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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Got Skywarp right out of the gate; the F-15's far from perfect, but I thought Thundercracker was a decent enough figure. I spent some time looking at the correctly transformed pics of Astrotrain on Hasbro marketer Nate's Instagram before somewhat gudgingly preordering him, too. Unfortunately, the shuttle mode seems to be transformed correctly even in the terrible product shots, so that's disappointing. But, for all the reasons you elucidated, I pulled the trigger. The alts, even shuttle, are improved over the Siege, but the bot mode took a definite step backwards. It's a shame they designed it with so much obvious, untuckable kibble on the legs, which just ends up plastered along the sides on the shuttle's flanks. At the very least, they could have sculpted the grey linkage and some of the lower edge of the train cab in a subtly rounded manner to affect the suggestion of OMS pods instead of just leaving it squared and awful looking. Perhaps that'll be DNA's contribution to improving this guy. Pity they didn't paint his abs- I mean it's like, what, ten cents worth of paint? At least the train mode cleans up far, far better than the Siege's and the rolling wheels with functional connecting rods is a really nice touch. Too bad more of that consideration wasn't given to shuttle, my preferred alt mode, but at this point asking for Takara to make any sort of flying alt mode anywhere in the neighborhood of good is an effort in futility. I'm curious to see what sort of improvements by way of add-on kits do come, but honestly, at $60, I already feel like I've spent far too much on this fig for what it offers in contrast to my expectations. Perhaps had they jumped him to commander class, those deficiencies in bot and shuttle modes would've been addressed satisfactorily, but they didn't and they weren't. I'm not sure why the designer felt he had to reinvent the wheel; just stick to the traditional transformation schema of the G1 toy while improving the proportions and articulation, like MFT and Fans Toys did. Apparently, he felt the need to put his own spin, and well, look at the results. At the very least, I hope it's a fun fig to mess about with. If I ever win the lottery (I won't b/c I don't play and I've no rich relatives dying to give me their vast fortunes) or somehow come into money, as it were, I'll reach out to you, Mike, as I've been saying the same thing for probably two decades now. I've no skills along those lines, but I definitely have an eye towards what I want as ideal figs and I could give insights as well as help with transformation mechanics. I build my own transforming bots with LEGO, so I've some practical experience in that regard. I can't understand the reluctance of third parties to jump into the CHUG space. I give props to Newage for Romulus, even if that scale difference, which was beyond their ability to foresee, may have thrown off some fans and perhaps Newage themselves from trying again. I wish more third parties would take up the challenge of making improved figs when the official figs prove subpar. In some cases, like Magic Square, Newage, and MFT, upscaling their existing designs would suffice. Again, if I had the resources to back such efforts, I would. There would also be a lot more Macross designs, especially those that never got toys before, in the works.
  2. M'Kyuun
    We're losing so many of our 70s and 80s film icons. They're only mortals like the rest of us but given the breadth and profundity of their impact on culture, it always seems harder to see these folks pass on. Godspeed, Mr. Duvall, and thanks for all the memorable performances.
  3. M'Kyuun
    I didn't go in for this variation, but I'll add my two cents and compliment the good changes that the DNA kit make towards making him more Godzilla-y. As you said, TT should have released it like this themselves, especially with Gojira being a Japanese icon.
