their 'sensor arrays' 😉. Just a gorgeous little ship that still holds up today. Regarding that canopy, it debuted in 1989 in the Space Police sets and continued to feature in sets until 2002. Funny that we wouldn't get a modern analog for another twenty years with Buzz's XL-15. As to stacking, although it was obviously designed with that in mind, stacking only occurs in two sets out of the thirty-five in which it came. Both were Space Police II sets, the Galactic Mediator and the Solar Snooper, the latter of which I have.

Since they're attached with ball joints, I can see a 3P upgrade kit making new forearms with flip-out fists for him, which is the main improvement to bot mode that I'd like to see, From the side, his shovel-chest appears to sit too low, a la MP Arcee; however, looking straight on, it looks fine. Those raised bits on either side of his head kinda throw off that side profile a bit.

Looks good. Prey was done remarkably well and I would have liked to have seen more like it throughout various eras of human history. Guess I got my wish, but I'm surprised it's animated. Nonetheless, it still looks good and perhaps they can do more with an animated budget. Looking forward to it.

Why? This is excellent news! I'm one of those voters.

All good points, if practical. I'm merely speculating, should the technology somehow take off and become successful, as to what direction that tech could possibly lead. Humanity is a barbarous creature and the one constant throughout our history so far as we know it is that any available weapon we create, we advance it and at some point, use it, in nearly all cases. Likewise the weaponization of seemingly benign technologies. Fortunately, we haven't crossed that line with hydrogen bombs just yet, but we're closer to midnight now than ever before. Obviously, you guys don't feel that Corleo is going to lead anywhere, but I'm not discounting anything. Our reality today includes much of what was considered sci-fi until just a couple decades ago, so dismissing anything, especially a technology that already has a real basis at present, is an underestimation.

I could see them used as pacification or for making forcible entry into an area that may be wired or is defended by potentially armed suspects, thus reducing the danger to a cop or soldier. Moreover, they could give chase to people who run from law enforcement, a job normally given to police dogs, who face harm at the hands of potentially armed suspects. Unlike a dog, who only has his jaws as a weapon, formidable though they may be, something akin to Corleo could be outfitted with any sort of restraining devices to capture and incapacitate. It could be designed to climb fences or jump fences too high for a dog. In lieu of a dog's nose, suspects could be marked with a traceable chemical marker that the quad-drone could detect and follow. The psychological component alone would prove as a good deterrent.

Well, let's be honest, the Bay films weren't good, successively becoming worse with every new film. And while the Sunbow toon wasn't exactly high art either, I think it's far more relatable than Bay's chaotic films. Too, by virtue of age, the G1 look is more pervasive, with many Geewunners introducing their kids to it thus bringing a new generation of fans into the fold. I don't have kids, but I'm curious how many fans here who grew up with G1 have introduced their kids to it and which your kids prefer, the old G1 stuff or the Bay stuff? Or maybe they don't like either and Earthspark is their "G1". I know that, had I had kids, they most certainly would've been introduced to all the cool 80s stuff from my childhood. Moreover, they'd see my Transformers collection, mostly G1, every time they came into my mancave. Anyway, as a fan of G1, I'm just happy that it's still going strong, that the toys have improved in certain ways, especially more toy/toon faithfulness, and that the options have extended well beyond official toys to fulfill the desire for more G1y goodness. I would shed nary a tear to see all of Bayformers consigned to the dustbin of history; like Robotech which introduced Macross, and in many cases, anime, to the West, Bay's films served a good initial purpose by reinvigorating the TF brand, which was stagnating, and generating a lot of revenue for Hasbro, which also benefitted Transformers beyond just the Bayformers toys. The brand has since sustained well, not b/c of Bayformers, but b/c of G1's continued popularity. I think that's vindication for the oldest designers at Takara who first invented and introduced these things over forty years ago, and by succession, for those of us G1 fans who defended it in the wake of the Bay era.

