M'Kyuun

Historically, observance of a set scale has not been Has/Tak's strongsuit for Transformers. They've been making Optimus and Megatron toys at roughly the same voyager scale, and sometimes at deluxe scale, since at least the Classics period circa 2006. With so many figures having been made to that scale, something like SS86 Prime, regardless of height scales, feels overly large by comparison with nearly twenty years of precedence. I don't recall Shockwave's making an appearance in the '86 Movie, but it's been a while since I last watched it. Regardless, I hope all those and more get the SS86 treatment and, much like Soundwave, they are superior to their previous toys. I can't really say I'm anticipating SS86 Megatron, knowing that he's going to have his typical bot body which suggests he should turn into a gun, but will likely be encumbered with all the additional mass to make him turn into a tank. I'll likely pass on him, as Romulus is the G1 Megatron I really want. I concede that Romulus appeals as a higher quality figure than the average Generations fig. However, if it were possible for Has/Tak to do SS86 Megatron with his Walther P38 alt mode at the commander class price point, I think we could expect a toy of similar complexity, and while not fully painted like Romulus, likely more paint apps than Prime in the absence of all that went into his trailer. He'd also quite likely come with the same accessories that came with Romulus, perhaps minus the interchangeable faces, in addition to his silencer and stock to complete the gun mode as seen in the show and film. In short, I agree, Romulus is superior to most Generations stuff, but given what we got with SS86 Prime and other commander class figs, assuming a G1 SS86 Megatron with a pistol mode were being made, I think an official toy would have a similar feel, minus full paint and die-cast. It'd still be premium, just premium-lite by comparison. 😄 While I've already stated my opinion about the impending SS86 Megatron, I'm curious to see how it turns out, especially if, like Prime, he gets the commander class level of production. If they can somehow reduce all that tank baggage into a nigh seamless looking bot mode, I'll be impressed. I very much doubt that'll be the case, but one can hope. Regardless, I'll likely pass on him in lieu of the proper G1 Megs I already have.

