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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I just worked on planes (heavies, no fighters); never flew 'em and have no flight training, let alone combat flight training, to speak of, so I'll kindly take your word for it. Watching the F-22 go through its paces, the impression I have is that the engineers worked hard to reduce stall limits, as maneuverability is very impressive, and the engines up to task. When you consider that the aircraft is over twenty years old now, as the YF-22 demonstration model was selected over the YF-23 in 1991, and is still considered 'new', one tends to wonder what's in development as we speak.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Nice heavy mod of the original, Bobby. Looks fitting with those Macross kites, and I like that you kept the swing wing feature. Lovely all around.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Forgive the bumpage, but there's an airshow at Fairchild AFB this weekend, featuring the Raptor. Fortunately, I can see a fair bit of the aerial action from my bedroom window, and as much as I'm an advocate for the YF-23, I must confess watching the 22 go vertical through several hundred feet and do a 180 somersault is pretty neat. At another point they did a vertical climb and at its zenith just hovered there for about 20 seconds , nose up at about 60 degrees. They also flew it at a similar angle, nice and slow. I'm not sure how any of these aerobatics is helpful in combat, but it looks great for an airshow, and it makes a wicked roar similar to a TIE Fighter from time to time. Still wish it was a 23 flying around instead, but, y' know, history. I've got a trip planned to the Air Force Museum planned in August, so I'll finally get to see the YF-23 in all her mothballed glory. Bittersweet though it is, I still can't wait. Now back to air to air missiles....
  4. M'Kyuun
    I'll echo your sentiments regarding the redesigned Jay's Storm Fighter. I have the original, set 9442, which was a fun , albeit far more simplistic, design, which introduced the pop-out wing gimmick. Of all the Ninjago anniversary sets released this year, the new improved Storm Fighter caught my eye immediately, and it didn't disappoint; as you said, it's one of the nicest fighter inspired aircraft sets within System to grace a box in quite some time. Too, the new model has about double the parts count, making a beefier model compared to the original. The only thing I question about the design is why they used a hinge plate on the nose in front of the canopy instead of an inverted 2x2 curved slope, which, IMHO, would have looked nicer.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Well, technically, even if you buy a real LEGO set, you're still buying some Chinese made stuff, as LEGO has factories in China. They produce a lot of the specialized minifigs and minifig accessories, and other parts as well. I've noticed that many of the collectible minifigs have looser tolerances on the arms and sometimes legs over standard figs that come in sets. I guess that's the price we pay to have small intricate painted details on some of these guys. To the conversation at hand, I'll echo David's comment that LEGO doesn't produce extras, as they have very defined production runs, with most retail sets seeing about a two year run before retirement. More specialized sets, like the UCS Millennium Falcon, may see five or more years depending on sales. Buying second-hand LEGO can be a gamble, as a lot of folks out there have realized the value to collectors, and as such, scalping and price-gouging amongst internet sellers has become an unfortunate norm. C'est la vie, I guess. Anyway, as technoblue advised, I would look more to sites like Bricklink and Brickset to ensure you're getting official sets. I've bought any number of sets from various sellers on Bricklink, and I've had favorable results. Moreover, most sellers there are willing to 'fix' an order that is incorrect, and the site itself offers customer support to try and sort things out should they take a turn towards the nasty. Good Luck, Valkyrie Griffon! I hope you at least get a copy of the Mystery Machine, as that was a really well done set. Cheers!
