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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I was blissfully unaware that the PS3 played media outside of Blu-Ray, DVD, and games. If I want to play music, I either use my wife's old boombox, or I Youtube it on the PC. I'm curious to see the upgrade in graphics from the PS3: Batman's gonna look awesome.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Play-Asia got me once, when the VF-25S was being reissued. I'd read all the caveats, but they were the only open preorder, so I dived in. Needless to say, I didn't get my VF-25 from them, but I did get my refund and a Paypal fee. It's a shady practice, and I'll reiterate what's already been said: avoid them, at least for valk preorders. Incidentally, once they notified me that they didn't have my item, they offered me the choice of refund with Paypal fee, or store credit. That's how they roll; buyer beware. Yep, looking forward to comparing it with the Arcadia. Scale, honestly, doesn't bug me as much as design, and so far she does appear to be complex, interesting, and pretty.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Thirding the comments concerning Yamato's/ Arcadia's -19 line. The engineering, and subsequent achievement in aesthetics, is remarkable. I hope they bring this kind of innovation to an eventual, and all around improved, YF-21. The YF-19 is my favorite valk design, followed by the VF-25( I like the lanky battroid), so I was ecstatic to have scored a recent preorder for the Advance. I'm really hoping this will be a solid figure, although it already looks to be slightly more involved due to the chest and leg panels. From the pics, though, she's looking quite lovely. Bandai definitely scores huge points off the bat for all the tampo, a practice I hope Arcadia adopts for their future releases.
  4. M'Kyuun
    Ooooh.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Eh, while it's not necessary, I think it's cool that they incorporated the waist swivel; it's a first for a -19 toy. The folding nose gear is an interesting innovation, but I wonder how the mid joint will hold up over time, esp if you extend and retract the gear often. I also like the retracting inner leg panels to preserve the look of the inner leg, but I hope it doesn't become a floppy mess down the road. I don't even have the thing yet, and already my stress level is climbing. Mine will spend the vast majority of its existence in battroid, so it's not much of an issue for me. The hip ball joints are my big worry. I'll likely leave the wing packs off to preserve the wing shroud joints' integrity. Glad I just put up some new shelves, as my current valk display space is full. Need some Detolfs.
  6. M'Kyuun
    I was going to wait until possibly Christmas to get the PS4 ( my wife owes me a nice present; I got her a Samsung Galaxy 5 for her birthday), but with the next Arkham Asylum game coming next week, I caved and got the Batman Bundle. Can't wait to wreak some havoc in the Batmobile. The Gamestop dude also told me that this is the last year for PS3 games. I haven't confirmed it, but I have no reason to doubt it, either.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Nah, some of the Bayverse movie toys are more complex, at least to me. Actually, I find most valks to be pretty straightforward. It's the odd transformation steps, like the CF VF-171 knee locks, or the moving chest pieces and leg panels on the 19 Advance, put in there by the designers, that complicate the original design. The VF-9 Cutlass is a different animal, though. Probably why nobody but Experten has attempted it in toy/model form. Agree completely. The transformation is what makes these things unique and sets them apart from other toys. There's a puzzle aspect to them that requires ingenuity on the part of both designers and consumers. That's always been a great part of the appeal, not to mention getting 2 cool toys in one (I don't count GERWALK). I also share your concern of this devolving into floppiness, esp those wings, the wing shroud joints, and the hips.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I like how the chest bits move negating the big gap in the inner thigh; granted, the thigh will still be hollow, but it will only be apparent from behind. I'm a little surprised how many transformation techniques they borrowed from Arcadia, but when something works well, I can't blame them for copying. Glad they didn't copy the ball jointed ankles or the crappy canard design from Yamato/Arcadia. I was so hoping they would do a single rotation point on the wings, as I'm not a fan of Arcadia's sloppy linkages, and have neither the interest nor desire to ever put my 19 in high speed mode. Hope they stay tighter than my Arcadia. While I think the neck shield built in to the shield is innovative, I really wish they could have designed the neck shield into the transformation without removal. IIRC, there was a custom model or toy some years ago that did it well, so that the neck shield rotated 180 degrees and sat under the neck joint in battroid. I don't remember where I saw it, just that I did. I love how the Japanese do demo and review videos: no opinions or jabbering, just putting the toy through its paces to music. I like how they reinforced the trickier transformation bits with explanatory lineart. I'm looking ever forward to transforming it myself.
