M'Kyuun

I wish they'd put his engines on his back in bot mode. His fiery man-boobs just ruin the fig for me. On the other hand, his legs look cool in bot mode, but disrupt the smoothness of the alt's forward fuselage.

Two other things I liked: the liquid metal was called Destronium, paying homage to the Japanese name for Decepticons, i.e. Destrons; and Sari sulking; it's not explicitly stated that he separated them, but seeing her watch BB unhappily from Prime's cab, after Prime made him remove his jets, was golden.

It's definitely worth it if the toys give you a sense of awe, or pride, or happiness, and you have the spare ducats lying around to throw at a collector's toy. I have and always will love transformable mecha, and the new Yamato 1/60 line and the 1/48 VF-1 series are, to me, some the best ever produced, and IMHO, the best Macross variable toys produced to date, so to me, they are worth every penny, little flaws notwithstanding. Choosing just one is tough, but there are plenty of us here that own these toys and will gladly give you the pros and cons. If I had to choose just one, ultimately I'd hold out for the upcoming 1/60 VF-1. The 1/48 is damn near perfect, The VF-0 gave Yamato an opportunity to take the basic VF-1 design and innovate, and the new 1/60 looks to be a smaller, more refined version of the 1/48. And, the VF-1 is the quintessential variable fighter in all of Macross. hope this helps. -M'Kyuun

I like both complex and easy transformations, but articulation really sells me. Classics Mirage is my favorite of the Classics line, and maybe my favorite Transformer of all. His alt mode looks great, and his robot form is pure love...easy transformation, great aesthetics(I like skinny bots), prob the best articulation of any T-former to date, and virtually no kibble(the front wheel assembly detracts mildly- would have been cooler if Alex Kubalsky(sp?) had designed them to hinge down to lay under the chest/intakes.) I hope AK is involved more with the second wave of Classics, as he really has an incredible talent for incorporting a high level of articulation while maintaining the vehicle aesthetic. His Movie BB and Classics BB both illustrate the point as well. Can't say I care too much for this new Sunstreaker..looks like a kitbashed Alt Mirage to me, and I didn't like the leg design on him. I hope they make him, or at least Sideswipe, look just like the art shown at SDCC, i.e just like G1, only poseable with a, IMHO, better looking Lambourghini-esque car mode. While seemingly needlessly complex, Alt Grimlock is still my favorite, with the RX-8 molds(Jazz/Meister and Shockwave) second, and Skids my third. Most of my collection are Binaltech, so the metal content makes them heavier and harder on the joints, so I tend not to play with them. Actually, I don't really play with any of my toys, except Classics Mirage, who is just straight-up excellent. Payload is prob my favorite Movie/game toy..his alt mode looks good, he's very well articulated, and looks fierce in robot mode. The Alt RX-8 design really was a step up from the Suburu- the way the legs form the back seat is just awesome, and its poseability is much improved. I never liked the wheels touching the ground on these and the original G-1 designs' feet, and I wish they'd made them fold flat against the bottom of the feet, but still a great toy, and probably the most playable of the Alt/Binaltechs, IMHO. G1 Prowl was my first T-former, and I've been partial to his "look" ever since. I'm really looking forward to the Animated toys. If you can get past the cartoony aesthetic, they're superbly designed, capturing the cartoon look very well, and still managing to have remarkably poseable and kibble-less to nearly kibble-less robot modes. I can't wait to see the Earth-alt Megatron prototype. I like the Osprey, and it's a new direction to go with Megs. I'm more excited for these toys than I was for the Movie.. I still don't care for the Movie designs that much, although some of the toys were unique, and well articulated for the most part. Su's work is more to my liking..very G1, but with very detailed joints, hydraulics and such, making them look more realistic.

The YF-21 is looking better with every new pic released. The feet sticking out looks a little odd, but given the challenge of fitting those long legs into a very small area, I think it's a good compromise, and they're bent to conform to the same angle as the tail. Yamato's come a long way from their old 1/72 scale toys, and I'm glad to see that they're not afraid to be innovative. While I've always liked the YF-19 better, I'm loving the 21. I hope the ball joints on this are stronger than those on my SV-51, or they use ratcheting joints for the hips. As for the VF-11, I know there's a pretty good chance it'll be made. While I'm not crazy abt the full armor, I'd love to see that beauty with fast packs in the future. I liked SHE's solution to the 11's heatshield.

