M'Kyuun
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Most of my old space guys still have the gold intact, for the most part. I never had a cracked helmet, either, as far as I can remember. I never played with my figs much, so most of them still have stiff arms and legs. My bricks, however fared differently, since I had teeth, but no brick separator. Putting those little orange separators in large and some medium sets nowadays is a great idea, although I have a couple dozen of 'em floating around here. As well as the classic space sets, I'd love to see Blacktron return. It was my favorite space line, and I have nearly every set from the black/yellow first line, and four of the black/white sets. In fact, my Aerial Intruder is sitting on the shelf in my LEGO room, looking incredibly bad-ass, and my Alpha Centuri Outpost is still in pristine condition in its box. Unfortunately, all my black and yellow sets were pieced out for building stuff when I was still in my teens. Someday I'll attempt to restore them all.
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Well, the beauty of LEGO is that there are any number of ways to approach shaping. Unfortunately, LEGO has to meet a price point, as well as a battery of tests and production screenings before the final design is accepted. Generally, something is lost during the process for one reason or another. It sucks, but LEGO's a business looking to make a profit above all. I always like to see proto pics of sets when they are infrequently shared; it gives some perspective to the process. In many cases, the protos look better than the final set. As for shaping with plates, look up Shfio on Flickr...guy's a true artist. For some reason I can't link to the webpage. As for the X-Wing UCS sets, while the new one is superior in just about every aspect except for the nose; slopes were used on the old one to give it a far better tapered look than the curved slopes and squared off wedge bricks used on the new one. Given all the parts at their disposal, one wonders that they couldn't have found a better solution keeping within price point. I'm bummed that their AT-AT sets seem to downgrade with each release, rather than improve like most of the other sets redone over and over. 4483 still has the best proportions, IMO. It's certainly not perfect, but it's bigger and far more detailed than the last set or the upcoming set. I'm not including the walking AT-AT, since it was more of a Technic set than a System set, and doesn't look that great IMO, either.
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Which was wise. I actually had to use the second one. I still can't understand why they didn't just print that canopy.
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David, from your lips to Jorgen Vig Knudstorp's ears. If it ever happens, it'll be wish fulfillment on a far grander scale than LEGO realizes, I think. I agree that they needn't do straight rereleases, but updated versions of those old sets with today's play features would be fantastic. And yes, blue, grey, trans yellow, with some white and trans blue thrown in for good measure would be most welcome. If anything, Benny's ship shows that the old space color scheme still looks great.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I wish Hasbro would rerelease MP Optimus in his regular colors instead of the Year of the Horse version. I missed the boat when it was being sold through TRU, and now I'm kicking myself. -
I agree. I have the UCS ISD, and I don't really need any more big grey wedge shaped ships. I find the smaller ships much more interesting in the UCS line. For the most part, I think they've done well on them. The one that left me feeling lukewarm was the UCS Snowspeeder. It's one of my favorite SW ships, and the way they did the front section is just terrible. It's all brick built with slopes, but IMHO, utterly fails to capture the faceted look of the ship. I'd rather they'd used plates and tiles, angled accordingly. The UCS B-Wing was larger than minifig scale, hence no figs. No gear, but a nice stand that keeps it perched at an angle as if it were flying. I don't get too plussed over gear as much any more, since LEGO tend not to put landing gear, esp retractable gear, on much of anything. I really wish they would, esp on those large City jets...there's room enough to swing that gear if they remove one of those large rounded belly parts and brick build a proper wheel well with working doors. A few SW ships have retracting gear, but not many. I think the larger price point on the B-Wing was due to a lot of larger parts being used throughout. Still, it was a fun build, and looks great.
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Good for you! It's pretty impressive once built. It wasn't up for sale for very long. Guess it was limited run, or just didn't sell as well as hoped. Glad I got mine when I did, since I procrastinate on these big sets sometimes. The Parisian Restaurant will be my next Exclusive set (got to see it unveiled by the designer, Jamie Berard, in person). I'm on the fence about getting the Sea Cow...but it's wickedly cool.
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My two concerns for the new YF are the wing links remaining tight, and the sturdiness of the LERX pivot. Hopefully that thing will lock down to the back of the hip, rather than just hang there held by friction. New YF-21? Has that been announced? If so, here's hoping they'll find a better balance between sleek skinny fighter and not so skinny legged battroid. My 21 was the odd man out on my shelf for quite some time, since I keep all my valks in battroid, and he stayed in fighter. I was always afraid of his falling over, and the legs just didn't look right. He's back in his box for safekeeping.
