M'Kyuun
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Everything posted by M'Kyuun
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I'm playing some serious catch-up. I completely missed this back when it was new and I regret it greatly, as I'm sure I would've been in for a kit. This is on a shortlist of valks that I wish would get official toys. I just started working on a LEGO version, but the shortcomings of that particular medium along with my own as a designer mean that any final product will still fall short of the finesse, craftsmanship, and beauty of yours, Xigfrid. This is brilliant work.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Just perused the Cybertron Con pics over on TFW2005 and I realized that the pic with the opened shins was the Superion combiner frame and not Silverbolt. I think it's a shame that they resorted to another frame system instead of figuring out a way to just let the bots themselves form the limbs. Perhaps they couldn't stabilize them hence the wobbly instability issues inherent of the Combiner Wars gestalts. Granted, Menasor proved a frame system is effective, but I reiterate my constant mantra that this company has forty years' experience designing these things and finding a solution to solidify a bunch of bots connecting together to form a solid larger bot should not be beyond their capabilities. Looking through the pics, I realized there was very little on display that interested me. I'm curious to see what the new Rescue Bots crossovers look like in toy form, as I thought they did a great job with Chase. I like Animated, but I'm not sure if I'll pick up a copy of Wasp or not. Who am I kidding, I probably will. I don't own a copy of Wasp from the original line so this would fill that void. I still really, really wish they'd made a way to rotate his feet so that the actual front sections of his car formed his toes. As to Wingtail and his tails, I know extremely little about the Sonic Universe as I never played the games and have no interest in the character or associated media. I realize I'm likely in the minority of people my age who grew up with it, but I didn't and so I never formed associations with it. To that end, this is the first time I ever heard of Wingtail or Blue Rooster, so I didn't know what Wingtail looked like until @mikeszekely posted the above pic. Regarding the figure, you can't even squint and imagine that those empennage sections look like fox tails, as it seems they didn't incorporate any plastic origami to attempt to make them look somewhat fox-like. I suppose it's enough that they split in two. For me, it's moot as I don't intend to get the set. I still think Blue Rooster needs a retool/repaint into a Batmobile/Batman mech; I'd be down for that. -
Ms. Lofting left an indelible impression. Baroness is the role that I know best, a voice I heard nearly every weekday afternoon as I did my homework or just chilled in front of my small CRT tv in my room after school. Good memories. RIP.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Amazing how all three Aerialbots are inaccurate misshapen messes in alt modes but this Sonic biplane, though somewhat cartoony, is fairly accurate and smooth betraying little of its transformative nature. It looks great, one of their better plane alts. I'm not into Sonic or I'd consider getting it. However, Wingtail's bot mode suffers the indignity of having the empennage halves just hanging awkwardly off his back. Is it just me, or does the car mode give off a Fisher Price Batmobile vibe? I wish it was Batman instead of Sonic as I'd likely get a copy. Blue Rooster looks like he fared better in bot mode than Wingtail. I'm trying to imagine that fig with a Batman head. š The whole set is just begging for a Batman recolor with Joker replacing Wingtail. If you're reading this Hasbro, repaint potential all over this set with only minor retooling! Someone forgot to close Silverbolt's shin panels, or at least I'm assuming so. -
The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I suppose I should have expected them to skew far more towards the toon than the G1 toys, which actually, blocky bot undercarriages notwithstanding, resembled the real-world aircraft they were meant to represent fairly well, at least from a top-down perspective. Anyway, I've about given up on ever having a set of Aerialbots that I like, especially when companies are chasing the toon look and they can't even be bothered to integrate the robot arms or tuck them in flush to the aircraft's fuselage. That sort of thing almost never happens with ground vehicle alts, but for some reason, they just don't seem to care how much robot sticks out of the alt mode when the alt mode is a plane. Well, on the bright side, with my shelf space dwindling, I can save both money and space by passing on these guys. I don't even think it's a matter of their not understanding, but more an absence of care. Takara has demonstrated said lack of care when it comes to aircraft alt modes since the Diaclone era. The only reason the Diaclone seeker was even close was because Kawamori, an aircraft enthusiast, designed it, and the VF-1 which would be repackaged as Jetfire. That's not to say that every aircraft alt has been a total fail- they seem to do a great job with helicopters, and there are a handful of jetformers that have been decent. On the whole, however, looking at the totality of forty years of these things, most Transformers with jet alt modes are executed poorly to egregiously poorly on the alt mode end. Unfortunately, that same defective approach seems to affect third parties as well, so it's not just Takara. I think the Machine Robo toys had some of the most accurate jet modes in the 80s, and unfortunately, the care died with that line of toys. I'll mention Chinese company Touch Toys as a notable exception: to wit, they stand alone as the only company currently producing transforming jets with remarkably realistic and accurate jet modes. I don't own any of them, but that doesn't prevent my vicarious enjoyment of them via pics and vids. I wish Takara had even a fraction of their investment. -
