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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    And therein lies the problem; if they're going to reboot the series, then divorce it entirely from the Bayverse, and start fresh. I enjoyed those scenes, as the G1 depictions are pretty spot on to how I wish they should have been done from the start. At least they're recognizable- in the Bayverse, nobody knew who was who until they slapped a name on them, except perhaps Prime. I'm ready for a hard reboot. I don't even care if they use the G1 designs, per se, but just the prevailing look of Transformers over the last 30+ years of toys, toons, and comics, Bayverse excluded. New Transformer-esque designs wrapped in a good story with good characters (many of them the eponymous sentient mechanized beings we all love) would be a nice refreshment of the movie franchise. I think Knight is paving the way, but he's still tied to the Bayverse, and as long as that remains, I don't think he or any other director will have a chance to make the Transformers films us old guys would like to see, or that they want to make. The light I see, though, is that Knight, and perhaps other directors to come, have a connection to Transformers from childhood, so I have hope that the spirit of the old show will come through, even if we're still seeing the Bayformer design aesthetic.
  2. M'Kyuun

    BANDAI DX YF-19!!

    M'Kyuun replied to seti88's topic in Toys

    I don't own the new YF, but I have the Advance, and although I haven't handled it in quite some time, I do know that when I first got it, I transformed it full through all three modes without incident, and I've kept it in battroid ever since (fave mode). That said, I don't recall feeling any trepidation towards transforming that particular toy, certainly not as much as the SV-262 (the wing joints are a major PITA on that bird). Agree that the heels on the Advance look better. The only real gripe I had about the Advance was the bulging panel under the chest- still don't understand why they didn't give it a nice gentle upwards curve. I see they fixed that for the YF- good. Heartfelt sympathies to Onnasake; something like this simply shouldn't happen with a $300 toy. I realize he used a bit of force, but that tells me things with the toy probably weren't toleranced well- I've certainly run into it, but this is why every toy should be put through a couple transformation cycles as part of the QC process before being packaged, so the owner doesn't end up with an unbalanced, overly-tight high end toy. Just my two cents. Coming from an aircraft maintenance background, we would never repair something without testing it before signing it off, but I think, as a point of pride and craftsmanship, the same should be true for these expensive mechanical toys.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Well, I'm starting to see a glimmer of hope for this movie, both for the revelation of these new images, and by Travis Knight's talking about his love of Transformers from childhood. So, there's a chance he'll convey that with the Transformer characters in this film. Bay had no ties to Transformers when they hired him; Hasbro gave him a crash course in the lore for some familiarity, but basically let him do his own thing with it, which is why it was Transformers in name only and bore no resemblance to what we grew up with, knew, and loved about the franchise. I'm hoping Knight will change that. Still, if Knight was going to bring his movie closer to the G1 look and feel, why keep the Bay version of Bee's head? Give him a proper face and let him talk. I don't think anyone likes mute Bee, or the speaking through the radio BS they've been running with all these years. I certainly don't, and to make your title character voiceless when he's in all other ways a technological wonder just makes no logical sense. It's good that Knight is trying to inject some feels into this movie, especially between Bee and the girl, but I hope it comes out more reminiscent of Spike's friendship with Bee in the original show, where they were on equal footing. I hope Bee's more than just a pet in this film. True friendship doesn't seem to be something that Bay understood/understands, as all his characters , human or bot, just seemed to be antagonistic, demeaning, rude, and uncaring towards everybody. Not really the Autobot way.
  4. M'Kyuun
