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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I live near a fire station, and right at the end of the vid where the due and the dog walk away and it fades to the Bethesda screen, the fire sirens started going off. It made for a cool effect. Love these games, and the graphics look like they've been tweeked. I hope there are drivable vehicles this time around. It'd be awesome to fly a vertibird.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Playing devil's advocate, from 2007 until about 2013, deluxes were better quality with more complexity, better paint apps, and less hollow areas for about $10-12. CW and RID figs are very simplistic, with a lot of hollow areas, very minimal paint apps, for about $16. There's a remarkable step back in quality, for which we pay an additional $4. My TF buying has lessened considerably as a result. The price-to-quality ratio really becomes jarring when one considers that Alternators sold for about $20 at retail for what was a near MP grade toy from '03-'07ish. I agree with MikeSzekely that Generations & RID are not MP grade toys and shouldn't carry the expectations of such; however, given the success of the live action films, the continuing popularity of the TF brand across multiple merchandising platforms, and the increased prices at retail, Hasbro would be sitting quite well financially, and the quality of their products would reflect. I know the Star Wars stuff looks pretty good these days, but TFs, at least in part, look to have been the victims of serious budgetary restraints. I think it's also odd that the MP line is almost entirely Asian exclusive, with only infrequent, limited, and more expensive releases through TRU exclusively stateside. I can only assume that MPs don't sell well, which seems odd to me given that there is a huge fanbase here, many of us who grew up watching the original show/movie, with much more disposable income and a nostalgic compulsion to own these things. The successes of the various third parties adds credence to my argument. There is undoubtably a market for MP TF toys in America, but apparently Hasbro doesn't think so, for whatever reason. To end on a positive note, the regular CHUGs line, apart from most of the CW stuff, still seem to be holding in their overall quality. Arcee, Chromia, Springer, Powerglide, Shrapnel, and Bombshell are all really well done, esp Arcee.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Like Bay's TF designs, you wouldn't know what they're supposed to be without someone telling you, as they bear no resemblance to their namesake.
  4. M'Kyuun
    My money would be on Max as well. He's a jenius. It was a good move on Kawamori's part to differentiate Isamu's style from Jenius', given that both are innately skilled pilots. His scenes in the 19, esp when competing against Guld, are just incredibly fun, and funny.
  5. M'Kyuun
    If you like it, it makes you happy, and the wife is accepting, then that's all that matters...maybe not in that order, though.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Michael Bay is the bestest director ever and his movies are nothing less than high art! :wub: :wub: :wub: Totally going to Hell for typing every word of that. The only two positives are that Hasbro is making money from them, thereby staying in business, and the movie designs pushed Takara into uncharted territory, and we were the benefactors of that experience as it was applied to TF designs in a number of toylines. Otherwise, nigh unwatchable atrocities all.
  7. M'Kyuun
    I'll give props: that's a nice looking Devastator. I just can't absolve Has/Tak for the mostly poor individual Constructicon bot modes. Pass.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Yep, along with red shoulders, and some silver on those inner leg details. All the red and black would be hidden within car mode. As it is, looks amazing.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Don't feel bad; I've yet to see any of the Protectobots at all. Rook and Groove are the only ones I want. Maybe First Aid. I like Hot Spot, but I'm holding out for the eventual Onslaught repaint. I've always liked Bruticus, so I'm hoping I'll find them all around here. I hope Blast Off is a new space shuttle mold rather than a lazy repaint of one of the aerialbots, that Swindle looks like a Humvee, and that a repainted Rook isn't substituted for Brawl. These things are obviously made on the cheap with multiple variations and repaints of the same molds, so I feel my apprehension is justified. And yeah, scalpers be damned.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Love, love, love all the tampo; that said, those intake markings look too large and garish for the allocated space. They could have shrunk them by about half. But, at least they're there (take notice, Arcadia). I hope the wing fairing connection point is stout enough to bear the weight of those packs in battroid without drooping. They're starting to grow on me, and I may just decide to leave them on. From the pic, looks like the gear is unpainted. They go to all the trouble to paint and tampo the snot out of her, and leave the gear bare metal.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Thanks for posting that link...got one on order. Really curious to see the design differences between this and Arcadia's. Anyway, there's no such thing as too much YF-19.