M'Kyuun

While my nostalgia for the G1 toys takes a definitive backset to the appeal of modern toys, I must confess that I've a soft spot for the G1 Dinobots, especially Sludge, the only one I had as a kid. My hope is that the whole team will get made and I'll get my chance to own the version of Sludge as I wish he'd been back in '85. I keep hoping for Prowl to be announced, since TT will get the most bang for their buck from the Fairlady Z bros. Prowl was my first TF figure, and I kinda destroyed him in my misguided attempt to give him leg articulation. A Missing Link version would not only restore my G1 toy, but in an articulated form I wish he'd had when I was a kid.

1 hour ago, danth said:

I don't think this is true, and historically, these kind of forced gimmicks fail. Vidiyo, Hidden Side, Dimensions...

The Mario theme is doing okay, I presume, probably due to the popularity of the franchise, and the quality of set designs, and if I had to guess, not at all due to the weird Mario/Luigi figures with the embedded electronics. For instance, I bought this set, but I have no interest in the Mario figure (shown faded out).

But even though I don't really like that Mario figure, at least it makes sense. Mario is basically the "smart brick" in these sets, and his expressions and speech change based on the tiles he interacts with. You move him around, he says things and makes faces. That makes sense.

But just having a brick, sitting there in a exposed in a weird spot, making primitive noises and flashing? That doesn't really work.

What's well integrated in Mario sets is weirdly forced into these Star Wars sets. 

Even the light-up lightsabers, which make more sense IMHO, were a very short-lived gimmick (that also crossed over to City as flashlights for police). It seems the build quality of the sets in which these smart bricks are being employed is rather substandard to poor; for my money at any age, I'd rather have the most accurate depiction of the subject matter over lights and sounds. However, that's just my own preference as an older LEGO fan growing up in the very analog days of the 70s and 80s. At any rate, you make a good point about LEGO's other attempts at integrating the digital into their regular building play pattern, and they've all ended with lackluster results. IMHO, LEGO is best as a construction toy, so ever-improving on that core tenant should be their focus.

Edit: I'll amend my comment about lackluster builds, as I bought a few of the Hidden Side sets, and while I cared little for the digital features, the sets themselves were good to downright excellent builds, judging from the few I own personally. Looking at the other sets, though, I thought the majority were brilliantly done, as they not only had the digital features on the periphery, but most of the sets themselves had transformative features built in to represent the haunted nature of buildings and objects. It was imaginative and well-implemented, IMHO, one of their better stand-alone themes.

On 1/6/2026 at 8:23 PM, Bolt said:

Personally, I'm not going to rush out to get these. I think it's a bit of a gimmick. Admittedly, these "smart bricks " , that can react to each other with laser play and play SW music , may be fun, but I don't see this as a must have. But LEGO will probably make a killing on this new technology, as the younger generations will eat it up. And hey, they have to stay on top of their game, right? And i'm sure we will now be seeing the same technology in their Marvel, Ninjago, Harry Potter, etc. etc. offerings in the coming years.

I've never been a big fan of lights or sounds in my toys. It just never mattered to me, and the toys usually suffer concessions for it, especially from the 70s-90s when electronics were much larger, energy burning incandescent light bulbs were the only option, and the toy required a voluminous load of batteries to affect the functions. That said I own a number that have said gimmicks, and every now and again I'll activate them for a quick thrill and to make sure the batteries are still viable. My favorite of these toys is Transformers Animated Ultra Magnus: Jeff Bennett's Robert Stack impression is spot on and his lines, taken nigh verbatim from the show, are still smile-inducing. Second runner up would be Agent Knight with his William Daniels sound-alike delivering KITT's lines, and that pulsing scanner and the whoo-whoo sound effect. Good stuff, that.

However, smart bricks aren't the breakthrough innovation I would have asked for, either now or as a wee lad. A family of this, however- that would be game changing. 

Appreciate the news. Hound as another frickin exclusive isn't the best, but maybe Pulse will have it for a limited time and I, and other Pulse members, can score a copy. Thanks, Mike.

34 minutes ago, 505thAirborne said:

I have a feeling we're pretty much the same age, I got the Red Gakken Legioss aka Rook's Alpha and yes, best day ever!! 

That is until I got the SDF-1. 

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.

Temptation won me over- I preorderd the Pose+. My inner child is all a-giggle.

10 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

Yeh, I hear you @M'Kyuun, my inner 10 year old boy watching Robotech every day after school is screaming "BUY IT!!!" - I still remember the birthday I got my first Gakken Blue Alpha Robo whatever is was called. Pure unadulterated JOY! 😍

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!

11 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Still waiting for those last two Age of the Primes Deluxes, though they're apparently on their way and I hope to have them soon.  But hey, Barricade turning up a bit ago wasn't a fluke; a new wave of Studio Series figures is also trickling out.  And while I happen to think Barricade is cool, I'm betting you guys are probably a lot more interested in Deluxe-class Windcharger.

