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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Very good, glad we both got our copies. I hope Target doesn't pull their PO cancellation shenanigans again. I missed out on Thrust precisely for that reason. grrrr
  2. M'Kyuun
    Thanks for those links, Mike. I managed to get Origins Jazz through Target, as Pulse was already sold out (only 49 minutes after your post). These damnable exclusives and their extremely short stock on Pulse are absolute BS. I'm not feeling the benefit of my membership when these things go up for PO and I have no awareness until an hour later and the bloody things are already sold out. Anyway, you're a godsend. Thanks, Mike.
  3. M'Kyuun
    If the alt mode was some sort of praying mantis, I could buy that, but as any sort of relatable gun, it fails absolutely. Add to that the nauseatingly Bayformery Frenzy-ish look of it, and all interest recedes to nothingness. I so vehemently wish they'd put everything Bay in the rearview mirror and all but ostracize it like they've done with Animated, which was magnitudes better than any single one of the atrocious and unsalvageable travesties that are the Michael Bay live action films. I very much like Kingdom Airazor, and although I initially thought this was just a retooll/repaint of that mold, the fact that she's a new mold that follows the same transformation schema as the Kingdom toy doesn't bother me a bit. I think, too, the concessions are a little more apparent in bird mode, but not so egregious as to deter my overall positive opinion. However, I wasn't planning on getting this fig, since I already have Kingdom Airazor and Terrorsaur which fulfill my need for this particular mold. I was, however, considering picking up the deluxe RotB mold where her legs form a fair part of the wings and the arms form the bird's legs, just for some variation. That said, I think the Kingdom design's bird mode, and thus this deluxe Airazor's alt mode, offers far more in terms of articulation. Thanks for the review, Mike.
  4. M'Kyuun
    This fig hasn't appealed to me since it was first revealed, and your review only cements my opinion. Honestly, I'm not really finding too many of these RotB figs all that appealing. Money and space saved, but it's rare that so much of a line fails to appeal to me. As of now, the only figs I plan on picking up are the deluxe Airazor and SS Mirage. Honestly, I'd prefer this Mirage custom.
  5. M'Kyuun

    Arcadia VF-5000G

    M'Kyuun replied to daBlah!'s topic in Toys

    QFT. Kawamori's a phenomenal artist, but sometimes his color choices leave somewhat to be desired. I'm also holding out for the B variant, so I hope this gaudy teal & yellow version sells like hotcakes, if they indeed release it. I hope they do; we need more Macross valk variety on the shelf. The VF-1 and YF-19 are great, but there are yet a number of designs that need toy treatment, and this is definitely one of the nicest ones.
  6. M'Kyuun
    😄👍 I have to say, the choice of treads for the trailer is a bit odd; IRL, they'd limit the speed and bog you down on highways, not to mention tear up roads. But from a rule-of-cool perspective, pretty neat. Wish these actually rolled, but too much to ask for with these severely budget-limited retail toys. I'm glad to see the trailer hitch moved back a bit farther on the legs allowing for more clearance for the trailer to rotate. They put it too close to the cab on ER Prime for no good reason that I can perceive. Looking at this, it makes me wonder how they're going to approach commander class Ultra Magnus: all-in-one or separate robot with parts-forming armor? While AIO is generally my preference, I'm still satisfied w/ my CW UM and it wouldn't bother me if they decided to go the G1 toy route of a separate bot w/ armor. Either way, I just hope it's worlds better than the unpalatable Siege and Kingdom figs. 🤮
  7. M'Kyuun
    Hasbro has you covered @mikeszekely 😁 True to the original, looks like he'll combine w/ his trailer for a full armored version. Armada's not my favorite take, but I think they did a pretty good job with him from my limited experience with the original. You have a far more acute eye for the details, so you're more apt to pick out any discrepancies. regardless, I hope this satisfyingly fills a hole in your Prime collection.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I appreciate the post and hope you're enjoying him. I think Takara did a pretty good job with him as well, and having watched a few video reviews, I think the transformation is excellent- straightforward and uncluttered by a lot of small folding panels, sliders, etc that we see in a lot of Transformer figs today. Granted those things can help make for better bot or vehicle modes, but sometimes simpler is nice. Alas, I already have MMC's Terraegis, and I'm quite satisfied with their take on the character. That said, had this come out earlier before all the other 3P options, I wouldn't have hesitated to get a copy. My only nitpicks are the blue windows on his sides (I wonder why they didn't engineer it so that the doors remain outward-facing in bot mode? It would have improved that side profile). The other thing I don't care for is how his belly sticks out at an angle instead of flush as the original toy did and most other versions I've seen. Those niggles aside, he's a good take. This looks ok; there are always going to be inconsistencies between the complex CG models and the toys. Two thoughts: this opens the door for MP Jazz, and two, why couldn't they make SS86 Jazz's car mode this clean?