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Funny mentioning the too-strong spring loaded gear on Jetfire; the nose gear on mine got me a couple times today while messing with him. Really smarts when that die cast hits the fingernail. Before today, I never realized that the gear extend in the wrong direction on the chunkies, so that they collapse as soon as you push the plane forward to taxi out. The chunky monkey's a pretty good toy, but thigh swivels and a wee bit of lateral hip movement would have greatly improved the playability. Overall, it's pretty faithful to the classic lineart, esp the large intake area with thinner thighs, and the proxiity of the intake to the chest in battroid.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Sorry, Mike, I don't remember what it was called. I'm not familiar with Pittsburg, so I can't even give you a general idea of where it's located. We were visiting my wife's friend for a couple days, so we went to the zoo, and then walked around downtown a little bit. We just happened to pass by, I saw what kind of store it was, and beelined right in there. It was a small place run by two dudes in their 20s. There was 80's stuff in abundance, and Jetfire caught my eye. They also had a loose Steeljaw, so I snagged him too. Well, I just pulled ole Jetfire out of storage to see if maybe I'd put the receipt in his box. Unfortunately, no. Apologies for dangling the carrot. I did a Google search, and all it pulled up was a place called Too-Groovy Pop Culture Toys in Munhall, PA, south of Pttsburg. Not the place I went to, but they may have some cool stuff. Been a long time since that Jetfire has seen the light of day; since I had him out, I took the opportunity to transform him...still very tight, almost like new. Don't think he got played with much. Whoever owned him originally did a remarkably atrocious stickering job on him, but otherwise took exceptional care of him. I have a minty set of Reprolabels for him...someday I'll get to it.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Prowl was my first Transformer. I fell in love with the box art, and even though pics of the actual toy were all over the packaging, my 13 yr old mind wanted it to be like the art. I remember feeling pretty disappointed when I discovered that the legs were a solid piece. MP Prowl was my Holy Grail of Toys. I remember seeing both Prime and Megatron, and even Jetfire, in the store, but I never got any of them as a kid. I picked up a rerelease of Prime years ago, but have never had a G1 Megs. I did have Soundwave, though; mine is still in excellent shape, and he stands along with the rest of my CHUG Decepticons. In the 80's, I knew nothing of Macross or Robotech, but salivated longingly over the pic of Jetfire in the foldout brochures that used to come with 'Deluxe' and greater sized TFs in the 80's. One day I went over to a neighbor kid's house, and they had him, lucky bastards. I think they let me pick him up to give him a quick look. That was it. I handled G1 Megs only once; oddly enough, the school drama club were using him as a prop gun in a play or something, and I managed to get my hands on him long to tranform him to bot and back. About 10 years ago, I was in Pittsburg and stopped in at a little shop that dealt with 80's toys and collectibles. They had a Jetfire in excellent condition, terrible sticker placement notwithstanding, with his box and foam tray for $150. Bought on sight.
  15. M'Kyuun
    HLJ have the Takara version of Leader Ultra Magnus up for preorder. I found a nice side by side comparison pic with Hasbro's, and had no problem going with the Takara, whose release corresponds nicely with MP tracks. Private warehouse is coming in handy. I kinda wish Takara's had white thighs, but having seen the IDW design, it's faithful to the comics. Overall, I like the brighter blue and far better paint apps on the Takara, plus I like the Alpha Trion colors for his little sidekick/driver.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Still holding out for a Variable Glaug, and a new improved YF-21. A perfect grade VF-1 at GI Joe figure scale, with fully articulated pilots, Hayase, and Minmay figs, made as a limited run web exclusive for around $500 would be very tempting.
  17. M'Kyuun
    I wasn't clear in my meaning; I knew Adventure Time was still going, and I figured Squidbillies was too. I just find it amazing that shows like this enjoy longevity when good shows get the boot. Apologies to those who like Adventure Time; I know people like it, but I can't understand why. Bummer to hear there's no comic continuity with Animated. It seems a perfect forum to tell the stories that didn't make it into the show. Still hope, I suppose. Agree about Prime; I didn't want to like it, but it sucked me in. I know some didn't like the seriousness of the show, or maybe took itself too seriously, but I thought it was pretty balanced. The Beast Hunters toys were terrible, but the season was still decent. Overall, I enjoyed the entire series and wouldn't have minded another season to maybe show Bee's growth into a leader, with a voice. I haven't watched RiD yet, so I can't say whether or not I like it, but characters like Fixit bug me just from an artwork perspective. I've seen a trailer, and it left me feeling rather 'meh' about investing time to watch it. The toys haven't really grabbed me either, except Drift and Grimlock. More money for upcoming Generations and MP.
