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M'Kyuun

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Everything posted by M'Kyuun

  1. M'Kyuun
    I believe V3's tail-lights are on the heels, although traditionally, they should be on the toes. But, toon accuracy. Not a price retraction; many overseas retailers offer a lower preorder price for a particular period before the release date. As for the backpack, the cab of the truck is formed by folding panels which cover Prime's upper torso so that more detail can be added to the truck mode while maintaining the flat, undetailed toon accurate look of the bot mode. Essentially, he's what we refer to as a shell-former.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Guess the initial rumor was true, then. Wow, just crazy to price it so high, as it puts it out of reach of many a collector, and that's sad. To those who end up getting it, I hope this thing is on a whole other level of ...everything. I'm thinking the KO of this is going to sell like lobster in Maine. I may even have to step into the muddy water of KOs if the design appeals to me after reviews and the KO itself is in a much more realistic price point. For now, though, I'm even more certain that my next MP scaled Prime will be unlicensed.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Concerning Seige, I'm looking for Sideswipe, Hound, Ironhide, Skytread, and perhaps Soundwave, just b/c he has little Cybertronian cassettes. His space barge mode does nothing for me, though. As for Prime and Megs, the bot modes are great for both, and Megs' tank mode is decent, save for the obvious robot feet hanging off the back, but Prime's Cybertronian truck mode leaves somewhat to be desired. I'm pretty sure the line will switch to Earth modes at some point, and hopefully they can pull off as good if not a better looking Prime when they do. I'd be all over those minibots (the vehicle ones) if they had better articulation (how hard would it have been to give them all little ball jointed elbows?), as I've always liked minibots (got a ton of them stashed away somewhere around here from years ago). Anyway, few of the Cybertronian modes appeal to me in this wave, although I think they're knocking the G1 bot modes out of the park, so I'm content to wait for Earth alt versions, cherrypicking the ones that appeal from this line. I do, however, wish they'd produced a nice streamlined tetrajet seeker mold, as that would have been a nice addition to the collection. Alas, it's the typical bot with a plane on its back. A great opportunity to give us a unique figure with a cool complex transformation squandered.
  4. M'Kyuun
    At this time, the price is still a rumor, albeit a realistic one considering two per retailer package. Given the recent pricing trend on larger MP figures, $225ish USD is common and not unexpected. I'll likely not get it, as I'm not a fan of the shellforming aspect, although I'll hold final judgement until I see a review or two. I'm a fan of Takara's engineering, in most cases, so I'm definitely curious to see the transformation, articulation, and other engineering cues brought to bear. Even if I end up going with an unlicensed Prime, I may, for the first time, consider a KO of this figure if the engineering is on point. Changing topics, I'm curious if anyone has seen the Seige figures at retail, as I believe yesterday was the street date. I was at the nearby Wally yesterday morning, and not a single Seige toy to be seen- just some wave 4 PotP deluxes and legends class figs. Gonna have to check Target; they seem to keep TF figures better stocked than anyone in my area.
  5. M'Kyuun
    http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/11/27/rumor-possible-price-and-release-date-of-masterpiece-mp-44-convoy-optimus-prime-version-3-377446 The rumor mill for price and release date for MP-44 Convoy (MP OP V3) appeared on the TF boards. August release at 50000 yen (abt $440 USD). Just rumor at this point, but thought I'd share it anyway.
