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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Somebody should have pointed out the VF-14 to the folks at both ILM and Takara and said make it close to this. Edit: Chinese reviewer Kevin Liu posted a review of upcoming Studio Series Dropkick from the Bumblebee Movie. https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformation-video-for-transformers-studio-series-22-dropkick/42336/ This is the only SS figure I intend to get, and the review cements my opinion. The transformation is pretty neat, although I wish they'd found a way to hide the hands better in chopper mode. He has a little kibble, but nothing obnoxious. I'm still glad they eschewed trying to squeeze his car mode into the figure and just concentrated on making a decent AH-1 Cobra.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Alex is one of my favorite builders on MOCPages. He designs a lot of Transformers, and it's a point of pride for him to make them all minifig compatible. His designs tend to be fragile, however, often relying on tentative connections. What his models lack in solidarity they make up in aesthetics and functionality. his Legioss is the best I've seen, and I'm aware of at least two others (Eric Duron and Tyler Clites also have transforming Legioss models floating around on the web). Mazinger, good luck reverse engineering Alex's Legioss. He has a number of pics showing the internals of the leg and how they collapse, which should help. You'll have to let us know how it turns out.
  3. M'Kyuun
    The more I see of these Siege figures, the more I hope that an Earth alt mode series is next in the line, as this is supposed to be just a part of another series of interconnected lines. Gotta say, they're definitely ticking the nostalgia box with the bot modes in this line, although I can take or leave some of the Cybertronian modes (Sideswipe, Prowl, good; Prime and Ultra Magnus, terrible). But the bot modes are shaping up to be what I think many of us thought, or even hoped, that Classics would be when it was first announced. I think many of the CHUG molds we've had over the years were really cool, even if they weren't slavish to the G1 models. This line looks to be closer to the poor man's MP, getting much closer to the G1 bot modes than any main line since the originals, MP excluded. I dig it, and look forward to an Earth alt line, especially if they continue to keep the bots so faithful to both toy and toon, a nice middle ground that I wish the MP series had maintained. After they're done with this series, though, I hope they get the G1 out of their system, and do something like they did with Animated, a new design aesthetic ( just no shards attached to skeletons, please) married to a really good story, with all new characters. No more Optimus Prime, no more Bumblebee- a completely fresh cast with their own story. I get that both of those characters are synonymous with TFs, but I think, creatively, it would be nice to see something new and different than just another rehash of Prime and company fighting Megatron and company. A story set at the turn of the century would be fun, seeing our intrepid team adapt to the Industrial Revolution. I think it'd be interesting if these characters started out factionless scientists with a small security team on a survey mission, with a rift forming between the two as to priorities. I think it'd be neat if the scientists created the Insecticons as an experiment to help aid farmers, but as time wears on, the Insecticons become greedy and uncontrollable. Ideas like this would be cool to see- explore some of the lesser characters, or create all new ones. It's time for another Beast Wars or Animated to change things up.
  4. M'Kyuun