    RIP, Sarge.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Me too...this is a change for the better, at least aesthetically. Hoping they get the personalities down, too, with some decent dialog. Anyway, it's starting to look much closer to what I always wanted in a live action TF film.
  6. M'Kyuun
    There's certainly an antisocial aspect to Leon's character, and he's almost singularly focused on his work, with little attention given to much else. In those respects, his behavior could be likened to that of autism, in general. However, I think the intent was more towards his being the cliched absent-minded professor. All the characters in this show are clichés, really; Leon aside, they all follow typical anime character themes. The absent-minded professor theme has been around for a long time and is pretty universal. The show doesn't break any new ground from the eps I've seen thus far; it's unremarkable, beyond being pretty, mildly enjoyable, with some cool mecha, even if the battles aren't that remarkable either. It feels like the typical 80's half hour advertisement cartoons- lots of cheese, cliched characters, technospeak, and yes, a very Power Rangers-esque baddie. What's missing is the merchandise- where are all the toys and models of the mecha? I'd like to have a few nice toys of these things.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Eva Unit One? You're giving JP way too much credit. Leon & Co are saving a city; Shinji stopped Instrumentality. That sounds so nerdy.
  8. M'Kyuun
    While Bee Movie Bee hasn't grown on me yet, I'll give Takara credit for cramming a lot of stuff into a small space. Seems like there are more moving parts for both articulation and transformation mechanics in the Studio Series compared to the Generations deluxes of late. I guess that justifies the $20 price tag, although I'm increasingly finding the price tag on deluxe figs, and moreso voyagers, to be a bit high for what you get. I wish the engineering was more complex on voyagers instead of less, or at least a improvement in articulation over deluxes, as it should be.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Thanks for the pics, sh9000. Those are the only clear pics I've seen of the JP mecha designs. I wouldn't mind having toys, and I imagine Bandai would be the company that makes them, but as far I know, there are currently no toys or models out there. I imagine they'd sell on their own merits, though, being variable mecha designed by Kawamori. His writing leaves somewhat to be desired at times, but the guy can sure design a cool transforming mech.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Cute vid. As much as I'm pretty much over Bayformery stuff, the MP version of Bee Movie Bee looks intriguing, much better than the Studio Series. I'm already down for Studio Dropkick when he finally releases. Still hate the Bayformer Bee face, though; I wish they'd changed it, given him a faceplate or at least a mouth like the rest of them.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Looked up uguu; annoying. Like the running joke in Juushinki with Chloe being addressed by pet names rather than Chloe and her objections, as well as the military dude who the sniper always addresses by a mildly pejorative term. It's funny the first couple times, but wears thin over the series. As for the fanservice in Juushinki Pandora, I noticed it, but it only crops up here and there, and the princess/mayor is always showing cleavage in her outfit, so after awhile I stopped noticing. Even the nudity is kept pretty tame (usually females viewed taking a shower from the side or 3/4 view behind- no full frontal IIRC). I'm guessing this is aimed at the newly pubescent crowd in Japan, so nothing too revealing. The show's a little boring to me. The characters really aren't that interesting (they're anime archetypes, nothing that stands out), the story is a mish-mash of meta and quantum physics, and the big bad is cheesy and laughable. Honestly, I think I laughed the first time he announced his bad guy name. It's like an 80's James Bond villain. I'm waiting for Roger Moore to show up in a transforming Aston Martin. Kawamori's transforming designs are cool, as always, but they can't save this show from the mediocrity of its story, characters, or dialog.
  12. M'Kyuun
    It's still a far cry from the animated versions, but it's the first real transforming car I've seen that actually has separate legs and can walk. Def a step in the right direction. Note that this real transforming car has more in common with the 80's toys than with the Bayformer designs. Just sayin'.
  13. M'Kyuun

    BANDAI DX YF-19!!