  4. M'Kyuun
    IMHO, both T30 Springer and the WFC/ SS86 retool all represent best efforts towards realizing triple changers with a good balance of concessions. I also think the Generations and Titans Return versions of Blitzwing, both going for very different looks, managed the balance between modes and the concessions thereof far better than the Legacy figure, especially in jet mode. That thing's carrying half the tank on his undercarriage, and it looks terrible. Blitzwing's my favorite TC, and I passed on the Legacy toy initially until I found him on sale. I like Astrotrain quite a bit, too, but I've passed on every single toy of him since owning the G1, as they've all been terribly compromised. Unfortunately, the SS86 toy carries on the tradition. I also thought Legacy Sandstorm was done pretty well. It has compromises, but most triple changers do, and I thought they struck a decent balance with him between modes. I'm content with the design. Octane, like Astrotrain, is due a really good figure, as pretty much every iteration has sucked. I got the TR version, but it leaves a great deal to be desired. Broadside is one in which I've very low interest due to the ridiculous scales of his alts. Out of the bunch, his alts make the least sense, and he just never really registered with me. Nonetheless, he's likely never had a toy that did him much justice, either. The TR fig's jet mode (shockingly!) takes the hit between alts for awful compromise, and AFAIK, he's the only other official Broadside triple changing toy besides the original G1. In hindsight, Takara's track record with triple changers isn't very good. I realize triple changers are inherently difficult to design. Nevertheless, there are some good examples of well-done triple changers between both official and, moreso, third party iterations. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm compelled to point out Mech Fans Toys' versions of Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Sandstorm, Springer, and Octane, all of which, at legends scale no less, pull off what are arguably some of the best iterations of these characters with well-balanced alt modes and very 'toon accurate' bot modes. I'd love to have versions of each upscaled and improved to fit CHUGL, as I doubt Takara will ever rise to the level of execution MFT achieved with these toys.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, but has he stopped eight or more unspecified wars that may or may not exist in this reality? OTOH, he does an impression of our wannabe despot "unlike anyone's ever seen before!" Bigly!
  6. M'Kyuun
    Oh, Evan, Mark, and the others know when they've got a turd on their hands, but it's their job to sell it. Funny how they'll judiciously point out flaws in a previous fig years down the road when a new one is coming out, and of course they gush over the new one, even if it, too, has visible flaws that don't quite meet the hype. Naturally, they're going to downplay or outright quell any harsh criticism; they want to sell these things and project the Takara-Tomy designers, who actually do the heavy lifting design and engineering-wise, in the best light possible. But these guys are fans, too, and credit where due, they do a good job of masking their disappointment, b/c as fans, you know they feel it as well when TT puts out a stinker and they have to churn up hype for it. I'm officially nominating the Hasbro Transformers Team for the Academy Award for their performances. Best I've seen all year. 👿
  7. M'Kyuun
    Astrotrain is such a disappointment. Of all the new reveals, he was the one I was most looking forward to, especially after the terrible Siege figure. I was hoping for nice clean alt modes and a good looking bot mode, but this new fig is so encumbered by inelegant kibble as well as yet another poorly executed shuttle mode. How is it that Takara was able to deliver fairly clean alts and a nice-looking robot mode in 1985 and yet, with all the experience gained over the last 40 years, produce something this bad?
  8. M'Kyuun
    I'm completely blown away by how fast the Omega has sold out pretty much everywhere. I guess the desire/demand for Legioss toys, especially one at this level of affordability and playability, is far beyond what I anticipated. I figured these things would linger a bit. I would have considered going in on a Delta instead, as I like the green color scheme and the AWACs aspect, but I'm not at all fond of the wing design (too skinny and I don't like the big unsightly beavertails at the inboard trailing edges). I don't like the lance gun design either (it would've been much cooler if the lance splayed open like Michael's sniper rifle in Macross: Frontier). Anyway, given how well this thing is selling, I'm hoping TT and Toyrise will do a reissue at some point for those of us slow on the trigger. Thus far, I only own a copy of Sentinel's Eta and I have a copy of the Pose+ Eta preordered so I may try to jump on either Toyrise's Iota or the Zeta when they release, even though the Eta's my favorite color scheme. I'm hoping the Pose+ turns out to be a fairly easy toy to manipulate and transform. It's a pricey beast, and along with all the detailed interior stuff, ease of playability seems to be one of their foot stomp points as well. My first issue Sentinel Eta, with its super tight shoulder joints, small-fidgety nature, and loose ankle joints isn't the most accommodating toy in-hand. It's beautiful and I love it, but it's just not much fun to handle and I'm hoping the Pose+ will be. The Toyrise Legioss offers a playable toy, too, and while I chose the Pose+ over Toyrise, I'm thinking I might have to go in on at least one of their Legioss variants just for the fun factor it offers. I'm looking forward to in-hand reviews of it. Congrats to all who managed to snag copies before they were sold out.
