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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    First time seeing it, too, but this is a good approach, IMHO. There's still a little bit of a fragmented look to the bots, but at least they look more coherent and both less shard-y and less skeletal. I figure much like insects, reptiles, and other critters with scales or some form of carapace, there needs to be separation between the exterior plating to allow for movement, otherwise they'd be statues. Moreover, it's a better, more realistic solution than having the metal bend and stretch like skin. Anyway, my G1 nostalgia overfloweth watching this; I have to admit, I'd be down to see this expanded into a full length film. I'd also be interested to see this approach taken to the reboot regardless of whether any of the G1 characters were even in it; marry this aesthetic to a good Transformers-focused story with well-written dialog, a good plot, Autobots waging their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons, and I'd buy a ticket to see that.
  2. M'Kyuun
    That Nerdist take is spot on- that trailer's more exciting than the actual movie. After this movie, I'm not sure how they can up the ante, unless they make bigger Jaegers, or turn them into combiners, which would be kinda cool.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Watched it tonight; gotta agree with its being a fun movie. The plot was decent, the kids were ok, and there were a number of 'Evangelion' moments in there that my wife and I noticed (and liked). Evangelion is especially fresh to me, as just yesterday I started watching the original with a friend who's never seen it before. Anyway, they raised the level of agility in the Jaegers compared to the first movie, which makes the action more dynamic. Having younger pilots works well to that end, and overall, it made it a fun movie to watch. They also built off of many of the established ideas from the first without lingering or over-explaining them, keeping the momentum of the movie going. I hate it when movies feel the need to expound on stuff at length by virtue of awkward dialog or some form of expository demonstration rather than explaining it naturally as the story unfolds. They did a good job of reintroducing the tech from the first, as well as new ideas, in a way that didn't bog the momentum. It was a good sequel, and I hope there's another, as this about as close as we've gotten to anime-style storytelling with mecha on the big screen, done well.
  4. M'Kyuun
    This is a blast from the past. I remember this, Galaxy Rangers, and Pole Position as being really enjoyable American and Japanese co-produced toons in the mid-80's. The art was par-excellence compared to all the American shows, and all three had catchy opening songs. Gotta say, that package art leaves a bit to be desired, but as long as the DVD quality is good, I'll definitely pick up a copy.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, it homages the blocky original, but unlike the Constructicons, who were all voyager scale, these guys all appear to have full range of articulation in their individual bot modes. I like how they did the elbows for Predaking, rather than having the thighs fully extended- makes him look more solid, even if it limits rotation a bit. Unfortunately, it looks like the animal modes are pretty much going to be bricks- big blocky bricks with oddly proportioned limbs relative to their bodies. Too, the combiner apparatus is rather large and looks a bit awkward on a few of the bots. All things considered, however, I think it's a decent update, at least as far as articulation goes, while still keeping the 80's look. I know that might not appeal to everyone, though.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Unless they do an Elint, I doubt I'll bite on their 1/72. By all appearances, though, it looks pretty good so far, but I think I'd wait for the inevitable reviews before committing. I'm not into collecting character figs, but I have to say I think KC did a nice job on their Minmei.
  7. M'Kyuun
    I was surprised to find the Robot Spirits Pacific Rim 2 figures at TRU last weekend, as I generally don't see Japanese toys there ( I generally have to check the Comic Book Store, Barnes & Noble, or other specialty stores to find Japanese and higher end collectible figures). Anyway, looking through the assortment, I was tempted; they were $30 a pop, but all figures were marked down 10 percent, so I would have saved a couple bucks. Alas, I've already way-overspent this month, and I had another armload of LEGO and the Die-cast Voltron set, so I left them on their pegs. They looked nice, though.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Yes. MGA Entertainment brokered a deal to buy all 82 Canadian stores, with the possibility of keeping 200 US stores. Personally, I hope he's successful, learns from the mistakes of the previous ownership, and makes what remains of the franchise into a successful venture. I don't want to see it die, even if our particular store isn't one of the 200 saved. Visited my local TRU yesterday, and what a difference from my last weekend's visit. They're now in full liquidation mode, and at least a good quarter of their LEGO stock was gone. LEGO is not on their list of liquidation sales, is clearly posted as not discounted, and whatever remains of their stock will return to LEGO when the stores finally close. I didn't see the same evidence of mass sales anywhere else, though. I visited the Star Wars isle and then onto Transformers. They still looked like they usually do. I bought the smaller die-cast versions of the Netflix Voltron Lions- not a bad little set, except Voltron can't turn his head, and his wings aren't hinged to allow them to spread behind his back properly. I think they used the product photography from the full sized combining toys on the packaging for these smaller figures- little shady. Still, the lions individually look pretty good, have decent articulation, and they combine to form Voltron, so I'm ok with it. It's my first ever Voltron figure, and I knew when I bought it I wasn't getting the premium set. Anyway, I also picked up some more LEGO for good measure.
