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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    This seems like awkward timing for a Widow movie; they should have done her story right after Iron Man, when Scarlett fever , and interest in the character, was more fervent. Personally, while I think Ms. Johansson is a decent enough actress, I think she's way overrated. Moreover, for the role of Black Widow, instead of trying to cash in on name recognizeability, I wish they'd hired Olga Kurylenko, or an actress like her, who actually speaks Russian and English fluently. IMHO, Olga's much easier on the eyes, as well, but that's neither her nor there. Scarlett's flat, unaccented delivery as Widow, and pretty much all her other action movies, just doesn't do much for me. I'm probably in the minority, but that's how I feel about her portrayals. She's kinda blah. Anyway, gripes aside, I'll probably see it anyway, as I've liked pretty much all of the Marvel Avenger related movies thus far (Iron Man 3 is prob my least favorite, and IM has long been one of my favorite Marvel heroes), and if it follows suit with the rest, it'll be good for a couple hours of fun distraction. I'll echo the sentiments that Hawkeye needs to be in there, too. I think Johansson and Renner have good chemistry as longtime friends and comrades- it comes across believable and unforced to me, so that's a relationship that would be fun and interesting to see explored from the beginning, methinks.
  2. M'Kyuun
    You are most welcome. I thought this might interest a few folks. To your first question of modularity, I'm inclined to say yes. There's a new Technic brick frame being used as an airlock that suggests a high level of modularity. Unfortunately, at least in this particular set, the gimmick is not realized to its full potential, as there's no way for the astrofig to actually traverse from ship to station given the way the little ship was designed. Alas, as I said, I'm sure there'll be any number of fan-builds that do use it as a functioning airlock once these become available. Only a couple more months to go. As for the real world inspirations, LEGO married every set in this theme to something existing within the various current space programs, both private and NASA. So , yeah, there was a concentrated effort to ground all of these in real world development, and honestly, I think that's really enjoyable from the hobby side of LEGO, but also very inspiring to the kids buying these sets who aspire to become part of the space program when they grow up. Let's face it, as much fun as fictitious stuff is to build, there's always a sort of wonderment to building a replica of something existing, especially when it's done to a satisfactory level of accuracy. Mileage to that end varies, of course, but from personal experience, and as a huge fan of sci-fi, there's still an exhilaration to be gained from building something like the recent Ford Mustang Creator set, or a functional Technic set based on a real vehicle or piece of machinery. I think it's a very primordial urge within us as a species to want to reproduce that which we see in the world around us in some tangible form that we create, be it a cave painting, pottery, wood carving, a model kit, or good ole LEGO. So, it pleases me greatly when LEGO trots these City space sets out every four or five years. I wish it was a yearly or bi-annual release schedule, personally, but I'll take what I can get. In the meantime, May the Fourth is right around the corner, so I'm working on collecting the 20th anniversary LEGO Star Wars sets, including this guy and building up my VIP points to score a copy of the Bespin Playset. For those interested in seeing what else LEGO has in store over the coming months, I highly suggest checking out www.thebrickfan.com, www.brickset.com, or www.brothers-brick.com for ongoing coverage and disclosures of official pics and descriptions. Play well!
  3. M'Kyuun
    Another great review, Mike. My preferences skewed towards the chunkier Prime, so MS-01 was my choice, and I think he's an excellent figure overall, with the largish hitch area of his truck mode and exposed Matrix his only weak points. Well, that and his mind-boggling lack of hitch compatibility to MP-10's trailer. However, as Mike mentioned, I doubt many of us display our figs in vehicle mode, and my MP-10 trailer has been buried under the boxes of several years' worth of TF purchases to where it'd be a serious hassle to unearth it even if it did hitch up. I'm glad that that these two figs didn't end up being cookie cutters of each other; rather there are plenty of differences from materials to engineering (TE-01's is much more involved, with some neat solutions employed), to fit and finish of the two modes that give fans a real choice based on personal preferences, and how one views the Autobot leader in his or her mind's eye. Both are definite steps up from the paragon, MP-10. Even the Takara designers considered this the gold standard of Prime toys as they began the process of designing what would become MP-44. To my tastes, compared with the slimmer backpacks and smooth gapless torsos, both third party figs, at least on an aesthetic level, both surpass the upcoming MP figure, not to mention both have a far more palatable price tag. From pics I've seen, the engineering, as has been the case for quite a number of recent releases, is where Takara shines- rather involved with some cool and unique solutions brought to bear. It makes too many compromises overall, for me, so Magic Square got my money, with zero regrets. At the end of the day, if you go with TE-01, MS-01, or wait out Takara's MP-44, and you're chosen Prime makes you happy, then you're victorious, no matter the cost.