  6. M'Kyuun
    Stealth was pretty bad. I kinda liked the two jet designs, though. The refueling dirigible, and subsequent fire ring scene, were all sorts of Hollywood screenwriting/design at its worst. Assuming that 2021 will finally bring liberation of the Macross property in the West, I personally don't feel the need for live action renditions of any Macross shows/movies/OVAs, although I'll agree that Plus would probably translate best, as it was inspired by the real world competition between the Lockheed YF-22 and the Northrop YF-23, and that the use of music was more grounded and believable than the majority of Macross. I just want good professionally dubbed DVDs of the various titles available, finally, at various retailers. Too, I'd probably go see Macross Plus: The Movie in the theatre if they released a good dubbed version of it (subs are alright, but I'd rather not read the entirety of a movie). As for live action, I'll echo the sentiments that anime just doesn't seem to translate well in Hollywood. GitS was ok, but I felt there were just too many things that felt off, and the use of 'Major' as her name rather than her rank bugs me to no end. I thought Alita was done really well, and in my mind, sets a benchmark for how anime should be adapted. I keep hoping that younger directors who are also longtime anime fans will start coming to the fore and deliver better adaptations. Aside from guys like Cameron, Rodriguez, and del Toro, I don't think many directors , and certainly not many old studio execs, really understand the appeal of anime, or how to tell a story the same way. Anyway, I just want Harmony Gold to shutter their doors forever, and for whatever company gets the international rights for Macross to finally make the various series available here in the US so I can finally have them on good quality DVD.
  7. M'Kyuun
    I have only peripheral knowledge of Lio Convoy, having never seen any of the Japanese Transformer shows, through some of the toys, official and non. The design is so-so for my tastes; I think the overall sculpt is alright, but I'm not caring for the entire front lion legs attached at the back of the elbows, like some sort of odd growth, nor the derpy , I'm assuming toon accurate, lion face in beast mode. The lion face in bot mode looks good, and hopefully it can be used optionally in place of the toon. For those who buy it. I suppose it's good that Takara are addressing some of the other continuities in Transformers; G1 and original Beast Wars are the only ones I'm interested in, unless they someday do Animated. Anyway, G1 is the line I really want to see done to completion, at least every bot from first season. However, I'm not sold on the totally toon accurate design philosophy currently espoused by Takara, as I think there are too many compromises. Too, while I am generally a vocal champion of Takara's engineering, Prime V3, Hound, and Bumblebee V2 have elements I'm not crazy about (Prime's backpack, gappy torso, and flat fuel tanks; Hound's floating head and a little too-far set back shoulders; and Bumblebee's weird feet and backpack, to name a few). Among TF fans, who are a rather critical bunch, I tend to be more forgiving in most cases, but I find the design trend of late to less and less appealing, which saddens me because I want to like and own official toys , and to feel an overall satisfaction and joy in how they look and function. They're losing me with some of the stuff they're doing of late, and it gives me mixed feelings about continuing the line as it is. I much preferred the Hasui approach, but that ship has long sailed; I'm just glad I got my Prowl under his design influence. But it concerns me going forward as they do characters that haven't been done yet. I was really excited when Hound was announced, until more pics started showing up; I'm not sold at all on the head armature as a good solution, especially with Willis and Gundog taking a more traditional, and IMHO, better, approach. To that end, I'm glad for the options- no regrets with Gundog. Still, I miss the pure sense of anticipation and excitement I used to feel with every new announcement; now there's an element of wariness there that dampens the mood. While the toon accuracy approach has its fans, I'm guessing I'm not alone in wanting bots that are more detailed and less beholden to the animation.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Pretty straightforward plot- humans vs aliens, where the aliens have huge motherships that disgorge killer ball bearings, and the humans have anthropomorphic bird-like drones. Honestly, the CG doesn't look half bad, nor the hardware. The drones are somewhat unique; at least they didn't straight up copy Pacific Rim or Gundam. I'd watch it out of sheer curiosity. It definitely looks like all out action over anything cerebral, which is fine for this sort of thing. It's the Chinese Independence Day.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Saw it today, and as an ending to the current X-Men films, it didn't feel quite final to me. I liked the film, although a few things stand out:
  10. M'Kyuun
    Hound has always been one of my favorite characters, and like many, I've waited a long time for an official MP version of him. Having Gundog, and having watched reviews of FT's Willis, in my mind the bar was already set fairly high, as each is a really good Hound figure with enough differences between them to give consumers a choice. The chunkier look of Gundog, similar to CHUG Hound, was my choice, but the obvious comparison with the official toy will lie with Willis. All this said, as has been the trend, I think the strengths of MP Hound will be its articulation, with which Takara have really stepped up their game in the last few releases, its engineering, and its adherence to toon accuracy, which is a very subjective area. For my tastes, it's not the end-all, be-all, and things like the aforementioned fake wheel nubs in bot mode are superfluous. My biggest nitpick with Hound is that his neck is attached to an armature and basically floats over his hood. Not crazy about that solution at all. And too, as JBO mentioned, the shoulders mount fairly far back and don't look right unless viewed straight on. The green bits under his bumper to fill out his torso seem a little too big; there was just a hint of green there in the toon model, but in my mind it wasn't necessary, and the look they went with has it a bit too pronounced. They carried over the robot diaper look, but IMO, it looks better than the toon depiction. That's another toon-ism that I don't mind their discarding in a modern toy. Unfortunately, my criticisms with this figure outweigh the good points for my tastes, and I think I'll be skipping him. Perhaps I'll change my mind after a review or three, but as it stands, Gundog is my MP Hound.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Vera's character is indeed reprehensible, and all the other adjectives applied. But, unlike the majority of the cast, she wasn't just vanilla- one way or the other, you feel something about her and her actions that you seldom feel for the other characters. Well, other than incredulousness or annoyance. I think Dr. Serizawa was the most noble and likeable character in the movie, but then he was written that way, and portrayed perfectly by Ken Watanabe. His pivotal scene with Godzilla was a good moment for the character, and for the movie as a whole, IMHO. And yeah, human stupidity abounded in this film; fortunately the monster on monster scenes served as good reprieves when the dumb meter was offscale high. Stories of the various failings of the Osprey at this point are so much negative history with a rather large and unfortunate body count. That said, there's just something captivating, almost otherworldly, about it. It's my childhood sci-fi become real, and I find it to be an amazingly lovely craft to behold aesthetically, but also for the achievements in technology that it represents. But, reality being the master of all things, the truth is those Ospreys probably would have crashed to the ground in a midair release. Fortunately, movies still require a lot of suspension of disbelief, especially when Hollywood Hollywoods all over a film like this one. For those two+ hours, I'm willing to believe.
  12. M'Kyuun
    https://news.tfw2005.com/2019/05/31/siege-refraktor-teletraan-file-revealing-a-possible-camera-mode-with-extra-parts-389058 Potentially, a more complete Siege Refractor figure is coming in a boxset, providing additional camera accessories. The downside is that it's probably going to be a limited Exclusive. If the latter is true, it's disheartening and disappointing. In my mind, like the original toy, which incidentally was a mail-in exclusive, Refractor should have been a boxset of all three bots from the beginning, as his three-in-one transformation is his unique claim to fame, and his camera mode is far more desirable than the ad-hoc 'ship' transformation of the individual bots. It's just rumor for now, but it reminds me how much I've come to despise exclusives in any toy line.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Saw it with my wife yesterday, and we both enjoyed it. She would have liked even more monster mashups, and honestly, I have to agree.
  14. M'Kyuun
    The Saturn V is a fantastic set, both in terms of building experience and display. Can't recommend it enough. Today the Creator Expert Lunar Module set is available. I got mine through the LEGO Shop online, but it will likely appear at other retailers who carry the bigger specialty sets, like Barnes and Noble. For those interested, the City Space sets , loosely based on the various projects ongoing at NASA , are available June 23.