  9. M'Kyuun
    There's a crowdfunding effort under way to save TRU, at least in part. https://www.gofundme.com/helpsavetoysrus
  10. M'Kyuun
    That's interesting. I don't recall there being a leader scaled mold of Blackout, as I probably would have bought it back when it was first released. Then again, looking at it now, there are things about it that don't appeal, like the fugly hands sans wrist joints, that give pause. So I may have skipped it and forgotten about it ; my memory is terrible anyway, so forgetting something that didn't grab my attention in the first place is par for the course. Alas, while the overall mold looks decent to me, I think I'll pass on the Studio and wait for a MP version. And if no MP version is forthcoming, it's money saved for something else, like more G1 MPs. Priorities! Good ol' Hasbro recycling molds. BUT, if it makes them money that goes towards Generations, then I say resell the crap out of those things. Edit: So pics of Studio Brawl showed up on Seibertron.com, and I tried to match it to a previous mold without success. Within the Movie mainline, they made deluxe and leader class versions, but my understanding is that this fig is closer to voyager. New mold? Moreover, the configuration of his treads is different from standard; they generally sit on his shoulders horizontally facing front to back, rather than parallel to the body. I thought his treads might actually roll looking at the pic, but then I noticed that the tread sections on his legs break up, so I guess not. Too bad, as rolling treads would have significantly bumped up my interest, and just generally made him a better toy. Anyway, I kinda dig this look for him. I like his deluxe version (never owned the leader class despite being mighty tempted. Brawl is one of the few Bayverse designs that appeals to me). To me, esp in this paint scheme, the Studio toy looks more like a variable military mecha concept than many of the more shard-heavy Bayformer designs. Anyway, this may end up being my guilty pleasure from this line. Slightly off-topic, but my ruminations on this figure made me think of future toys, and the hope that it'll become something of a standard to equip all treaded vehicles with rolling treads- it may take some new engineering ideas, but that's the kind of progress I hope to see in the next twenty to thirty years. Edit to the edit: Out of curiosity, I pulled up some images of the CG model for Brawl, and the Studio figure is correct in its placement of the treaded section vertically within the torso, which makes him the only mainline Movieverse Brawl toy to get it right, that I'm aware of anyway. And, after reading the accompanying article, it is indeed a new mold.
  11. M'Kyuun
    One last 'hurrah!' before it's officially, and may I add thankfully, dead. That's my thinking about it, anyway. The same applies to the Bayformers only just recently receiving the MP treatment. Trying to squeeze one last drop of grape juice from a raisin. I'm a bit confused, though, as there's a leader class Blackout that's been talked about, and then the Studio series, which I'm guessing is a smaller scale. IDK. If anybody has clarity on this, I'd appreciate some elucidation. Edit: As to your initial question whether this is the previous leader class toy, after looking at a vid for the Hunt for the Decepticons leader class figure, they're different. That figure had lights and sounds, the landing gear were in a different place in bot mode, there are a few differences between the studio's legs and the leader (the leader is far more detailed- really a lovely figure, TBH). That's what I see comparing the two. I'm sure there are more differences, but these were obvious enough for me to make my conclusion.
  12. M'Kyuun
    While I have little interest in any more Bayformers (jury's still out for Blackout, though), this is the level of engineering that I wish we saw in most of the Voyager, or even Leader class figures. Moreover, I wish Has/Tak were this creative incorporating the arms into the transformation in all their jet TFs instead of just having them hang off the sides as they've been doing. Engineering wise, I gotta admit, I'd enjoy transforming this guy; however, I'm just not that into the aesthetics, and I already own a few other Bayformer Starscream toys- I don't feel the need for any more. Bias aside, they did a nice job with this figure: looks really good in both modes, the articulation is pretty impressive, I really appreciate that the gear can fold, and they created a mildly complex, all-inclusive transformation that looks satisfying rather than frustrating. 'Preciate your sharing the video here, Scyla. Cheers!