The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Any faith I had that Has/Tak might actually produce Aerialbots with decent somewhat accurate alt modes has dissipated entirely. The Combiner Wars bots and planes looked better, IMHO. These are just beyond terrible. I will say I think this version of Silverbolt looks better than CW Silverbolt, but that doesn't erase the fact that he's still a giant block of bot under a plane, with none of that long fuselage used to form the robot. SMH. Pretty f'n shitty for a company with 40 years' experience making these things, and yet, not unexpected. And yet still, rather disappointing given the overall quality we've come to expect from the main line of late. I'm equal parts sad and mad. -
š I also took advantage of the sale and scored a Hoopty! I was hoping they'd mark the similarly ludicrously overpriced X-Men Blackbird down too, but not yet. At $85 for 342 pieces, I can't imagine it's flying off shelves when there are so many other more reasonably priced sets with more to offer. I'll bide my time and hope it comes down. If not, I still have the original Blackbird from 2014 which was priced much fairer and came with a small buildable Sentinel. (And a better Magneto, IMHO) After building the Hoopty, a pleasant build, too, I might add, I fail to see what drove the $85 price tag. There are some larger parts in there, but ultimately nothing that would drive the price to double what a set this size would typically command. According to the Bricklink inventory, there were no new molds although there may have been some recolored parts that are new, which LEGO considers new parts. There were no new prints, either, beyond the minifig torsos. It's a headscratcher that only the bean counters at LEGO understand. Anyway, I paid $54 for it before tax, and while still a little overpriced, it was far better than the MSRP. Anyway, it's a unique and lovely looking ship, and I'm glad I have it now.
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NP. Always happy to help! Man, I wish. The best thing they've given us for larger mecha are these relatively new bits which work with , this brand-new Technic joint and . Unfortunately, these joints are still fairly small scale, although they do impart far more strength and stability to medium sized mecha than the old Exo-Force joints could handle. Look no further than Cole's Titan Dragon Mech, set 71821 as a perfect official example of a good scale for use of these joints. This mech is nearly 15" tall and those shoulders are hefty. Both shoulders and hips utilize a combination of the first two parts I posted as well as those Exo-Force ratcheting connectors. Cole's Titan Drago Mech, designed by Niek van Slagmaat (Toothdominoes), a mecha enthusiast and LEGO designer, was an attempt to make the most articulated mech possible as a final set since Niek got a promotion and will no longer be directly designing the Ninjago sets. It's a very impressive set and really shows what LEGO can and should do as a matter of course regarding articulation and complexity. i
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Nah, they made it an expresso bar. LEGO have put nods to alcohol in other sets, and these are aimed at the adult collector, so it wouldn't be totally unexpected. That said, clearly emphasizing the expresso machine dispels the notion of more 'spirited' imbibing. I like that they've included a hat store, something they haven't done before, and the clockmaker's flat is brilliant, and also a first. As usual, design and detail are on point and its anachronistic look contrasts nicely against the usual 1940s-50sish look they tend towards with the line. I love it.
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For mechs this scale, the builder is most likely using these Technic turntables controlled by worm gears to effect rotation. They can handle a far greater load than the smaller purpose-made ratcheting joints which makes them ideal for large scale builds. The UCS AT-AT, for example, uses them in the hips and knees. Very effective. The only drawback is that they are not quickly or easily poseable relying on the manual rotation of a knob or a special tool, like the AT-AT, to effect rotation, a slow process.
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Those models are exemplary. This is mastery of a rare level, which I've only seen in person once by a different builder. I so wish LEGO would hire people who can do mecha at this level and create some sets targeted at adults. I'm sure I could learn a few things by building one of these. That Gundam Aerial looks splendid and would look even moreso on one of my shelves.
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Didn't mean to steal your thunder, Renegadeleader1. I saw this this pop up on the Classic Space group page on FB this morning and got pretty excited. No one had posted it yet, so I went ahead and did so as I know there are other LEGO Space enthusiasts here and I wanted to share the pics (and the excitement!). Must buy for me too, obviously. I'm hoping there are more to come, and that I can afford them should all this tariff talk come to fruition.
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Glad to see this theme continuing. Hoping the rumored Blacktron set will be revealed soon.