Enjoyed the review, Mike. I'd also like a slightly chunkier Megatron, although, it's obvious they used ER Prime as a comparison model to base Romulus assuming, as you said, that the upcoming SS86 would scale similarly. Hindsight, indeed, alas. I think the comparable thickness of Romulus' thigh and lower leg throws off his general silhouette from how we're used to seeing him depicted, with a more pronounced lower leg thickness and a thinner thigh. However, the fact that the thighs contribute so much to the alt mode and enjoy a fair bit of the transformation process themselves, it's forgivable and my view of it is obviously subjective. Returning to the scale conversation, despite the intention to scale with SS86, I'm glad that Romulus ended up scaling the way he does, as he fits better with the overall entirety of CHUG. SS86 Prime has overly large proportions, and I wonder why they chose to upscale him from the usual voyager scale and give him so much chunk comparatively. I think he's a really well-done fig, but I still have a huge soft spot for ER Prime who scales better, IMHO, with the rest of CHUG. I'm no Skully, as paint is not really one of my high requisites for a figure, especially in a mass retail toy under significant budget limitations, but you make a good point about the level of paint and die-cast, the latter of which rarely if ever shows up in the mainline any more. Newage is known for adding a more premium touch to their legends toys (I just bought their whole team of toy deco Dinobots, and those things are delicious with both paint and die-cast- beautiful figures, all), and they've applied those touches to Romulus as well. I suspect Newage may have believed, too, that SS86 Prime at standard voyager scale might, at the commander class price, have enjoyed far more paint on the core figure as well as possibly some little bit of die-cast. I'd love it if Sixo and his podcast group could score an interview with the designer(s) behind Romulus and coax some elucidation on their thinking and intentions going into Romuls' production. There's definitely a story there, and while NA may be catching some flack for getting the scale wrong, IMHO, the choice was both reasonable and far more apropos to the rest of CHUG on the whole. As to how clean Romulus is, so much yes, especially in comparison with their legends offering, which looks a little wonky due to his weird hip joints and messy backside. I guess they made a hip replacement for him, but I never bothered to get it. Compared to Magic Square's Doomsday, Agamemnon suffers in any number of ways. I've said it often and it bears repeating: MS' Doomsday is the best Megatron toy ever released. I still stand by that assessment; however, I give Romulus second runner up- he's just that well-done. IMHO, Doomsday gets the proportions better in bot mode (Romulus gets a couple things more accurate in gun mode, but honestly, how many people keep their G1 Megs in gun mode?) As to Romulus looking too Sunbow, they were after all aiming to mate this with SS86 Prime, which I assume they thought would be smooth as a baby's bottom for lack of details. However, while I suppose they could have added some additional panel lines/ mechanical details into the forearms or his back, I think he's fine and still pairs up with ER Prime pretty well, regardless. I say this as a big fan of details on my bots and not a big fan of the ultra-smooth toon look. Scaled up, Romulus or Doomsday would make for a suitable replacement for MP-36. My continuing hope is that Magic Square will seize the opportunity and do SS86 Prime and MP scaled Doomsday figs. That would be glorious. Given the level of paint on the core figure, I also thought it a bit odd that there was no paint on the purple pistol or the handle of the laser sword. The pistol in trans-purple just looks wrong. I also thought the omission of the stock and silencer were odd as well, as those are more salient accessories to a G1 Megatron toy than even the mace, laser sword, or pistol, all of which showed up in single scenes. However, every time Megs transformed in the show or Movie, he always had the silencer and stock equipped, just like Prime always had his trailer. I didn't mess about with the little bits on Romulus' heels to see if they're removable, but I assume you did, and that's an interesting observation. Perhaps there was indeed more planned for this fig, but they dialed back on the accessories, features/functions, and accessory paint to bring the price down given this was a testbed of sorts for Newage and they may have felt it better to omit those in favor of a lower price tag. While it would have been nice to have them, since Romulus will be in bot mode the vast majority of his existence in my collection, the stock and silencer, much like my Primes' trailers, are kept aside and at the end of the day, I don't really miss them. Again, there's more conversation to be had with the designers and I hope it happens at some point. The instructions are definitely misleading; I nearly broke mine while trying to flip down the chest panel. There's nothing in the instructions that indicate that you have to disengage the tab on the left shoulder mount panel from the back panel. I was using a scarily uncomfortable amount of force to try and push that chest panel down and when it looked like stuff was starting to possibly be breaking, I consulted a vid review which set me straight. Fortunately, no major harm done. For good measure, I applied a little Gorilla Glue to the sandwich of panels that comprise the chest panel assembly just to be sure. After transforming him a couple of times and getting some of the really tight panels loose enough to move without tearing off a nail, I find the process rather fun. I can't honestly say that about a lot of third-party figs, and even a number of official figs, MP-36 included. The schema is clever, unique, and lends itself to a pretty close facsimile of the Walther P38. The lack of a safety and other minor details is lamentable, but a worthy tradeoff for such a well-designed transformation process and such a clean robot mode. Gotta admit, the last steps of putting the hip skirts and butt panels into place to finish the pistol grip is really satisfying. The gun mode is solid and looks really good. Despite my earlier comment, it is a bit of a shame that you can't complete his alt mode with silencer and stock. perhaps NA will do an accessory add-on pack, or do a repackage with additional accessories, hopefully better painted. I got the toon-colored version, but if they sold such a repackage, I'd be tempted to get the toy deco and just share the silencer and stock between them. To your first argument that Romulus is too premium, I disagree, but from the standpoint that this is a third-party toy and not an official release. I think you could expect this level of paint and die cast from a Takara-Tomy figure, but they operate on a different philosophy than Hasbro, and one needn't look further than the Missing Link line. If TT were to make their own SS86 G1 Megs that actually turns into a gun, while I doubt it would have die-cast, I think it'd definitely have better paint than anything Hasbro releases. I wish they would, as I'd love to see what they'd come up with as a properly scaled mate for their SS86 Prime. As to Romulus being too premium to fit in with CHUG, while he's a bit shy on small surface details, I think he fits in pretty well. That said, my feelings would not be hurt if they continued the series giving us, at the very least, a better Soundwave +cassettes and upscaled versions of their Seekers. For my part, I think Romulus is a clear winner and an amazing success for a first stab at producing a CHUG scaled toy by a company that hitherto has only worked at legends scale, even if some of those legends toys approached CHUG scale (looking at my NA Skyfire). Perhaps making some of those larger legends figs gave them the impetus to try. Whatever it was, I'm very glad they did as they've filled a notable void in my collection that no official toy, save a TT SS86 Megs that turns into a gun, will ever again fill. I keep hoping Magic Square will toss their proverbial hat in the CHUG ring as well, but for now, I'm quite satisfied with Romulus filling the void. Hopefully this toy sells very well and gives these companies who may be on the fence the courage to put out their own CHUG scaled stuff. It's well past time. Totally off topic, but after these legends toy producers exhaust G1, I hope at least one of them decides to do Animated figs. I know Animated isn't everybody's cuppa, but I think there's enough of us out there that we could adequately support the venture. Seeing what they've done with G1 really makes me want to see how they'd tackle the stylistic elements of Animated, arguably not the easiest look to translate into a transforming toy. I think TT did a pretty good job back in 2007-09, but 3P has come a long way since then, and one can only imagine what they'd come up with in terms of solutions to capture that look faithfully and still deliver bots with much better articulation than the official toys ever had.