    They would have to be logical mechanical designs, which they are not; they were designed purely from an artistic POV, slicing and dicing the alt mode and attaching the parts willy-nilly without any thought as to how these bits would all actually move into their positions on the bot's frame. They never transform the same way twice, as each transformation generally occurs from different angles, and since there is no established mechanical method for transformation, the artists simply arranged the various bits in ways that looked cool to them. Moreover, I doubt any thought was given as to these things having 'internals' necessary for life, or functionality, except where it mattered to the story. As a former aircraft mechanic, I've never liked the Bay designs, as they were completely divorced from any mechanical reality, the sci-fi aspect of their transformation aside. Granted the G1 designs made little sense where mass shifting, having full interiors, and other such reality conflicts occurred, although there are any number of TF toys that have managed to incorporate at least partial interiors, which is always an impressive feat. In short, don't go looking for logic where it doesn't exist; Bayformers are pure CG magic. Nice to see Azalea getting some exposure. I was very much intrigued by Rouge until the horror stories of her difficult transformation, and MMC's take was number two on my radar for a MP scaled Arcee. For some reason in my gut, I doubt that Takara will produce an official version. Hope I'm wrong, but she'd be an easier figure to produce from a non-licensing perspective. From an engineering perspective, she obviously poses some challenges if one wants to accurately portray both of her modes while avoiding making her a shellformer. While FT and MMC both achieved that goal, and I think Rouge takes the prize aesthetically, Azalea is close enough for my tastes if she's not as fiddly.
  5. M'Kyuun
    None of the Bayverse designs were given to any realistic transformation mechanics. Moreover, anything that segments into many smaller pieces is going to have noticeable seams everywhere, as we've all seen on any number of TF toys (MP-36 anyone?). Aircraft have obvious seams everywhere, both for panels, and in areas with numerous moving parts, like landing gear bays, and any number of structural members or linkages to connect them. So, when the '07 movie was coming out and they were boasting about the 'realistic' transformations, where these large chunks of vehicles separated and somehow dissolved into the shardy chaos arranged all over these skeletal bots, my reaction was one of incredulity and disappointment. Plus, they were ugly, and didn't look anything like Transformers up to that point. That Takara was able to make working transformable toys at all from these illogical CG creations is a testament to their innovation, talent, and imagination. I keep hoping that a top-to-bottom reboot will happen, and that eventually more mechanically feasible designs will grace the big screen. The Bumblebee Movie just picks up where Bay left off, and uses a similar design aesthetic, so all this talk of 'reboot', at least so far as the look of the bots is concerned, is just talk. I do hope that Travis puts more focus on the Transformer characters, but the feeling I get from the trailers is that it's basically a girl and her (big yellow transforming) dog, featuring Bee as the Lassie of this generation. So far as squeezing a bot into any shape of aircraft fuselage, Kawamori has been doing this for decades, creating clean, realistic looking aircraft that transform without resorting to strapping a bot under a plane, or having limbs hanging off obviously. Takara have worked with Kawamori (he designed the original seekers, and reworked the MP seeker mold), so it's surprising that they don't take his cue on more of their aircraft designs.