QFT! But, I don't think Bay is too concerned about giving his characters character. He only seems to esteem sh!t talking, explosions, and action sequences. Only Prime had any sense of character in the movie, and, honestly, I didn't even really care for his dialog, as much as I liked hearing Peter Cullen again. It's a shame that a movie called Transformers focused so little on its title characters. I wish it had been more like TF:A, as the writers are at least trying to invoke some of the characterizations and details from the original show, which is more a nod to us old guys from the 80's. They didn't have to do this; I think Hasbro knows its true audience, but changed the wrapping enough to appeal to today's kids as well. So far, while it does have its quirks, the show is pretty good. Are the characters cliched? Sure, but try finding a show without them. IMHO, most animated shows revolve around established cliches. Personally, I think it's the best TF show since Beast Wars/Machines. I found every Japanese incarnation of the franchise utterly unwatchable, just teeth grindingly terrible. Still, there's a part of me that still wishes they'd gone with the JL/Superman/ Batman:TAS look and writing style. JL had some rather mature writing at times, and decent plots. It's one of my all-time favorite American animated shows. My final thought is, thus far it seems as if some of the Decepticons are being written as smart, capable enemies, so I'm hoping the show doesn't become a typical "see how the bad guys make really stupid decisions/actions/comments and proceed to get their asses handed to them shamefully the minute the good guys show up" show, much like most American animated shows.

Are you using LDD, or a fan made design program? LEGO makes ball and socket joints, as well as ratcheting joints (Exo-Force type). Unfortunately, they aren't included in the LDD Factory parts pallette. You can use parts from certain Creator and MindStorms sets, but a model using parts outside of the Factory pallette can neither be uploaded nor purchased from the factory site. The sparse pallette and a few parts alignment/interlocking issues are the major limitations to what is otherwise a good program, and a good marketing tool for LEGO. However, even with its limitations, the new version of LDD is far better than its predecessor. Fanmade programs offer a lot more flexibility, but are dependent on newer parts being created and uploaded into the program, and generally are a little more complex.

LEGO has the Speed Racer live action movie license. They didn't do a bad job, as the cars are recognizeable. I wonder why they didn't use more smooth slopes for the front of the Mach 5? Sadly, I don't think they built in any of the car's special features, either. Great thing about LEGO; easy to mod. I'll be adding a few of these to my collection when they hit shelves. http://eurobricks.hosting.ipsyn.com/eurofo...=12059&st=0

Actually, Kawamori-san designed a transforming model he called VAN-Force, but not an actual Exo-Force(EF) set. IIRC, the LEGO Co. approached him to design a unique model. The instructions were online, I believe, and the parts could be acquired by buying a couple of the first wave of EF sets. I think it was only intended as a cool publicity factor for TLC's then new EF line in Japan, but internet lurkers discovered it. Mr. kawamori designed a second model more recently, but I can't remember what it was called. I think it all came about due to his several appearances with his Valk models built of LEGO bricks, and given his reputation in Japan, TLC capitalised on it to give the line an extra boost in Japan. Incidentally, I've read some interviews with some of TLC's model builders, and there are a few among them who would like to produce a line of transforming toys. I think Exo-Force was a step in the right direction, but not quite there yet. I think they'd have to produce their own line, as Macross is still fairly obscure in most of the world, and Hasbro has an iron grip on the Transformers rights. They already share the Star Wars license, and have put the kibosh on TLC's early efforts to sell just the SW minifigs separately, which is why they've changed tactics and introduced Battle Packs, or army builders, which contain abt 4 figs and a small vehicle just to say that it is still a building toy. Personally, I'd love to see any transforming line from LEGO, except in Bionicle...not really a fan, though the kids love it.

Thanks for the links. Happy New Year!

I tried downloading a Torrent of Frontier Ep 1, but all I got was the sound, no picture. This was my first attempt at downloading video, and I'm a little frustrated. Can anyone suggest a decent subbed Torrent for Frontier.