  4. M'Kyuun
    Real world inspired City Space sets coming this summer. https://www.thebrickfan.com/lego-city-mars-exploration-summer-2019-official-set-images/ Looking forward to these; as much as I love their various sci-fi space themes, I've always enjoyed the neo-realism of the City space sets. Of these, the 'Moonbase' stands out, as it's the first orbital station LEGO has done, and of the lot, it's the one I can easily see being the most modded and expanded. Kinda wish it came with a stand to give the appearance of floating, but the way LEGO designed it, it has the versatility of being grounded as well. I like the new shuttle as well; the basic 'space pickup' design is eternally cool. In other LEGO related news, Chinese authorities raided Lepin factories, making arrests and seizing property: https://www.thebrickfan.com/lepin-factories-raided-and-boss-arrested/ LEGO has been waging a legal battle against this and other clone companies for some time, so this is a small victory for The LEGO Group, and demonstrates some good faith from the Chinese government.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Well, with Phoenix and Seige Jetfire, you're comparing toys designed to different scales, standards, audiences, and price points. Phoenix was a dream toy when FT announced it, and I've no regrets whatsoever- he's a fine figure who compliments his MP counterparts. I give Has/Tak credit for finally producing a toon accurate Skyfire, and I really couldn't have asked for more in a retail figure. He looks great, comes with a plethora of accessories, features some neat engineering, and scales well with the Generations stuff. It's interesting that a new scale had to be created for him, and I wonder what else they'll make in that scale, as I can't really think of any other characters , besides combiner gestalts, that fit. Then again, my G1 knowledge is limited to the first and some of the second seasons, as well as the '86 Movie, so there may be some comics related characters I'm not familiar with. I was pretty excited back when they made Generations CW Jetfire and made the bot mode an homage to Skyfire. I figured that'd be as close as we'd ever get to having that character officially, so I was quite pleasantly surprised when this figure was announced. Already got him PO'd- not even messing around. Gotta figure out where I'm going to put him when I get him, as I don't think my CHUG shelves have enough vertical space for him. Guess we'll see. I don't know how TonTon gets his figs so early, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to know, but I'm hoping he'll do a vid of the upcoming Springer. Looking at the official pics, I think Has/Tak nailed the G1 aesthetic for the character, and, as much as I love the Generations Springer from a few years back( the best triple changing toy they've ever produced, IMHO), I've been wanting a faithful update to the original for a long time.
  6. M'Kyuun
    TonTon has a vid up for the upcoming Seige Jetfire. Cool fig and entertaining for some of the translation. "Smoothy paint"
  7. M'Kyuun
    Currently reading First Man, the official biography of Neil Armstrong. Full of facts and figures concerning both aviation and the US space program, it's quite interesting, if pedantic at times. Dr. Armstrong was a rather reticent and emotionally closed fellow, and that tendency follows throughout the book where the author interviewed him concerning various aspects of his life, both personal and professional. A consummate engineer, he often retreated into his work both out of passion and as an escape. The man was extremely humble, yet had a long list of amazing accomplishments under his belt even before taking that famous first step onto the lunar surface. Definitely recommended if you're a space fan, or you just want some insight into his life.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I would highly encourage everyone to give this, and any decent Macross related project support. Even with the Harmony Gold situation and the unlikelihood of it's getting produced should it meet the 10,000 votes, I think it shows support for Macross creations to the LEGO Group. Given the current pool of designers, many are AFOLs who expressed interest in anime, Macross included, in their MOCs before landing their dream jobs at LEGO. It's a message I want to send, if for no other reason, it resonates with the folks managing the Ideas program. Should HG finally lose their iron grip on the Macross license in a few years, it's my hope that more Macross projects will be submitted and that at least a few will see global production. And, should it come to fruition, hopefully they'll actually be able to pull off a fully transformable model without the need for parts-forming. I long for that day.