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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Great photos of some great looking figures, Kuma. Gotta say though, I still don't get the whole pelvic thrust meme that has become prevalent with a lot of TF figures- it looks odd to me, personally. Ah well, to each his own. Some serious talent working for these third parties; if someone had told me there'd be toys on par, or sometimes better, than official on the market 15, 20 years ago, I wouldn't have believed it, just because of the logistics, know-how, and tech involved in producing complex toys of this nature. We live in fortunate times as collectors and as fans. Still get giddy when I look at my Fanstoys Phoenix and Dinobots- awesomeness. For those like me who only get to experience these figures through photography and reviews, thanks Kuma, Mike, and all you other folks who contribute. Much appreciated.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Well that's just Prime! 'Tis the season for miracles, as I found PotP Slash, Windcharger, Beachcomber, and Shrapnel at my local Wally today in one of those island setups with many bins for small toys. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement, as I liken finding new TFs there to finding an oasis in the Atacama. Anyway, just wanted to pass it on to folks who may be looking for these figs. Good luck!
  3. M'Kyuun
    I've been checking around, and so far all I've found was one copy of PotP Jazz at one Target, which I passed on. I'm after Windcharger, Beachcomber, and the dinos. If they do a Gobots Crasher-esque redeco of Jazz, though, I'll pick it up. RTS Jazz is still the toy to beat among Generations figs. Anyway, pulled up Hasbroshop and they have them all listed; however, when adding to cart, a message stating inadequate supply pops up for every one of them. Must be taking supply and demand lessons from LEGO (concerning the UCS Falcon). I've also been keeping an eye on TRU's online shop, as they have them listed, but without the ability to actually buy them yet. But you can view details.
  4. M'Kyuun
    I'll give it a chance; they've got a good cast for the main characters. As for the anime inspired eyes, it drives home the point that she's a robot, so the uncanny valley look of her is suitable. If the story, dialog, and overall feel of the film is well done (cleanliness notwithstanding; it should be a little grimier, IMHO), then I think the eyes won't be such a big deal, just part of who she is. It won't hurt, either, if there are other robots with similar eyes to establish a norm for that particular feature. Got a feeling that the gore is going to be seriously toned down, and that most of her battles will be with other robots, so the chunks of enemies will have a decidedly artificial look to them. It already feels sanitized. Then again, Robert Rodriguez is no stranger to blood and gore, so....
  5. M'Kyuun
    I have zero association with the comics, although I've bought a number of figures that I know originated as IDW designs (by virtue of this forum, mostly). I've never required any kind of back story to like a particular figure; I'm visual- if it looks cool, I'll buy it. I was never crazy about the Bayformer aesthetic, but some of the figs that came out, esp within the time frame of the first two movies, showcased a lot of ingenuity and engineering prowess on the part of the designers, and that was a huge part of the intrigue of those toys. Sometimes, they were too complex, admittedly. As I've oft stated, IMHO, the only positive that came out of the Bay movies was that it really pushed Takara to innovate beyond just about anything they'd done previously, and that's a plus for us.
  6. M'Kyuun
    I just got my Grinder earlier this year; surprised that it's already in short supply. Just got Cesium a couple months ago after a bit of a wait, and I'm glad I went with him instead of Scoria. Cesium is definitely a better G1 Slag homage, and arguably a better overall figure, than Scoria. Hopefully FT will continue rereleasing some of these highly sought figures; my experience with FT has been overwhelmingly positive thus far with my Dinobot collection and Phoenix (Skyfire). These are dream toys come true for me. That PM Prime looks pretty amazing, esp with that BFG. I have the Takara version from TR/Legends, and even with Takara's improvements over the Hasbro release, it doesn't hold a candle to this figure. I should add that Ginrai and Powermasters don't even interest me that much, but with PMP/Ginrai, the whole all-in-one transformation, as well as Takara's changes , differentiated it enough from Ultra Magnus to get it. However, the fact that it wasn't truly a Powermaster, with the little transforming snap-on engine dude, was not lost on me. They did it right on this guy, and gave him better proportions, and certainly better legs and feet, than Has/Tak. Pretty cool.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Those alt builds are pretty neat. Good on you for finding sealed CS sets at decent prices; these days, most folks selling LEGO are in the know about its rising value and demand some pretty outrageous sums for these old sets. Keep on building!