  15. M'Kyuun
    I agree; Kawamori designs his aircraft modes to suit the transformation. However, a few are close to real aircraft- the SV-262 and the VF-1 come to mind. Both the YF-19 and YF-21 had the YF-23 as their basis. Of course, he took a lot of liberties with the design in both cases. The YF-23 is my favorite fighter ever, and I'd love to have an accurate transforming version of it. Due to its shallow fuselage, it'd be a challenge- I've given much thought to it and have never come to a satisfactory arrangement. Anyway, I agree with your assessment that most aircraft, if designed with Kawamori's philosophies , will not yield a boxy G1 bot. The closest would be the F-15 Seekers, followed by CW Jetfire, as his alt was very reminiscent of the F-22., but his bot mode was based on his Skyfire appearance in the show- an interesting amalgamation.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I don't really think the engineering needs to be 'advanced' in a transforming aircraft. The VF-1 is not an over complicated design, and it translated well to the old Bandai/Takatoku 1/55 scale toys. I also look at figures like Action Toys' Eagle Robo and Blackbird Robo, neither of which is extremely complex, especially Blackbird. Granted Eagle maintains proportions far better, but the point I want to make is that Blackbird uses what is provided by the aircraft's various structures to inform the bot mode, and he ends up the sleekest SR-71 transforming toy I've seen, outside of the original Machine Robo toy. So, I don't think the engineering needs to be at MIT levels of complexity; honestly, if you look at the majority of Kawamori's designs, few are what I would consider complex, as the legs nearly always form the entirety of the propulsion system, the arms rotate back and tuck away, or meld into the sides of the fuselage, and the head is nearly always part of the aircraft's spine, or tucks up behind the forward fuselage like the VF-1s. From strictly a design POV, these basic tenets of aircraft transformation, if observed by Has/Tak, could greatly improve the toys we get in the future. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the upcoming Commander Jetfire, as well as CW Jetfire, as both show some nice design effort, and the aircraft modes certainly benefit. Please don't get the impression that I am implying that the Macross toys we get from Bandai and Arcadia are neither high end nor complex, as they are obviously both by varying degrees from toy to toy. Moreover, both companies add to the complexities of the basic designs when they engineer in solutions for joints, sliders, special features, die-cast implements for integrity, paint apps, sculpt work, tampo, etc ad nauseum to make them a more premium toy. Moreover, they're purposely designing for adult consumers with, hopefully, greater financial assets and higher standards(really hopefully) than the average 5-12 year old kid. Mike makes a great point; modern toy designers, official and non, have their hands tied by consumers' demands that the bot modes resemble blocky 80's toys, which seems easier to hide in a car than an aircraft. It's an unfortunate legacy that will continue to inform these toys until all of us G1 folks are so much dust in the wind, and a new look and design aesthetic is embraced. I'm almost 48, so there is perhaps a chance I'll see that revolution in the next thirty years or so.
  17. M'Kyuun
    QFT. Ironically, as much as Gobots get lambasted as the second-class citizens of the converting robot toys, Bandai's Machine Robo aircraft were all generally produced to a much higher standard of accuracy than Takara's Diaclone, even the F-15 'Seekers', which were designed, at least in part, by Kawamori. It's an observation that's not lost on me. But it does beg the question of why so much attention to detail is afforded to ground vehicles, and yet only a fraction of that attention is given to aircraft. For me, aircraft are so very much cooler than anything that rolls, so it's rather disappointing when nearly every aircraft alt looks like an afterthought, or worse. That's definitely the appeal for me with Macross: Kawamori loves aircraft, and that passion carries through in his designs. I wish he'd teach a masterclass on transforming aircraft design; a bit of his design philosophy informing the next generation of toy designers would hopefully see an improvement in the future products.