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Double dipping- they're still milking the MP-10 mold for all it's worth while trying to make the most of the licensing fees they paid for Ghostbusters. So now there's Ectotron, a way overpriced shellforming Combiner Wars figure and Ghostbuster Prime. I wonder if he's going to come with a properly sized proton pack instead of his usual weapon. At least it'd be unique, as well as apropos. Wonder if there'll be exclusive Ghostbuster Star Wars, Marvel, GI Joe, or Ponies down the line? We need a milking cow emoji. I'm thinking they're getting all they can from MP-10 b/c they know they'll never sell MP-44 repaints like this guy, not at the pricepoint they're asking.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Yes, he is. Supported the SD VF-25. Even if it gets made, though, it'll only be for the Asian market, as Harmony Gold still has Macross locked up here in the West and in Europe. Hopefully, that'll change in a couple years. Len-d69, your SD VF-1s look great, too. Voltron turned out really well, although I wish the designers had been able to put more articulation into the final model. From the many test model shots included in the instruction manual, they tried valiantly, but ultimately too much of the look was compromised by the hinges, so they went for toon accuracy and stability instead. I can't fault them, as safety and stability are important in such a tall and heavy model. It looks great on my shelf, so thanks for submitting. It gives me hope that more anime-inspired models will get made.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I guess I can understand the allure of statues, although for my money, I'd rather have a transforming figure. To that end, MP BW Megatron looks fantastic, and could no doubt be similarly arranged if one was enterprising enough to build a detailed base or diorama for him. I'm not that guy, but just sayin'. Harkening to Mike's Power Master Prime/Ginrai review, I also bought the Takara version in lieu of the Hasbro, as I already had Ultra Magnus, and didn't fancy another near copy of the mold. The Takara version has posable feet, and though they look odd, it's an upgrade to the Hasbro. Moreover, it has the more G1 accurate cab , although in truth, I kinda liked the stylistic take of the Hasbro. Overall I think it's a decent figure. I really like the PE Prime figure that they made for PMP, but at $50, it was just a bit too much money, even if it does look nice and add accuracy to the figure. I have no association with Godbomber, and quite frankly, I think it looks terrible all the way around, so I entertain no second thoughts on skipping it.
  12. M'Kyuun
    My comment goes back to the Fast interview with J.J. Abrams and the direction of the SW cinematic universe so far as there really is no overarching direction. IMO, EP 7 definitely felt like there was a plan set to span the following two films, which was utterly discarded to allow Rian Johnson to go his own way, to the detriment of the series IMHO. Whether you like Force Awakens or not, I think most can agree that it did a good job of setting up precedents for following chapters. I think Abrams is a competent director; I know he has his share of detractors, but I like Force Awakens, I liked the questions it posed, I liked the look and feel of it, and I thought he and the writers had a good grip on how to write and portray the characters. I could have lived without Finn, but towards the end of the film he was starting to grow on me. Then Johnson ruined him, and my enthusiasm for the new films, altogether. Anyway, I hope JJ is able to create some semblance of order from the chaos in the short time he has to make the film, and perhaps salvage a thread or two of his original intentions. I really wish Abrams had directed all three for a unified vision and feel, but that's water under the bridge now. I hope Ep 9 turns out ok.
  13. M'Kyuun
    A bit lighter reading than the rest of you guys, but I just finished Ransom Riggs' fourth installment of his Miss Peregrine series, Map of Days. Great series, made all the more interesting as he builds his stories around vintage photos, often odd ones. Looking forward to next book. Got some Hawking I need to try and absorb as well.
  14. M'Kyuun
    I was kinda wondering why they didn't bring back the majority of original actors to voice the characters. Glad James Earl Jones is playing Mufasa again- such an iconic voice, irreplaceable IMO. Would have been nice to have Jeremy Irons back as Scar, too. Anyway, this last trailer fills me with hope- a lot of notable scenes in there that match the original, and Timon sounds like , well, Timon, singing anyway. Sounds like all the original songs are going to be in there, too. Looking forward to it. I'm not a big Disney fan, as they're hit & miss for me, but I saw the original Lion King in the theatre, and it was a powerful experience. I hope there are some folks in the audience who watch this movie without having seen the original so that it's a fresh experience, as I think it'll have an impact like the original had on many of us watching it for the first time years ago.
