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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Brilliant review as always, Mike. Whilst my criticism of Takara's approach to jetformer designs hasn't changed, what I can say is that they're consistent in their approach and they delivered what most fans want, a toy that looked like it walked right out of the Sunbow toon. Beyond my less than ecstatic view of Silverbolt himself, I can't say that I like the implementation of his combiner kibble in the least whereas in the cases of Motormaster (by all means the best implementation, I think most would agree) and Long Haul's questionable winged battle trailer I take a less critical view. I think your idea of turning it into a terminal or some other stationary accoutrement not attached to the jet itself would have served far better. I get why, but in this case, further compromising an already compromised Concorde wannabe with a giant ugly add-on pancake does not make for an appealing jet. At all. For me, however, it's neither here nor there as I'm passing on the entire team for lack of appeal. I'm just grumbling to grumble b/c I'm old and that's what us old fogies do- offer unpopular, unsolicited opinions free of charge. You're welcome. 😄 I will levy an extra criticism that Silverbolt doesn't have rotating wrists. That, at minimum, should be standard at this class/price point, but really he should also have hinged fingers like SS86 Prime. Despite my dim views on the Legacy Aerialbots, I'm still going read your review on Superion. Overall, I think they've done a pretty good job with the combiners thus far, and while I opine that they've leaned perhaps a little too much on the frame system, I can't argue the vast improvement in stability that it offers compared to the Combiner Wars gestalts. If I was only into the combined forms, I'd likely get these guys, as I could overlook the egregiously compromised jet modes and just enjoy the giant hunk of articulated plastic before me, but such is not case, and I would always notice the inaccuracies and imperfections thus eroding my enjoyment. I'm hoping there'll be a better legends scale team at some point. MS did a great job with their Bruticus, so hopefully their Aerialbots aren't far behind and their jet modes are at least marginally more accurate to their RW counterparts. I digress, but anyway, I image Takara's Superion will deliver another show-accurate combiner and I'll check out the reviews in spite of my leanings.
  2. M'Kyuun
    That'd impart a whole new interpretation of Long Haul's, erm, dumping capacity.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Long Haul has always been my favorite of the individual Constructicons, followed by Scavenger, both of whom I owned as a kid. They were the only Constructicons I owned, however, which means I waited decades before buying Toyworld's version making them my first and only complete set of the team to date. That'll change by the end of the year, and I'm happy about that. While they have their warts, the SS86 toys overall have been pretty well executed. I wish more of the vehicle functionality was present among the various team members. A non-tipping bed has always been my biggest gripe for nearly every version of Long Haul, including my TW version, since the original G1 toy and unfortunately the trend continues with this guy. I'm also afraid that SS86 Scavenger's boom deck isn't going to rotate either, a downgrade from his G1 toy if so. I do, however, love how closely this Long Haul skews aesthetically towards his G1 toy, and I like the arm solution even if it does leave some ugly black openings on the sides of the front, which really affects the cab side more than the exhaust side. Shame they couldn't make a hinged panel to cover that, but oh well. The highly noticeable gap between his pretty obvious feet and the extended cab guard is also another unfortunate holdover from the G1 toy, although the original did a better job of hiding it. I wish they'd deviated from the OG design and incorporated that into the feet so that the bed at least looked like one solid piece. On the whole, though, this take on Long Haul is a definite improvement over the CW version, and that makes me very happy. I'll be happy to have him in hand. As for the kibble trailer, while I'm not opposed to making it look utilitarian for use with Long Haul or one of the other team members, I don't like that it required the use of two large folding panels to form a sort of tonneau cover for the thighs only to become an industrial sized butt plate for Devastator. If I had my druthers, I'd just rather they let the thighs be thighs and omit the superfluous panels and accompanying wheels. I will, say, however, that at least the wheels match Long Haul's, complete with silver painted rims, and that helps to sell it as a purposeful accessory for Long Haul. However, the big purple wings on the sides and the black missile pods made up of Devy's arms kinda ruin the illusion that this is just a piece of construction equipment. but at least it's storage! 🙄😄 One last niggle: I wish he had the dual back wheels like the OG toy. Dump trucks, by the laws of nature, should have dual back wheels. It's also the rule of cool, and probably in the ancient Sumerian texts, the Egyptian hieroglyphs, Archimedes' treatises, and somewhere in the Bible. " Before thou hitcheth thine ox unto thy dump cart, maketh certain to affix dual wheels to each side" or some such verbiage. Probably in the Proverbs; they say Solomon was a smart dude. 😜