Actually, I believe the program was developed in 2005, and the current version is a far superior upgrade. The limited parts pallette is really the only drawback, and the interface between parts, i.e. positioning parts on the model, can be frustrating. One needs to manipulate the model a great deal at times to look for the "sweet spot", but it is still much better than the previous version. I created a model and bought it. The parts came in a single bag with an inventory list. The program also lets you choose among a series of background graphics to decorate the front of the box. The box has a plastic window so that the graphic shows through. It's a nice feature, and it's cool to receive a LEGO set that you've designed. The instructions do not come with the model; they are created automatically by the program, and can be printed out, or just viewed step by step or as a movie online.

Where did you get that G1 was targeted at 10-14 year olds? Which age group do you think they were selling the toys to? By comparison, Beast Wars had a more mature tone and heavier issues, with a considerable dash of slapstick and lowbrow 'adolescent humour. One hallmark of Transformers cartoons (except for Beast Machines) is to never take itself too seriously. You give G1 far too much credit. I don't give all G1 credit. In fact, after the first season, I found it unwatchable, as the plots, dialog, and interactions among the characters became simpler to appeal to younger audiences. However, the bulk of the original 16 episodes from the first season were arguably more mature. The writing was more appreaciable to a 10-14 yr age group, while I'm sure Hasbro was targeting the 5yr and up demographic to peddle toys. I was thirteen, and I still remember its impression when compared to other shows airing at the time. I agree that Beast Wars was more mature and pretty well written, Rhinox's farting ep notwithstanding . I don't mind a little lowbrow humor. Hell, I'm a military acft maintainer...we define crudeness. However, I think Bay and his writers were looking for ways to appeal to the teenage audience, and, IMHO, they handled it clumsily. I was hoping for more maturity, and from the serious tone implied by the trailers, I had hopes of a darker, edgier movie. I committed the sin of having expectations, and thus the movie was disappointing. Like many here, however, the toys have captured my interest far more than the various animations. This movie was a good thing in terms of impacting the sophistication and look of the toys, as well as showcasing ILM's incredible talents. It's not the best Transformers media out there, but it is entertaining. I'll know what to expect next time around. On that note, I'm curious how the new animated show is going to be. Personally, I'd love to see a Transformers show written like JLA and the recent Superman/Doomsday movie, produced by the WB. Good stuff.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that Frenzy's head was quite large to become a cell phone. Good point on his head's aesthetic being completely non-compatible with a cell, either. I can't see how any of the T-formers in this movie could come together so seamlessly in vehicle form. They should be spiderwebbed with fine seamlines, for all the fragmenting that occurs during transformation. The anime magic is pretty apparent throughout. Overall, I thought the movie was so-so. I liked the attack on SOCCENT at the beginning, the serious tone. I wish the focus had been more on the conflict and personalities among the robots and less on the kids. Sector 7 was just plain cliche' and, well, dumb. Megatron wakes up speaking English...why would he? He hasn't had access to the Web, and more importantly, why would he deign to speak our language? The long rocky relationship between Megs and Starscream, an odd mix of animosity and respect, was supposed to be conveyed by a single exclamation by Megatron concerning Starscream's apparent failure "once again". And, neither Bonecrusher nor Devastator(Brawl) even had so much as one word of dialog. They existed only to provide a target for final battles. Sadly, this wasn't the movie I was hoping for. It was cheesy, the humor was groanworthy, and it did not live up to its title in execution. OK, I 've always had a soft spot for the G1 3-part pilot's story. It provided enough background to explain their exodus from Cybertron and their ages-old conflict, told the story through Spike's eyes without his character becoming the focus, and better developed a large number of T-formers' characters in less time than Bay's movie. Too, Spike was already an adult working on an oil rig with his father, thus eliminating cheesy adolescent shenanigans. IMHO, the pilot, although targeted at 10-14 year-olds in the mid-80s, had a more mature tone overall. I hope the second movie focuses on the robots, finds a darker more serious tone, eschews the adolescent humor(like robots pissing on people), relegates the kids to background filler, omits Sector 7 altogether, and...well, I know none of this going to happen but I can hope.