  6. M'Kyuun
    I recently watched parts one and two of the anime, but I have no connection to the manga, so I'm curious if that's where the arena bit from the trailer is coming. The anime, with good reason, seems a bit dated, and the dialog left a little to be desired (watched the ADV dub) at times. However, the core idea is cool, and perhaps they drew more on the manga roots than the anime. Guess we'll see. If this proves successful, I'd be down with a live-action adaptation of Megazone 23. I recently watched the anime in its entirety for the first time, and I thought it was something that would translate well to a movie or a series. That said, the Garland almost felt like a shoehorned plot device at times, especially in pt 3 where they use Garland simulators for controlling the network, if only to have a transforming mech in there. Overall, I liked the story arc and the changes in Shogo's character in each part, which I think would be interesting to explore in a series. And though I critique it, I love transforming mecha, and I think the Garland is a cool design, so by all means, keep it in there. I'm guessing MZ23 was the inspiration for Alex Proya's Dark City, minus the transforming motorcycle.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Doubt we'll see any such declaration from the sitting president, but yes, it would be good to see us continue manned missions, starting with the moon. I think it's high on NASA's to-do list, as their long-term plans include using it as a staging ground for further-reaching space projects down the line, so some sort of manned facility is desirable. Well deserved Congrats! to the JPL Team and their international partners in making the InSight Lander's journey a successful one. It landed around noon (PST) today, and will take a few weeks of prep before setting its instruments on the surface to begin both seismic and internal soil thermal measurements for a year. Kudos, too, to JPL for a successful test of their twin Mars Cube One (MarCO) Cubesats, which were deployed prior to InSight's touchdown to act as telemetry relays back to Earth. Some really impressive accomplishments by a lot of very smart and dedicated people around the world to further our collective knowledge of space ops and Mars.
  8. M'Kyuun
    IMHO, both TE and MS have put forward respectable figures, both of which appeal to me over the Takara due to straightforward transformation rather than shell-forming. Takara have kinda dug that hole for themselves, insofar as realistic vehicle parts with too much detail are going to have be somehow muted to preserve the overly-plain bot modes to satisfy their toon likenesses. That's not for me. Moving on, I like the truck modes of TE and MS over V3, as well, so it comes down to which third party Optimus looks the most Optimus to my eye, and the Magic Square edges out TE in bot mode, mostly due to the look of the hip skirts. It's a small thing, but how many of us choose one thing over another over a niggle or two? The one point you made in which I will agree completely is that, like the V3 design or not, Takara is going to involve some very complex and interesting engineering in this figure. Looking forward to reviews just to see all those "tricks and whatnot". Always enjoy your showcasing those Iron Factory figures, Kuma. They look like a lot of fun to mess with, and your photos are always top-notch. Cheers!
  9. M'Kyuun
    Thanks, Kuma. Guess hinges are better than sliders (as they look like they telescope). Hope those hinges are tight. Edit: New pics of both Magic Square's and Transform Element's MP scaled Optimus Prime figures are up on TFW2005. For my money, Magic Square's is looking to be my next MP OP toy. There's also a short vid showing off its articulation - pretty impressive looking so far.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Great review, Kuma. I have the regular colored version PO'd, as I've been impressed with the MMC/OM stuff I've bought, and from comparisons with Rouge, who is really the only other good contender for MP Arcee, this seemed a less aggravating choice while still checking the boxes, if you will. One thing I noticed from watching various reviews on this is that the lower calves are jointed; does that play a part in transformation? It didn't look like it to me, but I'm not handling it, either. Just wanted to ask someone in the know. Anyway, this looks like another solid piece from MMC/OM. Some nice engineering brought to bear, especially those hips and legs, which are probably one of the stickier points to Arcee's design without giving her some serious birthing hips in bot mode. Looking forward to getting mine when she releases.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I'm not crazy about the overall aesthetic of the SDF-1, how it looks on the outside as a ship. The concept of its having full blown cities inside of it is just fascinating, especially when one considers that it needs to transform, and all that infrastructure needs to somehow be preserved through that process. The engineer wannabe in me delights in the challenges presented. So, that element of the Macross was always very cool.
  12. M'Kyuun
    I wish Arcadia would secure licenses to make some of the valks that have never been made in toy form- VF-5000, VF-14, VF-9 to start with. There's untapped potential there, and I'd love some 1/60 toys of these things. However, given the price difference between Bandai and Arcadia, more and more I lean towards Bandai. Before Bandai does anything else, I hope they produce the YF-21. I know Mr. K would like to do the YF-21 too, but it doesn't look too likely now with Bandai encroaching on the Plus license. As for the SDF-1, I'm likely in a minority of one here, but I never cared for the design. I much prefer the Macross Quarter's design from Frontier- much prettier ship IMHO. But, I get why folks like the SDF-1- like Derex 3592 said, the show was named after that ship, and it has remained a component of every successive series thus far, as it should. The design just doesn't really speak to me. The valk designs are what brought me in and keep me coming back.