  9. M'Kyuun
    As someone with a foot in both worlds, I agree. These aren't too terribly priced, especially for an anime that's even more niche than Macross. Too, compared to the ever-rising costs of Transformers, the crazy secondary market costs of the Sentinel Legioss toys, and the exorbitant cost of the upcoming Pose+ Legioss (which I've got POed), these toys look absolutely right in the realm of comfortable affordability. It's great to see the Legioss getting so much love, as I've always found it to be a cool design. While not everything that Toyrise is doing appeals 100% to me, I think it's great that they're doing their own variants, as it's a foregone conclusion that they'll eventually get around to the Eta, Iota, and Zeta. Moreover, the hard lean towards easy playability make these appealing options in addition to their prices respective to other Mospeada toys. I wish TT and Toyrise every success. FWIW, BBTS is already sold out of their Omega preorders. That was quick.
  10. M'Kyuun
    😄 Congrats. I've been finding any number of current figs since last year, so distribution must be improving, or my store's doing a better job of ordering. Anyway, I had Brawl on PO through Hasbro Pulse, but I found him twice at retail, passing the first time and grabbing him the second. Alas, I canxed my PO with Pulse otherwise I'd have gladly offered up the copy. I wish you every success in your hunt! FWIW, I think Brawl is, thus far, the best of the Hasbro Combaticons. He may be unseated by Onslaught, which looks to be an excellent figure, even if they did fudge him to make the truck and trailer two separate parts so as to indulge in their beloved frame system. Still, the execution overall looks good to me. I do wish, however, that Vortex and Blast-Off actually formed the arms themselves instead of just being accoutrement on the frame arms. The frame just renders the figs as superfluous as combiners and I'm not really a fan of that approach. At least the leg bots on Bruticus are doing some partial duty despite having some framework there as well. but I look at both my Iron Factory KO Bruticus and my excellent legends scaled Magic Square Bruticus and wonder what could have been had Takara put in the effort.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I must confesss I'm only aware of R-Type via few mentions of it, on these boards, generally in the context of LEGO MOCs. However, I do find the aesthetics of the ships alluring, and there's a nostalgic quality to them that tells me I've seen them before, but I was never aware of their origins until recent years. I congratulate you on your acquisition, however, and for R-Type fans, it's nice to know there'll be plenty of options for those seeking out toys and models.
  12. M'Kyuun
    So with all the wing variations they're doing, I wonder how that'll impact potential Tread connectivity? No skin in the game (yet) but I thought it a logical question.
  13. M'Kyuun
    No kidding. How much longer before we see a Bumblebee and Megatron? And then reiteration after reiteration of just those same four characters.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Astrotrain just does not look like a leader-quality toy, certainly not one worth $60. I'm guessing that's the proper config for his chesticles after some debate on TFW. That bot mode looks unfinished and the shuttle mode is burdened by a great deal of unsightly kibble along its flanks as well as some odd cowcatcher-like protrusion under the nose. The train mode is the only improvement, and while it still doesn't look even as good or believable as the G1 toy's, it's the best thing this toy has going for it. I was anticipating this figure the most out of all the new SS86 announcements, and I'm pretty disappointed. Shockwave was my other anticipatory figure, and he's basically the Siege toy minus all the surface detail. I prefer said detail so it looks like I'll be skipping this fig, too. I already have versions of Wheeljack, Sunstreaker, and Snarl that I like, so it looks like Skywarp is the only fig from this wave I'll be picking up. So bummed about Astrotrain, though. ☹️
  15. M'Kyuun
    Very much appreciated. It's rare that we folks on this side of the pond get to see displays at these huge WF conventions in real time and with an English-speaking narrator, no less. Enjoyed the walkthrough. What's with all the R-type stuff? Anniversary or just riding a popularity high? Modest Macross showing. I really wish Arcadia had a booth with some new valk designs and their VF-3000 ready to go with a near release date. Perchance to dream, alas.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I'll second The Beast in Me for a watch. Excellent all-around.
  17. M'Kyuun
    Regarding the Glaugs, I kinda figured. Probably Experten's work. Funny they only showed the Alpha in Soldier mode. Tough to get a good idea what fighter will look like when the wings are generally obscured by the arms. The hosts' awkward handling of the toys didn't help. Honestly, initially I thought it was going to be a low-vis version, and that piqued my curiosity. I'm not really feeling the huge shoulder cannons, though. If I end up going in on one of these, it'll most likely be the Omega, as I like it the best of the three. I do like like the color scheme of the AWACS one, though. It's a bit goofy with those huge canards and the huge lance, but its uniqueness is its charm.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Some goodies there. I'll add Dishonored to the list. In light of how well Fallout has been done, I'd love to see either a Deus Ex or Halflife series with the same rigorous attention to detail. I think Starcraft would end up being a Starship Troopers clone, but a Command and Conquer:Tiberian Sun series could be cheesy good fun.
