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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Heh, I was so entranced by the luggage on her back that I didn't even notice the missing paint apps. It pains me to see the front of her car folded over when all it would have taken is a little linkage to, at the very least, allow it to become her chest. In lieu of lazy engineering, the least they can do is polish the paint work for the final. Guess we'll see. I'm still fence-sitting on getting Doubledealer. I appreciate that he's a triple changer, and, honestly, before doing some research on Saturday, I wasn't aware of that fact, and the new ER figure does a better job than most concealing it in truck mode. I think the front of the truck mode is downright ugly, though; the G1 toy looked nicer in that regard, which shouldn't be the case at all. Moving on to his bird mode, I wish , when these various beast modes pop up, that HasTak would move away from making the animal bits, like DD's bird head and wings, look organic, while the rest is a big blocky chunk of machine. It looks uncanny, like a nasty science experiment. Just make everything look robotic, albeit with good sculpting, like Zoids, or any other robo-beast stuff that's out there. I also discovered in my reading that he can carry a cassette in his chest. Not sure what that's all about, but it's an interesting feature, I guess. Seems more apropos for Soundwave or Blaster, though, who, incidentally, are conspicuously MIA in their Earth modes. I hope they're coming- Soundwave at least. I didn't get the Siege version b/c that afterthought of an alt mode didn't tickle my fancy one bit. Speaking of Soundwave, I wonder why they shrunk the cassettes instead of making them compatible with the originals and the MPs? Gah, some of the crappy decisions they make for this toyline just exasperate me. Once again, here's a case where a third party could step in with a CHUG scaled figure that improves on the official's shortcomings. I appreciate HasTak, so don't get me wrong. They started and have been feeding my addiction for robots that turn into stuff for over three decades, and I love them for it. But their stuff has been all over the place in nearly every line concerning engineering, sculptwork, scale, paint, materials, decals, aesthetic choices, choice of alts, and oh yeah, did I mention engineering?! Siege and Earthrise are no different in that regard; the toys range from stellar to WTF? across all these and more areas, and it just makes me scratch my head as to why there's such an inconsistency across the line, like there are three bosses giving approval for final designs: one with high standards, one who's ok with mediocrity, and one with virtually no standards at all, and depending on which boss oks the final, that's the kind of toy you're gonna get. It's a little maddening, especially in a line that has been pretty darn good in most areas in the majority of figures. One craves consistency, and it's just not there. It doesn't help, either, when we've been wonderfully spoiled by third party figures, who, without the budgetary constraints of HasTak, often create figures that rival or flat out crush the official competition. But, still, Takara have proven over and over that they can make a really good figure within budget, but the inconsistencies remain. It seems to me that the design direction is turning 180 degrees, where the old philosophy was more concerned about transformation and damn the articulation, whereas now the articulation seems to be the greater concern, at least with some figs. I love articulation, and that was always my beef with TFs growing up in the hobby. I fear my criticism is coming back to haunt me, as more and more, HasTak are returning to their old parts-forming preferences when they can't or won't be bothered to find an engineering solution to a transformation system, and in this day and age, my feeling is that both should be on equal standards, and those standards should be ever upwards.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Looking through NY Toy fair pics and came across this. Less than elegant but the 'hoverboard' does attach. That's a backpack worthy of summiting Everest. Wish they'd tried a little harder with this figure.
  3. M'Kyuun
    The demand for Earthrise is undeniable. I waited too long to order ER Prime on Pulse, and now they've been sold out for a couple months. It's pretty bad when the manufacturer's own store sells out and doesn't readjust for demand. Ebay and Amazon is filthy with overpriced ER Primes, and sites like Target and Wally don't even have him listed, although they have other ER stuff. I'm kicking my self for not POing him as soon as Pulse listed him. Lesson learned. This wouldn't be an issue if there was more availability in my area, but the Wally's here seldom carry anything over voyager scale, and while Target carries leader class, it's hit and miss. I've been to a couple Targets in my area, with no ER stuff at either one. I'm rue to order from any of the collectible retailers, as I think it'll still be possible to pick him up without a markup. Eventually, Target will get him, and hopefully I'll be able to snag one for MSRP. I miss the days when TFs were well stocked everywhere, there was no secondary market full of insanely marked up toys, and there was no need to stress over whether or not you'll ever even see the stuff at retail. Def takes a lot of the fun out of collecting.