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Appreciate your posting that article, Technoblue. It always amazes me the places where LEGO turns up these days, and how it sometimes transcends the 'toy' mentality and becomes a medium. However, I'm curious where Mr. Berger got the info for its "laser hatches and opening camera". There was, indeed, a camera externally mounted to the LM which caught the famous footage of Neil Armstrong descending the ladder and making his 'small step'. The astronauts also had a handheld Hasselblad that, IIRC, could be mounted to a rig on their suits. This is all fairly fresh, as I recently finished reading Armstrong's biography. The set is priced very reasonably, about hitting the $.10 per part ratio that has become an unofficial standard of good value among collectors. The only fault I have with it is the single mold backpack and helmet that they continue to use in both underwater and space sets. I wish they'd retire it and make the backpack separate so the astronauts/divers can turn their heads. Quibble aside, I think LEGO did a commendable job recreating the lunar lander, even going so far as to make the ascent and descent stages separate and detachable. It's a bit of a shame that the lunar rover wasn't part of the initial lunar landings, only seeing use in the last three Apollo landings, as it would make for a nice play feature. As it stands, it's a nice display piece commemorating one of the most daunting technological and engineering aerospace achievements ever undertaken, and I can't wait to get a copy. The lunar landing was only a third of Apollo 11's mission, as the greater feat was returning the astronauts safely to Earth. I hope that LEGO produces a Command Module with a Michael Collins figure to go with the LM, as it'd be fantastic to have both spacecraft for a complete display.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Yep. I think it comes down to design philosophy: Kawamori designs a sleek aircraft and then figures out how to make it transform, whereas Takara designs a robot and then slaps wings, a tail, and a nose on it in a good-enough gesture. Personally, I disagree with the licensing argument, as I would think it much more expensive to pay for licenses for sports car likenesses, especially 'super cars'. Companies like Lockheed, Grumman, Northrop, Boeing, etc have been giving rights to all sorts of toy and model companies for years, and quite honestly, I don't think they express anywhere near the same level of concern about the final product's accuracy as do some of the car companies. I think it's pure laziness and lack of care on Has/Tak's part. They can cram a robot into a Volkswagon Beetle, and even fit two into an old ice cream truck, so fitting a bot into most fighters' profiles is simply a matter of applying the same engineering approach. Even small fighters, like the F-16, are still larger than most modern cars. Moreover, I look at the engineering applied to Dropkick from the Bumblebee Movie- the Bell AH-1 Cobra, an aircraft with a very narrow fuselage, and they made it work with an interesting bit of engineering, and made it look pretty accurate. As it happens, I visited the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in Oregon back in March, and they had a Cobra on display, so it was a cool experience to see the real thing so soon after getting Dropkick. Digression aside, unless Takara hires a designer who, like Kawamori, really loves aircraft and is invested enough to try to make more accurate alt modes for those TFs so affected, I think we're stuck, for the most part, with boxes with wings, planes with robots strapped to their bellies, or planes with robot arms hanging out along the sides.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Got both of mine today, and I only opened the one (from AmiAmi). Fit and finish are excellent on mine; all joints are tight and feel good. She's a lovely variant, made all the prettier with the tampo livery everywhere.. After all these years, and so many valks, the basic VF/E model is still just a beautiful little fighter. But as nice as the plain bird is, everyone knows it's the unique AWACS Packs that differentiate the VE-1 from her fighter sisters, and mine all went on like butt-ah. I saw the pic of Boobytrap's packs , and I would check first that the green bit that mounts to the VE-1's backpack is seated (there are little indents for it to tab into- it's a soft click when it goes in, but it shouldn't move around). Second, once that's properly seated, the large boosters will soft tab into the bit you just installed on the backpack. It was barely palpable on mine, but both indented, and maintain a proper straight profile. As for the radome, it slots into the forward part of the backpack; if it's leaning, I'd check that backpack hinge to make sure it's not being tweaked. Good luck, Boobytrap! I hope everything works out so you can enjoy your new valk. One thing of note that kicked my ass for a bit is that the two pilot figures are different. Maybe I'm the only one who didn't notice, but one has longer legs than the other, and he goes in the front pilot seat, while the one with stubbier legs goes in the WSO seat. I didn't look very hard at them when I took them out of the tray, and just assumed they were identical. You know what they say about assuming. I would hope to spare anyone else the facepalm moment. The VE-1 was really kind of a Grail valk for me, as I've never owned one, and over time, I've really come to appreciate the unique look of it compared to the other VF-1 variants. So, today was a good day, and I think it was a good cap-off purchase so far as VF-1 variants go. Going forward, I hope Arcadia will try their hand at some of Kawamori's other valks that have never been done as toys. I'd love a VF-14, VF-5000, VF-9, and a Variable Glaug- for starters.