Well, G1 started it all, those characters are iconic at this point, and they're proven sellers. However, I'm thinking once they're done with the combiner teams and crank out toys of any obscure characters or outliers like the Omnibots (fingers crossed!), they'll slow down on G1 for a while to focus on other series and comics-based stuff. I'm not sure how much the recent generations of kids are into "vintage" Transformers; I'm thinking us old fogies in our 40s and 50s are the main audience and consumers of G1-related merch, esp toys and models, and to that end, how much longer will it remain relevant or marketable except as Ebay/Amazon fodder or just the domain of dedicated collectors? I collect b/c I have a passion for transforming toys and of course, Transformers has all but monopolized and dominated the genre in the West. Too, growing up with the Sunbow toon, I have a connection to the first season bots (never cared much for successive seasons, but I'll still buy the toys b/c transforming robots are awesome). To the point, once all of us older fans start losing interest or quit collecting altogether, will the younger generations still demand G1 toys? I'll take 'em while they still make 'em.

Yes. The Variable Glaug, VF-5000B M+ colors, and VF-14 are high on my list of wants, although I'd take an Sv-51Y (Nora's)) as I never got that variant in 1/60, but at HMR scale, it'd be a lot more space-friendly on the shelf while maintaining the articulation and detail of its larger variant at a fraction of the cost. I wouldn't mind an HMR VF-9 Cutlass either. There are sp many Macross designs that have yet to be made in the HMR line- Bandai needs to get crackin'! I have Yamato's OG 1/60 VF-4G w/ dark grey nose, and recently I bought the HMR VF-4G in FB2012 colors, so best of both worlds in two scales. I'm with you; if it doesn't transform into an aircraft of some kind, I'm generally not interested, except for the Octos, which becomes a sub. I'd take an HMR of that design, too.

As would I as I really like that color scheme. Still love the YF-19 though; it's one of my favorite valks. Recently bought the HMR VF-4 and I love it. Unlike the Yamato 1/60 VF-4, whose design Bandai basically copied, I wish they had gone the extra mile to impart shoulder rotation, as it would have improved pose ability immensely. I have the upcoming HMR VF-2SS rerelease POed and I'm excited for it. It'll be my first and only VF-2SS toy, and judging by reviews, it's a really good design.

Hence my follow-up statement that the AT-AT, though cool in a movie/toy sense, is impractical. And it is totally way cool. However, If the Corleo actually becomes popular enough to become successful beyond just being a fad, I doubt it would take long for it to find its way into the military, or a DARPA equivalent, along with mods, like longer legs for greater running speeds, or bulkier builds for carrying greater loads. Not only that, but armed variants would almost certainly be likely. A drone of similar design would have the ability to traverse terrain in ways that wheeled vehicles might not be able to which would give them a tactical advantage.

That's interesting. However, if anyone had the current tech to corner the market on such a product, I'd think that would be Boston Dynamics, who have a proven range of bi- and quadrupedal robots. This is definitely very near future tech, though. And from there, how long before it becomes militarized, enlarged, armed and armored, and we end up with AT-ATs? Not that I'm against the creation of a RW AT-AT, my favorite Star Wars vehicle, but the implications of such a thing actually existing could be troubling. Too, IMHO, while it looks really cool, it's pretty impractical- take out one leg and the whole thing would be one big useless pile of salvage.

We like what we like, and I won't judge anyone for disliking something I like or vice versa and I hope that courtesy will be extended not only to me, but the fandom at large. MPG Prime appeals to me, especially the robot mode. Those feet could have used a bit more engineering to reduce their visual impact on the truck mode, and it would have helped the truck, too, had the smaller faux tanks on the legs been covered by the large truck tanks. Seeing both hanging out there looks odd. Regardless, I'm not planning on getting it, so I officially have no dog in the race. Think of it what you will in peace. I'd also be happy to see other series get MP toys, specifically Animated and Prime. Ultimately, however, I'd rather have updates at the mainline CHUG scale or legends scale (b/c I'm out of room) focused on the original design aesthetic without G1 hybridization. Moreover, I feel like third party is doing a better job on the whole with TF toys than Takara/Hasbro, and I think that mostly comes down to the restrictions and budgets that the official toys are made under whereas third parties can operate much more loosely. I think the quality in the toys shows what a bigger budget can accomplish, not to mention showcases the talents of many of these companies to rival or surpass Takara at their own game. But yeah, once G1 is exhausted, I'd love to see Magic Square or Newage take a crack at Animated.

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.