  8. M'Kyuun
    I like his Mustang mode- his bot mode is so-so. not really a stand-out design to me. There were a number of Bayformer figures, some that weren't even featured in the movies, at least as Transformers, that I thought were brilliant designs. Even as a scout class, Breacher still stands out to me as a great example of how a small figure can still have the complexity of a deluxe and in both modes be an all around excellent figure.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Got a point there. But, I'd be happy with just an improved Grimlock designed to work with the remaining official figures for combination. In other news, my wish is being granted, sort of. http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/12/05/transformers-movie-series-leader-blackout-revealed-354841 This looks ok, but I think I'll hold out for a MP version, as the feet don't look quite right, nor the hands. Honestly though, the Bay designs interest me so little anymore that I'm not sure I'd bite if they did make it.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Good luck reacquiring Sovereign, Kuma. Concerning Contact Shot, I'm generally of the same opinion as Mike regarding Cybertronian alt modes. However, I've always liked Pointblank's. Skimming the review, I think Maketoys did a great job, and I just dig the look of this guy in both modes. Thanks for the review, Mike.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I've been out twice looking for these things in my area, to no avail. I was hoping for that stand-alone endcap at Target, but no. Over the last four or five years, Spokane absolutely sucks for getting Transformers contemporarily with the rest of the country, and I have to wonder why. If we were a backwater town with one road in and out I could rationalize it, but we're the second largest city in Washington. It frustrates me. Anyway, I've watched vids of Slag and Swoop, and I think Has/Tak did alright, other than making them deluxes. I know, they combine, and that's fine; moreso, if the secondary gimmick doesn't compromise the main gimmick of transforming. From what I've seen, Grimlock is really the only casualty in the team, since they opted for an odd transformation of his legs to better suit the combiner gimmick. How they could look at that tail section and think 'yeah!', I don't know. After 30+ years of designing these things, I'd have thought they could pull off a decent looking Grimlock and still make the combiner thing work- guess not. Still gonna get them all, since this may be the last time for another 30 years before we get the whole Dinobot team again in the main line. It'd be kinda cool if a third party made a better Grimlock that still combined- thinking out loud. Big yep to your first statement, sadly. As for Slag, personally, I think the back legs took the hit; the forelegs look right to me, and the back legs look a little gimpy, just too small. They could have been made a little beefier to match the front without hampering the transformation or the gestalt. Go figure.
  12. M'Kyuun
    6950 Mobile Rocket Transport, a set I've wanted since its release in 1982. It's in excellent condition showing little wear, esp the canopies and the various printed parts including minifigs. For $70, a great deal. 6980 Galaxy Commander, which released in 1983. I've only recently developed an interest in this set, and given its very well-kept condition, I couldn't pass it up. Again, all printed parts are immaculate, the white parts look new and gleamy, and the canopies show little wear. The only mark against it was one of the yellow astronauts had a broken hand, easily replaceable. For $125, another good deal. So, my math was off in the above post- I paid under $200 for these sets, which is an even better deal, esp if you're looking at buying these on Ebay or Bricklink, where you don't really know the true condition until it's in your hands. These were sold by a vendor at a Con, packed in clear Ziplocks, so I could see what I was getting, and I was able to build them and verify the parts in my hotel room in case there were any issues- I totally missed the broken hand, as I was so stoked over the condition of the minifig prints and the general condition of the whole sets. I, too, hope they'll extrapolate the set out to include more than is seen in the review model. As it is, pretty lackluster, esp compared to the competing projects. I like Tron, so an official set of figs and a well designed Light Cycle would be cool, but given that this is the Ideas program, many of the other submissions were far better than this and should have gotten the thumbs up. That's the point of this program, yeah?
  13. M'Kyuun
    I haven't been keeping up with the latest Ideas review; I'm still stoked that Voltron made it from the last. That said, while I dig the Tron Light Cycle, there are a few models in that review that stand out, IMHO, as far better building experiences: the Medieval Watermill, the Red Arrow jet, and the Venetian Houses. The review model for Tron looks static; I hope LEGO make the final version playable, at least. It'd be nice if they expanded the minifigs to include Tron and Quorra, as I'm guessing Sam Flynn comes with the bike. In truth, I wouldn't mind a set from the original movie to go with this.
  14. M'Kyuun
    I understand well; I'm retired Air Force living on my pension; I'll never be anywhere close to rich. I've cut down on my spending and when I spend, since LEGO, Macross, and Transformers (both official and some third party), are all becoming pricier each year. I've learned patience, waiting for markdowns, and just being choosier about what I buy. Know your limits, but don't forget to enjoy a little, either, otherwise, what's the point in making money if all you do is exist on it? Um, LEGO! So, I lucked out the other day at TRU and managed to snag a copy of Cole's Quake Mech from the LEGO Ninjago Movie https://brickset.com/sets/70632-1/Quake-Mech, which was put out erroneously ahead of release date. Fortunately, they let me have it (bonus, it was improperly priced at $20 less than MSRP, and they let me have it at that price, too), and I was pretty pleased with my good fortune. I built the set yesterday, and was pretty impressed with some of the techniques used, esp to create friction for the shoulder joints (they used those large technic turntables with bevel gears at either end of the diameter attached by friction pins. Works great, and could be modified to have more friction by substituting a different pin). There are a few new interesting parts in the set, and the overall mech is pretty impressive once completed ( it 'stands' on a single large tractor tire with a built in stand to allow it to rest upright and the shoulders open to reveal speakers). I wish LEGO would make more mecha sets like this; I also have Kai's red mech from the Movie, and it's pretty neat, too, although I wish they'd added a little more poseability to the legs. These mecha designs are what I wanted Exo-Force to be, and I hope we see more in the future.