  13. M'Kyuun
    Just returned from TRU, and though it was busier than what I'd expect a normal Friday morning to be, it wasn't mobbed, there are no 'store closing' signs, the shelves were well stocked, and when I queried the cashier as to their last day, she indicated she didn't know. Now, they may be told not to give any info as to the final date to patrons, which is kinda understandable to keep the chaos to a minimum. Personally, my own hope is that they'll be part of the potential Canadian TRU buyout and hopefully remain open, even if it's in a limited capacity. Fingers crossed. Managed to snag their last copy of the LEGO Saturn V, which I'm going to squirrel away. I was surprised it was still there, as there were only two copies last weekend, and I expected them to get scooped up through the week, esp given the circumstances. I've been regretting not picking one up all week. Fate is generally a heartless bastard, but today he smiled on me. I hope he smiles on our TRU, too. After my visit, I'm feeling rather melancholy over the eventual loss of TRU, and moreover, for the folks who are losing their jobs/careers due to the closures. It's a very disheartening turn of events.
  14. M'Kyuun
    We had at least three stores here in the Spokane area, that I'm aware of and have visited. My wife and I live about 10 miles from the nearest one, so our visits were occasional, but we liked the vibe of the place. Moreover, it was one of the last bastions of the video rental, esp anime. It was popular amongst the college crowd- nice chill place to study, get a coffee, browse for a book, get some vinyl, buy a cool tee, etc. Just a neat place- similar to Barnes & Noble, but not as stuffy. My wife and I miss it. Borders, too, while we're on the subject. Perhaps it's because I grew up in the 80's before everything was available online (Amazon and Ebay would have been good sci-fi filler to my younger self), but I still enjoy the visceral experience of walking into a store, checking the shelves, hoping for that pleasant thrill when something you want, and even better, some cool new thing unbeknownst to you, is discovered. I have bought things, which I picked up and handled, that I otherwise would have overlooked or ignored based on online browsing. I didn't grow up near a TRU; I was in my early to mid-twenties before venturing into a 'Toys Be We', as I jokingly call it, and was amazed. That initial 'wow' moment has passed, but I still like browsing the stuff I don't collect, as TRU are one of the last places to find all manner of collectible figures and toys- sometimes, I even look at the preschool stuff, as it's amazing how toys for little kids have evolved. I have none of my own, but my friends' kids keep me browsing the younger aged toys when birthdays arise. I'm pretty bummed that the situation has become this dire; I expected TRU would outlive me for future generations of kids. It's extremely disheartening to see all these stores that seemed like solid fixtures falling away one by one into oblivion. It's even moreso when there are guys like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, etc ad nauseum, who have the finances to not only buy the company but a whole team of folks to put it on a profitable road and keep it sustainable for future generations. If I had the money, I wouldn't think twice.
  15. M'Kyuun
    The whole situation makes me sad and a bit annoyed. There are any number of billionaires out there who could easily save this company and hopefully turn it around, and yet it's hard to believe none of them have, not even out of a sense of nostalgia. We lost another retail store in 2016 called Hastings, which was a seller of multimedia, toys, games, collectible figures, as well as the largest comics retailer in the US. They also had a good café. They went through bankruptcy, but the folks at our favorite location remained hopeful right up to the end, as they were one of the best performing stores in our area. Alas, no buyer came forward to rescue them, and now they're gone, leaving a big hole. The same situation seems to be recurring at our TRU, as the associates I've spoken to have seemed optimistic, as again, theirs is a really well performing store (considering they get business from the eastern WA area, northern Idaho, and Canada). At one point, about a month ago, they told us not only are they hanging around, but they were slated to get a makeover. Guess not. It'd be great if they were able to save a select few stores, just to keep the franchise alive. We're losing too many of our American institutions- TRU is an iconic name globally, and it'll leave an unfillable void if it disappears completely. I still enjoy walking into the store, as it remains an experience that none of the other big box dept stores can match, and never will. However, if it comes down to losing our store, I'll snap up what I can in the LEGO dept, esp since they carry a number of themes and sets that no one else outside of LEGO themselves do. They had two copies of the Saturn V last weekend- I should have picked up another one. Gonna miss their selection (maybe not their markups) if they close. Unlike Tangled Thorns, I'll be collecting 'til I fall over dead.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Well said. He was an incredible human being given all his accomplishments, defying ALS for so long, being chief among them. Fortunately for us and future generations, he left a lasting legacy that will keep scientific minds searching and questioning. We were blessed to have him with us for 76 years. Godspeed, Dr. Hawking.