  4. M'Kyuun
    Agree. Regarding the SAP, I had some trouble getting it to wrap around the back jet boosters in fighter and GERWALK modes. I finally managed to get it to stay on, but it didn't give that satisfactory feeling of being completely secure. Today I transformed it from G mode to battroid, and that antenna finally broke. Fortunately, Bandai must have been aware of the issue (those parts really should have been made of metal for durability) and gave us two extras, so that problem was remedied. Anyway, once I got the thing into B mode, the SAP went on perfectly, no issue. Ironically, I figured I'd have a worse time in battroid, but nope. Even with all that weight, it stands and poses like a champ. Having been handling Macross toys for 20+ years, I was a bit surprised that the arms just float in fighter mode without any method of securing them into a "proper" position. Like I said earlier, it's purely up to the handler's discretion how high or low those arms hang, and subsequently the legs by din of their tabbing into the arms. The legs don't have a hard tabbing point either, merely tabbing, just barely, into the arms, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation. I try to keep the arms up as tight as I can under the body so the legs follow suit. I keep enough space for the wings to sweep freely without hitting the legs, and that looks right to me. Everything regarding the build does feel good. The central metal frame was indeed a smart decision. The knees, too, benefit from some metal parts, so this toy, far more than my VF-4 or VF-0D, lives up to the "high-metal" name. Screws don't count. Welcome. Cheers! While I don't think it's an impossibility, I do think that this particular design is very well served at this scale where smaller metal hinges can be utilized to bear the weight of the entire toy. On a larger scaled toy, common sense and physics dictate that more robust joints will be needed, and as those joints become larger, so too does their obtrusiveness as they impact aesthetics and the overall mold. This toy was executed very well. It's not perfect, but what is? I'd still love to see companies like Sentinel, Moderoid, or Arcadia tackle it. Heck even a company like Touch Toys, with their proven track record of innovative transforming aircraft, would likely produce a pretty good toy. Since Macross II is pretty much the black sheep of the franchise, I doubt they'd take as much issue letting other companies outside of Bandai make toys or models of it. The backpack on mine closes fine so long as the long double-hinged panel within is situated properly depending on the mode. Perhaps check that hinge to make sure it's not getting jammed up on something. I do find it odd that it has no latching or tabbing mechanism to keep it securely closed. Like the design itself, this toy is an oddity amongst its valk brothers and sisters.🙂
  5. M'Kyuun
    Good catch! Hope you enjoy it!
  6. M'Kyuun
    😄 Yeah, there was a lot to be desired with that figure. The cringe was strong with that toy, and it only grew cringier with every new review. I suspect a lot of fans bought it out of desperation, just that desire to finally own a fully transforming toy of it. I won't lie; I had my eye on it initially, but right outta the gate, there were issues, inaccuracies, niggles that weren't resolved (kinda like Bandai's YF-21, but I bought it anyway- so much for will power 😜). I did pass on the Evolution Toy VF-2 though. It just didn't come close to matching the level of quality or design that we were used to from Yamato/Arcadia or even Bandai. Admittedly, as you said, it's a challenging design to accomplish in a functional toy. The team that designed the HMR earned their kudos for making everything work as it should mechanically (other than landing gear- SMH) which means there are a lot of moving parts on this little toy. Not only did they nail the functionality, though, but the aesthetics are largely uncompromised, AND they included the SAP, with its own functional bits, as an independent piece that can snap on to the plane unlike a lot of earlier toys and models. If I have one complaint, and it's minor, it's that the HMR fixed pose hands are always a bit too large for the figures generally dwarfing the retractable hands that also come with them. They're an unfortunate bit of necessary partsforming, like the gear, if you want to take full advantage of the figure. I wish there was a happy medium where the retractable hands were just a tiny bit bigger and capable of holding the weapons. It's but a small grievance, as I'm quite impressed with all three of my HMR valks and the levels of mechanical functionality they enjoy as compared to their larger more expensive counterparts. With my available display space all but gone, I welcome these smaller alternatives to the 1/60 scaled toys and hope Bandai will continue to develop other valkyrie designs in the line.