  19. M'Kyuun
    The most interesting things in these pics are the Variable Glaugs. I wonder who's making them and whether they're just garage kits, like Experten's, or actual wide-release toys? The VG has been high on my toy want list for a long time.
  20. M'Kyuun
    I don't own an MP Blaster, and I've been fine with that as he just never carried the same importance as Soundwave, but oh man do I want that Steeljaw. Hopefully they'll make Ramhorn, Eject, and Rewind for him as well and sell the cassettes as either two or four packs.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Ironically, I have the old Robotech: Battlecry game for PS2, and I enjoyed playing that game, even if they kinda overwhelmed you with incoming fire at times. Don't even get me started on the damnable Cat's Eye escort mission. Grrrr! But I really loved the overall format and controlling your VF-1 was intuitive, even for a non-talented gamer like me. Moreover, they imparted different abilities to each mode, which made them all seem purposeful, especially GERWALK, which I've always decried as a mid-step in the transformation. I'd love a similarly executed Macross game covering every entry in the long-running saga with a reluctant partnership with HG to get SDF:M in there too for Western release.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Oh my, poor Astrotrain. he's only slightly better than the previous version. at least the locomotive looks much improved, but what's with all the nasty kibble along his flanks and the weird cowcatcher-ish extension under the nose in shuttle mode? When the G1 toy did it better, there's something fundamentally wrong. His bot mode, too, which looked great inn the previous release, looks like ass this time around, and still would look a kibbly mess with the chest panels folded down. C'mon Takara and Hasbro, Mech Fans Toys, a legends scale toy maker made this: Why can't you guys manage at least this at a leader scale budget? I don't think DNA can clean that mess up, either, at least not without some serious part replacements. I so do wish some of these third parties would start making CHUG/SS86 scaled stuff when the official toys are this bad. Disappointing, to say the least. Shockwave is a bit disappointing, too. FFS, why can't they just do a space ray gun?!- pretty sure nobody's gonna think that's a real gun being pointed at them. And if someone's dumb enough to point it at a cop or a gun-happy redneck in the dark, they kinda deserve to get plinked. Megatron's Walther is understandable, but Shockwave's groovy purple space gun should get an easy pass. If Hasbro's wondering why TF sales are declining, perhaps they should re-evaluate some of these things before deciding to release them. Out of all these, Skywarp will likely be my only purchase.
  23. M'Kyuun
    I wonder if that's the way they'll go: it was already a $600+ toy years ago when prices were lower; then again, he commands a hefty tag on the secondary, so Hasbro probably sees opportunity there. Guess we'll see. AFAIK, no other titan class figs beyond Bayverse Grimlock have been announced, so if it is indeed a titan class, they kept that from leaking. Kinda glad now that I supported the Haslab, as the figure has appreciated nicely. It has presence, but I hate the laziness of the engineering and all the plates hanging off his legs and back, especially when Studio Cell was able to integrate all that planet kibble into the bot mode rather seamlessly. That Evangelion crossover is a weird one, but I guess mashing those two highly popular IPs together makes sense from a marketing view. I'm not too plussed by it, and I'm an Evangelion fan, especially for Eva Unit 01. I wish, instead, they'd made a Unit One that can transform into maybe a jet or something. That's the sort of crossover that would interest me. Just like the VF-19, mashing an anime mecha with a version of Optimus Prime, or any established character for that matter, just doesn't really grab me. The Overgear stuff looks cool. Again, I'm not really persuaded to the buying point, but I'm curious to see what else they do in the line if these initial toys sell well.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Opposite situation: Haslab Unicron arrived as a ball (just like in the movie!) and I turned him into a robot, and thus he has remained. I've never attempted to transform him back and I'm not sure I want to.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Glad to hear you're warm and cozy once again. Hopefully the source of the water can be found and remedied lest your furnace woes continue. I do indeed marvel at MMC's ingenuity and talent when it comes to engineering these things. In a number of ways, be it full-scaled intricately designed cassettes or all-in-one combiners, MMC is doing things that no other company is even attempting and doing it with the sort of style that would make Jazz happy. 