Very interesting news. I've never heard of this company, but I'm guessing I've seen their stuff while perusing the toy isles. Very curious to see how they approach M.A.S.K. As little room as I have for much of anything anymore, I have a feeling I'm going to be sorely tempted to pick a couple of these up. The Ramen Toys stuff looks amazing thus far, but I've not invested. But if the TLS' stuff is right there on the shelf in front of me, all bets are off. I never owned a single M.A.S.K. toy as a kid, despite seeing them in stores and watching the show. I thought they were amazing, but my budget was severely limited so I stuck to the occasional Transformer or LEGO set. Lack of space is my main detractor now, but if I find one or two that really pique my interest, I may just have to snag 'em.

You've pretty much summed up my feelings about third party. My days on this Earth are ever receding, and with the license holders of these properties sitting on those licenses when there's an audience for stuff to be made, unofficial options become the only options, or in the case of many Transformers, interesting, unique, or superior options compared to, or in the absence of, official releases. I look no further than XTransbots' Omnibots, which haven't had toys since their original American releases in 1985, and of course their earlier Diaclone toys. As the only option for toys I've long wanted and waited for, I'm all in for the three G1 variants that XTransbots are releasing. They're not the best toys, as some of the design decisions are questionable, but in the absence of any other Omnibot toys official or non, I happily parted with my money for them. Likewise, my newest acquisition, Newage's Romulus, a well-done CHUG scaled G1 Megatron that turns into a Walther P38ish pistol, a toy we shall never again get officially, unless Takara makes it for the Asian market. That was a huge want, and I'm pleased to finally have a figure to fill that hole in my collection. No guilt, no regret. Much joy.

Good point about the licensing; I wasn't thinking about that aspect but focusing more on the creativity side of the topic. However, that's definitely an obstacle which the Chinese seem to contend with on a much looser basis without as many legal repercussions. I don't agree with stealing IPs, but at the same time, my hypocritical self has bought numerous third-party Transformers over the last decade or so, and quite honestly, I think they're smartly cornering parts of the market that Hasbro and Takara aren't really operating in, like the legends scale market, and doing it brilliantly. Moreover, I think they approach toy design, much like Takara does or used to, by trying to make the best toy and then assigning a price instead of working within a set budget and making adjustments to the toy until it fits, which often means the toy is far more limited in parts, features, paint etc. It's a shame that everything is so much more expensive here in the States, but that's the reality of our times, and the situation will likely never improve alas. There's obviously passion at both Hasbro and Takara, and I'm exceedingly glad that they've put the designers out in the public space to talk about what goes into the toys. They're obviously working under constraints, and by talking about that, if only tangentially at times, I appreciate the candid perspective and I hope it quells some of the bitching and moaning among the fandom. We're still going to complain, because humanity, but for those of us with a modicum of empathy, seeing the bigger picture regarding the circumstances in which they labor to try and make good toys allows for a bit of forgiveness if a toy comes up a little short in our minds. Even third-party toys come up short from time to time, but man, what a wonderful time to be a fan of 80s stuff with folks like Ramen Toys , 3P Transformers makers, etc, realizing our childhood dreams through passion, skill, talent, and drive to create the toys we wished we'd had when we were kids. We're spoiled, and I'm loving it.