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Well, given that they had an already excellent platform to work from, I'm keeping a positive outlook for the YF-19. Hopefully they'll fix the ankles. That's really the only glaring flaw I see in my VF-19.
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Well, if they follow SOP, the 2x4 blue wedges with the space logo and any stock tiles will be the only printed elements; everything else will be stickers. Looking at that cockpit, all the controls, via stickers, are in the backseat, and Benny just has a red and green light up front, unless there's a control panel underneath that you can't see in the picture. However, LEGO makes quite a number of vehicles/mecha with no controls, or controls far out of reach of the fig. Lots of telekinesis in the LEGO universe. Go easy on the click hinges...they're incredibly useful, and essential to building mecha, esp transforming mecha. For years I hoped and prayed for them, so I was elated when they were finally made. I've been praying for small ball and socket joints for years, and now we have those too. I just picked up a couple Mixel sets yesterday just to see how strong those joints are. They'll be great for small poseable builds. The Mixels themselves are....interesting. They're wacky, to be sure, and I'm guessing the show is going to be mired in ridiculousness. Anyway, the Sentinel in the upcoming X-Men set, with the really sh!tty Blackbird, uses the new ball and socket joints extensively. As far as the old school method for connecting the wing ships, I'll have to go with the technic pin solution, as that was pretty standard for anything modular back in the day, and even now to a greater degree. I have no issue with their using the click hinge to connect them, so long as said hinges are well secured in their prospective models. I don't see LEGO getting rid of them anytime soon, as they are heavily employed across all themes, used in all sorts of ways. They're great for shaping, as well as movement. I love 'em.
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Those new Classic Space printed parts from Benny's ship are gonna sell like crazy on Bricklink; I don't even wanna think how much they're going to charge for them. Makes me wish either LEGO themselves, or a company like Reprolabels would make a batch of Classic Space stickers, in various colors, with the space logo and various other markings, and an LSS sticker with two sets of numbers in white in the Classic Space font. It would be helpful for inept people like me who don't have Photoshop.
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I remember thinking as a kid that 6940 was LEGO's version of the AT-AT. I wish they'd redo all these old sets in a modern Space theme.
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Exactly. If you're in the neighborhood of 1000 pieces for $100, you're doing well. The ones that hurt are the 650 piece/$100 type sets. Usually those are licensed with popular minifigs, or sets with a lot of large parts. I also suspect that forward section separates on Benny's ship. As far as colored space guys go, the classic black was the rarest, showing up in only 8 sets, followed by Benny's blue brothers in 12 sets. I only have one black, and 4 or 5 blue classic space figs in my collection. The Polaris 1 Space Lab came with 3 blue guys just by itself. Great set.
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The potential is certainly there; however, given my lack of experience, I can't speak to the fidelity or integrity of the materials currently employed. One must consider the stresses involved on LEGO elements every time they are interlocked. Shapeways, which employs 3D printing, uses a nylon based plastic, and I've seen a number of parts designed specifically to work with LEGO on the site, the vast majority being gears and Technic liftarms. As to how well any of these parts actually function and for how long they hold up under constant use, I have no idea. What I do know is that the ABS LEGO uses is chosen for its integrity and endurance, as well as the extraordinarily specific tolerances in the molds themselves, ensure a very durable product. Parts I have from my childhood still have the same, and sometimes greater, clutching ability as those elements produced now. That's quite a testament to their engineering and choices of materials over the last 30 some odd years, and beyond. I would personally love to see 3D printing become an industry capable of producing parts that are compatible and close or equal to LEGO's own, and that there will be folks out there with the knowledge and drive to produce parts that LEGO can't or won't for whatever reason. I saw a presentation at BrickCon last year where one of our guest speakers, a fellow AFOL, spoke about this and the potential to hurt LEGO in the long run. I don't see it. Consider that there are companies out there now utilizing the same technologies that LEGO uses, but yet still do not match LEGO's quality, reputation, or profits. I think it'll be the same for 3D printing, and other rapid prototyping technologies rising to the fore: even if the tech becomes equivalent quality-wise, there still need to be people with sufficient knowledge and desire to produce these parts, and I don't think that number constitutes a threat to a multi-billion dollar company enjoying not only enormous annual success and growth from its own IPs, but also from numerous historically popular and financially successful licenses. There's a reason they are the most financially successful toy company in the world, and probably the most well known anywhere in the world. I'm a very happy and unashamed contributor to their success, and I hope to see LEGO continue to make great sets, wonderfully ridiculous themes, video games, and hopefully more movies throughout my lifetime and onward. As long as there's imagination and creativity, LEGO will never lose its relevance and ability to inspire.