Hi Dr. Z, and welcome to Macrossworld. I highly recommend the SV-51, either version. Yamato did an incredible job on it. My Ivanov version is the centerpiece of my Yamato collection (12, for now ). It looks great in all three modes, and it's the first transforming enemy mech fom Macross, which makes it unique. If you decide to get one, I don't think you'll be disappointed. -M'Kyuun

I find it a bit interesting, if not a little odd, that many posters here have been collecting transforming toys for a long time, and yet are hesitant to transform their newest Yamatos. I finally got to take my SV-51 out of its box last night, and I transformed it successfully first time without resorting to instructions, as is my habit with all my transforming toys, Yamato or otherwise. I have a knack for it, as well as an obsessive, undying love for well-designed transforming mecha. Fortunately, I have an awesome wife who not only endures their ubiquitous presence throughout our ever shrinking apartment, but also helps add to their numbers. Lucky me! Anyway, the Ivanov SV-51 is a fairly sturdy toy, except for the link that connects the lower fuselage(leg mount) to the ventral cockpit area in Battroid-it pops out annoyingly easily. The shoulder mount is a bit tricky, but after a little fidgeting, I got it placed correctly. My only gripe is that the wing mounted weapon pods don't stay on well at all on mine. There's no satisfying "click" like my 1/48's. One or two of them don't stay on at all. Not sure how to fix it just yet. But, I just love the look of this thing! It's tall, gangly, dark, and menacing. It dominates my Yamato shelf, dwarfing even the YF-19. It has become my favorite Yamato toy thus far. However, as much as I like, and am looking forward to the YF-21, I'm looking even more forward to the eventual VF-11 in 1/60 scale. (Come on, we all know it's coming ) IMHO, it's one of Kawamori-san's finest designs. And, along with some other folks here, I'd love to see the VF-4 get the same treatment. It's just a unique design with a cool aesthetic. I got a little carried away there, but I just wanted to pass on some encouragement to anyone who's hesitant to transform their toys. After all, they are just that, and with a little patience and care, anyone should be able to do it without fear of breakage. For me, a transforming toy left in it's box unmolested is downright unthinkable...I'm at the mercy of my inner child more often than not the older I become. It's a pleasant irony, and it keeps me young. -M'Kyuun

Seems funny that there are so many "Pirates of the Carribbean" and "Spiderman 3" toys produced, which warm the pegs for eternity, but Transformers, for which one would expect Hasbro to anticipate enormous demands, are continuously hard to find at all retailers. I live in Spokane and have had my wife, cool chick that she is, searching for me, since I've been out of country since June. I've given her a list, and she occasionally sojourns to some of the various dept stores around the area, including Toys-R-Us, to no avail. She hasn't even found Wreckage for me, besides BB '08, Arcee deluxe, Payload, Longarm, etc. They should recall the POTC and Spiderman toys, melt em down, and commence to restocking what really sells. And to make matters worse, I figured I'd get the ones I want online, but almost every site selling at or slightly above MSRP says "not available online", and I don't feel like paying the overinflated prices for them on others. I.e., I will not pay $20 for a toy that is contemporarily retailing in stores for $10. It's bu**sh*t; and the miserable f*cks who fleece other collectors, after buying up an entire store's stock, can take those toys and cram them so far up their collective asses that they puke ABS plastic. All i want is a few toys...just toys!, but these bastards suck the joy out of such an enjoyable hobby, as well as screwing the many kids for whom they were really intended. I despise greediness, esp. when it sullies those hobbies which elicit my enthusiasm and joy so completely. There are, undoubtably, a few among you who sympathize, and to those who see fit to rob others of the opportunity to own these toys at their stated MSRP, I offer no apology and wish nothing less than the most virulent strain of syphilis upon your persons. My humble opinion. -M'Kyuun