  21. M'Kyuun
    I have two coming from different sources, and at least one is due on Tuesday. Been wanting a VE-1 for some time, just for its uniqueness, and now I'll have one for display and a spare. I think these will probably be the last VF-1 toys I buy. I'm hoping Bandai will stretch into new territory and make some of the valks that have never had toys before, and a YF-21 to go with their 19.
  22. M'Kyuun
    I've only seen Genysis once, in the theater, so that was about four years ago. I have trouble remembering names of characters in shows I'm currently watching- I've had poor recall my whole life- so my memory of the film is quite dim. IIRC, the big plot twist was that John Connor turned out to be an evil cyborg mastermind, as I remember Emilia and the other dude fighting him at the end after he revealed himself. Your comments, Sketchley, make me think it bears re-watching. The Terminator story strikes a deep chord, I think, as sci-fi, but also as probable history in the making as our AI science continues to develop along with advances in robotics. When I see what Boston Dynamics is doing, along with AI research bookended by warnings from Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, it certainly gives credence to the potential development of a technology that outpaces us and eventually determines our fate. In '84 it was all pure sci-fi, although fascinating in what it portended. Today, there's an undercurrent of prescience to these films as advancements continue in quantum physics, robotics, AI, materials tech, the internet, communications, and space. It's all rather exciting, if a bit frightening. It's all great fun until it comes true; hope I'm not around to see it if it does.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Well, that's part of the problem of making her look buxom in an undersized bikini top. It's ridiculously gratuitous, serves no practical purpose on a robot (same with navel), hinders engineering the car mode (more to try and hide), and pretty much serves to fill that weird sexy robot fetish for fans who are into that sort of thing. It reminds me of stereotypical big-breasted anime girls. I'm not a fan of large chests on real women, so it certainly does nothing for me on a robot. What does intrigue me is the overall styling and the engineering brought to bear to give her a nice car mode, although, all things being equal, I wish they'd made the front ends of her front fenders curve back, like the original design, instead of forward. I still think she's an interesting figure, as, if for no other reason, she's a unique take on the character done well as a functional transforming toy.
  24. M'Kyuun
    I thought Mackenzie Davis was pretty cute in the Martian, too, but I totally thought she was a dude in that pic. I was looking at some other Terminator stills on the net, and she looks quite man-ish in those as well. I still think the first film was the best, in spite of the dated effects. It just had a good sci-fi story, had some good lines of dialog, and the actors all played their roles memorably. Stan Winston's endoskeleton still holds up today as one of the coolest, most iconic film creations. I've seen the filming models at Planet Hollywood and the Sci-Fi Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle several times, and they always enthrall. Looks like the best of both worlds with the male antagonist Terminator in the new film. I thought they did that in one of the previous films, too, but maybe I'm misremembering. Haven't been too excited by the last three or four Terminator films, and they don't stick with me very well. Anyway, glad to see Linda back, along with Arnold, reprising the roles that jump started both of their careers. I tend not to be too critical or over analytical, so I'll see it just for the sheer fun of it. It's just entertainment, after all.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Perfect assessment. There are myriad sexualized images of Arcee on all levels on the net, but it's rare to see any of those concepts in plastic. I'm typically not a fan of the gynoid look for Transformer fembots, but sometimes the design just appeals for whatever reason. Such is the case here for me. As always, mileage varies.
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