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Ha! I have those hubs, somewhere. The farm tractor (#851) was my first technic, I mean Expert Builder, set way back when. They made for a great smooth steamroller, unlike anything currently in the palette. They've retired a number of parts that were enormously useful, and I wish, given that they're extraordinarily prosperous again, and are cranking out new molds regularly, they'd revive some of those old parts. Agree with you 100% about the UCS Lambda nose. It's one of the most distinguishing traits of the shuttle, and one of my favorite attributes, and they missed the mark by a mile with that overly tapered and pointy nose. Add to that the landing gear were a separate piece, and the majority of the wings were technic liftarms. I think they still got more right than wrong overall, but I couldn't get past the nose. Seems trivial, but everyone has their quirks. Agree as well concerning the UCS X-Wing. The nose on the new one was blunt, which ruined the look of it, not to mention the always too-small engines. I have it, it was a fun build, but it has its faults. Their UCS B-Wing, however, is a thing of beauty. Can't wait for Benny's Spaceship. I'll probably get 2 copies, one for parts and the other for the set. The "Sea Cow" is pure wonderful ridiculousness. I can't stop smiling when I see these LEGO Movie sets. Loving that Super Secret Police Dropship, too. Gonna be a financially draining LEGO year. I noticed the whole atmosphere surrounding Toy Fair seems much, much more guarded this year. Every year I look forward to seeing lots and lots of photos, and friendly LEGO reps eagerly showing and telling about all the products for the various media folks, who capture all the talk, action, features, and enthusiasm on video for the fans' consumption. It seems rather subdued and limited this year. I hope it's a fluke and not the new norm, but, to quote Han Solo and his friends, "I have a bad feeling about this."
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I wish Hasbro had just made a straight Skyfire fig, as the bot mode is pretty spot on from the front. That F-22ish jet mode looks ok, but the transformation is a cheat, and the cockpit hanging off his back diminishes him somewhat, IMO. I've never been a fan of TFs where a major part of the alt mode just hangs off like a giant fanny pack, just asking to be knocked off, thus limiting the bot to a single mode. It's lazy and detracting. This toy had a lot more potential, and they fell a bit short, I think. Finally, Roadbuster. He looks ok, but not the Calibur design I was hoping for. I'm over it. Overall, it's not a bad design. I like that, unlike the Calibur, the arms on this guy are part of the alt mode instead of being tucked away. Rattrap and Gears look great. Kinda liking that Windblade, as well, except for the fugly samurai head. I'll be picking all these up. I believe TFW2005 reported that a Generations Arcee was in the works. Shame she wasn't on display, if only just a proto pic to love or hate. She should've been the big reveal, given we've waited 30 years for a proper G1ish toy. The TFA toy was great, but still not quite right for Classics/Generations. As for the TF4 toys, Yuck across the board, with Cabover Prime the only minor consideration. I find it funny that Bay and Hasbro vehemently defended the long nose cab design for Prime, b/c a bot of his size couldn't be made to fit in the confines of a cabover. And now, here he is. Hmm. He looks ok to me, except, I have to agree, that his arms don't look very good. -
Yep new System scale Imperial Star Destroyer and a new AT-AT for 2014. It's, thankfully, a heavy OT year for LEGO Star Wars. I wish they'd taken a picture of the interior of the SD, and the inside of the AT-AT's head, esp the latter. Given the size of that thing's noggin, I'm guessing both pilot and AT-AT commander can sit in the head. That'll set it apart as a minor improvement, otherwise the original 2003 AT-AT (set 4483) still stands, IMHO, as the best. The new ISD looks much better than the original (6211). This one has a closed bridge, and they've eschewed all the neon yellow rods simulating lasers on the original. On the downside, I read somewhere that you can't put figs on the new set's bridge. Sucks a little if it's true. I was hoping for a new improved Imperial Shuttle set. The last System set came out in 2005 (Imperial Inspection, set# 7264) and was identical to the original 2001 release. Ironically, the Lambda Shuttle is one of my favorite Star Wars ships, and I hoped for a UCS version. When it finally came out, I was a bit disappointed by a number of things in the design, and so never bought it. Been hoping for a smaller System set that hopefully "fixes" some of the things I didn't like about the UCS model, and that most certainly deserve an upgrade from the old System sets.