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Sorry to steal your thunder, Mike. But, glad you're getting the whole '07 cast. As I said, I think that Bonecrusher looks rather respectable, but I've just lost interest in Bayformers. I have a healthy collection of them from over the years; so many of them were incredible little feats of engineering. I figure the period between 2007 to 2012 or so was really a kind of golden age for TFs, so far as complex engineering, high parts counts, and fair to decent paint apps go. We got Classics, Movieverse, Prime, and Animated in this timeframe, not to mention the new MP line, and any number of these toys still resonate with me. The thing is, and I know from hands-on experience, planes are bigger than cars, with the exception of the F-16, which can double as a key fob. I jest, but the F-15, the F-14, the F-22, the SR-71, etc are large machines with a fair amount of fuselage that could contain a folded robot within its profile, especially if accordianing joints and some creative origami is applied. They managed it with Leader Jetfire, the MP seeker mold (love or hate it, it does a good job of squashing the bot into an F-15), The B-2 Bomber Megatron (which took a little license, but still enfolds the bot into the plane rather well), the recent Powerglide figure, Prime Soundwave's drone mode, etc. I'm sure there are other decent examples, but for the most part, the engineering for most TF jets ranges from lazy to not even trying, as you said. I absolutely hate the trend of just having the arms hanging off the jet, or just compressing them somewhat along the fuselage instead of finding a solution that incorporates them. It would never stand on a ground vehicle, so why do the fans live with it on jets? I don't know, but it bugs me.
  7. M'Kyuun
    For those interested, A Studio Series Prime (slight remold to combine with Jetfire), Jetfire, and Bonecrusher have been revealed. http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/10/26/transformers-studio-series-optimus-prime-and-bonecrusher-official-images-374864 Bonecrusher looks good, a nice update to the 2007 toy. Jetfire- 36 steps to transform into a robot under a jet. I'll never understand Has/Tak's design dichotomy between ground vehicles, which generally fully conceal the robot within the confines of the vehicle's shape, and aircraft, which generally have bits of robot hanging off, if not the entire bot hanging off the bottom. To that end, Thank you, Kawamori-san, for your lovely valks. I wish Has/Tak would take notes. I've no interest in any of these guys, even if Bonecrusher looks to be a really nice update. My interest in Bayformers has all but evaporated, and as of right now, the only Studio Series figure I'm looking forward to is Dropkick from the Bumblebee Movie. I can't recall there ever being an AH-1, at least in deluxe or bigger class, in the last 30+ years of TFs, and the bot mode looks more akin to regular TFs than Bay's typical shard-bots, so I'm kinda excited to get a copy when it comes out. It's getting some flak on the TFW boards for not being a triple-changer as he is in the Bee Movie, but I'm kinda glad they just focused on the AH-1 mode, as it looks purty good to my eye, and trying to give him his car mode would have entailed too many compromises, especially at the deluxe scale.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Impressive display. I remember back when LEGO released the UCS Lambda Shuttle there being mentioned that the designers borrowed ideas (for both sail and wing rotating mechanism) from an AFOL, which was an interesting admission at the time. Nice to finally see the guy. Despite my huge anticipation for a UCS Shuttle, when it finally came out, there were too many things about it that bugged me, and I didn't get it. What I wanted (still want) is this, or as close a facsimile as possible. He got the gear, the smooth simultaneous wing rotation, and the nice curved front of the shuttle's cockpit, none of which the official model achieved. I'd be down for a new UCS Shuttle with Power Functions and improved shaping, much like they did for the new Falcon. The palette has grown by leaps and bounds since the last UCS Shuttle set, so it'd make the designers' jobs that much easier realizing all those complex shapes, not to mention internal gearing. And while they're at it, it's high time for a UCS AT-AT.
  9. M'Kyuun