What's to say about Windcharger?  The new Studio Series toy is pretty cartoon-accurate, giving his gray torso a bit of a bluish tint (more subtle in real life than in my pictures, I assure you) that the original toy and Power of the Primes didn't have, but depending on the the episode (and how your TV was calibrated) the cartoon usually did.  He's got a tad more sculpted detail on his torso and knees than the cartoon, but the important details like the bump-out chest, the ribbed thighs, and the trapezoid with a disk slot above it on his crotch are from the cartoon.

The wheels on his feet fold away to be more cartoon accurate, and while the wheels on his shoulders are still visible they rotate to kind of mimic the C-shaped bulge on the animation model.  So I'm mostly pretty content with how Windcharger turned out... until you get to his feet.  Because that sure is a lot of kibble.  What's more, from other angles where you can see the inside of his foot you'll find that it's mostly hollow, with just the wheels folded into them.  It's passable, for a Deluxe, I think.  If it were an MP toy, though, I might expect some way to better hide his shoulder wheels and tuck some of the kibble on the back of his feet more in to his feet.

Studio Series Windcharger comes with accessories, which is more than the original or Power of the Primes toys can boast.  You get one effect part, and one pistol.

Windcharger's articulation is adequate, but a little weird.  So, his head, which is mostly a box, just swivels.  However, there's a little switch on the back of his head.  Moving the switch moves his face within the box, so he can actually look up.  Pretty clever!  His shoulders are ball joints, so he can swivel them and move them almost but not really 90 degrees.  his biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees.  His wrists are ball joints, but the cut is to allow them to fold for transformation.  If you fold them, then twist them, then fold them back, you can get a limited wrist swivel.  His waist swivels.  His hips can go 120 degrees forward or backward, and 90 degrees laterally.  His thighs swivel.  Now here's where things get a little weird, but it's actually cartoon accurate.  He has a knee bend that can go about 90 degrees just below the ribbed detail on his thighs.  So gray bit below the hinge his actually his his lower leg, and all the red stuff with the car kibble is actually his feet.  Now, his feet have a tiny shred of up/down tilt, and he's got 90 degrees of ankle pivot... it just looks weird, because anatomically his ankles would be like two thirds of the way up his shins if he were a human.

Windcharger can hold his pistol in either hand, just as you'd expect. The effect part, which is supposed to represent his magnetic powers, plugs into a cutout on the bump out on his chest.  When he's not shooting or magnetizing stuff, the pistol uses a small peg to plug into his butt, while the effect part can tab into his back.

Windcharger's transformation is a bit like the PotP toy, or a Prime Vehicon.  Spin the wheels on his shoulders, and tuck his hands down.  Move the faux roof on his back out of the way so he can shrug up and tuck his arms against his body.  Now, you unfurl all the kibble from his feet, and fold the wheels out.  Fold his feet over part way, then tab them and all the kibble together.  Fold the feet the rest of the way and they'll form the rear of the car, while the kibble will slot over the faux roof and his shoulders to form the roof, hood, and nose of the car.

I suppose it's a bit of a copout... his arms and feet really turn into the car, but most of the top and front are just his unfurled heels.  But it's hard to argue with results.  SS86 Windcharger captures the big-wheeled, buck-toothed, generic sportscar look of the cartoon.  That is to say, you look at it and it really doesn't resemble a Firebird, but not resembling a Firebird is correct if you want to be cartoon-accurate.  His toes not lining up with the roof?  Cartoon-accurate.  Circular headlights and grill that looks more like a '74 than early '80s model the molded pop-up headlights on the G1 toy suggested?  Cartoon-accurate.

He rolls in car mode, of course.  There's a slot in the grill that you can plug the magnetic effect part into.  But best of all, his pistol has slots cut into the sides.  These slots fit over the same tabs behind his rear wheels that lock them into place in robot mode.  (Mostly) hidden weapon storage, my favorite kind!

Windcharger is not an amazing toy, the way Studio Series Optimus and Megatron are.  His transformation is, arguably, a tad simple for a Deluxe, with most of his robot mode just chilling out on the underside.  Getting his cartoon feet into the actual rear of the car gives him kind of wonky proportions, and his articulation is just fine, nothing special.  But, y'know... I think that's prefectly good enough.  Aside from some kibble on the backs and hollowness on the inside of his feet, he looks good in bot mode.  He looks accurate in car mode.  He comes with a pistol and storage for it in both robot and car mode.  He's better than the Power of the Primes toy.  That's really all I needed from him, and if I'm not mistaken he's a wrap on the cast of Season 1 Autobots (although we know some guys like Sunstreaker are getting Studio Series do-overs, and some guys like Mirage need Studio Series do-overs).  So, yeah, recommended.

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. 

On 1/6/2026 at 11:53 PM, Major Tom said:

probably been shown here before - (for those who haven't seen it)  preview of Pose Plus Legioss in cantonese (subtitle available)

 

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.