  4. M'Kyuun
    'Preciate that link; canxed my Snapdragon on Pulse and got him PO'd for $20 on Target. I also PO'd Smokescreen and Arcee to get 50% off one of them. I actually ventured to my nearest Target in hopes of scoring some Earthrise, specifically Prime, but they didn't have Earthrise stuff at all. They did have several leader class Siege figs on sale, but none that interested me.
  5. M'Kyuun
    I'm a fan of RWBY and GenLock, so I'm willing to give this a look. I started watching it, and wasn't immediately grabbed, admittedly, but I think that's more of the old G1er in me opposing any other voice coming from Prime or Megatron. Heck, I wish they'd gotten Jeff Bennett to do Ultra Magnus, as he nailed the Robert Stack voice for Animated. Anyway, once I mentally divorce myself of that preference, I'll try to watch it with fresh ears and eyes. Rooster Teeth have proven to me that they can write an engaging story with good dialog with characters that you come to care about. They're adept at both humor and seriousness, so I think the show's in good hands.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Likewise. I finished it off last night. Lucky 13 struck a chord with me (I'm a retired AF aircraft mechanic), and Zima Blue was just a great story, and I liked the animation style. I may have to check out more of Alastair Reynolds' writings, as both Zima Blue and Beyond the Aquila Rift are based on his short stories, and both were standouts in this series, IMHO. I hope there's at least another season or two of these. Their short viewing time makes them a great time filler, and also easy to binge.
  7. M'Kyuun
    I like the cartoony styling of Cyberverse Arcee, although it looks like she carries her entire car mode on her back. Sigh. When it comes to Arcee, seems like all the engineers were out on smoke breaks. That's one funky looking Grimlock- not crazy about it. Thunderhowl, however, looks interesting, at least from that angle.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Hey Mike, I appreciate the heads up about the earthrise stuff availability on Pulse. Got my POs in. Concerning the figs, I'm rather pleased with how Snapdragon turned out; he looks good across all modes, so a nice update. Thanks, HasTak. Po'd that sucker straightaway. I went ahead and PO'd Runamuck b/c I wasn't sure if he was going to be an exclusive, and though I have no connection to the character, he looks like a decent take of a character rarely , if ever, done as a toy. I also got the cassette dudes. Yummy. I hope there's an ER Walkman specific Soundwave coming, too. Those cassettes need a home. PO'd Sky Lynx, b/c, of everything shown thus far, it looks the most impressive to me. Brilliant update. I think I'll wait and try to find Arcee and Smokescreen in the wild, as I usually have decent luck around my area with deluxes. Voyager and larger, not so much. Doubledealer is a character I'm not at all familiar with, so I had to look him up. I have to say, the G1 toy had me kind of excited, especially for that rocket transport mode. Then I saw the ER update, and the hollow front end of the truck mode, and just the odd shaping of the front fenders, has me kinda dubious. It just doesn't look that good to me. The back of the truck looks great (love that the rocket can be positioned for launch, as well as those outriggers), and the bird mode looks ok, as well as bot mode, so I'm hesitant. I should probably just bite the bullet and get him, b/c I sense future regret if I skip him. Ah, decisions. The Quintesson transformation is, um, creative. I think they did a great job on the Quintesson itself though, as the face sculpts look crisp. Yeah, it's just a render, but hopefully the actual will be done pretty close. Just the same, I never really had a desire to own a Quintesson, so I'm passing on him. The Allicon looks more like a Cyberverse figure than an Earthrise, given the startling lack of sophistication in its transformation. Just poorly done. Shame, b/c I believe this is the first time he's ever been offered in the main toyline, and they basically phoned it in. Pass. Looking through the Studio Series stuff, I kinda dig that Scrapper, although I'm not crazy about his 'hands'. The leg design is cool, though. I clicked on Blitzwing while I was ordering up my ER figs, and was pretty disappointed to see that tragic jet mode they conjured up for him. Like Mike said, they can get all these expensive licenses for sports cars, but won't pay to use the likeness of an F-4? Sigh. That Cliffjumper looks pretty good- recognizeable, and the Cybertronian car mode reminds me of the War for Cybertron game Bumblebee design. Not a bad thing, IMHO.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Just wanted to post this: Jens Nygaard Knudsen, inventor of the LEGO minifig, main designer of Classic Space, early LEGO trains, and much more passed away on 19 February. He was 78. What a legacy he leaves.