  9. M'Kyuun
    That's a pretty creative way to use the oversized head of a super-deformed bot to achieve a decent transformation without removing the head all together, as is usually the case. Not really grabbing me personally, but I appreciate the thought that went into it. I think Big Firebird did it better with their Magic Henshin line; not only did they have better bike modes, but they also combined. Granted, they weren't super-deformed with giant heads, but still in the realm of kawaii. So, I recently added Magic Square's Ken (Ironhide) to my reluctantly ever-growing menagerie of legends scaled figures, and while the transformation does have a slightly fiddly nature to it, once accomplished a couple of times, it's relatively straightforward once you have in mind where everything needs to go, especially compressing so much of the van into his torso. There's a way to go about it, and once you've got it, it goes along well. Once you've got the conversion process sorted, you can get down to admiring the fig purely for what it brings to the table: IMHO, it's the most accurate transformable representation of G1 toon Ironhide yet made by any company. Add to that articulation on the high range of modern standards, and you've got a pretty impressive toy at a rather diminutive scale. It's toys like this that make me vehemently wish these legends makers would consider upscaling their figs to both CHUG and MP scales, as they outshine virtually everything else including official figs. I took some comparison shots to illuminate the differences in design and sculpt. L-R: MS Ken, Hasbro's SS86 Ironhide, and Takara's MP-27 Ironhide Apologies, as I forgot to fold down the little silver bit below MP Ironhide's bumper. Too, my MP Ironhide is equipped with an upgrade which removes his door panels from his hips and uses them to fill in his torso. Of the three, the MP is the least well-executed, and while it's not a bad toy in-hand, IMO, aesthetically it's bested increasingly left by its neighbors. I'd love to have Magic Square's fig upscaled to MP size, as it it's so incredibly well executed. And to be clear, I'm not a fan of the ultra-slavish toon design direction; I like my bots to have details and textures, but since Floro Dery conjured up his toon bot mode, giving him and his mold partner Ratchet more filled out bodies apart from their G1 toys, I find it easier to forgive the plain smooth limbs on toys of these characters. Going forward, IMHO, Ken is now the Ironhide toy to better. That comparison was the impetus for this post. I find it ironic that the appearance gets better as the figs get smaller, as the opposite was true only a decade or so ago. Here they are in their van modes, and they all accomplish the Nissan Cherry-Vannette mode pretty faithfully, albeit by different transformation schemes. of course, The SS86 version is a little compromised by the obnoxiously large hinges marring his otherwise smooth hull. I really wish they'd used double hinges to allow them to sit flush in vehicle mode, but they didn't, more's the pity. The other features missing from the stock version are the painted black square representing a sunroof and his trademark yellow stripes running the lengths of his sides. Too, the stock version's bumper area was over sprayed with silver, covering a portion that should have been red. I painted both the bumper area and his stripes on my copy. For whatever reason, both the MP and Ken have half of the back window painted red, but in all other respects both Ken and the MP, especially the MP, which of course is licensed, hew very closely to the real vehicle. Ken, due to his heavy reliance on numerous folding panels to fill out his van form, has greater breakup on close inspection, especially the windows, which are all painted. However, at such a small scale, it still presents well, and is certainly recognizable. He even has rubber tires, a highly desirable feature that both Hasbro and Takara abandoned years ago to the chagrin of many a fan including yours truly. I continue to be impressed by what these legends Transformers toy makers are cranking out, as they're outdoing, in many respects, their larger competition. I also picked up Ryu, magic Square's take on Ratchet, which was on sale on TF Safari. having handled ken, I have no regrets adding that fig to my legends collection. I didn't take pics (there are numerous reviews of these guys on YT for a more in-depth look), but both Ken and Ryu (gotta love the Streetfighter references) come with a plethora of accessories allowing you to reenact many scenes from the G1 toon as well as giving these figs a host of expressive poses and expressions. Although many take issue with the plastics they use, as for a toy experience, Magic Square delivers in spades.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Got some LOLs from your post, @mikeszekely. Some questionable choices, to be sure. Ironically, I think I'd rather have G1ized versions of Rescue Bots than anything from the Unicron Trilogy. The Rock 1& 2 are interesting; I wasn't aware of the rock instruments, so my mind went immediately to Rock Lords, neither of which really excite when there are still so many desired characters, like Windcharger or the Omnibots, that they could do. And yeah, how about the rest of the cassettes and a better Soundwave that's closer to the G1 toy (proper leg transformation and an opening backpack that accommodates his weapons-cum-batteries)? I'm down for Prime, Animated, and Cyberverse stuff getting the G1 makeover, especially if they hew as close as Skyquake, i.e, closer to the original look than G1.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I knew Bay didn't like the G1 designs, but I didn't know why. From a newcomer's perspective untainted by nostalgia or really any knowledge at all about the subject matter, his point is well-taken. That's probably the only thing about Transformers that I'll agree on with Mr. Bay. The Sunbow toon is rife with inconsistencies, errors, weird stuff like the aforementioned Earthy bot modes millions of years before even leaving Cybertron, on and on, ad nauseum. If I came into some new property with no foreknowledge and saw all that, I'd be like "it's total shite!" too. 😄 But I think he went in a completely extreme opposite direction in that the ILM designs' fragmentation and illogical placement of car parts, essentially 'design by whim' approach worked against the believability of his bots. I never cared for the designs and the movies were made unsalvageable by everything else, especially Bay's vision and direction. Each is a greater affront to everything I love about Transformers, and I purely despise them. I too lament the continued appearance of Bay's influence polluting successive live-action films. A new, more believable aesthetic would be much appreciated. Moreover, give Bee a proper face and a voice FFS! How about design the toys first and then base the CG models off of them, keeping transformation sequences consistent and practical without car bits shredding, folding, and doing whatever they will in violation of physics and mechanical reality. It'd be cool to have a live action toy that actually transforms like its on-screen counterpart without a lot of fudging involved. Say what you will about the old Hanna-Barbera Gobots show, but one of the salient features that stood out and remains with me to this day was the mirroring of the characters' transformations to the actual toys. I always thought that was cool and preferrable to Sunbow's oft fudged transformations.