So far, I have Ratchet, Ironhide, Robovision Prime (Target exclusive), Blackout, Bonecrusher, Brawl, Jazz, and Swindle. Out of these, Jazz is the biggest disappointment. His alt mode looks decent, although there was a scratch in the right brake light paint on mine, and the glittery blue paint used on the headlights/running lights looks cheesy. The windshield and side windows are all transparent dark blue, with seat and steering wheel details molded into the plate that sits flush with the bottom of the windows. The back of the car has round indents under the brake lights, which I assume are the turn signals on the real car. These are not painted on mine. There's also some kibble hanging off the bottom behind the rear wheels, which are molded in black and intended to look like the wheel with a mechanical support in robot mode. The sniper weapon is pretty large for this figure, and the barrel telescopes out at two points , making it approx 5" long, and about 2 3/4" when collapsed. It clips to the spoiler in alt mode, and attaches to a mount on either forearm(under fender pieces) Robot mode: The head attaches to the only ball joint on this figure. The visor is blue lightpiping. It attaches to the main chest piece containing the automorph feature. Automorph is activated when the car roof section rotates flush with the robot's back pushing the head up into position and extending the grille about a millimeter. The rear deck of the car swings up to rest against the car roof and the spoiler swivels back and lies against the windshield. The legs, which form the aft section of the car, are beefy, as the knees extend out of the thighs. Some attention was paid to give the knees a movie look; viewed from the front, the lower half forms a "u",and the top half is simply a clevice that sits between with a screw forming the hinge. There is a little clearance between the knee clevice and the "u" portion allowing one to see through the knee. The lower leg can rotate 360 degrees below the knee. The feet rotate down slightly past level, so the toes can point down at a slight angle. The heel just rotates 180 degrees out of the foot. The black wheel detail pieces I mentioned as kibble attach to the feet and swivel at the ankle. The hips swivel out and rotate forward and back. The car doors are attached to the thighs; they do not move, and tend to restrict knee rotation. The lower legs are bulky, with large knee guards and a fair amount of detail on the sides. The arms attach to the chestpiece by a link hinged at the chestpiece and at the shoulder. It moves up and down laterally at both points. The upper arm is joined to the link by a pin that attaches the front wheel and arm assembly, allowing the arm to rotate fore and aft. A portion of the fender that sits behind the front wheelwell folds up and over to rest against the tire in robot mode. The elbow is simply another two-point hinge link which attaches to the upper fender, and has so little clearance that the arm stays bent at a nearly 90 degree angle all the time. The hood panels are attached by another link and just rotate under the fender to form the forearm. The hand nub is hinged under the hood panel and just rotates 180 degrees into place. From the side, it looks like a half a hood dangling beneath a fender...terrible. The hood to fender link does have two indents to try and snug the hood panel closer to the bottom of the fender, but it still looks bad, and you can see right through his forearm. Overall the arms are not very poseable, and it seems like little thought was put into designing them with more current standards of articulation in mind, especially for one of the main characters. Swindle is a game fig, and his design is amazing overall, his too-short neck being the only drawback. This is my first-ever toy review, and I hope it's understandable with a lack of pics(don't own a camera). On a scale 1-10, I give it a 5 for the nice alt mode and for details on the robot. Articulation and crappy design elements, as well as a too-big-to-hide weapon kill it for me. Worst movie toy I own so far. Hope this helps. Cheers- M'Kyuun

TFW2005 still has a working link

Hasbro certainly has never been shy about peddling repaints. TF and SW both see the repaint treatment over and over. Thundercracker should have been a sure bet. It's odd that they took the time and expenditure to produce only one of the "conehead" seekers without following through with the remaining two. Thrust was on my wish list(love the VTOL wings). Funny, I didn't like the Classics seeker design much until I finally broke down and bought Starscream. The plane still looks ungainly with the bulky undercarriage, but the bot form captures the look nicely. And, he has knees!

If a Macross live-action movie was made, could it be shown in America without HG's interference? While it would be neat to see Kawamori-san's designs in all their CG glory, I think the story would suffer due to the pacing necessary to keep it within time constraints. If a Macross movie is being considered, I'd actually favor a new story(devoid of environmental subtext and uber-angsty kids), with new transforming mecha by SK, produced as a trilogy to allow a decent story to draw out without the vast amount of editing required to keep it within the 2-2.5 hr format. Just throw in some cameos of the older variable fighters, including flasbacks to show them in action. I'd like a scene where the characters are driving by an airplane graveyard at dusk; the place is full of retired assorted VF's in various states of repair, having been cannibalized and left to the elements for years. The last vestiges of sunlight reflect dully off a lone VF-22 standing guard at the perimeter, casting a long forlorn shadow. I can dream.