    M'Kyuun replied to seti88's topic in Toys

    I'm passing on this, already having the Advance and the Arcadia 19. As far as the tampo goes, I appreciate it, as Arcadia's was just a little too plain (I mean they didn't even put intake markings on it- pretty much a gimme for all valks), but looking at both my Advance and the new YF-19, Bandai could stand to scale back a little. There's a point where it just becomes gaudy, and they've gone past that point. Too, I wish they'd simplified the intake markings to just a sideways V. Their graphics dept must have been given carte blanche, and they're going all out. Pretty neat how they were able to collapse the arm cannon for transformation. I always figured that'd be one of those add-ons that either gets put on for a battroid display, or stays in the box. Given that Plus was an obvious homage to the real world competition between the YF-22 and the YF-23 at Edwards AFB only a few years prior, I love that Kawamori mirrored that in the setting of Plus, even if it was on another planet. It's still one of my favorite anime. I'm hoping Bandai will follow up with a YF-21 and variants, but yeah, I'm sure it'll be plastered with tampo too. I'm just curious what kind of engineering they'll pull out of their asses to make a better all-around proportioned toy, unlike the old skinny-legged Yamato.
  14. M'Kyuun
    I agree; it still has good presentation overall. The only two things that ever bugged me were the wheel housings on the legs and the slightly too-long arms. But, it's not gappy and has an honest transformation, unlike V3 which is quite gappy, and has a large backpack to contain the panels that comprise his cab shell. V3's strengths are foremost, excellent range of articulation throughout, good proportions with his limbs, hidden back wheels and more cartoon accurate shaping of his lower legs. I just can't get past the need for shellforming his truck mode. Moreover, I don't like how the fuel tanks look, as well as the kibbly nature of his cab mode. I definitely like MP-10's truck mode better. They could have re-engineered his legs to hide the wheels and maybe addressed his arms somehow, and kept the rest of him the same and I would have been happy. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing reviews of V3, as Takara is doing some impressive engineering with some of these latest figures, and I find that aspect appealing, even if I'm not completely taken with the final product.
  15. M'Kyuun

    MΔ - VF-9

    M'Kyuun replied to Xigfrid's topic in The Workshop!