Likewise, both space and money. M.A.S.K. is another notable toy series from the 80s that had some really standout toys, and honestly, if Hasbro wanted to, they could just dust off the old molds, perhaps add a few new ones to complete the roster, put a little publicity behind it, perhaps hire a studio to give the show a modern makeover, and just let the money roll in, as I think the toys and the concept as a whole still have the power to captivate and intrigue. Since it shares the transformation gimmick with their other huge franchise, I'm surprised that Hasbro hasn't at least tested the waters by reviving M.A.S.K. for a new generation, if only in a limited fashion. Perhaps they could produce some video shorts to create publicity and gauge interest before committing to new toys. But I think it still has strong appeal that kids and adults alike would respond to. As to Ramen Toys, the passion and effort they put into these toys is obvious and remarkable. I'm constantly amazed by the abilities and commitment of fans to create today the toys we wished we'd had as kids. Chinese fans, notably, are killing it as they form toy companies dedicated to making modern interpretations of 80s and 90s toys; it's shame we don't see that same level of dedication or craftsmanship on our own shores, since these properties all originated here.

Obviously, it's going to try to look like a VF-19 Fire Valkyrie, so we can expect the majority of it to be red with yellow accents. As someone above mentioned, the entire forward fuselage is hanging off the back and will just rotate 180 degrees to cover the head. The shoulders are shaped like the VF-19's pauldrons and will likely fill that same role on this in fighter mode with the forearms recessing, much like the VF-14, into the backs of the legs. The wings wrap around the lower legs, which will likely compress over the thighs to foreshorten them and present as the rounded aft fuselage of the VF-19, while the wings unfurl into their proper positions. The compression of the legs , IMHO, will be the most complex part of the transformation, and the resulting fighter will be a mix of blockiness due to the OP chest and smoothness due to the forward fuselage and lower legs sharing the VF-19's design characteristics. It's a bit of a Frankenstein's monster due to sharing opposing characteristics being taken from two very different designs that, IMHO, don't marry well, especially as they relate to an aircraft, and even more especially, an aircraft design as sleek and aerodynamic as the VF-19. Personally, I would have been more excited if they'd taken a similar direction as they did with Maverick, which takes notable cues from the VF-1 without copying it directly (we have Jetfire for that), albeit taking cues from the VF-19 while hewing close to that design and transformation schema without copying it entirely. I think this thing is going to be a travesty writ large, but I'm profoundly biased towards Macross for its realistic and sleek valkyrie designs. Takara, and Hasbro by extension, have abysmal track records for creating jetformers that are anywhere near approaching aerodynamic or realistic. More often than not, they are partial aircraft sitting on the backs of blocky folded robots that often don't even integrate the arms into the jet mode. Fighters are big machines (I know, as I worked around them during my AF career), far bigger than cars, and yet Takara always manages to tuck the arms somewhere even in the smallest of car modes, or motorcycles for cryin' out loud! There's far more real estate in a jet fighter, and yet they often waste large chunks of a fighter that could be used to integrate arms. It boggles the mind the lack of creativity or the reluctance to try to find better solutions. All I can say is that in twenty years of working around military aircraft, I never saw a single one with arms hanging off the sides or big blocky underbellies. Macross is proof that a realistic aircraft mode is possible for a transforming robot; I just wish the folks at Takara and Hasbro would take a few notes.