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Such is the challenge that Hasbro and Takara face with these toys; everybody wants something different from them. A little bit of beveling on the arms or having some beveled elements fold out of them to give the turret a better shape would have been fine, but yeah, budget. I just think it looks like two different teams designed the top and bottom of that tank with different levels of realism in mind. It looks jarring to me and it beggars some better engineering. I know that the bot mode was the priority, and to that extent, they pretty much nailed it- Megs looks great. However, since they can't legally make him a gun and a tank is going to be his alt mode pretty much from now on pending changes to our laws, I have an expectation that the tank mode will look good, or at least passable as such. That turret fails. I don't hate the toy, but I sure do wish it had turned out better. I'm curious to see what third parties will cook up for this guy to address the turret issues. I can live with the fat round arms, unrealistic though they may be, if they can do something about the obvious scope and gun barrel to make it more passable as part of the turret. I think this guy turned out pretty well. On the whole, I've been pleased with these as opposed to the CW toys, both designed by Hasui-san, despite the similarities in transformation mechanics between the two sets. I think the aesthetic changes to bring these closer to the G1 toy and toon looks make them far more palatable as well as obvious improvements to the articulation. I do wish they'd made the entire crane deck spin (I very much like functionality to be preserved in my transforming toys, so it's rather disappointing when they take shortcuts, especially when the G1 toys were capable. These should be upgrades in every sense IMHO) and tampoed the warning stripes on the boom like the G1 toy. Ah, well, Toyhax will have us covered for that and a hundred other things we didn't ask for. I get the sense that Scavenger's boom deck won't rotate either, as it's not shown doing so in any pics, nor was it shown in the fanstream. The G1 toy could do it, though.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I didn't own the previous version, and I suspect the new tab is an improvement. It was nice and secure when I transformed it, so it does its job. The box art was specially done, likewise the stand, but I prefer to let the toy speak for itself. I think this is the perfect scale to execute this design; any larger and challenges are going to arise with striking a good balance between getting strong multiple joints to support the legs and their becoming too large and ungainly. I'd still love to see Arcadia take a stab at it, what with their history of innovative solutions, but as it stands, I think everything balances out about as well as it can with the HMR. The VF-2SS is just a neat looking design and I'm really happy to finally have a nice toy.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Mine just arrived, a day early no less! I've been wanting a good toy of the VF-2SS for a very long time, and I've skipped every release until this one. In hand, it's a beautiful piece with a great deal of articulation, even the doors on the leg packs, which makes the point of making the landing gear partsform seem ludicrous by comparison, but IIWII. Anyway, compared to the HMR VF-4 and VF-0D that I own, this is a bit fiddlier and fragile. The legs tab into the arms in fighter, but the arms themselves don't tab into anything, at least that I could see or saw in the instructions, so they basically hang there by din of friction and your calibrated eyeballs to set them in the approximately appropriate positions. The left arm pauldron falls apart extremely easily on my copy and I may have to figure out the best place to add a touch of glue to keep it together without affecting its functionality. Those things are very small and easy to lose, especially when they're just hanging off the bottom of the plane and could fall off with the merest provocation. Thus far, I've only played a bit with the battroid, checking out the articulation (the knees are particularly involved) and then transforming it to fighter. In doing so, I was more acutely aware than ever before how much inspiration this took from the VF-1 and the intention by the Macross II creators for this to be its successor. While I believe in canon that role fell to the VF-4, a righteously awesome design in its own right, the VF-2SS indeed feels like an advancement of the original Valkyrie (VF-0 notwithstanding 😉) while being its own unique design. I think it's beautiful and I'm so glad to finally have a pretty accurately designed and well-articulated figure of it in my collection. After addressing that pauldron, I'll probably attempt to attach the SAP bits and get her all armored up. Word of caution- those head antennae are really, really thin and fragile. despite having a plastic spacer in the box around the head to protect them, one of mine was ever so slightly bent so I moved to bend it straight and though I didn't break it, it felt like it gave a little too much and I'm rue to touch it again if I can help it. Fortunately, it comes with spare antennas, but I'd rather not break the ones I have so I'm trying to manipulate them solely at the base as much as possible. Probably goes without saying for most of you, but I'll put the caution out there anyway. To quote Stevie Wonder, "Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful?"