  17. M'Kyuun
    https://www.thebrickfan.com/ Scroll down a little. For brevity's sake, a Reddit user has posted that the upcoming Voltron Ideas set will retail for 179.99 Euro, approx. 199.99 USD. No info is given in the article as to the identity of the poster or his source, so grain of salt. However, if the info proves valid, it'll be the most expensive Ideas set, and likely the largest as well. I'm more excited for this than getting a copy of the UCS Falcon, and this is the first news we've had since the announcement. True or not, I thought I'd share it.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Even ghosts can dream. Nice shot, Kuma. Pertaining to just about every combiner that's come out, I wish the feet were scaled at least to the width of the bots forming the legs, or the toe, anyway. The wide legs and skinny feet always look awkward to me. That said, if the leg bots had some kind of side skirts that unfolded on either side of the foot, or at least on the outside, it would present a nicer aesthetic than the tacked-on look most of them have. I'll give Perfect Effect a nod here- I bought their CW Bruticus add-on set, and the feet are nearly the same width as the legs, which looks so much better to me than all these thin feet under wide legs. Not sure if it bugs anyone else, but it bugs me.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Concerning Spin Vulture's weapon/windshield combo, since you actually own the figure, it's cool that you enjoy that aspect. I approach it with a bias towards perfect transformation, and having the alt mode be complete without add-ons. Personal preference, although, given the hundreds of TFs I own, including MP Cheetor, whose tail becomes his weapon, I'm quite certain I've violated my own bias on occasions too numerous to count over the last 30+ years of collecting these things. At the end of the day, it is what it is, and if I was closer to buying these guys, honestly, it wouldn't even register as a concern. At this kind of pricepoint, overall quality becomes the driving concern. Anyway, the final result is a really nice looking Bruticus. Looking at my Takara Legends (CW) version, IF manages to clean up their limbs by better integrating the bots' arms- even at legends scale, it's pretty svelte. I really like the color palette here, too- catches the eye. Their Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are sweet little figs in their own right. Pretty cool. Thanks, Kuma. Oh, and on the topic of MP Slags, I have Cesium, and proportionally, for a salad shooting dino, he's a bit obese. Cesium's got back, with a tail slapped on, so they didn't quite get the G1 toy's proportion, which transitions into tail almost immediately after the back legs, which looks good to my eye. Even the PotP Slag pulls off a better looking tail, although it's not a nice round transition like the G1, but a step-down. Anyway, I think what hurts both of FT's efforts are that, in profile, they have too much ass hanging out behind the legs before the tail. Concerning Grassor, despite a little bit of ass behind the legs, Giga's mold provides a more appealing slope to the body as well as a very natural transition into the tail section. Grassor, overall, enjoys a very nicely proportionate body with suitably beefy looking legs. Of the 3P Slags, Giga wins for their Triceratops mode, IMO. In bot mode, Cesium has nice big clompy feet, perfectly apropos to the character, if a bit limiting due to the very limited toe articulation. Par for the course with these guys, really. Perfect Fusion incorporated a nice mechanism where the entire shoulder section can rotate into positions favoring the dino mode or the bot mode. It's pretty tight, but it works effectively. Another feature they tried to work in is a slightly extending neck joint for dino mode. There's so little travel afforded by it, though, that it really offers no appreciable head movement, and is subsequently moot. Shame, really; if they'd given it perhaps another cm or so of extension, it may have allowed for some appreciable head articulation. Wasn't to be, though. I'd caution any new owners to take care the first time extending the head; it's mounted on a mushroom joint, and I actually pulled the head off trying to extend the damned thing. Lemme tell ya, it was a royal PITA trying to get that head back on, as there's very little room to work, and the joint wants to recede back into the body cavity , so just pressing it back on doesn't work. I had to use a screwdriver to keep the joint extended, and then I put tape on the end of some twine and used that as a wedge to keep the halves of the mushroom joint retainer open enough to allow me to press the head back on. No fun at all. One other 'issue' I have with him is trying to snap his curved backplate into place in dino mode-really tough to get it to snap into place, and it usually separates from its double hinge before any success is gained.Always a 'grrrr' moment. Size-wise, in bot mode, Cesium seems just a bit too tall to me in relation to his fellow dinos, otherwise, I think he captures the look really well. He has nice tight joints, almost all ratchets, with decent articulation (knees and elbows both about 90 degrees, no double hinges), and a bit of heft due to his size and the use of die cast in both his bot and dino toes, as well as the plate around his bot head and his horns). He's definitely a huge step up from Scoria, but Grassor makes for the better looking Triceratops. Looking once again at Grassor, I'm trying to nail down what about it is so appealing, and I think there's almost an SD element to it- small body with large head and legs, plus the body shaping is just so. It just looks great. Cesium looks like he swallowed Swoop, and needs some Milk of Magnesia.