😉 I have all of MMC's main character cassettes except Frenzy (the red one) and IMHO their weakest efforts were the condors, which are still pretty good. I wish they'd found a different solution for the wings, but we're here to talk about Forte (Ramhorn). Honestly, I can't recall if I've even ever seen the Sunbow episode(s) that he was in ; for me, it was always about the fact that a cassette turns into a cool red rhino. Even the G1 toy, which I have sitting on my desk as I type, managed to evince an organic shape reminiscent of the actual animal, moreso even than MMC's take, which is exaggerated to more closely resemble the animation. Nevertheless, I absolutely love how he looks. Side note, out of curiosity, I decided to actually look at real rhinos to see how the G1 toy and MMC's takes compare. I figured MMC had it in the bag with that prominent shoulder hump and descending line down the back, but in fact, most of the pics I saw show the shoulder and pelvic humps at about the same height with a gentle curve between, which is how the G1 toy presents. The animation tended to omit the pelvic hump, putting emphasis on the shoulder. It looks cool, even if it's not perfectly accurate to the actual animal or the G1 toy by comparison. Credit where due, Takashi Matsuda, the designer of most, if not all, the G1 cassettes, deserves a shout-out for creating one of the coolest gimmicks in all of Micro-change, which went on to become a major part of the first wave of Transformers toys. Most of his animal designs do a great job of copying the salient features of the animals they portray, an impressive feat given the small, thin wafer template he had to work with. I'm forever a fan. I'm also a long-time fan of MMC, most notably of Alex Kubalsky, who designed all the MMC cassettes, and Jesslyn B. for her sculpt work. Again, credit where due. Beyond the upscaling, MMC's two greatest achievements with this line are giving more thickness to the bodies of the quadrupeds allowing for more realistic shaping and stability, and the inclusion of the weapons in the transformation. No partsforming here. Kubalsky, when he worked at Takara, was the first designer to give greater dimensionality to a cassette with the 2009 Universe Classics 2.0 Hound and Ravage. Ravage's jet packs were also part of his sculpt, albeit unpainted, too small, and misplaced above the hips instead of sitting outside of them. Still, it was step forward in design and I appreciate it. IMHO, it's still better than MP Ravage which fared the poorest among the MP cassettes, alas. This was a radical rethink of how a cassette could be designed, and it seems he's dialed it to 11 since becoming part of MMC. I wholeheartedly agree that the scaling of these, at least in bot mode, is far more complimentary overall to the MP line. Moreover, their sophisticated transformations, the excellent sculpt work, the high level of articulation, and other features/ details all reach what we've come to expect from MP standards. It is slightly lamentable that no oversized Soundwave or Blaster figures exist in which to place these guys (they'd be huge comparatively), but that's ok. I'm glad we still have the micro-cassettes and folks like KFC and Fans Toys, as well as Takara themselves still making "MP" level cassettes at the original micro-, or mini-cassette scale. I'm equal opportunity- I'll take all the transforming cassettes you can give me regardless of the scale. Funny that they wrapped the instructions around the case. Jaguar's, I recall, came folded around the cassette like the liners of the old 80s and 90s cassettes. it was yet another cool feature. Guess maybe there were issues doing that? IDK. Very, very much surprised that Toyhax did no labels for either Tempo (Steeljaw) or Forte. These things are beggaring for old 80s styled cassette livery and Toyhax never seems to let an opportunity like this slip away without an overabundance of stickers to complete the look of your toy and charge more money in the process. I'd be down for sets for both- still waiting.... I'm also wowed with every one of these cassette releases. MMC's engineering prowess is understated, IMHO. I don't own a MP scaled Blaster, so I don't have one to stand next to the cassettes. I've no room for a MP Blaster in my Detolf anyway, so I guess it works out. I'm also anticipating their Ratbat. I hope it's better than the condors. I have high hopes it'll be another impressive addition to the line. As I said in my mini-review, I hope they go on to do the rest of the cassettes as well at this scale and level of engineering. I'm in for all of them (except the drone, which is a boring design amongst the rest). Great review, Mike!
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