  10. M'Kyuun
    Man, Takara really did a great job with those legs and sandwiching the lower tank body into them. That's an excellent looking Megatron. I still, wish, however, that they'd brought the same A-game to the turret, as the scope just looks too much like a scope and breaks the illusion. Moreover, the pistol barrel sticking out of the end of the scope just doesn't really look appealing or realistic; it looks exactly like what it is, a pistol barrel awkwardly sticking out of a gun scope. I hope third parties address it with better looking more realistic solutions to make the tank mode look better. It's a shame they couldn't get it closer to this concept art.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Ultimately, though, it's likely going to be older folks who steer the younger to it, be they parents, aunts or uncles, older friends, etc. It is heartwarming, however, to see younger reviewers like a certain British reviewer who (notoriously) gets the toys in hand well before their releases to do his reviews. I'm glad he's on there and that he has embraced G1 with zeal, as younger viewers may be more inclined to watch his channel over those like Emgo, although Emgo's humor may draw them in, too. Suffice it to say, the majority of TF reviewers that I'm aware of are likely in their forties or over and may not appeal to kids so I'm hoping more younger reviewers embrace G1 and keep the torch burning for future generations. Too, hopefully many of those younger fans will become designers for Hasbro and keep the toys coming for those future fans. Likewise in Japan with Takara-Tomy. Moreso in Japan, as that's actually where the toys are designed; no shade on Evan or Mark, but I don't think Hasbro could design a transforming toy from scratch if they had to. I'd love to see an American toy company formed that does just that, perhaps with their own IP. I'd love to see the 80s transforming toy craze make a return full gusto, inspiring today's kids to want to take that up as a profession. Perhaps there'd even be a college course: Designing transforming toys 101. That would be my utopia. Seems like China is cornering the market on transforming toys today, and more power to them, as evidenced by much of their output. I wish we'd catch that bug here in the US; we could do with more transforming robot lines and fiction, new approaches, new aesthetics (again which the Chinese are doing), and above all, new toys and models. Hasbro's ruled the transforming robot toy realm in the US for far too long without any challengers (Gobots only ran from '83-87, and Hasbro bought the brand from Tonka in '91). I'd love to see them get some competition. Heck, if I had the wherewithal and the finances, I'd do it myself. For now, it's just a dream, and I explore my own creativity and desires for these things through LEGO.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Likewise. I get why it's included when it is, but I never use it. Just give me the character and his/her usual weapon(s) and put any additional leftover budget into engineering, paint, or tampo.