  13. M'Kyuun
    I saw it a couple weekends ago, and I liked it as well. For those who get motion sickness, this may not be your cup of tea, as there are a couple of spinning scenes where you experience it from inside the craft, and the soundtrack is pretty loud in these scenes to ratchet up the intensity. The one scene takes place in LEO, so there shouldn't have been any sound, but Hollywood. However, the larger scope of the film centers on Armstrong, and takes you through some personal struggles as well as the obstacles he faced on his journey from test pilot to astronaut. Armstrong was an emotionally closed fellow, and Gosling does a good job conveying that aspect of Armstrong's personality. Foy did an excellent job as Janet, Armstrong's first wife, who was with him all through his years at NASA, and who had to be the emotional bedrock for them both and their two children. Tough lady. Anyway, the movie made me want to delve deeper, and I've been reading the eponymous biography upon which the movie was based. There are a lot of pedantic facts and figures that seem a bit extemporaneous, but Armstrong had no interest in his fame or notoriety, and was very quick to point out the contributions of others, and it was his request that many of those facts and figures be included. Think of Armstrong as the anti-Shatner, except he actually went into space. Armstrong was an engineer, as is his biographer, so the book has a tendency to read like a textbook more than a biography at times. I've also picked up Gene Cernan's autobiography, suitably titled, "The Last Man on the Moon". I've only read snippets of his book, but he gives a pretty candid view of what being an astronaut was about, from extra-marital affairs by some of the astronauts, to pooping in zero-G. Of the two books, I think Cernan's will be a far more personable view of the program, showing every side, and providing answers to a lot of questions many of us have about the more intimate details of space travel.
  14. M'Kyuun
    No problem. Not everything is for everyone. As for my own bias, although I like transforming mecha, in Transformers, I 'm not a big fan of the more "super robot" looking designs, like Star Saber or Super Ginrai (or God Ginrai, for that matter), although I must confess to owning Takara's CW Ginrai. So, I go against my bias sometimes. I don't care for the overall Bayverse aesthetic, but I think that Weijiang Blackout is pretty sweet, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention owning probably a hundred or so Bayformer toys released over the years, and I intend to get Studio Series Dropkick once I find it. I suppose I'm fickle like that. I have little to no remorse over the vast majority of my ABS treasure trove, and I can only hope the same for everyone else. What good is a hobby that you no longer take joy in? For us TF fans, and Macross fans as well, there's never been a more fruitful era to collect higher end toys of the characters and designs we like across the spectrum of themes and lines, from G1 to Japanese Transformers to IDW, and so on, and I'm happy for anyone who finally gets that dream toy they've been waiting for. Cheers!
  15. M'Kyuun
    Agree on both points; this is what I wish Studio Series Blackout had been. Granted, Takara are pumping out MPM versions of most of the characters, so I wouldn't rule out a superior MP version just yet. But, for the record, Weijiang knocked it out of the park. As Kuma put it, it's gorgeous. That's great! Seriously though, so as not to offend, I have no familiarity with Star Saber beyond simply knowing it exists, so when those Flame Toy pics were shown, and to be clear, I think FT do a beautiful job on their figures (Drift is just a thing of beauty), the aesthetic screamed Gundam to me and I commented honestly from a position of ignorance as to who was being represented. To those who like Star Saber, I'm glad you're getting a premium figure, and I apologize if my offhand Gundam comparison caused offense. I won't apologize, however, for having a sense of humor and finding Slaginpit's joke pretty darned funny. Here's where we diverge in our opinions; I actually prefer the more modern Gundam designs, especially Barbatos, which is actually a pretty clean design. I've never cared for the RX-78, as it's a little boring to my eye. I'm not sure which Gundam is pictured, but I dig it and all the hardware it's sporting- it just looks cool to me. Classic designs like the F-91, the Delta Plus, the Zeta Gundam, the Methuss, the Sazabi, and many more are still cool to me as well. I like stuff that transforms, so most of the Gundams with a waverider mode strike my fancy. Anyway, we like what we like, and the world is all the more interesting for our differences as much as our similarities. No offense intended to anyone; just sharing my opinion.