    BANDAI DX YF-19!!

    M'Kyuun replied to seti88's topic in Toys

    My gushing over the Advance aside, I can't argue that it's a bit of a chore to manipulate, and that a simpler toy, like Arcadia's 19, or just a good ole VF-1, is plain fun to mess with and still yields fulfillment. The engineer wannabe in me just loves solutions like those employed in any number of Bandai's valks, the Advance most notably, but what looks cool to the eye doesn't always translate as such in the hand. It's a tradeoff- a finickier toy with more inherent fragility yielding an arguably more accurate toy across modes, or a simpler, more robust toy that still does an admirable job conveying its modes with a higher fun-factor (and less anxiety). I like both options, but mileage varies.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Check out the white angled slopes on the Gibraltar starting with the printed ones just aft of the canopy- new and much desired for achieving a consistent slope along an angle. The curved windshields in trans green are nice, too. The base gun parts are new as well.
  11. M'Kyuun

    BANDAI DX YF-19!!

    M'Kyuun replied to seti88's topic in Toys

    So, after a good hour or so of cussing, placating, pondering, trying, and retrying, I finally persuaded my VF-19 Advance back into fighter mode. She's a tricky little beast what with all the multiple detentes and such for its various modes, plus armor accommodation. The armor kept falling off throughout, and so I just left it off except for the grey intermeshing pads on the shoulders, which is fine, as the naked 19 is one of Kawamori's most beautiful fighter designs. Throughout, despite my growing frustrations with getting things to line up, I couldn't help but marvel at some of the beautiful engineering in this toy. All the folding bits in the chest to allow it all to compress and allow the inner thighs to maintain a semblance of solidarity (except from the rear) is brilliant, as are the folding panels on the legs. It's been so long since I handled it that I'd forgotten just how clever the various solutions are throughout. That said, although the transformation can be a bit trying at first, the feeling of fulfillment is worth all that blood and sweat, and she makes for one gorgeous fighter. I implore any new owners of the YF-19 to take the time to do the transformation and really gain an appreciation for how much thought and engineering prowess is showcased in this toy; as much as I love my Arcadia YF-19, Bandai has them beat leaps and bounds in the engineering dept. More than ever, I hope they're developing a YF-21.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Yes, they have excellent customer service. I've had missing or damaged parts in sets before, and they've replaced them no questions asked. Go to www.LEGO.com , scroll to the bottom of the page, and in the lower left corner under Customer Service, select Replacement Parts. Be prepared with the missing part's part number, which can be found in the parts list in the instruction manuals. Once submitted, it'll take 1-2 weeks for it to show up. Prob less than two weeks since you're on the east coast. Anyway, sorry to hear you're missing a part. There's nothing so frustrating, esp when building a set with a lot of cool factor or anticipation behind it. I just got my copy a couple weeks ago, and it's a really fun build, and a beautiful display piece. I'm still bummed that it's articulation is so limited, but was pleasantly surprised to see a lineup in the instructions of concept models, and every one of them attempted leg articulation, often at the cost of the overall aesthetics. In the end, they favored a more screen accurate look at the expense of articulation. I understand the tradeoff, but for an articulated mecha fan like me, it's bittersweet. Anyway, contact LEGO, get your part(s), and finish building your Voltron! Edit: Almost forgot, LEGO has the Overwatch license, and the first wave of sets have been revealed: https://www.thebrickfan.com/ I've never played the game, but as a space and mecha fan, I'm liking a lot of what this line is offering thus far. Some interesting and long-wished-for new parts showing up in some of these sets as well. I still wish LEGO would produce their own space themes, but since Star Wars and now Overwatch have spacy stuff, it evermore seems a forgone conclusion. Still a little hope on the horizon with the second LEGO Movie, which looks to be quite spacy.
  13. M'Kyuun

    BANDAI DX YF-19!!

    M'Kyuun replied to seti88's topic in Toys

    Thanks Bolt! Ah, been so long I forgot that those parts push in to allow rotation of the hips. Now that I'm re-educated, I'll have to put my Advance through its paces tomorrow. It's been awhile since I had it in fighter mode, and I've been itching to transform it. In my failed attempt this morning, I was still appreciating some of the design and engineering touches Bandai incorporated into this toy; IMO, one of the coolest Macross toys I own. I have high hopes there's a YF-21 in the works. I think some MP-36ish compressing leg mechanism would serve well to give it chunky legs and a thin profile in fighter. Edit: Also wanted to thank HardlyNever for his helpful comments, as well. If I forgot anyone else, my sincerest apologies, and my thanks.
  14. M'Kyuun

    BANDAI DX YF-19!!

    M'Kyuun replied to seti88's topic in Toys

    The VF-4 has one of my favorite battroid modes; it's unique. I like it so much I built fully transformable version of it from LEGO, taking a few liberties with shoulder articulation and coloration. If you squint, you can see it in my avatar. I can't blame anyone for favoring its fighter mode, however, as it's a thing of beauty.
  15. M'Kyuun

    BANDAI DX YF-19!!