    Contrary to most, I've never been a fan of GERWALK; however, of all the valks, I find the GERWALK of the VF-9 and the SV-51 both to be really interesting and lovely in their own ways, perhaps because they're both a bit unconventional. I wasn't aware until now that the VF-9's cockpit section could rotate in GERWALK-that's awesome; it'd make for a good recon valk. Anyway, mad kudos to Xigfrid for producing a fully transformable model of one of Kawamori's more challenging designs. Other than Experten, who works at a smaller scale, you're only the second person I'm aware of to produce a fully transformable VF-9 (not sure about HalfEye), and it looks brilliant, so kudos well earned. She's a pretty little bird. Love how the legs collapse and create a smooth line from intake to exhaust- beautifully realized!
  16. M'Kyuun
    Even as a long time LEGO fan (I'm seven years older than the minifig, which just celebrated its 40th birthday), I'm astonished by that life scale Bugatti. Just building a static model is impressive, more so in Technic, but to make it a functional driving car using only LEGO elements to do it is a monumental engineering accomplishment. I do have to wonder, though, if it's not at least supported by a steel spaceframe, like many other large LEGO models. The tires and rims were supplied by Bugatti, I believe. The powertrain is what I'm really curious about- I hope they show pics, as that has to be an extraordinarily complex system of electric motors and gears to afford the functionality on display and maintain integrity. It's a seemingly impossible challenge achieved brilliantly.
  17. M'Kyuun
    Looks cool; I prefer FPS styled games, although 3P is also fun (the Uncharted and the rebooted Tomb Raider games are excellent examples). I hope what is shown is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg so far as what sci-fi subject matter is delved into. It does have a feel close to GiTS, which is a good thing, as well as Deus Ex, which I also enjoy. Keeping an eye out for this game.
  18. M'Kyuun
    I'm a big fan of Chubbybots' mech builds, and his take on Gypsy Avenger is pretty sweet. He submitted it to LEGO Ideas. https://ideas.lego.com/projects/e6fe97d6-43dc-48bc-a444-c7653c4b9148
  19. M'Kyuun
    Is there a video somewhere of Kawamori demonstrating his LEGO prototype? I've been searching to no avail. As for Juushinki Pandora itself, it's ok, nothing really groundbreaking. It's an odd mix of metaphysics and quantum physics. As usual, though, the mecha designs are interesting.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Recently finished some planned improvements to my Classic Space Konig Monster. I thought it'd be neat to take a group shot with my other Konig toys. Hope you like.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Hasbro gets no love from me, either, as the only SW related merch I buy is LEGO. Curious how JJ's going to handle Ep 9, as Johnson all but shot down all of JJ's setups from Force Awakens. I wouldn't want to be the writer/director to follow The Last Jedi. Kinda makes me wish they'd just let JJ do the whole trilogy, as it seems he had a vision, and it would have been a uniform transition throughout. Like him or not, he respects the franchise, maybe a little overly, but TLJ was a jarring film that upset the flow from the Force Awakens, at least to me, anyway. I like Force Awakens; even with its warts, it still feels like a decent SW film to me; I just don't feel the same about TLJ. Ep IX is probably going to end up being a salvage op for JJ, trying to circumnavigate a lot of what didn't seem to work in TLJ, not to mention tie some of those unused or explained away threads from TFA back into the new film, Rey's background especially.
  22. M'Kyuun
    I'm not at all familiar with MegaForce; that was around my senior year, and I was busy with school and joining the military, so it may have flown under the radar, so to speak. Looks like the designers were familiar with both American and Soviet hardware of the time- lots of influence there. The huge vehicles are pretty cool. Shame it was cancelled. Makes you wonder why toys like this aren't being made today, maybe with a more sci-fi leaning since military toys just don't seem to be in style anymore. Very few toylines grab my attention these days- aside from larger playsets for Hot Wheels, I rarely see large scale playsets with any kind of a military-esque theme. I love stuff that opens up and deploys other stuff- there's something inherently cool about it, but today's toys rarely reflect it from what I've seen. So glad I grew up in the 80s- it was a really unique time period with a lot of imagination on display in toys, movies, tv, music, etc. Enter the 90's and it all started fading away.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Me too- I miss Saturday cartoons. As for Army Gear, I vaguely remember those toys; I never had any of them, but the cool factor can't be denied. You'd never see toys like this today, at least not in the US, but back in the 80s, guns and military were cool and provided fodder for any number of toys. Interestingly, Galoob also produced the Micro Machines toys, several of which I had. One of the coolest I had was a military tractor-trailer hauling a Cobra helicopter.
  24. M'Kyuun
    That's quite a set of projects: any of the three ships is impressive on any number of levels by itself, but the fleet gives pause to really consider the amount of engineering, detail work, time, and brick that's involved. That's a hefty financial investment, as well. I hope he comes to BrickCon in October; even if he only brings the two smaller ships, it'd still be an impressive display. A friend of mine is working on a custom ship that'll likely be around four feet in length when completed. I've been helping him with some of the structural issues, as it's more in my wheelhouse than his. However, I'm hoping he'll get it completed enough to display in October. He may have to omit the interior to do so, although an interior is planned. This will be his first LEGO convention, so it'll be a cool model for a first time showing.
  25. M'Kyuun
    You sound like you have an inside track. I've read Rowland White's "Into the Black" concerning the development of Columbia, the astronauts involved, her first flight, and certain secret govt ops with which she was tasked. Very interesting book. I'm currently reading "Bringing Columbia Home" by Michael Leinbach, who was intimately involved in the recovery and fault determination after Columbia's disintegration upon reentry, which was due to the damage to tiles and the loss of a reinforced carbon carbon(RCC) structure(s) on Columbia's left leading edge upon liftoff and upon achieving orbit, respectively. It goes without saying, if one is familiar with the heat resistant tiles and their maintenance, even at layman's level, that they posed both the only solution for heat protection and the greatest weakness to the orbiter on every flight. NASA had some close calls, the experience of which made them a bit too nonchalant in Columbia's case. In reality, had the crew done an EVA (the Canada Arm wasn't equipped on STS-107, so an EVA would have been much more difficult to accomplish), there's likely little they could have done to make repairs, and thus would have been aware of their fates upon reentry. Instead, NASA gave them reassurances that there was "absolutely no concern for reentry", believing it to be true without validation. The rest is tragic history. I'm more aware than most, as Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson, USAF, was from my adopted hometown of Spokane, WA, and we have any number of streets, highways, and monuments dedicated to his memory. Anyway, concerning Parker, it's apparent, given the mission at hand, that she's going to need some serious sunblock 3M if she's to survive her mission intact. I'm just curious what that protection entails, especially given the fragility and difficult application of the ceramic or foam tiles used in the Shuttle program.
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