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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Well, MMV- I have Bike, Eagle, Battle, Blackbird, and Concrete, and none of them are floppy per se (by that I mean if you pick them up by a limb, the other limbs literally flop about, there's so little friction). Mine can all hold a pose over months of time without drooping, although I pose mine fairly conservatively. Blackbird is my favorite and gets the most handling, and his joints are holding up well. I will say, however, that Concrete is the least solid in bot mode due to how he transforms- some care is required, and occasional readjustment. He's my least favorite of the bunch, anyway (I got him b/c I thought his transformation was neat), so I don't handle him all that often. But, I haven't really had any issues getting him to hold a pose, so his joints are up to task. ---just to test the theory, I just held each of mine by one arm and rotated it all around; every one of them maintained its pose no matter its orientation. Anyway Kuma, I'm sorry to hear that your figures are floppy; it's especially disconcerting, as I just had Shuttle and Missile Tank shipped, and will likely have them at the end of the week. I've been looking forward to both, especially Shuttle, and hope he and Missile Tank aren't floppy, too. If so, it'll be my first bad experience with them. As for the blast elements included with DX Bike Robo, I do believe that those are specific to Cy-Kill. Cool gesture to include those and the Cy-Kill faces.
  2. M'Kyuun
    I always liked that scene from Sherman Dam in the original 3-parter. To me there was always something endearing in all the automotive related puns and metaphors that peppered many of the Autobots' language throughout the first season. In the Sherman Dam scene, Hound cautions Spike about almost flooding his engine after nearly drowning trying to save Hound following a tussle with Rumble on the riverbed. Love it. As for the Ocular Max cassettes, I say keep 'em coming. Given the level of engineering brought to bear thus far, I'd like to see what they do with the combiner cassettes, but I also want Ramhorn, Steeljaw, and the dino cassettes, too (all of them, including the Japanese only releases, which also combined). They're like Pokeman- gotta catch them all!
  3. M'Kyuun
    And I thought Jaguar was awesome; the poseability of these guys is incredible even by today's standards. I've got their Rumble (the purple one, of course) on order, along with the condors. Can't wait to get them. As I've mentioned in the past, the cassette bots have been among my favorites within all of the Transformers pantheon, and I hope they continue to make the rest of them. The only drawback to them is that, because of the scale of their cassette modes, they don't fit in MP Soundwave, or any bot for that matter. If they make a Soundwave that these will fit in, that'd be interesting. However, I'm happy just having the cassettes with their highly articulated bot modes. Thanks for sharing the pics- definitely whets the appetite for more.
  4. M'Kyuun
    Nice update to their small version, which is itself a nice figure except for the head mold, which hinders head movement. The DX fixes that, and the inclusion of Cy-Kill faces is nice for the Western folks who knew these guys as Gobots. I hope they do Blackbird with improved aircraft proportions over their small version, and with a full set of retractable landing gear.
  5. M'Kyuun
    I watched it aired live on the Science Channel, and it was an exciting launch. However, landing the support rockets simultaneously has to go down as one of the most impressive accomplishments in history; I can't imagine how awesome it must have been to see it in person. It's a wonderful and necessary update to the technologies we were employing during the Shuttle era, which relied primarily on 60's and 70's tech, with some 80's tech thrown in. So it's nice to see science fiction becoming reality once again. I wish Mr. Musk and his team every success, as it's looking more and more like Man's future in space exploration is solidifying with their efforts. At the same time, NASA's role seems diminished in this new race to become spacefarers, and that's bittersweet. They used to be at the forefront, synonymous with amazing achievements and technologies brought to bear in space and aeronautics, and other than renting out their launch pad, just don't seem to have the involvement as they once did, or at least not the media exposure. Unfortunately, space telescopes, interstellar satellites, and Mars rovers just don't capture the attention like they once did, despite being enormous technological achievements, not to mention a little endeavor called the ISS. It's a bit sad that the public at large doesn't get excited about these things anymore; I like watching the NASA Channel and Science Channel when they have scientists who are involved with these programs come on and talk about the information being gleaned- to see their excitement over new discoveries is cool. I wish I had the mental wherewithal to be a part of it, but I don't; I can only enjoy it vicariously, and keep hoping that smart driven people will continue the journey.