    M'Kyuun replied to seti88's topic in Toys

    I keep all my valks in battroid all the time for display. I favor battroid, with fighter a close second; I'm generally not too crazy about GERWALK, the SV-51 being the exception in my collection. The great thing about these toys is that they are transformable, so if I get the urge, I can pull it out of the case, put it in fighter for awhile, test its aerodynamic efficiency about the house, and then restore it back to battroid once more for display. I envy the folks with both the cash flow and, more importantly, space, to buy multiples for simultaneous display options. So, I got one of those itches to transform my VF-19 Advance today, and I ran into the same issue you had with your YF-19- the legs will not pull out to allow them to be swung down into fighter position. I pulled on them pretty hard, not hard enough to break anything, but certainly harder than it should take to extend them out from the body. I had your unfortunate incident in mind the whole time. I read something about loosening screws, but looking at my Advance, I didn't see any screws in the crotch area that would allow for loosening/disassembly to allow for better man-handling or even possible lubrication. Any clarification would be helpful. Incidentally, I only transformed my Advance once or twice when I first got it upon initial release, and it has remained in battroid ever since. I'm curious if there's some kind of corrosion that causes it to become 'sticky'. I don't recall having this issue when I first got it.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I doubt it; those struts can take some punishment, and I didn't see him blow any tires. If he'd blown a strut, there'd be a sizeable puddle of hydraulic fluid and the plane would list slightly. Honestly, that was a relatively soft landing, considering the situation. If anything, there may have been some excessive torsion upon touchdown which would potentially cause deformation of the scissors. Given how smoothly he continued to taxi, I'm guessing it held together alright.
  17. M'Kyuun
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/downtime/tui-pilot-absolutely-nails-sideways-landing-in-40-knot-crosswinds-at-bristol-airport/vi-BBOlQLn?ocid=spartanntp In twenty years of working in aviation, I've never seen a landing like this. The Air Force tends to be very, very safety conscious, so winds of this velocity most likely would have meant a diversion to another location. Watching the vid, I get the sense that this is routine at Bristol. Pretty amazing.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Masterpiece is their apology for all the craptastic toys they put out in the 80's; apology accepted, mostly. I remember getting Prowl, my first Transformer toy, with both the cartoon and the lovely boxart fueling my anticipation. The bubble burst pretty quickly once I started messing with him, and the trend continued for most of the other TF toys I owned. I still think Soundwave was one of the better toys, though, and the cassettes are still awesome.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Nice haul, Mike. Other than the cassettes and Jetfire, these old toys aren't really for me, but I get it from a nostalgia angle. Bringing things up to the present, there was a display of the War for Cybertron: Siege figures at NYCC this past weekend and pics are popping up on the various TF sites. I pulled the link from TFW2005: http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/10/04/nycc-2018-transformers-siege-figures-high-res-on-display-images-373346 Hasbro's milking G1 hard in this line, at least in their bot modes. Alt modes seem to be all over the place. They're supposed to have a war-torn look, but to my eyes, many of them look like they've been held next to a candle just a little too long. Starscream is interesting, as they went with a tetra-jet alt; however, he's basically a bot under a plane, as both his arms and legs can be seen hanging under the jet. Not much of a Transformer when 50% of the bot isn't involved. They finally made a Reflector, consisting of three deluxe figs; from the pics I've seen, they weren't displayed in their alt mode, but the bot modes are based off the toon look. Pretty stoked for these guys; been waiting a long time. I just hope they actually turn into a camera and not some weird space vehicle. Soundwave can dispense pseudo-cassettes from his chest, although they look smaller and less complex than the G1 cassettes. Soundwave turns into some sort of space barge. I'm generally not a fan of Cybertronian alts, as more often than not, they look like robots doing yoga, or the alts are so far removed from anything relatable that the transformation is moot. I see a bit of both in this line, not to mention lazy transformations where bits of the bot stick out like a sore thumb rather than being integrated into the transformation. Megatron's feet, for example- ok tank mode with big robot feet sticking up from the back. That's fine for the preschool line, but at $20, I think the Generations line should be more refined than that regardless of the aesthetic. I love the G1 look of the bots in Siege, but most of the alt modes are pretty off-putting to me. It makes me hope there'll be a follow-up line that puts them back on Earth.