  20. M'Kyuun
    In the process of watching your review for this guy. Another nice entry from IF. If I have a critique, it's that the windshield separates to form his weapon, which means if you lose or misplace that weapon, then his vehicle mode remains incomplete for perpetuity, unless you get a replacement. However, in terms of styling, color, and just overall look of all three of his modes (IF's figures make better looking limbs than Has/Tak's, IMO), this looks great. It doesn't hurt that Bruticus is my favorite of the Combiners, and a legends scale version done this well just really piques my interest. 'Preciate the photos, Kuma. I'm looking forward to the final combined review. Let's see what kinda crazy poses you can pull off with him. As for Machine Robo, overall, I've liked what Action Toys have done with the line. Along with Shuttle, I recently got Missile Tank, and he's a pretty impressive figure overall: homages the original toy very well, but with an innovative transformation that mirrors aspects of the original, while employing some updated techniques ( including a full 360 rotatable missile launcher, as well as the standard up and down), judicious use of die-cast, and some great poseability. Some may dock it due to the lack of little wheels within the faux treads, as he doesn't roll- he just slides across a smooth surface. It doesn't bother me, but YMMV. IMHO, he's one of the best designs in the line. My copy had nice tight joints (I remember Kuma's mentioning his Shuttle was floppy), but with toys with so many moving parts and close tolerances like these, I think they're often the luck of the draw. All it takes is one slightly crooked pin installation to give you a bad experience, and I've had instances of this nature with both official and 3P toys. Unfortunately, these things aren't cheap, so an issue with one figure can often color one's perspective towards a whole line. While they're not flawless, I've had pretty good luck with my MR figures thus far, enough to keep throwing money at them. I'm hoping Supercar (Turbo) will eventually get released, as we've seen his protos. Harrier is the guy I want, though- hope he's the next new design teased.
  21. M'Kyuun
    That's a really clean transformation on Boosterspear (where do these 3P guys come up with these names?). They integrated the arms nicely. The closest analog I have to this is Shuttle Robo, who's kibble-tastic. But yeah, as usual Iron Factory does wonders at the Legends scale.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Sticker shock is kinda the norm for third party- stuff's expensive, so I'm choosy about what I buy. I've always liked the cassettes, so these are appealing enough for me to drop some cash. MMC did a good job on their Rumble/Frenzy mold; I recommend. I can't say the same for their take on the condors; the quality of my copies varies between them, with Buzzsaw (Buzzard) being tighter and less floppy than their Laserbeak (Volture). Had they sold them only in singles and I had gotten just Volture as my representative of the mold, I couldn't recommend it in good conscience. Even with the better quality, Buzzard is still looser than you'd want at the neck connection. If you haven't put in an order, I'd recommend passing on them.
  23. M'Kyuun
    I don't know who the top three figures are (purple guy, yellow guy, and the wolf guy), but Chun-Li and Blanka are immediately recognizable. LEGO can ceratianly be a harsh taskmaster when approximating the look of people (I have no talent for it), but for what you want to do with them, those work well. Moko is a builder I'm familiar with who excels at this sort of thing- just an incredibly talented builder who builds across all spectrum of things, but does an amazing job with figures, and getting their details just so.
  24. M'Kyuun
    If they made Omega Supreme in the current scale, that is, scaled to MP-10, it would still be a sizeable toy, estimating 25- 30 inches tall, going by the Sunbow TF scale chart. Not sure how accurate that is, either, but it is an official guide for the animators.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Somewhere in there, someone needs to make an Animated Omega Supreme. Sadly, it doesn't seem like we'll get an official version. I was hoping for that for the tenth anniversary, but we got absolutely nothing. Anyway, that's the only version of OS that interests me- never really cared for any of the other versions. As for rebooting the MP line afresh, I can't even imagine the vitriol and madness that would ensue. I'd be disappointed, though, as I'd like to have a few more of the original characters in the present scale. I'd also like a new seeker mold. Maketoys Meteor shames the old MP- it's overdue. Actually, I think the present scale is good- any smaller and they're pretty much at the same scale as the retail toys, which might limit the engineering. I think MP-01 scale is, well, huge; I don't have room for that, let alone the Japanese who live in shoebox sized apartments. Current scale is perfect, IMHO. Sky Lynx was always an odd TF to me. The Shuttle section was cool, but the big blue box wasn't much of an alt mode. However, at least you got a two-fer with that figure. I was really disappointed that the TR version combined them into one- why? Had they kept the dual bot concept, I'd have gotten him, blue box mode notwithstanding. It'd be interesting if Giga took some initiative and applied a little license to perhaps make the Lynx half actually become something other than just a blue box- a triple changer of sorts just to make him more interesting.
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