  13. M'Kyuun
    I appreciate your insights, Scyla, and you're correct so far as the design methodologies and prioritization. Maverick was indeed done far better than Takara's usual fare, but they also took obvious inspiration from the VF-1 to their credit. Perhaps Kawamori even offered them some guidance. Regardless, it's a rare example of a more realistic and sleek jet mode uncompromised by blocky robot bits or arms dangling off the sides of the plane. When they worked with Kawamori to design MP-03, what we got was arguably the most accurate F-15 fighter mode in TF history, but the bot mode suffered a number of concessions for it. Contrarily, MP-52 went entirely in the opposite direction and what we got was an extremely toon accurate bot mode with a heavily compromised F-15 mode. The pendulum swing within the franchise is pretty wide. Obviously, I prefer Kawamori's approach, as he is able to cobble some really nice-looking bot modes from sleek realistic albeit fictional fighters. I wish the fighter mode was a little more important to Takara, that they would strike a greater balance making both modes look good instead of prioritizing the bot. I realize, too, that, at least when dealing with G1 jetformers, they're tied to their blocky 80s robot designs and cubes and sleek jets do not a good formula make so far as preserving the latter. They have proven, however, such as with Legacy Prime Dreadwing/Skyquake, that they are capable of making a sleeker jet, even if this particular example is a bit on the chonky side. Still it integrates the arms and the overall appearance looks proportional and jet-like. I have both characters b/c I liked the mold so much. I read your comment even while I was in the midst of typing my own. As ususal, our perspectives match. And, seeing Scyla's point, too, I don't think it's necessarily that Takara can't pull off a sleek fighter mode, as they've proven they can, but they're just not interested in doing so most of the time, which is unfortunate as they do a disservice to people like us who really like jets and wish more TFs enjoyed sleeker, more realistic or accurate jet modes without being so heavily compromised for the sake of the bot mode. For Pete's sake, they can make a pretty realistic motorcycle turn into a decent bot, but not a jet, which has a whole lot more real estate to work with. It's purely a lack of care, and yeah, I think it's b/c the fandom has been fed shitty jet modes for 40 years so why start trying now. I think it's telling that Maverick got a lot of negative commentary from fans; it just shows that they've been indoctrinated into accepting egregiously compromised jets. I had to cringe when I watched vid reviews of a few of the recent Aerialbots with commentors gushing over how good the jet looked. Like, really? Have you ever seen an F-15, a Harrier, an F-4 Phantom, the Concorde, or an F-16? I just have to shrug and shake my head. But yep, TF fans love shitty jet modes and Takara/Hasbro by extension, is there for them. Thank goodness I can take refuge in Macross and that companies like Touch Toys are bringing an alternate reality for fans of transforming robots and sleek jets.
  14. M'Kyuun
    After about four and half hours, I finally got the thing transformed. The transformation itself wasn't too bad, although I encountered a little difficulty understanding what was being done once I reached the groin section in the instructions and switched to a video for the rest. Other issues I had were really tight panel connections- this thing was so well engineered that it's often difficult to tell where the panels separate and getting them to do so, I had trouble getting the shoulders to snap into place, I didn't move the waist connector far enough initially- it has a strong snap- so I partially dismantled the torso for better access. I initially couldn't figure out how to get the loincloth to fold and was afraid of breaking it, so I finagled with that for a while. It's complex, not altogether intuitive IMHO, interesting to say the least, and well-executed overall. The fighter mode is gorgeous, and as I mentioned, unlike most Hasbro/Takara stuff, the panel lines are very difficult to spot and sometimes not at all, so well-toleranced is the molding. A tool for separating panels and such is pretty much a necessity, and Touch Toys has you covered as they provide one. It comes in a sealed pouch along with some cards. In my infinite wisdom, I thought it was just a bonus weapon, so I put it back in the pouch. I didn't realize what it was for until I watched the video (Mangmotion) thus I'll spare anyone here getting a copy the mistake I made as well as your fingernails. It's definitely a neat figure and I'm glad I got him. I've long wished for a transforming Su-27 Flanker, or a close facsimile thereof, and this scratches that particular itch. While I don't expect Takara to make their stuff this complex, they could learn a thing or two about making seamless realistic transforming fighters from Touch Toys. Well, it's quite late and I'm falling asleep at the keyboard. Cheers all.