  15. M'Kyuun
    Preach!
  16. M'Kyuun
    You might change your mind if you got to see one up close, handle it, or just build it yourself. Sets like these are usually full of interesting techniques and novel parts usage. The journey to the final model is as much fun as the model itself, and, honestly, while it is really expensive, given the number of larger parts throughout the model, the price to parts is reasonable. You're getting a giant box of plastic, and a ring bound catalog of instructions. Considering what a lot of other hobbies cost, LEGO's not too bad, and sets like these not only hold their value, but increase exponentially once they're retired. I should know; I just paid over $200 for two old Classic Space sets in remarkably good condition. No regrets.
  17. M'Kyuun
    +1 for a waiting list. I'M a LEGO VIP member, so I'm eligible to order one now, but they're sold out. In this case, membership holds no privilege. Kinda wish I hadn't procrastinated, as I have close to $350 in my VIP account, so I would have only had to fork $450 plus tax out of pocket. As it goes, I need to spend about $200 or so of that by the end of December or lose it, as money earned is only good for two years in the VIP program. I wish that limit didn't exist- I could keep building it up. Anyway, it's looking more and more like I'm going to have to buy a different set (probably the LEGO Ninjago City set) to keep from losing money, and just build it up again to defray the cost of the Falcon within the timeframe. I hope they extend that production run by at least another year out, for as you guys pointed out, I think LEGO certainly underestimated the demand for this set.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Same here. My wife and I were fans of the show, and were anticipating the next season, and then it was canceled. One of the show's creators blamed Cartoon Network's preference for LEGO Chima, which wasn't very good IMHO. Poor toy sales also played a part, I believe. CT killed Symbionic Titan for lack of toy sales, but the show was great. I don't understand why a good show can't stand on it's own merits if it's getting good ratings, regardless of merchandising tie-ins? Anyway, I wish they'd continued the story in graphic novel form the way the Avatar guys have been doing; at least we could have seen how the overarching story would have played out.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Just saw it, and enjoyed it for what it was. I'm not that critical, and I felt the cast worked, as well as their interactions. The only thing that stood out to me was the very animated look of the 'evil roots'.
  20. M'Kyuun
    I echo your sentiments; not crazy about the Bay designs, but having just looked at still photos of both modes indicates an impressive level of engineering brought to bear. Changing topic, I'm a big fan of the cassette figures, and by extension, the Ocular Max Remix full sized cassette figures by MMC. Their take on Rumble and Frenzy is pretty slick. I could live without the electronic pile drivers, as they only drive up the price, but the figures themselves are really well done. I hope they continue to do all the rest of the cassettes in this fashion.
  21. M'Kyuun
    I used Captured Prey for my copy- I paid $225, but he came plugless. I still think, in hindsight, I'd look for a lower priced option and deal with the plugs. YMMV
  22. M'Kyuun
    +1 I'm thinking it becomes necessary due to the limbs needing to be a certain size for combination that drives that design. The FT looks like a box under a Concorde to me, too, although better integrated. And the bot mode looks like a robot with a fragmented Concorde for a backpack. It's generally the same story for the Blackbird. The Action Toys Machine Robo Blackbird figure is probably the best SR-71 transforming toy I've seen, and it's still far from perfect. But at least it utilizes the fuselage and engines of the plane to become the bot rather than a box or jumble of folded robot hanging obviously from its underside. Kawamori's VF-14 provides another good example of how a folding fuselage design can be used for long slender aircraft, utilizing the various parts of the aircraft itself to become the bot, rather than tacking it up against the bottom of the plane like a giant cargo cube.
  23. M'Kyuun
    PO'd with AmiAmi for 21,340 Yen- too well done to pass up, esp at that price (approx. $187 at current exchange rate). Every figure of Dinobot thus far has been poor, IMHO, so I've never bought any of them. I had hopes that they'd get this one right, but still had reservations. He's not an easy figure to do, but this is pretty impressive. That bot mode looks like it walked out of the toon, and the dino mode looks great, far better than I expected, honestly. As for the pricing, I could have lived without the stand, light up eyes, and spinning tail shield to keep the price lower, but as a collector figure, I guess it's cool for those who dig that sort of thing. Personally, I'm not a fan of putting batteries in my figures in the event I forget about them or they leak. So, I wonder if they're going to do the rest of the main cast? I'm thinking Megatron is a certainty. I wouldn't mind Blackarachnia- that'll test their engineering prowess.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Wow! That's a lotta Prime.
  25. M'Kyuun
    I find your critique, "PITA", both amusing and a bit cryptic. Difficult to transform? Things don't line up? Is there a forthcoming review to elucidate the 'painful' aspect? Regardless, it's purty. I dig it from looks alone. Is this Iron Factory? I remember seeing something like this not too long ago posted among a number of convention pics, I believe still in grayscale. Too lazy to research, but I recall even then, it caught my attention. I'm rather quite content with my Fanstoys Phoenix, but Skyfire, and Jetfire, based toys always interest me, and so therein lies my curiosity.
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