I've expressed many times over the years how much I wish some third party would give us a CHUG scaled G1 Megatron with a proper pistol mode that at least fairly resembles the Walther P38. I was quite surprised, pleasantly so, when Newage stepped up to the plate with just such an offering. I already had their legends scaled Megs, and to be quite honest, it wasn't the best offering at that scale (ahem, Magic Square's Doomsday takes that honor, IMHO). Thus I was a bit concerned until pics of their grayscale model surfaced, and at that point I breathed a sigh of relief. It looked good, and while I didn't care for the trigger guard forming the insides of the thighs, in all other aspects it exceeded expectations. My copy arrived today, and I haven't been this excited for a fig in some time. I'm not the best reviewer, but I did take a few comparison shots for those curious as to how it'll scale with other figs. A note of caution to anyone out there getting this: I nearly broke my copy following the included instructions. I highly suggest watching PrimevsPrime's review, as he offers a clear and concise methodology for transforming this figure that will keep you from breaking stuff. Gun mode: By this point in time, it's a foregone conclusion that most G1 Megatron toys that become guns, regardless of scale, are going to be replete with panels. All things considered, this comes together very well, and while there are a lot of panel lines, I think it still presents well. I believe I saw it mentioned somewhere that he's missing his safety, but beyond that, he's fairly accurate. For those wondering, the trigger is not spring-loaded- you have to adjust its position manually. I have kid hands, so it's a pretty good fit for me. NGL, I had some fun with him in this mode. My wife was all 🙄. 😁 Comparisons: I figured I'd show how his alt mode compares to other bots' alts. First up, Netflix WFC Soundwave. WFC Siege Megatron WFC Earthrise Skywarp WFC Earthrise Optimus Prime and SS86 Optimus Bot mode comparisons: Overall, I'm really impressed with this fig. The articulation far exceeds what we can expect in a mainline toy, the transformation, when done properly, is relatively intuitive although I'd suggest guidance on the first time, paint and sculpt are very well done (most of the figure is painted), and of course, he transforms into his original pistol form which isn't feasible with official toys. Very happy that this exists, I hope more like it are coming, and I'm supremely happy to finally fill a vacancy in my mainline collection that I thought would remain forever empty. edit: The box indicates that this is the first of a series, so hopefully Newage will indeed make more figs at the mainline scale. They've not even done triple-changers at the legends scale yet, that I'm aware of, but I'd love to see what they'd come up with for both Blitzwing and Astrotrain, as well as upscaling their really-well done seeker mold. Hopefully, good things to come. The more I handle Romulus, the more I appreciate it- just a well-done fig.

I have just a single copy of the new Renegade (for now) and I've only built the main model, as I'm not all that plussed about the inspired Alienator model. I watched JANG's review, and I agree with his thoughts on the Alienator build: it looks better as a ship if you remove the leg assembly. After building the 10355 Renegade, I'm rather impressed by the integration of the large trapezoidal flag at the nose as a creative solution in lieu of the non-existence of an analogous wedge brick. That's been a point of contention, and while there are certainly other ways the designer could have realized the nose that would appear more 'brickish', I thought it a simple but elegant solution. YMMV, of course. I also agree with Huw Gilliam's opinion that there is far too much yellow used, especially around the cockpit. The original Blacktron sets used the yellow accents far more sparingly, and I wish the designer had followed suit with this set. As an update, it's just ok to me. Mike Psiaki, the designer of 10497 Galaxy Explorer, essentially upsized and improved on every aspect of the original. Jae Won Lee, the designer of the Renegade, exercised far more liberties in his interpretation which removed a certain salient aspect of the original and just didn't quite deliver on the same level as the new Galaxy Explorer. I still prefer my original Renegade to this, and I feel sad saying that, as I vehemently want these homages to both continue and to improve on their originals. Well, here's hoping that they take the feedback to heart and the next update will be more 10497 and less 10355.

Likewise, although I'm torn on whether I want it to be crowdfunded or just a nice titan class fig at retail. It'd likely be cheaper as a retail toy, but to really capture the complexity of the design, Haslab might be the better way to go. Either way, I'm in for a copy if they make it.

Every success in your tinkering.

I had a copy of the Alienator as a kid, and I have two of them at present. It's a cool model and, similarly to the new Renegade, this 'B' model misses the mark a bit compared to the original. Like the OG Renegade, the Alienator has a large cargo box that makes up a significant portion of its bulk and it's completely missing on this reimagined version. Too, the shimmying legs and feet of the original, which still look much better to me than the reimagined version, are a bit of an anachronism on a modern take. I understand the intention, but when so many liberties were taken with the rest of the model, it seems moot. Too, I don't particularly care for the look of the legs or feet on the 'B' model. Unlike 10497's 'B' models, which maintained the updated aesthetic of the new Galaxy Explorer applied to its smaller sister ships, this stands starkly independent from its original inspiration for all the wrong reasons, IMHO. Unlike the reimagined Alienator, I like the smaller mech which is its own thing divorced from any previous set. Having built the new Renegade, it just doesn't fill me with the same sense of awe that 10497 did, and still does, I wish they'd had Mike Psiaki design this new Renegade too, keeping the design language he established with 10497, but hewing closer to the original ship's design while making improvements. Alas, it wasn't to be and this is now official, for better or worse. Fortunately, LEGO lends itself to modding for those so inclined. I think the greatest point of discontentment comes from having seen any number of the Renegade and other Blacktron sets reimagined as really well-done MOCs over the decades, which inspired hope for any future official set. For me, the new set doesn't quite reach the bar that's been established by fans, and so its enjoyment factor is eroded by disappointment.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I only own one copy at present, and while it's not bad, I do wish the designer had skewed more towards maintaining all the salient features of the original ship, especially the cargo box.