  16. M'Kyuun
    https://www.idisplayit.co.uk The price I quoted was wrong; it's 144BP, so closer to $300USD before shipping. Looks like a good product, though. Here's a review: https://brickset.com/article/31089/review-pure-display-case-for-the-millennium-falcon
  17. M'Kyuun
    The writing seems a bit simplistic, judging by the few snippets of dialog, but they're getting closer to the mark so far as the visuals emulating anime/manga. I'm thinking the plot is going to be simple, with lots of tedious explanatory dialog for the uninitiated (kinda like all these shows on History, Travel, Discovery etc where they use ground penetrating radar, and they have to give explanatory exposition every single time- drives me crazy), a weird sappy love story, and lots of goreless violence. Still gonna see it, though.
  18. M'Kyuun
    I was thinking the same thing- it doesn't even look like a Transformer to me, but definitely rocking the Gundam aesthetic. Not my cup of java, but to each his own.
  19. M'Kyuun
    LEGO recently won a court case against Lepin to basically C&D production of all sets based on official LEGO products, so you may or may not be able to get those other Lepin sets now. The suit was won in Chinese court, so the Chinese govt is taking action to prevent knockoffs by Lepin and likely other companies who produce LEGO clones. Anyway, glad the Lepin set went together alright. I've had the LEGO UCS MF since July, but I have no space to build or display it right now, so I'm biding my time. Eventually I'll get to it. There's a British company that makes set-specific display cases, and the one they make for the Falcon is about $200 USD, IIRC. I may have to spring for one once I get the set put together.
  20. M'Kyuun
    PO'd PS-04 Azalea. Still think Rouge has the upper hand aesthetically, but this seems like a better toy, and it still gets a lot right. I'm scratching my head over the telescoping look of the shins; if it was actually part of the transformation, ok, but it's not and they could have been sculpted with a smoother look. Alas, not a dealbreaker, nor is the sparcity of her cockpit, although I think they could have tried just a little harder to clean it up. Unless she just turns out to be a lot of fun to transform, she's going to spend 99% of her time in bot mode anyway, so I'll just stop griping. I also ordered Ater Beta- that car mode is just awesome to my eyes; unlike most of my TFs, he'll probably spend more time in car mode, as I just love the look of it so much.
  21. M'Kyuun
    It's enough when you can put one 1/60 VF-1 next to a MP Seeker, but matching all three color for color is just showing off! Cool pic. They scale pretty closely, which is a little ironic to me, as the VF-1 was inspired by the F-14, which is larger than the F-15, and yet the VF-1 is quite a bit smaller by comparison. I'm guessing the VF-0 is much closer in size to the F-15.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Not many of us get to touch so many lives, or leave such a lasting legacy of creativity and hope. Mr. Lee had the stuff of heroes, and he'll be missed.
  23. M'Kyuun
    "I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission, and I want to help you." "Stop, Dave." "Will you stop, Dave?" "Stop, Dave" "I'm afraid." Definitely one of the best and most iconic voice acting jobs in cinematic history. RIP, Mr. Rain.
  24. M'Kyuun
    That Wei Jiang version has a lot more going on than the old deluxe, and probably still more than the upcoming Studio Series, as nice as it looks. I'm not into Bayformers so much anymore, but I will say that this is one of the more interesting and unique designs to come out of the Movieverse. It's some cool engineering to get such a large and wide bot out of a narrow vehicle. I dig all the panel origami to form his shoulder armor.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Oh lordy, I'm trying to ignore that right out of existence! But, yeah, you're right. So, to clarify, I want something totally divorced from what's come before, but still retains enough of the classic look of Transformers to be recognized as such (and no shardy bots!). I don't mind if they change the look, as I enjoyed Animated very much, but keep it aimed for the 10 and up crowd. Did I cover all the bases?
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