  6. M'Kyuun
    I have the original Millennium Falcon Transformer, which also split into Han and Chewie, and it was neat for what it was, but it lacked the sharp detail of this new mold. Great improvement to the Falcon's exterior, and Chewie's bot mode looks awesome overall. Han's is so-so; it doesn't really scream Han to me. I think the original did a better job with Han. Anyway, cool update that looks like it employs some nifty transformation. Han looks a little kibbly next to Chewie, though. Guess it can't be helped. Edit: Suddenly, Sunstreaker's looking pretty svelte. Baby got back...pack. Some in-hand pics of the PotP wave 2 deluxes popped up on Seibertron.com. https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/in-hand-images-of-power-of-the-primes-sludge-snarl-rippersnapper-moonracer-and-blackwing/40628/ Still looking forward to completing the dinos, as well as picking up Rippersnapper and Moonracer, even if she is channeling Quasimodo a bit there.
  7. M'Kyuun
    I wish they'd do a VE-1 Elint Seeker- that'd be cool. Congrats on your limited edition. Fun little toys.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Looks interesting; I'll definitely be checking this out. I'm thinking it'll be a little grittier than Supergirl, since they're much looser with language on SyFy. Glad they're telling this story and not rehashing Kal-El's adventures for the umpteenth time.
  9. M'Kyuun
    I was thirteen when Transformers came on the scene in '84. I was just blown away by the concept of real world vehicles becoming these 'good' looking robots (they had decent proportions and weren't all wonky) watching the promos leading up to the show. It was a life-changing moment; transforming mecha has become my single greatest interest ever since, and that was actually fueled much earlier by G-Force's mecha, esp the centipede mech which could disassemble and reassemble. When the promos ran, I thought Prime was a combination of his cab and trailer; I was a little disappointed to find out he wasn't- but then there was Motormaster, who was cool in concept, not so much the toy. A couple of the third parties have done a decent job on him, though. Anyway, I guess being older, I generally wanted a little more maturity in my shows, and I've always felt, and still feel, that the first season, especially the introductory three-episodes, had a maturity and gravitas to the writing and plotting that just wasn't seen in too many cartoons at the time. It lost that from second season onward, as the writers were given carte blanche to write whatever just to keep the show going and advertise those toys. So I pretty much stopped watching Transformers with any regularity, and there are likely still episodes I've never seen, and many I did but don't remember b/c they were so corny. From time to time, Gobots would be on, and I'd watch it for as long as I could take it. Crasher was cool, so I liked it when she featured, and Coptur, because he was a helicopter and I was fascinated with them at the time. The one element of Gobots that I loved, and preferred over Transformers, was that the transformations were animated to copy the toys, almost exactly. I thought that was awesome- Transformers was so fudged; they may as well have had them do a Tasmanian Devil twirl. Actually, they did in TF:A- just remembered that...too funny. VCR's were a revolution unto themselves- totally changed how you thought about watching tv, and opened up a whole new world of watching movies. We never went to the movies, and my interests were diametrically opposed to my parents', so when we finally got one in my early teens, I loved it. Man, those were the days. We thought we had it good!