  15. M'Kyuun
    Shame to hear that there doesn't seem to be any improvement to V2's hip articulation, especially if they changed out ratchets for ones with smaller/more teeth. That was certainly an area in need of improvement. I think it was cool of them to include a different head sculpt, depending on one's sensibilities. I know the original had its share of detractors. personally, I think both look good. It's a beautiful mold; the articulation, or lack thereof in certain areas, was really what edged me over to the MS. Well, that and I prefer the chunkier MP-10ish look. However, both are good MP Prime figures, so ultimately, especially for the price, you're a winner regardless of your choice. I continue to be well pleased with my Magic Square. It's a good mold, and really, the only two criticisms I can levy against it are the lack of a Matrix cover and the lack of a trailer adapter for MP-10's trailer. The latter isn't as important as the first in my case, as MP-10's trailer has been boxed up nearly from day one, and is now buried under so many other boxes of TFs I've bought since then that it's not worth the effort to dig it out. My Detolf couldn't accommodate it, anyway, so it's relatively moot. All that said, addressing the upcoming repaints, cool for those who really like the mold but want either completion or something more than the original offered. I prefer the matte finish of the original, but I still look forward to seeing how the shiny version stacks up. As for the Ultra Magnus version, he's only half Magnus without the trailer to complete his look, IMO. If they made the trailer, and it became his armor, then that'd be damned impressive. He'd be huge, but cool nonetheless.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I saw one on clearance for about $40 awhile back- I thought the clearance price was crazy. Add another fifty bucks and you can pick up a Magic Square or Transform Element MP scaled Prime. I just can't see paying exorbitant prices for these old 80's toys. Different strokes, though. And speaking of high priced toys, I got my big purple dinosaur on Wednesday. I managed to nearly snap off one of the tabs on his back panels (purely my fault for not looking at directions or checking a transformation vid beforehand- I wanted to be surprised for a change, and I paid the price). A little Gorilla Glue and time put Megatron back together again, yes. Once again, Takara impresses with the overall sculpt and paintwork- he looks like he stepped right off the screen. They followed the original toy's transformation pretty closely (as far as I can remember- been a decade or so since I last had him out of storage), but then I'm not really sure there's really any other way to make him transform and maintain his overall appearance. He's definitely the easiest MP BW figure to transform, but not without a caveat. I watched Skullface's review, and I'll echo his sentiment about the extending bit in his abdomen- it was crazy tight on mine, and I ended up using a small flathead screwdriver to start the sliding process until I could move it by hand. Def could have used a second pair of QC eyes on that bit of engineering. Most of the panel joints were really stiff too, scarily so in some cases. The back panels, which involve about six different folding maneuvers apiece, rotate on double hinges, and some of those things were nail-biters. Too, there are tabs aplenty on these things, so that's another area to be especially cautious about, especially when breaking apart the dino mode. (As I found out the hard way) The bot mode is about as good as it can be following the original toy/ toon designs for the character. The dino mode captures his toon look to the 'T', but poseability is pretty limited, which is one of the nitpicks I have in general for both Dinobot and Megatron- the transformation limits the leg articulation at the hip on both figures, which is kind of a sticking point to me on a MP toy. I wish they'd figured out a way to give these things full leg articulation in their dino modes, but it's an issue going back to the original toys as well. It's something that would have really elevated both in terms of engineering, which, IMHO, should be a hallmark of Masterpiece. Subjectivity aside, it's a pretty amazing figure, one that was necessary to fill out the roster for BW collectors. I'm looking forward to Blackarachnia- her bot mode already looks amazing; I hope her black widow mode is equally so.
  17. M'Kyuun
    For me, tone wise and by having a completely Asian cast, it hit all the right notes. With a bigger budget, I think these guys could pull off a pretty faithful Akira.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Likewise. And in a couple of years, I hope Tutsunoko refuses to renew Harmony Gold's Macross license, thus killing Robotech for good, and hopefully opening the way for Macross in the West, finally.
  19. M'Kyuun
    As manga/anime adaptations go, I feel we got a winner with Battle Angel and a 'meh' with GitS. I thought Kaneda's bike looked pretty cool in Ready Player One, which incidentally didn't appear in the novel. So, I think the bike part is definitely doable. It's everything around it- the plot, writing, and casting, for which I'm dubious concerning a fairly accurate adaptation. I imagine it'll be massaged, Anglicized, and denuded of all the gore and violence which set it apart in order to maintain a PG-13 rating. Thus it'll likely be Akira in name only, sharing little with its inspiration. Furthermore, Taika Waititi has thus far directed much lighter fare, often with a humorous bent, so the violence, gore, and psychodrama of Akira is a bit outside of his wheelhouse. He's also shooting within a restrictive amount of time (71 days due to CA film tax-credit allocations), and as of today, casting has yet to commence. No pressure. Personally, I don't feel the need for a live action adaptation, although the prospects of what can be done with special effects is appealing. But, Alita aside, I just don't think the vast majority of Hollywood gets anime, and until more talented fans of the genre become directors, producers, and writers at a level where they can achieve the finances necessary to make high budget films, Hollywood will continue to fumble around with anime based films. Right now, I think Cameron, Rodriguez, Del Toro, Jackson, perhaps Blomkamp, and potentially Travis Knight, are the directors who I feel can translate animation to live action pretty well, and all of them have made films with anime influences, directly and indirectly. If any of these guys were given the reigns to Akira, especially Rodriguez and Jackson, neither of which are strangers to gore and violence, a I think decent adaptation could be made. As it stands, under the current director, I don't have high hopes. I hope he proves me wrong, though.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Too true. I also prefer that the armor look like armor with overlapping plates and the more squared or angular bits from earlier versions. Still love the Mk2 from the first movie.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Mixing the animation with real toys so seamlessly is craftsmanship at its best; very cool. I've come to really enjoy all these stop-motion movies using modern Transformer toys (official and otherwise), as modern levels of articulation make the action so life-like when done well.