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The Tumbler set 76239 from 2021 is larger and more accurate, an excellent set IMHO, and one that was long awaited. It also did a far better job of integrating its stud shooters, placing its gold stud projectiles where they might be mistaken for suspension or steering details. This new set is downsized, which seems to be a trend with LEGO, and while pretty well-executed for its size (compare to MOCs across the internet) leaves a little to be desired when compared to its predecessor. Nonetheless, I like the Tumbler, and this set offers what the original did not: Aaron Eckhart's Two-Face in minifig form for the first time. 76239 gave us Dr. Crane in his Scarecrow mask and Batman came with both a double-sided Bruce Wayne head and a second head printed to resemble his terrifying visage from Scarecrow's fear toxin induced POV. I'm pleasantly surprised that LEGO's releasing another minifig scaled version of the Tumbler, especially after only three years since the last. I had hoped for a set of The Bat back in 2021, but alas, it wasn't forthcoming. Perhaps they'll release a Bat set later in 2025. It's long overdue, as LEGO's only release of his odd flying contraption from Dark Knight Rises was in 2013 and left somewhat to be desired so far as accuracy is concerned. See pic below. I'll admit, though, I found it and the very simplistic tan Tumbler from that set to be fun to mess with, as toys should be.
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Ooh, that's neat.
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Due to release in March. Preorders up on the LEGO Shop. Interesting note: Joe Kyde, who designed LEGO Optimus Prime, designed this set. Compared to the previous excellent Tallneck, this set is geared for younger builders and yet still retains enough detail to make the machines easily recognizable. Looks like fun! Parts hounds and MOC builders like me will likely be excited for this new clip piece. I've been wanting something like this for a very long time, so I'm excited. I POed two copies just to have the second set for its lovely new parts.
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FWIW, I tried a number of finger/thumb configurations and nothing was working. Every time I tried closing the panel with the rotating bit, it would push the hand such that it blocked the panel from closing. I know the hands were tucked in there when I first transformed it, so obviously they fit somehow, but I just wasn't having any luck, so I just removed them both and everything went together as advertised. I didn't plan on keeping it in fighter; I just wanted to go through the exercise of transforming it. I definitely wish they'd done some things differently, as the YF-21 doesn't really have that complicated a setup. Bandai needlessly complicated the backpack with that repositionable grey panel, the blue chunk of aircraft spine that needs to tuck through, the lack of natural stops or soft locking points for the shelf/intakes, and of course the need for an external brace to bear the weight of all that backpack in lieu of good engineering. I sound salty, and perhaps I am a little--disappointed more so. However, I do like the look of both modes, but especially battroid. I just never liked the look of Yamato's battroid with those skinny legs, so, despite its numerous warts, I'm satisfied with how the DX looks and the fact that it's stable. That said, I'd still love to see, in light of Bandai's release, what Arcadia would do with a new take. Given their demonstrable passion for Macross, and the lessons learned from the 1/60 and now Bandai's DX, I think it's safe to assume it would be an impressive release.
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I wasn't aware of that; if anything, I always thought Europe and the UK would benefit from their proximity to Denmark, not to mention personal and professional ties to the Kirk Christiansen family in Billund. I know there were a number of airplane sets exclusive to European countries in the 80s and 90s, and I always just assumed that our neighbors across the pond enjoyed not only the range of sets available here in the Western Hemisphere, but additional sets as well in both themes and as exclusives. I'm sorry to have been so wrong and puzzled that the opposite seems to be the case. Anyway, I hope the rumor proves true and we get a minty fresh version of the Renegade to display next to our 10497 Galaxy Explorers, and it's available globally.
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I very much appreciate the compliment. I have thoughts about doing a small excavator at some point.
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Supposedly, there's another Blacktron set coming as well. Speculation is that it might be an update of the Renegade. That'd be fine, but if I had my druthers, I'd prefer an updated Blacktron II Aerial Intruder or Spectral Starguider. However, since we already got an updated Invader, oddly renamed to 'Cruiser', as a GWP, having the larger flagship from Blacktron would make for nice continuity. It would be most excellent to have that upsized to 1.5 times the original's size with design stylings mirroring those of the 10497 Galaxy Explorer. I'm not sure where I'd put it, but it would be a must-have regardless. If the rumors are true, I hope Mike Psiaki, 10497's designer, has a hand in designing it, too. Mike's an absolutely brilliant builder.
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Whoa, first I've seen this. Looks great! Space is and has always been my favorite LEGO theme and I'm excited to see the transition of City Space from grounded semi-realistic stuff like shuttles and rockets to this more futuristic sci-fi direction. Apparently the 2024 Space sets must have hit home with fans to see a continuation of the theme in 2025. I'm all in.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Considering this guy is also a deluxe, that Devastation Prime is alarmingly poor. My only gripe with Legacy United G1 deluxe Prime is the lack of paint apps to pick out his OG toy's sticker details, which at least are nicely molded in. One of these days I'll have to remedy that omission. Perhaps I'll do the same for my SS86.