  10. M'Kyuun
    Similar circumstances on my end, down to my dad's also being laid off for about a year, although as a factory maintenance worker and a good welder, he still managed to get jobs here and there. I digress. Anyway,I had Coptur and Dive-Dive (a knock-off, actually, that I got for a b-day, and still have sitting on my desk today). My toy interests were split between LEGO, Diablock sets (an Japanese building system that was similar but incompatible with LEGO, but I liked it nonetheless) and Transformers. Of these three, TFs constituted the minority share. By the time I graduated high school and entered the AF, I had about 20 or so Transformers. From as far back as memory serves, I have also loved pretty much anything 'robot', especially if there was transformation involved. The only anime I was familiar with growing up were G-Force (Battle of the Planets, or Gatchaman) and Speed Racer from a very young age (early 70's), then Mighty Orbots, Ulysses 31, Galaxy Rangers, and Pole Position in the 80's. I never saw Voltron; I saw the toys in the ole Sears and JC Penney catalogs, though. But, having no idea what they were, I didn't really develop an interest in it until much later, and then purely b/c they were cool mecha. Thinking back, I believe Robotech toys were in those catalogs, too, but again, I never saw it growing up or I would most definitely have been hooked. Alas, as a kid my only association for the VF-1 was Jetfire, but I remember very clearly seeing cheap knock-off toys of the VF-1 everywhere (still have one from the Dollar Store somewhere.) I still remember seeing Jetfire on the shelf at Fisher's Big Wheel (Mike might recognize this store), a dept store we had in PA, and sadly leaving it there b/c I couldn't afford it. I later found out some neighborhood kids had Jetfire, so I got to play around with him briefly during a visit- bittersweet memory, that. They were rough on their stuff, so it probably didn't last beyond a year or so. My only brush with G1 Megatron to date was in HS, as I was giving a ride to someone in Band, and there was a school play practice happening that day. As it happens, they needed a gun prop, and someone had supplied them with- Megatron! So, I managed to get my eager grubbies on it and transform it through a full cycle before reluctantly handing it back. As for Gobots, I remember in the beginning not being too impressed with them, but by the second or third year they were out, they were looking better and better with more complex transformations. But finances being limited, I stuck to building blocks and TFs, as well as the odd toy here and there. I became the proud owner of a transforming set of binoculars we won at an auction; many years later, I learned that it was a Diaclone . Pretty cool. I still have it somewhere. So, back to topic, since I didn't have many TFs or Gobots as a kid, I'm really pleased that Action Toys picked up the MR license, even in its limited form, as these were some neat toys that have been begging for updates for a long time. I have Bike, Eagle, Concrete, Tank, and Blackbird so far, with Shuttle and Missile Tank in my pile at TFSource, and I hope they'll continue on with as many characters as they can under the Revenge of Kronos title. For those with fond Gobots memories, I hope Action Toys will find a way to get a broader license, as there are a lot of figures I'd personally love to have updates for, especially all the aircraft.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I came to the third party dino scene late in the game. I was aware of the combiners, and although I thought that was cool that they made them combine, ultimately that's not what I was after, as there was a lot of license taken with them, and they weren't MP scaled. Once I committed to getting some MP Dinos, getting Sludge was my goal, since he was the only G1 Dinobot I owned. Well, Stomp was unavailable at the time, but Sever was, and he looked good-really good- in the promo pics, so he was my first, and that kickstarted me on the FT Dinos. I remember FT had released Scoria, and all the 'potato' talk; I didn't pay it a great deal of attention then, but when it came time to finalize my Dinobot team, Slag was the missing piece, and so I compared Scoria, who was available, to pics of the then upcoming Perfect Fusion Cesium. Cesium won by a landslide- just a lot of improvements overall. I never really gave Giga a fair shake, so now that these reviews are being posted, I'm looking forward to them. Between FT and Giga, there's a lot to love whichever way you go. Looking forward to your surprise review, Mike. Mentioning issues, of all the FT dinos, Soar is really the only one that I wish had had some additional engineering to try and integrate the arms more into the ptero body. I think Has/Tak did a better job with their PotP version in this regard. It just seems to me they could have been 'absorbed' somehow, at least partially, at a nice angle to give his body a nice inverted triangular look. As he is, he's very boxy in dino mode, but his bot mode is pure . When I bought him, there were no blue painted versions to be had at any of the standard netailers, so I ebay-ed him from a Chinese seller for a really decent price. Glad I did. That blue really stands out against all of his red painted compatriots, and being a deep metallic blue, looks lovely. I still get happy thinking about these figures- five dreams come true in spectacular fashion.