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I have a VF-25G with Super Packs, a VF-27 Brera Custom, and two VF-171 CFs, and I'm happy with all of them. I absolutely love the 25G. I'd still like to get a 25S Renewal, as I like Ozma's color scheme, head, and that back print. fortunately, I haven't had any of the negative issues that seem to plague these toys. I broke one of my VF-171s, but it was impatience and stupidity on my part, not a fault with the toy. I do have to say that my second VF-171 felt more loose out of the box than my first, but the little black triangle on both are still intact. I bought all my Bandai Frontier valks through NY, and I paid about $150-160 for each, not the cheapest place, but certainly not breaking the $200 barrier either.
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Referring to Peter Weller's "robotic" movements, the original intention, and Weller's original training, were to give Robocop cat-like movements. Then the suit arrived and all that training was for naught. Mr. Weller couldn't move in it very well, and they almost thought the filming would have to shut down and the movie wouldn't get made. However, Mr. Weller's mime and movement trainer came up with the more robotic movement idea and essentially saved the film. There are a number of Peter Weller interviews on Youtube where he talks about behind the scenes stuff. He's a pretty passionate guy when he's onstage talking about film or history.
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Have you collected the right valk to get final satisfaction?
M'Kyuun replied to VALKYRIE ACE PILOT's topic in Toys
While not a "grail" piece to me, a VF-2SS by Arcadia or Bandai, would be a must-have. I think it's a really pretty plane with an equally nice looking battroid. The fact that it wasn't designed by Kawamori-san, and that it's from the much maligned Macross II means nothing to me. I like cool transforming toys, and a well done VF-2SS qualifies. I don't really have a "grail" piece per-se. Well, then again, maybe the BG-5C Fatman, or perhaps the Variable Glaug. I worked on cargo planes, specifically the C-130 and the KC-135 (yes, it's a tanker, but has a secondary cargo mission), so a transformable cargo plane evocative of the C-17 or its FRED big brother the C-5, would be amazing. Moreso, as it'd be a Kawamori design. The variable Glaug is just cool, and would fill the Zentradi mecha void. The only other thing I can think of would be a new Arcadia VB-6, righting the wrongs of Yamato's version, better than Bandai's, with ratchets everywhere, and far better articulation in battroid. Tall order, but I think they could do it. Even cooler if it was also 1/60 scale. I don't know where I'd put the damned thing, but I'd find a place for it. -
The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
anime52k8, thanks for the info. I was aware of CM's Calibur a few years back, but I passed on it. I think it was a financial choice at the time, and other things won out. I've seen Fan's Project's version before, but I'm not crazy about their take. I don't want a halftrack Roadbuster. Anyway, given that Takara/Hasbro have produced a pretty-close-to-G1 Whirl, I figure Roadbuster will get his turn eventually, and hopefully it will be well executed. I do sincerely appreciate the information, though. Thanks! -
I've also made multiple purchases with NY, and they've never given me reason to doubt them. I did have one item take awhile to get to me (not NY's fault, but the Japanese Post), but otherwise everything has come well wrapped, with handwritten "thank you" notes.
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Tears indeed. All I saw was ripping and tearing by that kid. Galaxy Commander was a pretty sweet set.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
That Jetfire jet mode is a bit of a Frankenstein's Monster. I wish they'd just made an animation faithful Skyfire figure. The bot mode looks pretty good, and the fighter's ok, but still not quite "there". However, unlike the CHUG version, at least they tucked the arms away on this one. I'm holding out hope for a new Roadbuster toy that's at least as well done as the new Whirl. I've wanted a fully transformable and poseable Mugen Calibur toy since the 80's, so a Generations Roadbuster would suit me fine. -
In my experience, the Galaxy Explorer is still highly sought, and quite iconic. The Galaxy Commander is a pretty cool set, but I doubt it stirs memory or nostalgia as much. I'm shamed to say I had to look up the Cosmic Fleet Voyager. I never cared for the front end of that ship. From the beginning, the wedge shaped ships really drew my eye. Ironically, I never had any of those sets as a kid, and only managed to get a mostly intact copy of the Galaxy Explorer years ago. I've been slowly accumulating the sets I wanted over time, but still have a few to go. The Starfleet Voyager is high on my list. As you say, LEGO's re-releases do tend to be large sets, and most are unfeasible now since many of the old parts, especially hinges, have long been retired. So, what we'd get is a redesigned version of the sets rather than exact copies. More's the pity...those old hinge pieces are incredibly useful, especially for SNOT building. So, I fondly hope that the popularity of the movie also sparks enough interest in Classic Space to incite LEGO's interest in producing a few sets to maybe test the waters. As an Adult Fan of LEGO, and knowing AFOLs as well as frequenting LEGO forums, there is still much fervor for the return of classic space themes across the board. Benny's Spaceship may just be the catalyst we've been hoping for. I can only hope most fervently.