  10. M'Kyuun
    I fear for the future of my species. Thrilling 30 Arcee's hips formed the rear fenders of her car mode, and her chest formed the nose, for lack of a better term, which I think is a practical and satisfying solution for Arcee's transformation. Azalea mirrors that design, albeit with covers that slide over her thighs, but fold into her front fenders to form her shoulder pods. Good solution for a lithe figure. I do think that the big rear fairing on T30 was unfortunate, and could have been engineered a little differently to minimize or eliminate it, but it is what it is. If Takara had eschewed the folding abdomen panel on T30, or cut it off at the waist line, then they could have given her waist rotation, as all her back kibble attachments are north of her waist. It's a woulda, coulda, shoulda bit of head-scratchery. The birthing hips are an unfortunate tradeoff on T30, but MMC were able to slim down the hip line marginally, and Fans Toys' Rouge's hips are perfectly aligned to her waist, giving her a very organic look, although her hips come apart and rearrange for car mode, IIRC. But for perfect transformation on a deluxe sized fig, I'm willing to accept wider hips. It's all subjective, and based on what each of us prioritizes. For me, it's transformation above all, but for others, aesthetics. In ER Arcee's case, I wish they could have found a better balance. But I must agree that ER Arcee is a better looking figure than her T30 predecessor, and indeed, the upcoming MP. The cost is her transformation, which I disagree with. Nonetheless, I'll still likely get her, as she'll have nice shelf presence. Hopefully today we'll get to see folks handling her at Toy Fair to give a better picture of how her transformation works and whether that big chunk of car can integrate with the bot mode better than a so-called hoverboard. Mike, you're so on point when you mention Unique Toys. What those guys are doing for Bayformers is nothing short of revolutionary in engineering terms. I wonder how they'd approach a G1 Arcee, or a Windblade.
  11. M'Kyuun
    The twist in Sonnie's Edge was pretty cool, too. I didn't see it coming, but I enjoyed it. Aquila Rift was cool. I had a feeling it was going to be something like that. Memory wipe please. Fish Night ended so abruptly; I expected there to be more-
  12. M'Kyuun
    I've stated the same opinion in a previous post. It's very odd that a retail figure would have better overall sculpt, especially in the face, and better proportionality, than a high end MP. At least the MP transforms, whereas the ER figure doesn't look to have much in the way of transformation at all. Without the pesky challenge of making parts of her become the car, they were free to sculpt a nice action figure and just attach the forward fenders to her back. I don't like that decision, but it is what it is. Lots of mixed reactions to it on Seibertron and TFW2005 going both ways. It is a nice looking Arcee, but I fear sacrificing the transformation in lieu of part/shell-forming her will become more of a trend, which is contradictory to what Transformers are supposed to be. At this point in the toyline's evolution, nothing short of perfect transformation should be acceptable. Not sure what the hubbub on Twitter's about, but having seen how things can escalate on the TFW boards, some folks really need to learn some restraint and practice a modicum of courtesy. A little goes a long way.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Nope. Binge watched up to ep 12 "Fish Night" today. Sonnie's Edge, When the Yogurt Took Over, Beyond the Aquila Rift, and Shape Shifters were all good, but the stand out to me was Good Hunting- beautifully animated with a great story. I could watch a whole series based on that episode alone. Looking forward to finishing the series and hopefully more seasons down the road. Great forum for filmmakers to create interesting sci-fi short films.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Y'know, those things you mentioned about Sky Lynx should have "pushed my buttons" as well- shuttles and big cats, and dinos, oh my! Alas, I've seen the light, and given all that the Earthrise version offers, I'll almost certainly snag a copy. That Windblade model's interesting. I like the look of the broken panels- just a neat mechanical look, although I'm not sure if it's really right for the character. Regardless, it's a non-transformable model, which greatly erodes its appeal for me. I'll wait to see what Big Firebird crank out for their Windblade. If it's anything like Nicee, it'll be beautiful---and transformable. Thanks for the Optimus review, Mike. I'm hoping to stumble across him one of these rare times when I visit Target. I've purposely gone to two different Targets in my area already, and they had zip for Earthrise. I've yet to see a single Earthrise figure of any class. Kinda irks me when I see TFW posting sightings in other countries when they're not even showing up domestically. Good for you for snagging one. I'm hoping Hasbro will roll out some of those figs revealed by Walmart's system at Toy Fair this weekend. The Allicon looks cool, and I'm really curious to see Snapdragon's other modes. I really, really hope he turned out well- I've liked the look of him since I was a kid, but I never had the original, so I have high hopes for this figure to be good. It's gotta be better than Apeface, anyway. Pretty low bar to exceed. Not too plussed about ER megs, which borrows a lot from the Siege figure. I hate how they did his tank cannon; I wish they'd just found a way to integrate his fusion cannon into the alt mode, and give it some up and down movement. It doesn't seem like a tall order to me, but apparently it is.