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Not feeling that at all- too busy. I wish they'd rerelease the VE-1; it's really the only version of the VF-1 I'd spend money on at this point. Maybe the VT-1, too. Other than the SV-51 they've got in the works, I'd be happy to see them take a crack at the YF-21, with lessons learned from the Yamato. Like everyone else, I'd like to see them get a license to do a VF-5000, or a VF-9, or VF-14, or a Variable Glaug. It'd be nice to have some variety outside of Plus, 7, and the VF-1 ad nauseum.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, I saw that on one of the how-to vids for swapping the shoulders around. Intriguing, I must confess. For what it's worth, the arms on mine tab in fine in bot mode; I only get resistance when I have the hood all snapped together. Ah well, as long as I can get him into car mode, I'm happy. Glad the fix worked for you, though. Nice to have options.
  22. M'Kyuun
    At this point, I think the enlarged eyes are a forgone conclusion. It's a little jarring, but I'm thinking I'll get used to them watching the film; it'll be part of her character, and it's a nod to her anime roots. I can live with it. I'm hoping it doesn't end up being another GiTS; while I thought it was ok, it just wasn't that engrossing. I'm hoping that the writing and plot offer more in Alita.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Hmm. Got mine yesterday, and the arms don't tab in very well on mine, either. I'm a bit resistant, as it seems like quite an oversight for all of them to have the shoulders misassembled. My POTP Brawn came with two left thigh pieces, but I figure that's a human error one-off; however, to have a whole batch of a toy be misassembled seems fishy. My own two cents is that it is assembled correctly, but that tolerances weren't just so in the correct configuration, as with any number of TF figs over the years, and it just happens that inverting them has the unintentional bonus of providing the necessary clearance for the arms to tab. My theory, anyway. I'm curious to see if Has/Tak will release any kind of acknowledgement of the issue. In the meantime, although my copy's arms don't want to stay tabbed very well, I can still get it into car mode with a minimal of fuss, so for now, his shoulders will remain as they came. Another issue I have with mine is that the car fender on the right shoulder does not like to stay tabbed-in in his Punch mode. I wish they'd made those shoulder ball pegs just a bit longer, as Punch's shoulder mobility is severely hindered with the fenders tabbed; untabbing them allows them to swing about, so the issue became a serendipitous boon to achieving greater arm movement. I also wish they'd found a way to give him actual toes in either bot mode, as his feet look a little odd as-is. Overall, despite the tabbing issues and other minor nitpicks, he's a pretty decent update to the original (which I had as a kid), and one I've been awaiting for a long time. I love the car mode they created for him (the original was a Pontiac Fiero), and both bot modes are close enough to the source to be recognizable while still imparting today's level of detail and poseability. Is he worth $25 as a deluxe? not really, but given that this is a character that seldom gets updates, I was willing to bite the bullet, likewise for POTP Grotusque, whose original I also had as a kid. Nostalgia is a powerful influence. Just the same, I'm not a fan of exclusives, as they're just a way of taking advantage of the fandom.
  24. M'Kyuun
    I've gained a heightened respect for Unique Toys; Challenger is an incredible feat of engineering. I vehemently dislike the TLK Prime design; in bot mode it has no semblance whatsoever to a Transformer- remove the red and blue and those stupid flames, give it a new paint job, maybe a new head, and you could drop it into any sci-fi show as a general mech and few would be the wiser. So, to take a design that had nothing indicative of transformation and have it come out as well as it did in truck mode is an impressive feat. There are so many moving parts in this figure, and the alignments, some curved, are remarkable for their precision. Really just a stellar job; I think Challenger is a good handle for it, not just for the folks who buy it, but also for the design team who figured it all out. Always enjoy Wotafa's reviews; his enthusiasm is infectious, and although I don't know what he's saying, he still gives a clear review with a well done transformation.
  25. M'Kyuun
    JBO- did your Punch/CP have an issue with the arms tabbing? In anticipation of receiving mine (it's late, just got an update this morning), I've been reading up on him over on TFW and on Seibertron, and apparently the ball pegs that form the shoulder joints were installed upside down thus preventing the arms from tabbing in properly. https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/how-to-fix-your-transformers-prime-wars-trilogy-punch-counterpunch/42039/ Anyway, nice to talk about something other than Bumblebee.
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