  15. M'Kyuun
    I have thoughts and opinions. 😄 I too grew up with G1, although I was thirteen when it premiered, a little older than the target demographic. Nevertheless, the concept sang to the deepest core of my being and still does. I also want the best versions of those characters, although my view of that skirts somewhere between toon'accuracy', toy, and box art. Anyway, since G1 lies at the core of my collecting, I'm also down for whatever Hasbro has to do to provide that and if that means taking up a copious chunk of Studio Series doing characters that didn't show up in the film, well that's fine by me. I make no secret that I vehemently abhor the Bayverse films. However, I acknowledge, with gratitude, that they were successful, the financial windfall thereof benefitting the brand across all lines including Classics, Animated, and Prime. Although Studio series was initially created to highlight the live-action line, I've had no problem accepting that it has grown to include general media from films to games and perhaps eventually tv series. While my initial inclination, nasty though it may be, is to say "F**k Bayverse fans" for their hard feelings over the enduring popularity of G1 and its subsuming of a good deal of Hasbro's toy production, I'm not without empathy and I know how I'd feel if the shoe was on the other foot with Bayverse becoming the most popular part of the franchise and G1 fading away and getting less and less representation. I'd be angry, disappointed, and frustrated, and so I feel for my fellow fans who, for reasons I'll never understand, love the Bay films. Indeed, Hasbro's walking a fine line to avoid alienating fans of other aspects of the franchise, which continues to grow with every new show and film, and even independent toy lines all while dealing with the financial reality that certain parts of the franchise do better than others. I'm eternally and profoundly thankful that G1 maintains its hold on fans, as it should, IMHO, for kick-starting it all and heavily informing every other incarnation. However, I do hope that fans of non-G1 Transformers get their due in plastic as well, as everybody deserves to be served. I appreciate the honesty of Evan, Mark, and the various marketers who do these fanstreams, and I hope they can offer some hope to fans who are wishing for holes to be filled or explain why they're not, at least for the present. For myself, the Omnibots remain a void in the G1 collection and I hope they get toys eventually, too, but I get the frustration from fans who want characters that have been in media, perhaps with prominence, and still aren't getting their updated toys. Patience may be a virtue, but sometimes it's a hard one to embrace.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Good timing on the premium membership. I'm in for SS86 Megatron, Scavenger, and Mixmaster, perhaps TFOne Starscream (transformation's a little lazy, but I still like the overall look of him. I can accept a little more wonkiness on a Cybertronian jet alt mode as opposed to one based on a real aircraft), and KSI Widow (undeniably beautiful car mode and I'm really digging the bot mode they cooked up for her. There's just something intrinsically cool about using the front of the car to inform overly large shoulders or shoulder pauldrons. The rest of her has some pretty good proportions as well, although she's a bit thicc in the calves which likely limits their range to 90 degrees. Standard fare for a deluxe. I can live with it b/c there's no alternative.😄) Given the question at the end of the stream, I responded an unequivocal 'YES' to all G1 bots featuring in the SS86 product line. That may be a little controversial, but judging by the overwhelmingly high number of yes votes, I'm obviously not alone in that sentiment. I also saw, to by heart's jubilation, a number of folks requesting a non-death SS86 Prowl figure, and though I really like my ER Prowl and have invested time and money into making him as close to the G1 toy and box art as possible, I'm always down for a new improved version of the character. I also put in a request for Omnibots and I saw at least one other comment requesting the same. I hope they do them, as they're already doing and have done far more obscure characters and toy updates and for Primus' sake, they're just really due some updated toys in the main line. Oh yeah, I also saw a number of folks mentioning Mirage as a part of that question and given the lackluster toys we got for Siege and Earthrise, a new G1 accurate mold is long overdue. I'm still using the Classics toy in my First Season display, waiting patiently for that better toy to come along. Full disclosure, I love the Classics toy, along with Hound, who's also my S1 placeholder, both of whom were designed by Alex Kubalsky. Shame he left Takara, but MMC has certainly benefitted from his genius. Fortunately, a good deal of his design philosophy has been embraced and carried forward since his departure, to our great benefit as toy collectors and fans.