  15. M'Kyuun
    I recall the birds, but I don't remember ever owning any. Some were pretty cool, as I recall, but my memory of them is foggy. Will have to do some browsing to find pics for a refreshment. I had the VF-1 without FAST Packs, but I think I got it at a Dollar Store (my mom loved the Dollar Store). I had the Convertors version of this thing, from Orguss I believe. It was ok, but like most 80's toys, lacked articulation, especially in the legs. I also have the Mugen Calibur Convertors toy. It was mispackaged as the Gazette helicopter (Transformers Whirl), so I was a little disappointed when I got home and discovered it was a jeep. It's interesting how a number of these Convertors toys found their way into the Transformers toyline. Anyway, the 80's was great for all the transforming toylines that were available at the time; I wish it was still like that, but Hasbro have it essentially locked up, or there's just no interest from other toy companies to make a competing product, which is a bit confounding. A little research would indicate interest among consumers. Edit: here's a good site showing the various toys.
  16. M'Kyuun
    It is. Out of these four reveals, Sky Lynx impresses me the most, and I've never really cared about him. This is a good looking toy.
  17. M'Kyuun
    I had the beetle pictured above, and a pink scorpion figure. The beetle had pretty good articulation for the time, and I liked how the wing covers could open for flight. The grasshopper toy was later used by Hasbro for their Deluxe Insecticons.
  18. M'Kyuun
    watchcartoonsonline.com
  19. M'Kyuun
    It's inexcusable. If they're too inept to figure out the engineering to make a proper transforming figure, then they shouldn't bother.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Of all the upcoming Siege figs, Arcee was the one I most anticipated to see how they improved her over the Generations figure. The figure looks better, but at the expense of her being a parts-former, with her car mode shell from the windshield back becoming a most unconvincing 'hoverboard' that looks like the shell of a car. There aren't any pics showing if it can even attach to her bot mode, but I'm not at all happy with the compromise. I don't like it for Cliffjumper, either. It's astoundingly lazy, and counter to the whole point of transforming toys. I hope this isn't becoming the new norm for Transformers. MMC was able to make a similar sized figure and fold the majority of her car mode into her shoulder pods, so the engineering already exists to make it work. I wish Takara would try harder. Upon second look, her chest is even fake, so it appears that no part of her bot mode is involved in the transformation- she's a robot in a two piece shell---extraordinarily disappointing to say the least. I will say that Earthrise Arcee's bot mode looks way better than the MP mold, especially her face. They nailed it. The shaping of the chest looks much better, too. She's a nice looking Arcee action figure, but a Transformer in name only. I was never a big fan of SkyLinx, neither the characterization nor the design. However, I kinda like what they did here for Earthrise Skylinx. I usually give little credence to base modes, as they usually just look like a stretched out robot to me, but I like this one, with that shuttle perched on the launchpad. The 'griffon' mode looks pretty good, too, although to me, he looks more like an Apatosaurus with wings. The Lynx part looks great, but those chicken legs on the bird mode look pretty dodgy. The whole package appeals to me, though, so I may have to consider finally adding a SkyLinx to my collection. Cheers to those who've been wanting a Scorponok to go with the rest of the city bots. Not my cup of java, but I'm happy for those who've been waiting for it.