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Totally agree. And to that end, I wonder how much further toy tech can go with this sort of toy. I'd love to see engineering and technology continue to progress, so in twenty years, today's best Transformers will look simple and antiquated, much as our 80's and 90's toys look to us now. The one thing I do hope will remain is the need to manually transform them, as it's the hands-on puzzle aspect of these figures that has given them their charm and unique place among toys. To have that feature fully automated at some point would greatly diminish the allure and enjoyment of them, IMHO. Edit: So after passing on PotP Jazz several times, I came across him once again at Target, and just said 'F' it. While he's still CWish, esp the legs, I like what they did with his upper torso, and how the panels for his head to slide through for transformation fold up to fill in the area under his chest. I was going to hold out for a possible repaint, perhaps Crasher?, but there's no guarantee of any repaint, so I got him out of fear of missing out on a potentially fun figure. I'm glad I did, b/c he is a fun figure. Both modes look great to me- really like his car mode. Overall deco and paint are pretty good, except they didn't paint his tail lights. They applied red paint to his bumper, but not there. The other paint omission is the vent area that's part of his flip out foot piece that fills in the gap between his shin vents and his toe- it should be silver, too, but it's just the white plastic of his foot showing through. I've given thought to busting out my model paints and rectifying a couple of these oversights, but my care factor is off-scale low, so I likely won't bother. However, at face value, for a mass retail TF, I think he's a fun figure with a pleasing alt mode, as well as a heroic-looking and very poseable bot mode that does a good homage of G1 Jazz without being a clone. The bonus is that he is also a combiner.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Damn, Kuma; you sell it, man. Beautiful pic of a beautiful figure.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Great review, Mike. Giga did a splendid job on their Slag, and I concur that, although his dino head is a little too big, I think it works and compliments the whole. It's also a really nice touch to include the translucent plastic coverings, although I think it would benefit the look if those eye stickers were applied to the head cover, as the painted eyes are a little difficult to see. That, or just make corresponding cutouts so the eyes show through. I'm nitpicking. Overall, the shaping looks lovely and he's unmistakably Slag, moreso than Cesium, who looks like he's had a few too many cesium salami sandwiches. I also like Giga's shaping for the head, as they add a nice hump over the eyes; Cesium shares this feature, albeit with a subtler curve. This is one of those instances where license is preferred over direct copy, as G1 Slag's head looks like a ski slope with horns. Out of curiosity, I looked at PotP Slag- he has the ski slope, too. Despite my owning and enjoying Cesium, perusing your review, I think Giga did a better job overall. Still Cesium is a solid effort, and a solid toy that doesn't stray too far from the G1 toy aesthetics, especially the legs. (I like Grassor's legs better, btw. Absolute G1 accuracy isn't always the best.) I concur with JBO, Grassor's near perfect. The allocation of the tail doesn't bother me in the least; it's better than the odd backpack solution of the G1 toy. Both Grassor and Cesium have the tail halves tucked in the aft area of the lower legs, which is a creative, and more visually appealing, solution to me than turning it into a backpack, or having tail parts hanging off the legs near the knees. Heck, even PotP Slag tucks the tail halves behind the legs, albeit not as neatly, but they do function as movable heels to help stability and posing. So, it's officially a canon solution. As Mike said, depending on your preferences, I don't think you'll go wrong with either Cesium or Grassor (I can't weigh in on Scoria, as I've never handled a copy. I know I preferred Cesium for his more G1 accurate, less potato-esque, dino mode and for how the bot mode cleans up better). Fanstoys wowed me with their Snarl, and from there I was all in to get the rest of their dinos. Can't recommend them enough. That said, if you're not attached to any particular company and you just want a nice Slag, my recommendation would be Grassor. - Giga's decision to make the lower dino jaw rotate into the dino head rather than become the "bib" in bot mode is interesting, and allowed for some cool shaping on his chest in bot mode. At least that's how it looks to me, and I find it an interesting departure from convention.