  9. M'Kyuun
    So true..we're, like, 15 years behind the projection, and not even a damned hoverboard, let alone a flying car. Actually, the way they drive here, it's probably a good thing. Just got back from seeing it, and thought it a good sequel to the original. There are some nice nods to Jurassic Park throughout. I was hoping there'd be at least a cursory mention of Alan Grant or Ian Malcolm, but sadly, no. While the basic formula is still in place, what I liked best was the mirroring of real world amusement park mentality: always looking to create a bigger, better thrill to lure more visitors in and liberate them of their hard earned money. As with all these movies, there had to be Kids-In-Peril so kids in the audience had someone to relate to, I guess. Wish they'd been eaten, but no. Chris Pratt made a good hero, albeit quite watered down compared to his Star-Lord. I got a little bit of an Indiana Jones-ish feeling from some of the scenes. Anyway, seeing the dinos up on the big screen reeking havoc again made for a nice Sunday afternoon.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Both versions look good to me; there's no mistaking who they are, but there's something about the Maketoys that I like better. Not liking the price tag, though. I understand why, but the high cost of most 3rd party stuff has deterred me. If I do go for a 3rd party toy, it'll be Apollyon. Great looking figure for a decent price at the MP scale.
  11. M'Kyuun
    He's keeping one, and selling the other. But as Valk-1S mentioned, there's 1 per customer limit at HLJ, so he may only receive one. If this ships on the 20th, I should get mine about a week before my b-day. Heck of a nice gift, even if it is from me.
  12. M'Kyuun
    The trailer looks pretty good..some of the irreverent humor is there and...potatoes! Looking forward to this.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Listening to the hydraulics technician describe the system is amazing to me, having been a career hydraulics tech in the Air Force. The highest pressure system I ever worked on was the B-1B's 4000 psi / 5 gpm system, which, when married with servo-actuators, whose movement is dictated by accelerometers, is capable of incredibly rapid and precise motion. It's also quite hazardous should a rupture occur. Pinhole leaks were especially hazardous, as the stream can remove fingers or create a life-threatening injection scenario. By his statement, the T-Rex was a 9000 psi /60 gpm system, which boggles my mind. That's an incredible amount of power being harnessed and controlled. The jaws of life, by comparison, is a 10,000 psi system. The rupture of a hose, tubing, or component is certainly fatal to anyone standing nearby. The amount of achievable force is also remarkable; the entire horizontal stab of the B-1B, nearly the same size as an F-15's wing, is a moveable surface. I can still recall the days hanging out on the stab, watching F-16s taking off, while we replaced the stab actuator. Glad I'm retired. The tech in the hydraulics field continues to become more and more impressive, and with all the other motion control technologies being developed, it still remains the best option for lightweight extreme power, control, and precision within a confined area. I don't work in the field anymore, but from a young age, I have always retained a fascination for hydraulic applications. The T-Rex is pretty high on the list. Hope they used a practical model like this for Jurassic World...the realism can't be matched by CG.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Probably b/c they know it's essentially the YF-19 and it will sell itself without promos, so why waste the money.