I'm in agreement. Along with the '89 Batmobile and Tumbler, I'd love to see them do the Mach 5, Kaneda's bike, a Lightcycle, the original Spinner from Blade Runner, the dropship and APC from Aliens, the Oblivion Bubbleship (admittedly, not much to work with given its skeletal frame), Airwolf, and Blue Thunder. Trypticon would have been ideal for a Godzilla crossover, as the scaling between him and the majority of normal sized bots works out much better. I'd really be stoked if they brought back M.A.S.K. as part of the Transformers line, but I think the optimal time for them to have approached such complex toys would have been in the early Bayformers era, when deluxe figs cost $10 and some of the Bayformer toys were nigh-MP levels of complexity. Where both prices and complexity levels are now, I don't think they'd be able to do the toys justice, quite frankly. I think 3Ps would do a better job at this point, and I'd welcome it.

Likewise. I quit collecting them after Dinobot; the retail offerings sufficiently meet my need for BW figs, and they're more space-friendly in my ever-shrinking house. as you say, it's great for the BW collectors who want to finish off the core cast. Funny, I love the Dinobots, but I've never been much into the Predacons, which really should have been the proper antagonists for the Dinobots, both with their robo-beast alts. Easy pass on that set, which ostensibly looks good from the pic. If Takara & Hasbro get around to doing a set in Legacy, I'll consider getting them if I like how they turn out. I have yet to own a set of Predacons/Predaking, so that would be my first. Yeah, this thing looks tragic. I've already posted my rant, but looking closer, there couldn't be two more diametrically opposed designs between OP and the VF-19 Fire Valkyrie. So what's this thing going to turn into: a truck with weird plane bits hanging off of it, or another extremely boxy jet that's more robot cargo hanging under jet facade than a proper jet? Like I said above, they should have just asked Kawamori to help them design a bargain version of the VF-19 maintaining its salient features and transformation and maybe given the bot mode Basara's turtle shell shades as a nod. I would hate the head, but if everything else was truly VF-19, I could live with it as a crossover.

The point of "Basara Prime" is lost on me. Elevating the most worthless and ineffectual protagonist within the entire series to Prime status is laughable on the surface. However, my real concern is with the eventual abysmally reimagined VF-19 that they're going to attempt to make him become, and the terrible non-canonical bot mode that they've created for him b/c they are so very bad at designing transforming jets. The real tragedy of this is that the VF-19, one of Kawamori's most beautiful and iconic designs, exists. They could simply ask Kawamori to work with them designing a Transformers toy that captures the VF-19 in both modes, albeit at their budget limitation. I would rather have a slightly lesser quality VF-19 that looks and transforms like the VF-19 than some crappy remake that pretends to be a VF-19. Obviously Big West and likely Kawamori gave the ok to TT for this, but if I was Kawamori, I'd want to supervise the design to keep it close to source. That faded pic says otherwise. This saddens me; how amazing would it be if we could get the Macross pantheon of valks as Transformers characters, maintaining the og designs?!! It would be revolutionary, and we'd finally have some TF jets worth a damn at a more affordable price point than most of Bandai's and Arcadia's offerings. Even if they did them all at commander class price points, if those budgets went into the mecha and not into peripherals, i.e. a lot of useless accessories and effects parts, to keep them as close to source as possible, that would be excellent and would offer a fantastic crossover element to the line. The glimpse of what's coming dashes all hopes of any further Macross crossovers living up to the potential. Well, at least we got Maverick and Jetfire.

I feel more badly for the folks who were working on the game than actually not getting the game itself. All that incalculable investment of time and effort by those people was just shelved; I can only imagine the emotional and mental toll something like that must take. It's unfortunate and dismaying.