  15. M'Kyuun
    So, after making my 'not over-engineered' statement, I realized I'd never transformed him back into car mode after my initial transformation to bot. I had, however, done the switchover with his car mode. So, I transformed him back to car mode last night, and found myself getting a little befuddled when trying to figure out the proper configuration for those little chrome bits behind the chrome intakes. I think I got it (should have checked instructions, but Ha! instructions.) So I'll amend my earlier smug comment to say, maybe not over-engineered, as I like how the bot itself transforms and those arms are absolutely brilliant, but some of the small rotating bits on the backpack can be challenging to determine their proper positions depending on the mode. I was also a little bummed when I had to remove his hidden calf gun to transform him (I'd hoped that'd be an integrated feature, but apparently not). As for the legs, I dig how Takara got all the various panels to rotate and align as they do. One of my side mirrors hung up and fell off while I was transforming him, and I had a bit of a challenge getting it reinstalled to where it would allow the window to rotate properly, but once I got it, it all went together well. There are a lot of moving parts on this figure, and I can understand the argument to simplify some of the transformation by eliminating some of those panels. I don't mind the panels; I get perturbed when there are clearance issues with all those panels, when things get hung up, won't align, etc, that suck the joy out of the process, and thus out of the toy. The doors and the backpack have some issues along these lines, but not to the point of absolute frustration; I think if I transform Sunstreaker more often, much like MP Megatron, the process will become smoother. The issue for me is that I don't transform my figures very often; I display my figs in bot mode, and rarely handle them , so my familiarity wanes over time. Both Megatron and Sunstreaker are fairly complex figures, so, in my case, with my goldfish memory impeding progress with every step, I need to handle them more frequently. But I think both, even with all their many moving bits, are really amazing designs from an engineering perspective, and, with a practiced hand, they come together wonderfully in both modes.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I have most of the current assortment; still need to get Shuttle and Missile Tank. I concur that $40+ for such small figures is a bit expensive; I wish they'd been closer to $20. But, these are niche, and no-one else is doing them, so I guess I'm glad they're not more expensive than they are. And for the price, they're not bad little figures. Mine all have nice paint apps, generally have tight joints, good fit and finish, and the engineering is pretty solid, with some ingenious transformations. So, I'm happy with them. The Revenge of Chronos cast limitation is probably the biggest negative, as it means a number of characters we knew from Gobots won't get made, at least under current license. My hope is that AT will eventually get the broader MR license and produce the rest of the characters. As for MR vs Gobot looks, I prefer the stoic MR faces, although I'll admit that the Gobot faces would have more character, as can be seen with DX Bike Robo. I don't have much association with Gobots, as I didn't watch the cartoon too much, so my memories are vague. Even as a kid, it seemed corny, at least cornier than Transformers. Well, Transformers first season, anyway. Crasher would be cool though. I'm surprised how slowly AT is churning these guys out, especially since they've had protos for some of them for several years now- still waiting for Supercar (Turbo) and Blue Jet (Fitor).
  17. M'Kyuun
    I would so, so love it if they made the SD VF-4 from Kawamori's Macross Design Works; I don't know how they'd justify it as Robotech, but it'd still be cool. Note of caution, if you Google SD VF-4 make sure little kids aren't around, as a bunch of porn images came up in the image search. But no image of the SD VF-4. The internet is weird.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Shoulda just paid the $60 to get the Packs- worth it, IMHO. But, check out the base figure and see if it appeals; if you like chibi figures, I think you'll dig it. Too, if you like it and decide to get the Packs, I think they sell them separately. Anyway, hope you like it. I'm liking my VF-1J.