  15. M'Kyuun
    Man, I wish this line had been out 5 or 6 years ago when I had more disposable income to buy toys. Pretty impressive sculpts, esp faces, for an affordable line. I wonder if Hasbro has any plans to make ships for them.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Ravage was my favorite cassette TF, but I only had a knock-off of the G1 version. Classics Hound and Ravage was my first official Ravage, and then MP Ravage with Soundwave. It's amazing what they've accomplished with the engineering of these little figs while maintaining the original micro-cassette scale. I always figured that they'd go to the full sized cassette if they ever did a MP scale, but I'm kinda glad they stuck with the original. Definitely makes more sense scale wise, esp next to MP Bee. The Japanese always get the best versions of TFs, not only with paint apps, but also the odd realistic feature, such as G1 Megs could fire pellets, and both Soundwave and Blaster had radios installed. I'm sure there are more examples, but those two always come to mind.
  17. M'Kyuun
    When I was a kid, I liked any TF that had separate legs, and even better, leg articulation, which was a rarity with the 80's and early 90's toys. Ironically, I don't think I owned many, except Sludge, Soundwave, knockoffs of the Decepticon humanoid cassettes, and Tracks. I'm not aware of your Tracks experience, JBO, but it sounds bad, and you have my condolences. The majority of my 80's TF toys have survived to the present with little in the way of wear, as I didn't really play with them. From an early age, I generally always took care of my toys; I never really had a destructive inclination. I was always aghast when I'd hear of kids shooting their GI Joes with BB guns, and such tales of wanton destruction. Purposely breaking your stuff never made sense to me; still doesn't. I cringe a little inside when I see a perfectly well made model of a ship or such blown up in a movie, knowing how much work was put into the model to make it as photorealistic as possible. In a thousand years, archaeologists are going to find all these caches of toys and naturally presume that they were our gods; I want my god collection to be in great shape so they know my devotion was strong. And the Ancient Astronaut Theorists, led by Giorgio Tsoukalos' umpteenth great grandchild with unruly hair, will still proclaim that my valk collection clearly shows that aliens were developing transforming jets to build skyscrapers, and that they took the valks with them when they left, which is why no physical evidence of a transforming fighter has ever been found, beyond these small representations. Ya know it's true.
  18. M'Kyuun
    I'm thinking that was a design choice by Bandai to facilitate transformation. Until it was shown here, I hadn't noticed how much of a hump the fighter has due to the upslope of the chest and head. I checked the lineart, and in some of the drawings, it looks like this, and in others, it looks like a nice continuous tapering slope from the rear of the aft canopy down to the head, so either is correct based on individual interpretation. My preference is for the latter, which Arcadia did well, but I'm honestly not bothered by it. I'm usually more concerned about build quality, tightness of joints and their durability, overall durability, solidarity of each mode, etc. As for the droopy lower fuselage in a couple of those pics, I'm thinking that they either forgot to snap it closed, or the demo model is worn out and that panel just pops open due to gravity. I hope it's the first, as the latter presents an issue. Really hoping this thing is a home run design-wise.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Hikuro, I'm also curious to see how your Delta Plus turns out, having bought a MG copy recently. Of the variable suits, I think it has one of the better waverider modes. I also bought a Methuss, which is one of my favorite Gundam designs...there's just something about it that strikes me as really cool, just not the color.