  18. M'Kyuun
    RC VF-1 in action. Notice the really large vertical stabs.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Neither the F-111 nor the B-1B have glove vanes. The B-1 uses internal fuel transfer to maintain CG, and strategic pivot point positioning helps the F-111. After consulting the original VF-1 lineart, which is more prolific and detail intensive than any other valk in the Design Works, there is no attention given to nor indication of glove vanes. That's about as authoritative as you can get.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Of the three M+ valks, I think the 11 had the least amount of compromises, and the final result is about as close to perfect as you can get with a toy at this scale. The heatshield is a pain, but not too bad once you find a reliable method. Magnets were a fantastic idea for the packs, and I think Arcadia should have carried on the practice. Anyway, it's one of my favorite valks, and mine is still nice and tight, and looks great on my shelf. I haven't put him in fighter in quite some time, so I may have to do so, just because.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Spurred on by all the talk here, I rented Last Starfighter this weekend. I hadn't seen it since the mid 80's, and my wife never saw it. I'm happy to say it still holds up pretty well, although the CG really looks dated. My wife even commented sarcastically on its realism, but we both liked it otherwise.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Agree about 4th season; it would have been great. Anyone know if that story was continued in the comics? I'd love a graphic novel continuation in the same vein as Avatar: The last Airbender's The Promise and The Search, which answered lingering questions and filled some story gaps from the animated show. If anyone here is going to Botcon this year, Derrick Wyatt is one of the featured guests this year. The question of a comic book or graphic novel continuation of Animated may be what it takes to stir up interest. Just sayin'. I feel the same about the new Thundercats show from a couple years ago; good show that was hitting its stride, then got cancelled. Cartoon Network boggles my mind when they cancel good shows like Symbionic Titan, Beware the Batman, Thundercats, etc, but Squidbillies, Adventure Time, and such go on for years.
  23. M'Kyuun
    To answer my question, it was indeed Mr. Garry Chalk. Cool to see him, even in a small part. I thought the movie was cool...a fun ride throughout. The visuals of Tomorrowland were awesome, inspiring, and bittersweet. Brad Bird did a great job portraying the future as we hoped it'd be thru the 60's and 70's and even today, and made it come alive onscreen in such a way that I ached for it. Of course there's social commentary driving the film, but there's also a message of hope, and that's what I liked about it as well. It's obtainable. Some great visuals of mecha and other cool toys throughout....it's utopia for nerds. Just ike a store featured in the film. While Clooney, Robertson, and Laurie played their parts well, the character of Athena, played by Raffey Cassidy, really stood out. Thomas Robinson, who played young George Clooney, did a great job, too. Anyway, Brad Bird fans, and fans of anachronistic, steampunk, and future tech will enjoy the visuals. Good flick, recommended. Also, pretty kid friendly...mild language and tame violence.
  24. M'Kyuun
    This was a preview trailer when I saw Tomorrowland today. I was surprised they were far enough along in production to even have a trailer in theatres. Looks like they took alot of artistic license. Jem says her catchphrase in the trailer, "Showtime, Synergy", which will probably be the token reference to the old cartoon, b/c it doesn't look like they're using the hologram idea here. Shame, b/c they could pull it off with today's effects.
  25. M'Kyuun
    I'd like to see a new MP seeker mold, one where the arms fold to form the back of the jet like the G1 toy, and where the head sits even or slightly lower than the chest intakes. For some reason, that little bit of elevation of the head over the intakes bothered me on the original MP seekers. Plus, it'd be cool to actually get them in scale, although they'd be pretty big compared to the car bots. Still, in for a penny...if Takara is committed to maintaining scale with the the new MP line, and with making all the characters anew (hopefully), then bring on some F-15C Decepticons. They could take some hints from Arcadia's YF-19 in making the jet huge, but making the bot mode close to scale with Soundwave and Prime. Or just hire some quantum physics experts to create a truly mass shifting figure. Hello, CERN? I'm probably alone here, but I'd still like to see more figs in the Animated toy line get made. That show and toyline really grew on me, and I love them both. I'd love to see a third party tackle the Ark/Omega Supreme in a Leader or Titan scale. And also...the rest of the Dinobots in MP; C'mon Has/Tak, there were 4 more guys on that team, and they are all beloved characters who deserve official toys. Third parties are stealing that thunder left and right.
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