  17. M'Kyuun
    I'm glad Hasbro decided to upscale the minibots and it's not at all surprising to see more coming beyond the fact that there was no previous announcement or leak. I'll be happy to have Powerglide, Windcharger, and Seaspray on my shelf. I'm not familiar with Swerve or Tailgate as characters, but if the toys turn out alright, and thus far I've been rather pleased with the minibots they've done thus far, I'll probably pick them up as I did with past versions, at least Tailgate; I don't think I own a single version of Swerve. Man, it's been so long since I watched Prime that I had to look him up. I remember that toy being a bit fidgety and certainly not their best effort in that line. Considering those toys enjoyed a level of complexity higher than today's deluxes, my skepticism that they'll do an accurate capture runneth over. Guess we'll see. Most disappointing but given the amount of time that has elapsed since Kingdom, where in fact he did appear in the box art, I guess it's not unexpected that it won't come to fruition at this point unless Mark or Evan or one of the other powers that be (perhaps a Takara designer) really wants it. That Kingdom art had a lot of us hopeful, I think. I saw this announced on TFW2005 a while back and I thought it interesting given how far the toon version varied from the Diaclone toys. (Eternal thanks to Floro Dery) I don't think they were bad toys in the context of Diaclone, i.e. mecha suits for little dudes, but in terms of being sentient anthropomorphic bots, they just didn't really fit in with the rest of the Autobot gang. That said, I still have my G1 Ratchet, the only one of the van bros I owned. Even then, it just felt jarringly different. The decision to do them in Missing Link is odd given all the other bots that more closely comport to their toon versions, but I guess in terms of just updating all the G1 toys with articulation, they're a must, especially given the prominence of the characters. I think it'd be interesting if Takara found a way to give them their odd G1 configuration and then combine the weird upper body with bits of the treaded chariot to create a bot mode more reminiscent of Dery's design, essentially making them triple changers in a sense. I don't collect Missing Link (just give me Prowl, please), but I'd love to see them pull off some cool engineering if they indeed make the attempt to do as I described. As far as doing a Decepticon, I think they'd get the most mileage out of Soundwave due to his bevy of cassette minions who they can repaint to their heart's content. If they do Megatron, my interest is piqued as well. The G1 toy always fascinated me, and while I now own 'perfected' versions of that toy and character, something about the original toy still grabs me and I wouldn't mind owning a fully articulated version of it. I figure they made Prime, so they're kinda obligated at some point to do Megs. I'm here for it.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Exactly my point; generally, a person of normal stature is cast in the role so it's a refreshing take to see an LP cast in the role. In the 80s, LPs were cast in a lot of horror and sci-fi movies, but we rarely see them today. Peter Dinklage is certainly the most notable LP working in tv and film today from what I've seen.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Ooh, some interesting ones in there. Deluxe Smokescreen has my attention, but I wonder if it's G1 or some other version of the character. I'm still quite happy with my ER version. Deluxe Powerglide, if G1, sounds promising, as well as Animated Wreck-Gar and Ratchet. Glad to see the rest of the Combaticons on that list; I'll be happy to have another Bruticus, and one that's not as floppy as the CW version. Still waiting for them to do BW Polar Claw. He was my first BW toy, so I have an affinity for him.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Ah, gratuitous blood and gore. This looks like fun. Nice to see a little person, Peter Dinklage, cast in a role where they would usually never even be considered.
  21. M'Kyuun
    I stand corrected. I meant Su-27, but it was quite late, and my brain wasn't running on all cylinders at the time. And yeah, J-16 is the Chinese designation for their version. And while the MiG-27 Flogger isn't that bad, it's certainly no Flanker in terms of aesthetics. The MiG-29 and Su-27 are two of the loveliest fighters in the world, IMHO.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Just checked tracking on mine; it's currently in LA, presumably at LAX waiting for transport. I figure it'll reach me around Thursday. Appreciate the pics, man. Having watched a transformation vid for this thing, it's going to be a slow, meticulous process the first time I transform it. Once I get it in bot mode, I probably won't touch it again. I appreciate the engineering that goes into these complex toys and the toys themselves for the wonders that they are, but there's little fun to be had when transforming the majority of them for fear of breaking something, missing a step, or getting it something wrong and fouling the whole process up. The hard part will be deciding whether to keep it in bot mode, or tackle the transformation once again to get it back in jet mode, as I've long wished for a decent MiG-27 transformer and this is so much better than I ever expected it could be. Knowing myself, it'll just stay in bot mode, but the satisfaction of knowing it can be turned into this gorgeous plane will remain and keep me contented.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Yay! And this time I don't have an appointment!
  24. M'Kyuun
    A little hope is better than no hope at all. Thanks, Mike.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Ooh, perhaps a reserved and dignified "Squeeee!" is in order? Agree on the Tron Lightcycle- timing's great for a nice crossover.
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