  20. M'Kyuun
    When I was a teen, Prowl was my favorite TF, but I couldn't abide his unileg. So, I removed the plastic piece connecting them, all the metal pins, and cut the plastic part connecting the legs in the crotch. Unfortunately, I had no experience modifying toys at the time, and it was a doomed venture leaving my G1 Prowl in pieces. I never bought another G1 Prowl, hoping instead for updated versions of the toy. The Alternators version was a serious WTF, esp when the Suburu WRX or the Mazda RX-8 molds were far more fitting for his G1 look. At that point, I really anticipated the eventual CHUG version, esp after Mirage, Bumblebee, and Hound were so well done; it was a little disappointing, esp since it was based on the IDW design, and the head sat a bit too high due to the spring-loaded reveal mechanism. So I waited, and then MP Sideswipe was announced, and looked amazing. Hope burned within me like a 1000 suns for Takara to make Prowl, and when they announced it, and it looked absolutely awesome, it was like closure. I rarely by multiples of any mold, but I got Prowl, Silverstreak, and Smokescreen, I just so love the basic figure. Have to agree with Mikeszekely concerning RiD Grimlock; nice rendition of the character, with a different yet similar take on the original transformation, with a look that's reminiscent of Animated. There's very little in the way of kibble on the bot mode, and I also like the green and black color scheme. One caveat: the grey ratchet piece was too loose in my copy's right arm, and caused the elbow to lock up at 90 deg. I used a little more force than I should have to straighten the arm again, and sustained a little cracking of the plastic which houses said ratchet. I ended up pushing out the elbow pin, removing the forearm, and epoxying the ratchet mechanism in place. Once reassembled, it works great without stressing the plastic anymore. This seems to be a recurrent problem with this figure. Drift is the only other RiD fig I've bought, and while it seems to get a bit of criticism, I like him. Granted, Hasbro seriously skimped on paint apps (as seems to be their SOP these days), but I like the look of both his modes, and his articulation is decent. My only criticism is that the connection point for the waist skirts whould have been attached to the hips so they can move with the legs, rather than being attached above the hips, which hinders leg movement. I may get RiD Sideswipe if I see him in the store. Beyond these figs, the line and the show don't really grab me.
  21. M'Kyuun
    +1 Even in the 80's, the vast majority of TF toys were disappointments due to the lack of articulation. I'll take modern engineering anyday. The MP line is really the answer to my teenage prayers. So far, they were worth the wait.
  22. M'Kyuun
    The face sculpt had me fooled; I thought it was a film still at first.
  23. M'Kyuun
    I hope those little stands are merely precautionary to keep the wings in place with the packs on. Kinda curious about what looks like a moveable panel on the inner leg...wonder if it recesses in to make room for the arms, or swings out to reveal a cutaway. Either way it's an intersting design to smooth out the leg. I just hope it doesn't become a floppy mess that never stays in place after 2 or 3 transformations. Just noticed that the interior of the legs are painted dark grey. Cool. Anyone else see the canard sticking out? Either it swung out on a loose joint or they forgot to fold it back when transforming it. Also noticed that the upper legs don't have a cutaway to accommodate the chest, and the lower chest looks like it's a separate piece that moves. The more little details like this that I notice, the more I anticipate its arrival.
  24. M'Kyuun
    My take on Myuung is that she's a tragic figure, emotionally and psychologically damaged after Guld's assault. She withdraws from her friends, her ambitions, and from New Eden, eventually hiding behind the AI, Sharon Apple, providing its voice and emotions, rather than being the star she could have been. Myuung's delicate mental state and emotional ambiguity translates over to Sharon, and the AI goes insane. As for why she hooks up with Guld: Low self-esteem, lingering feelings for her old friend (despite the assault years earlier), submissiveness, and using intimacy as a balm and an escape from emotional and mental turmoil. She realizes Guld has a faulty memory of the event, and still has feelings for her. Isamu is with somebody at their first meeting, Guld pursues her, and she gives in. The fact that both of her friends are living their dreams, while she's living in the shadow of hers, would likely contribute to her deflated sense of self-worth, as well. Lonliness and low self-esteem can make any opportunity for intimacy and caring very inviting, and Guld's there for her. The rest is just pheremones and brain chemistry. The mature and dark themes of Plus really set it apart from the original series. Both have their share of tragedy and sadness ( RIP Roy), but Plus' story is more about the dark nature of humanity: greed, lust,envy, disappointment, selfishness, self-loathing, anger, blame, insanity, just to name a few. Twenty years later, and it's themes are still poignant, relevant, and relatable.
  25. M'Kyuun
    One of the best posts I've ever read. You made my day. OT: Once the VF-19 Advance is released and it's a hit with fans, hopefully Bandai will talk HFH into making a VF-21 Advance, piloted by Guld's and Myuung's daughter from their one night stand in Plus. In the next installment, she'll be a singer who becomes a kickass pilot to save the day.
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