I have my own quibbles with it, but overall, I like it too. I'm a battroid guy and one of my greatest beefs with the old Yamato was the disproportionately skinny legs, wobbly hip joints, and tiny feet that made it both awkward looking and unstable. The DX fixes those issues; it stands and poses well and looks pretty darned good doing it. Anyway, I'm glad for the positivity.

Every success to you! Share your experience, as it's an ambitious project.

Appreciate the brief commentary. Mine's on its way from Denmark along with the new Blacktron Renegade. I visited my local Wally today hoping to find a lot of the 2025 sets and the series 27 CMFs, but they didn't have the CMFs nor the new Space mech polybag (they had one of a toucan, though) nor either of the large spaceships. Glad I ordered them, as I'll likely have them in hand next week. Meanwhile, I've been staying busy building the two 'B' models for the Dreamzzz Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Battle Mech set. I'll be building the 'A' model soon, but IMHO both 'B' models were 'A' model-worthy designs themselves. I've been wanting this set all year and I resisted the temptation to order it earlier so I'd have something to request of my wife for Christmas. We lucked out and I got the display copy, their last, at one of our Barnes and Noble stores, the only place I've seen this set, including our LEGO Store downtown, all year. Happy to have it at last, and happier still that it was such a well-executed set with really enjoyable alternate models. The other set my wife got me is the Dark Falcon, and I'm looking forward to putting that one together, too. I just couldn't resist having a white Darth Vader fig in my collection, and the rest of the paradoxical characters in this set are also welcome additions. For those who don't know, the Dark Falcon is based on a design from the LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy series on Disney Plus, a typically humorous and 'alternate universe' take on the galaxy far, far away that we all know and love. It's well done and worth a watch IMHO. And as a bonus, Mark Hamill voices Luke Skywalker. I've seen some of Nick's builds in person at BrickCon in Seattle. I believe I even spoke to him once, but this was years ago and I was blissfully unaware of the extraordinary talent in whose presence I was basking at the time. I hope he comes to BrickCon again in the future so I can hopefully convey my awe. Concerning this and his other models, one need only spend a minute or two watching his assembly video to understand that you're seeing talent on a rare level. I wish that LEGO would release builds on this level in their 18+ line, as they'd make for some truly interesting, immersive, and challenging builds for those of us who are already building at a high level. I'm no slouch with the brick, but Nick is truly stratospheric in his ability to use LEGO in novel and creative ways and I'm simply left gobsmacked with every frame, and I'm humbled to the point of feeling like an amateur.

The concern is that I'm experiencing the lack of clutch power from new, never-used skeleton arms. I turned to my older stock, in fact, because until just recently, I had a higher degree of efficacy from them than new parts. Even my older parts, which haven't seen much use, are evidencing a reduced clutch power which makes me wonder if it is indeed an environmental issue. My thinking is to move the release mechanism's trigger to the forward bulkhead freeing up the engine section to be modded into doors thus mimicking the original's design. I love cargo as a theme and as a design feature; the omittance of the original's cargo box to house the land vehicle is a strike against this set as an update. That's a fair bit of playability lost: loading and unloading the vehicle into the box, loading and unloading the box itself, which requires the additional feature of opening doors and the possibility of a ramp, and finally, the modularity of the box to be incorporated into another smaller ship utilizing the cockpit and a single engine component. With further modification, both the air drop feature and a land-based cargo door/ramp features would expand the playability of the design by a fair margin and bring it closer to the original set in its characteristics. I wouldn't mind applying these and other modifications in an effort to render it a much more faithful, albeit properly upgraded, version of the original Blacktron Renegade. While modding is not at all my strong suit, as I tend to concentrate on variable mecha, as an owner of the original set there's a part of me that's a bit discontented with this new Renegade, especially when looking at the excellent execution of 10497 Galaxy Explorer compared to the original 497/928. This set misses the mark in a few areas.

I stumbled on that independently very early this morning when I couldn't sleep. I was going to post it, but I'm glad I didn't now. Huw Gilliam is a pretty well-known British builder who does a lot of CAD rendered MOCs but also builds the odd model with real brick. Looks like this recoloring is the latter, and IMHO, it's an improvement on the original. I think the cockpit, especially, benefits from the removal of all the yellow, but overall I think the greater use of black throughout improves the model and brings it closer to the original look of Blacktron. I appreciate that he built a central container like the original, but honestly, I'm not really feeling those heavy latticed support elements on top. Huw didn't change the drop mechanism, either, and IMHO, the new Renegade is due for a retrofit of swinging doors and a ramp in the back to bring it closer to the original.