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Even more good news for me, as most of my valks see GERWALK only once during their inaugural transformation. After that, I'll on rare occasions go from battroid to fighter and back, but most of the time, my valks are dust collectors in the truest sense. I don't mess with them much, but I sure do love looking at them. GERWALK is my least favorite mode (I consider it a mid-transformation step more than an actual mode, but it's a Kawamori/Macross thing). I remember commentary about the DX YF-19's heels being different, and not in a good way. At the time, I was glad I'd bought the Advance, as the only other difference was the dual opening cockpits, which I could live without. When Bandai announced their YF-19, and I saw how similar they were, I remained content with the Advance as my YF-19 placeholder. Lovely beastie, she is.
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I decided to transform mine to fighter and back today, and gotta say, @PointBlankSniper, yours and others' critiques aren't wrong on many counts. The gear is a huge question mark. Of all the issues this thing has, that was the easiest one to fix, as they absolutely had to know that there was no ground clearance with guns or packs installed and with a few design changes, they could have both given the struts enough length for ground clearance regardless of FAST pack configuration/gun installation and proper canon stowage with the wheels facing down. Too, those transformable gunpods are pretty big and I almost wonder if a separate team from the core toy team designed them and, after doing no crosschecking for compatibility, discovered that they prevented the gear from proper ground contact too late into production to make any meaningful changes. Or they knew and just didn't care enough to try. I'm using the molded gun holding hand for my copy's gunpod , so I removed it and flattened the fingers out on the left hand. However, no matter how I moved the left hand, I couldn't get the surrounding panels to secure- the hand was always in the way. So I removed it, and the panels all closed and secured nicely. Not sure why I couldn't get the panels to close with the hand attached as that's how it arrived and the panels were secured just fine out of the box. And yeah, I rotated the little blue bit inside the panel first, but it still wouldn't close. Fishing that blue spine block through is a bit of a pain, but I finally got it. Finally, I had trouble getting the forward pointy bits of the engine nacelles to slide up into their battroid position. After consulting Anymoon's transformation vid, I was able to get it to slide north into place, although I'm still not quite sure what was blocking it from moving initially. Anyway, while it's far from the worst or most difficult thing I've ever transformed, it's not really fun, either. It's a bit finnicky, somewhat unpleasantly so in some places, but not so bad in others. I still love the foot stowage solution and those big bulbous lower legs. I still think it looks pretty good in battroid, even if I feel a pang of disdain over the need for the external brace to keep its saggy backside in place. Regardless, I doubt I'll be transforming it again anytime soon. I have plenty of toys that are much more enjoyable to transform, and I generally don't mess with my larger figs anyway, mostly out of fear that I'll ham-handedly break something. For now, the DX does a respectable job of filling the void next to my DX VF-19 Advance in my Detolf, completing my Macross Plus display. And yeah, I know the Advance was technically in the Macross Frontier movie Sayonara no Tsubasa, but its resemblance to the YF-19 is close enough to function as my YF-19 stand-in in my Bandai valk collection.
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Man, I always miss sales. TBF, however, like the previous '89 Batmobile, this was high on my LEGO Batman want list. and I did not hesitate to get it ASAP. I'd love to see them do the Arkham Knight Batmobile with all the functions intact. Like the Tumbler, it's one of the Dark Knight's more notably unique rides. I'd love to see the Speed Champions Team tackle some of these Batmobile designs with a greater eye towards scale and accuracy. That, I think, would be a pretty impressive collection. On the subject of Speed Champions, I'd also love to see them branch into sci-fi and anime designs like the Spinner or the Mach 5. It'd make for an eclectic but great looking collection of vehicles from various media. I recently finished a MOC and thought I'd share a few pics. Apologies in advance for my poor photo skills. The cab has limited articulated steering and the bed can, of course, tilt up to nearly 90 degrees. Transformation is fluid without parts-forming, and the mecha is fully articulated including a waist swivel which is not readily apparent in these pics. Sharp-eyed folks will notice the proton pack detail behind the cab; I bought a few of those printed tiles and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to use one for detail. In total, this represents about a month's worth of work designing, accruing parts, and finally building the model. I'm rather enamored with it, and I dig the mecha's unusual proportions. For some reason apropos of nothing, Cruel Angel's Thesis often played in my head while I was working out the final bugs of the design. It doesn't look at all like an Eva, but there was some subconscious inspiration regardless. Hope you enjoy.