  22. M'Kyuun
    From the message of the trailer via Vera Farmiga's character, the Titans have awakened due to a threat to Earth, humans. So all these kaiju are gunning for humanity, and yet they show everyone in wonder of these things as they lie dormant. I guess it's like a biogeneticist becoming enamored with the structure of the Ebola virus. Anyway, the cynic in me would love to see the movie follow through with Vera's dire message, all but wipe out humanity, except for little pockets of people here and there who don't dare emerge as they once did for fear of the Titans' return, and after a century or two have passed, an alien species comes to this seemingly uninhabited world that bears the signs of a long lost civilization. And the whole thing starts over again, despite warnings from the now subjugated humans, until they reach similar levels of global pollution, and we see some bubbling on the surface of the Pacific near Japan. Cut to credits.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, that scene wasn't heavy laden with foreshadowing. However, ridiculous blimp refueling platform notwithstanding, refuelers all have shut-off valves installed to prevent just such an occurrence. Even the MPRS pods have SOVs if memory serves; if not, then there are SOVs within the wings that can stop the loss of fuel from a leaking or damaged hose/drogue assembly. The refueling pods I worked on with the MC-130s back at Hurlburt had a guillotine that would cut the hose off and simultaneously plug the leak. So, having a platform just doing huge donuts in the air all the while spewing JP into an aerosolized cloud just primed for some incendiary to spark it into an epic ring of fire that Johnny Cash would be proud of is naught but an enormous steaming pile of movie-making bull feces. It didn't impress me much. After getting off here yesterday, I was looking at some of our other drones, and the X-45 and X-47 caught my eye. Pretty birds, those. Considering the age of these things, circa 2011, I wonder what DARPA, the CIA, and other more clandestine agencies actually have now for snooping and Secret Squirrel ordinance deliveries. Probably closer to the Ghost than we think.
  24. M'Kyuun
    The new Valkyrie drone, aside from the possibilities it offers to operators in theatre, really doesn't do much for me visually. It's fairly cookie-cutter by modern drone standards. Kawamori's Ghost design was much prettier, but I'm assuming that design-wise it's pure sci-fi fantasy, or we'd see development along those lines with real aircraft. Regardless, still love me some Macross Plus. Stealth was kinda meh, aside from Biel in a bikini. I actually liked the design of E.D.I. I recall there being a lot of criticism concerning its design around here when the movie was in development and stills were floating about to build hype. The fighter designs didn't bother me; the atrocious refueling platform OTH- WTF?? That thing was pure ridiculousness. At the time it came out, I worked on KC-135R and T model tankers, so perhaps I was a little too close to the reality to suspend my disbelief, but IMHO it wasn't even a good sci-fi design.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Good run down on all the inconsistencies/inaccuracies, Mike. I appreciate the legwork you put into the review. Overall, I have positive feelings about this figure. From watching previous vid reviews, I hadn't really noticed the black area behind the front wheel, but now it's hard to un-see. What has really bugged me from day one about his alt mode is how the oddly shaped blue leg kibble, to which the headache rack attaches, gives the impression that the cab leans forward. I'm not sure if it actually does or if it's an optical illusion, but every time I see it in truck mode, that cab looks like it's leaning into the wind. Too, as Mike mentioned, it's a very cubic cab, even for a cabover. It looks odd. These are all nitpicks, and if I ever find this guy at retail, I intend to get him as he's still a nice G1-ish representation. All of my criticisms lie with his truck mode, and my figs don't usually stay in alt mode for long. Cheers for the review, Mike.
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