The Saturn V is an exemplary set for use of clip and bar joints. Just a brilliant set. I find it alarming that you've had so many clip breakages; I keep a lot of sets out on display and to whit I've never had an issue yet with broken clips. Add to that my numerous transforming MOCs which I manipulate and put on public display every year. However, I've noticed a lessening of clutch power in some parts with clips of late. I built a pumpkin that turns into a spider and it relies heavily on the skeleton arms to effect motion in a goodly portion of the model. I gave my last good model of it away this last BrickCon and ordered enough parts to build two more from LEGO's online PAB. I've built at least six copies of this thing since the original in 2019, which itself went through probably a hundred or more transformations at a convention before I gave it to its intended owner. Even after all that manipulation, all the joints were still tight, and thus it was for pretty much every other model I built of it until just recently. I did a lot of mixing and matching of various parts with bars and skeleton arms before finally finding a group that only somewhat have the collective clutch power of every previous version. I'm not sure what's going on, but it's frustrating. I could blame it on mold fatigue, but I even resorted to digging into my parts stash for older parts that I've had for years and the problem persisted. I keep my parts at room temp (around 77 degrees Fahrenheit) and that temp doesn't swing much in either direction throughout the year. I think the problem lies with the skeleton arms, but I'm not sure why I'm experiencing the same weakness in my older parts when I never did before. It's weird. However, my issue lies more with clutch power than breakages, of which I have had very, very few over the years despite my heavy use of them in my models.

These are brilliant. the white one in particular doesn't even look like LEGO on first glance, so well is the build and the applied livery. Hope you'll share more pics of these. I'm not a car guy, per se, but I enjoy the Speed Champions line quite a bit. I appreciate that comparison. Purely from an initial view, the new Renegade is notably much chunkier than the original, which had a more minimalistic skeletal look to its frame that helped it to look sleeker. I, too, wish the designer had opted, like Mike Psiaki's excellent update to the Galaxy Explorer, to maintain a closer appearance to the original ship while enlarging the whole and updating various areas and features accordingly. The new design is a notable departure from the original, made all the more apparent by a side-by-side comparison. I still plan on getting a copy or two, but my enthusiasm is much less for this than what I had and still have for 10497. However, it's Classic Space, and I want them to continue reviving more old Space themes, so I'll be getting at least one. Usually I'm in agreement with your views, Chronocidal; however, I much prefer using the clip and bar connections as opposed to Technic pins, which oft prove to be a royal PITA to engage when two or more are used for a quick disconnect system. So far as the GWP Invader set, oddly renamed Cruiser, goes, I surmise that it was designed independently from the Renegade with little or no bleedover, hence the differences in clipping systems. Fortunately, it shouldn't be too difficult to mod to bring it into compliance with the Renegade's clip system. I oft entertain fantasies of modding sets, but I seldom follow through, even after buying copies of the sets that I intend to mod. I find building my own stuff more fulfilling (and time-consuming) and generally abandon modding efforts. This is a set that could definitely stand some heavy modding to render it closer to the OG set as well as rendering it closer to what 10497 did for the Galaxy Explorer, but I already know that I'll likely never bring myself to do it. However, I'm curious and I look forward to other folks' mods for this thing, as there's a bit of discontentment already swirling and you just know mods are coming.

As a fan of Animated, it would stand to reason that this would appeal greatly to me, but oddly it doesn't, at least not enough to have moved me to order it. That doesn't mean I don't think DNA did a great job; quite the contrary, I think they did an excellent job, and I especially appreciate how all the bits come together to form his firetruck appendage as seen in the show, or close enough, anyway. I was just never partial to his Wingblade look, and with this being a rather pricey set, I opted out. Even now, having read the review, I'm feeling a touch of regret; I dig that firetruck look and the fact that it comes with his iconic battle mask and the Magnus Hammer as well as all the armor accoutrement to capture what would have been in fourth season (we were so robbed!). I just don't think I'd want him on the shelf wearing the armor and to me, that defeats the purpose of buying it.