Just cruised over to TFW2005 and caught the link to the newest teaser showing Bumblebee and Starscream transforming, and followed by reading the transfans' excessively over-enthusiastic exclamations of jaw-dropping joy. Bay has certainly found his audience, given the deluge of saliva on the TFW boards. I really do hope it is a decent movie, simple plot and over-indulgent explosions notwithstanding. Just to see these huge things moving about and transforming realistically after 20+ years of waiting is worth my $7. I've dropped any silly, myopic G-1 era nostalgic comparisons, and respect it as a stand alone interpretation. I still wish they'd used a more Binaltech design aesthetic, but cest' la vie. Ironically, though the production team was steering towards a more realistic approach, the various vehicular panels and paraphernalia bend irregularly, fragment, or just completely re-shape on the robots; likewise, the vehicle forms would certainly exhibit a criss-crossing of minute lines where they fragment. Again, I like the Binaltechs b/c the designers tried to use existing panel lines/ part separations to hide the transformation as much as possible. Yep, it'd be pretty cool to live in a CGI world where anything is possible. After seeing the pics and the various vids, I still can't bring myself to liking the Decepticon robot designs, save the CH-53 PAVELOW helicopter( Blackout?) Most of them are squat with short legs and large upper bodies, as well as insectile-inspired heads. I assume this was intentional, that the audience be consistently reminded that these are the evil non-conformist aliens in the bunch. The Autobots seem much more anthropomorphic in their proportions, because they're good. Reminds me of Toy Soldiers: the movie was poop, but contrastedly, I liked that the un-human characters were the good guys, and the more human looking soldiers were bad; but I digress. Finally, my greatest lamentation still is that Megatron, IMHO, is unrecognizable as a Transformer, let alone as Megatron. Alas, I hope his eventual Earth vehicle mode gives his robot form a more Transformer-ish look. I've heard he becomes a stealth bomber. F-117(it's a bomber, not a fighter, regardless of the mission designator): cool, and still within scale; B-2: he'd either be colossal, or in scale with a really impressive wingspan. I was actually hoping the V-22 would receive the Transformer treatment. Guess I'll wait and see.

I voted Yamato as well. They are the best bet at this time, having proven themselves dedicated and capable of producing very accurate, well-designed, highly-articulated transformable Macross toys. That said, my second choice for a liscensee would be Takara-Tomy, as they have a history of producing well-designed transformable mecha, at a much more affordable cost point. I'd be interested to see what they could do. As someone mentioned earlier, a Macross line in the same vein as the Transformer Classics or something more technical, like BinalTechs/Alternators, would be welcome on my shelf. Competition wouldn't be a bad thing, as it generally stablizes prices and gives rise to better QC. As for yamato's QC, I've read about the problems some members have experienced with various releases. To date, I've not had a single QC problem as far as breakages on either my YF-19 or my VF-0S. My 19 did have the off center gunpod and canted LG. Small, albeit annoying, issues, as far as I'm concerned. In fact, the only breakage I have had on a Yamato release thus far was my original VF-11's leg broke off at the hip. A well placed screw fixed it, and my VF-11 is still in excellent condition.

Something about the satellite smells...illegal. I've worked with McDonnell-Douglas hardware, and the plate looks genuine, albeit a bit clean for an item over twenty years old. I would definitely have to question where a private citizen could procure a piece of equipment like this, as I would suspect it still retains a classification of "Secret" or higher. To my knowledge, not even obsolete electronic and avionics equipment from retired aircraft are sold to private sector; the former Soviet Union, the Chinese, and various other countries with the will, the money, and the science could potentially obtain this item easily and determine its function. Conversely, despite the redneck surroundings in the pics, it would be ironic if the CIA was behind this, trolling for spies and terrorists.

I concur completely. I also thought Angela Basset should have played Storm, and would have favored someone older to play Sue Storm. Unfortunately, Hollywood favors the actors and actresses who are the flavor of the moment more often than not, regardless of what they can or can't bring to their characters. I wish the first F4 film had portrayed Dr. Doom's story and character per the comics. He is an iconic villain, and one I was looking forward to seeing on the big screen. As it is however, I hold no high hopes for a more accurate depiction given the writing team for the first film will most likely be involved for the second to preserve the continuity. I can't understand why filmakers believe a new spin is required for every licensed animated property they decide to film with live-action. I understand some changes need to be made for the sake of believabilty/ realism; however, the story itself is what created the fanbase and thus propelled it to become the iconic, money-making property that makes it worthy of being given the film treatment. Yet, the trend continues. I fear Transformers shall inherit the legacy. It's a shame that special effects have, generally, eclipsed the writing efforts put into this genre. Sigh.