On 1/5/2026 at 1:05 PM, TangledThorns said:

WTF LOL
 

 

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.

11 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

Why do they keep remaking hot rod? He's got Prime killed and was a sucky leader. No charisma. He single handily killed of G1 interest in season 3.

all the specific toys created for the movie that wasn't diaclone (ultra magnus) or combiner related sucked. 

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.

4 hours ago, sh9000 said:

I never opened the 5 Pack but I'm looking forward to Studio Series 86 Sunstreaker, Hound, and eventually Wheeljack.

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.

1 hour ago, tekering said:

Yeah, that's the gorgeous AMK Pro Mirage, and he's their best work yet...  

They really knocked it out of the Yolopark. 👌

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.

On 12/20/2025 at 7:57 PM, ChristopherB said:

I've been looking forward to the Arcadia release, but if it doesn't happen.  I'm content to own two transformable Experten 1/100 with and without the Super Booster as well as the Studio Half Eye version.

Although my personal favorite is my extremely rare Experten 1/72 VF-5000G with Super Booster perfect transformable and sold at a single Japanese Winder Festival.  I'm hoping to have it built and put on display soon.

Not many people even know these toys even exist, let alone own all the versions.  A sturdy 1/60 full variable from Arcadia will be awesome though

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.

55 minutes ago, Big s said:

I don’t think it was a big issue until the 50’s or 60’s I remember it was supposedly a big part of why silver age comics had the comics code stamp to prove that things were wholesome and kinda tamed a lot of things in comics. I guess it even distracted parents when the Adam West series popped up that Robin had to cover his junk with his cape due to parental complaints 

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.

1 hour ago, Scream Man said:

All panel lined!

Beautiful lineup! Some of Kawamori's most striking designs, especially the YF-19. Love it!

On 12/16/2025 at 11:31 PM, chingu77 said:

Becarful purchasing form AmiAmi.... this is their "Parcel Locker" delivery attempt by a local carrier called "Uniexpress" .... 

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. 😄

3 hours ago, Big s said:

Yeah, that’s a creepy situation. But imagine if it were a random dude in a Speedo with everyone acting normal while he’s having an important conversation with dignitaries and such. And it’s only him. Just that is pretty creepy. I don’t know how that task force would keep any credibility. Then again that’s probably why Batman had so many eyes on him when he brought out his sidekick 

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. 

1 hour ago, Big s said:

I don’t know,that first season kinda weirds me out. The manga she totally fits with the other characters, but that first season of the show she’s just wandering around demanding to be taken seriously, but the only person in a thong. Doesn’t even matter the situation. She could be on the street or in a business office or at the prime minister’s building just the only person in a thong. The second part of the show put pants on and it kinda felt more in line with the universe, but nothing against hot ladies in thongs, but it just seems really weird to have one random lady in charge of things with just a thong and a short coat demanding respect 

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.

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.

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.  

17 minutes ago, Big s said:

The scantily clad ladies were really his thing. Even when it doesn’t fit the backdrop. I absolutely appreciate his work, but definitely makes you wonder if he actually watched the show or saw much of the preproduction stuff and then just started sketching from memory or what. I’ll have to search for some interviews or something and try and find out what led to his interpretations

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. 😄

21 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Oh please let this be the first of all five dinobots.

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.

6 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

MPG Hot Rod is causing quite a stir at the board that shan't be named. The silhouette looks an awful lot like SS86 Hot Rod. I find it amusing. I recall when 86 Hot Rod came out that everyone was saying it was so much better than MP-28 that Takara should just upsize it. Now it looks like they are upsizing it and everyone's mad. 

🤣 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. 😄

5 hours ago, Big s said:

One of mine as well and while those were great fantasy works, I think what sticks in my mind as far as Sci fi is his stuff for Battlestar Galactica. I don’t know if he really had seen any of it before doing his works or if it was just someone describing things of the show to him and he did the promo art. I had seen some in old tv schedule article collections years ago and loved them, even though they didn’t seem quite like how things ended up on screen 

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.

2 hours ago, rsvictor1976 said:

That new LEGO DeLorean is a great set but I wish it had working gull-wing doors. 

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.

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.

On 1/3/2026 at 12:20 PM, sh9000 said:

I'll build my Speed Champions Time Machine today.

I really hope KITT will get a release.  Never forget.  What a missed opportunity.

https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/fed813cb-b261-41fd-8dbf-3233a87bca30

Such a huge missed opportunity! Definitely would've nabbed a copy.

14 hours ago, wm cheng said:

Oh nice!  I'm loving this little build (my first Speed Champions) it's so amazingly designed. 

Now that I see the Knight Rider truck, we need the Doc Enterprises white truck to go with the Delorean!

There needs to be the white Lotus Esprit from the Spy Who Loved Me that parts swap to the sub!!!

 

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.