  21. M'Kyuun
    I'm more impressed by how they used the feet and hands to make a drone. However, this is a nice upgrade to the rather lackluster CW figs.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Perusing the Brothers-Brick LEGO blog, I discovered the works of BigPlanes on Flickr. As the user's handle suggests, he builds large scale aircraft , and they are incredibly detailed and realistic looking. Knowing that there are any number of aircraft enthusiasts here, myself included, I thought I'd share. His five foot long Concorde was the featured model on Brothers-Brick, and from a distance, it's difficult to see that it's made of LEGO. Just a thing of beauty. The rest of his aircraft models are just as impressive, especially his Air Force One. Absolutely brilliant. Edit: just wanted to add BigPlanes' YouTube channel, as he does vids of his builds showing features. I'd love to see this guy's stuff in person- just amazing.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Um, ok. Not sure what's up with chibi Motoko, but the new Tachi looks cool, minus the flotation device attached to its butt. Shame the joint work isn't as smooth and seamless as the art work depicts on the Lil' Major. Those huge elbows, gappy hips, and unnatural looking knees just throw off the look of the figure.
  24. M'Kyuun
    I also get the vibe that some contestants were chosen maybe more for their tendency towards drama than for talent. Of all the contestants, I was only familiar with Boone Langston, Mark Cruikshank (the Bearded Builders), due to my convention attendance, and Tyler Clites from looking at his stuff for years online. Tyler is a very accomplished builder, so he, at least, was chosen for his acumen. The Beards are also good builders in their own rights (I've seen their stuff firsthand). The rest of the teams were unknown to me. Sam Hatmaker rubs me the wrong way; I get the sense that he was chosen for his unconventional dress/hair, but perhaps also b/c there was an inkling of his snotty attitude. I looked him up, and while he's a professional toy designer, his LEGO portfolio is not really that impressive, especially when compared to his partner Jessica Ragzy Ewud, who has exhibited her builds in numerous venues, and sells her LEGO art. Between the two, my sense is that she is the far-more accomplished builder. But he's a jerk, and that garners attention. Also in the drama category is Kara, the older lady with the big hair, who seemed to have a weird facial expression almost every time the camera trained on her. I didn't get the sense that she or her partner were very accomplished builders. Out of all the builds last night, Tyler's was really the only one, IMHO, that could just stand alone as a really cool MOC. It looked amazing, and it was almost sad to see such a nice MOC get destroyed. But it smashed beautifully. I think, and I hope, that he'll be among the finalists, as he's one of the most talented AFOLs I'm aware of, and I hope this venue gives him greater exposure, as I think he'll produce some impressive stuff on the show. Christian and Aaron, IMHO, are a force to be reckoned with, as well. While their build last night wasn't really the best for the 'smash' category, it was a beautiful build on its own- outside of the box thinking with a really neat structure . If they'd filled that crescent with a big orb, or the like, filled with lots of little multi-colored bits, I think it would have helped their standing. Still, when I see that level of technique brought to bear, then I'm impressed. Obviously, I'm enjoying the show so far (can you tell?) I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and all the challenges they throw at these guys, and all the varied approaches these teams take to meet them. As to Lexomatic's observation about techniques: While it'd be cool if they delved deeper into that, as it would appeal greatly to those of us in the hobby, given that they're trying to appeal to a broader audience, i.e. those who don't build, or just build casually, or just buy LEGO for someone else, I can understand why they go more for the personal drama over the technical aspects of LEGO building. It can get dry, especially if you start talking L units, and geometries, and nomenclatures, AFOL terminology vs official LEGO names for colors and parts (Light Bley vs Medium Stone Grey, slopes vs bows), etc. The mention of SNOT was cool, but only quickly mentioned before moving on to Will Arnett's antics, Flynn's emotional breakdown, Kara's facial expressions, Sam's and Jessica's dysfunctionality, and pretty much a pointless visit from Mayim Bialik, other than to just have someone famous on the show. I know some upcoming special guests, like Terry Crews, are known for building LEGO as a hobby, so I look forward to having some folks with LEGO experience come on and share their views/enthusiasm.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Still, they're not as bad as those on the YF-21. It's why I prefer the shorter plates of the in-development Bandai DX, but I digress. I wonder if the Revoltech folks are prohibited from making this thing transformable, as that would step a bit on Takara's toes. It'd be cool if Takara made a fully transformable MP level fig of this, as a one-off. I'd be tempted. Personally, I've always thought an aircraft alt would be more suitable to the Eva, if one was to reimagine it as a transformable mech, especially with those large shoulder armor bits- nice little winglets.
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