  19. M'Kyuun
    I don't think Sunstreaker was overengineered, per se. If you mean the backpack, it was requisite to getting the Lamborghini license to make him look like a normal Countach. Takara had to design that additional feature in, which actually adds to the play value of the toy, with the concession of having a voluminous backpack. If you mean the rest of the figure, his top half is similar to Wheeljack, and his lower section just involves a bit of folding. On the complexity scale, I didn't think he was that complicated. Alas, everyone's different. regardless, I hope you enjoy him- as an action figure, I think Takara did a superlative job- that he can transform into a real world car is icing on the cake. I imagine just about everyone wants MP Jazz. He was a great character with an iconic look, and definitely a must for a proper G1 MP collection. I hope they're negotiating hard w/ Porsche. I imagine it'll happen sooner or later; I've abstained from any third party options (Toy World's Coolsville had my interest) in anticipation of an official release. Til then, I enjoy my Generations Reveal the Shield Jazz as the best official version of the character thus released, even though his alt mode is a fudge.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Space, or lack therof, in most cases. The age old conundrum of collectors. Between Transformers, Macross, and lots of LEGO, I'm a chronic sufferer of no-space syndrome. On topic, it's heresy, but I've never really been a big fan of the Macross' design, but that chibi version appeals to me. Cool that they chibbed it out and still made it transform. Not sure if 'chibbed' is a word, but I'm going with it.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Good info- thanks, JVMacross. I noticed that the JM was much 'eggier' than KC's, which adheres closer to the Valkyrie's actual shape. But, like you said, Kawamori himself designed it, and it doesn't get more canon than that. Cool.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Nice display, SuperDimensionalDave. The SDF-1 Is pretty adorable all chibified. So, reading through the comments, I suppose it was inevitable that KC's VF-1 would be compared to the Joke Machines. Googled them, and was pleasantly surprised by how well done those old toys actually were. They surpass the KC in terms of GERWALK poseability, achieving a pretty accurate GERWALK while keeping the intakes in their proper place. And landing gear- no small feat on a toy this size, what with all its compressed dimensions. I like the overall shaping of the KC version better, esp that nice rounded nose (I think they got carried away when they made the little protuberances where the legs mount in battroid on the JKs. They just don't look nice.), and I like how KC made the chest piece swivel over to cover the aft section of the canopy, which is accurate and a nice touch. It's floppy without the cheater plate installed, though- could have been done better, IMO. After looking through various images of the Joke machines in comparison to the KC SD VF-1, the Joke machine definitely did a number of things better articulation wise and just looks like a more durable and fun toy. the KC makes a really nice display piece, but it's a bit floppy in places without the extra chest and neck plates installed. Moreover, it's limited in its articulation and, at least on mine, a proper GERWALK can't be achieved without untabbing the intakes . So, yeah, I kinda agree that they could have just updated the look of the old JMs and those would have been some great toys. Maybe Bandai will do that at some point.
  23. M'Kyuun
    I need no convincing, even with the names Harmony Gold and Robotech on the box. I like SD planes, and to find a VF-1 done this well is great, regardless of its associations. The price is nice, too. But, like most transforming toys, there's something satisfying in transitioning from mode to mode, and I think they did a really good job with the engineering overall. It's not perfect- I wish the feet had more fore-aft movement, b/c the articulation is done well enough that this thing could assume some pretty dynamic poses if not for its limitations. I already mentioned how tight the kneecaps are, and it would have been wonderful had they found a way to squeeze some retractable gear in there. But it still does some cool stuff for a super deformed transformable toy. I'm really pleased with it, and I have to admit feeling a little giddy the first time I strapped on the packs and mounted it on the stand. It fits perfectly, and just looks great.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Stampeed Valkyrie, for a guy who thinks they're "ugly", you're amassing a nice little collection of these things.
  25. M'Kyuun
    That Rolls Royce engine is cool. I've never seen that before, so thanks for posting. Structurally, that had to be one of the most challenging models for the LEGO Master Model Builders to figure out, since there's a lot of weight, not to mention motion. Those inlet fan blades are beautiful just on their own. As for the Ideas submission, pretty neat. However, to do it any justice as a real set, I think LEGO would have to maintain the scale to preserve the functionality, and that would make it expensive. Moreover, I think its appeal would be limited. But, as you say, it is an educational piece, a cool model by its own merit, so maybe they'll surprise us if it reaches 10,000 votes.
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