  12. M'Kyuun
    I have both Yamato's 1/72 and 1/60 YF-21s, and the maturation in every conceivable area is notable. The 1/60 is a beautiful toy, especially the fighter mode, whose streamlined form was obviously the primary focus. They succeeded; I doubt there will ever be another transforming toy that beats it. However, as a Battroid fan, the disproportionally skinny legs bug the living bejesus out of me. Moreover, the hips are loose affecting its stability. I finally took it down and boxed it up for safekeeping. I'm heartened by Mr. K's mention of working on it, but hinges don't equate to the leg issue, so my hopes are tempered. Bandai's YF-21, while it has its own issues, proportionally gets things closer to "right" for my sensibilities. Alas, with little concrete news about this bird coming from either company, it seems the odds of an improved YF-21 are still a distant dream. As to the hopes of more Macross on Western shores, the lack thereof has been sorely disappointing. I was hoping that all the various series would be dubbed and show up on streamers like Netflix, Hulu, and the like; however, not only has it not happened, but there have been no announcements of such. Again, what was the purpose of pursuing an agreement with Harmony Gold if they had no intentions of bringing Macross to the Americas? The only benefit I've seen has been the availability of Macross toys on American e-tailer sites, which frees us from enduring the frustratingly nigh impossibility of acquiring a new toy via the ritual 'midnight madness'. I don't miss that bit of BS in the least. So there is that, and it's not to be taken for granted. But it would be great to see the various series and films showing up on DVDs with good subs and dubs as well as being shown on regular tv or streamers to build an audience here hungry for their eventual products.
  13. M'Kyuun
    I vaguely remember that Impossible Toys version; they did an outstanding job capturing the Tetrajet as it looked in the first ep of First Season, but that bot mode is a bit yikes. Since Hasbro's on a sudden kick making Figs with their G1 Cybertronian alts, my hope is that they'll do a new 'origins' Seeker with a good balance between bot and Tetrajet. It's pretty obvious that the artists never thought these designs would be translated into toys, so a great deal of license was employed. Moreover, curiously, Bee, Wheeljack, and the Seekers all have their Earth vehicle bits in bot mode millions of years before humans came along- I guess they didn't think kids would be smart enough to figure that out, or they just couldn't be bothered coming up with bot modes that reflected the Cybertronian alts for essentially a single ep. Regardless, they did toy designers no favors.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Well, I'm glad I didn't give the wrong impression; tone is sometimes difficult to convey via the typed word. Anyway, my adopted hometown of Spokane is similar in that it's a medium sized city with a small-town feel, rather hick if I'm being honest, although with an influx of folks from California and Seattle over the last few years, a lot of big city issues are becoming common. Alas, life. I'm not as familiar with the maintenance issues experienced by our Fed Ex folks; I see them making deliveries with regularity on my street, so I know they have working vehicles. Since they are the harbingers of lovely little plastic robots, my collection's growth is, too, in large part due to their service.
  15. M'Kyuun
    First, thanks for the response. Too, let me advance an apology if I came across as miffed; I'm not. However, the frequency of delays does get to be frustrating sometimes, especially if I'm expecting a package, I see that it's on the truck or at least due the following day and tracking shows it in my area, the expectation of delivery is reasonable, and then it gets delayed. I try to plan my few outings around deliveries to cut the chance of potential porch pirates making off with my stuff. I haven't had it happen yet, but there's always a first time, and I know they're around as I see warnings by victims in my local Facebook Community pages. Anyway, these odd delays sometimes foil my plans as such, and I have to hope that if indeed the package gets delivered there are no thieves lying in wait. As to Fed Ex themselves, I realize the effects of Covid and the misfortunes of life pay their toll; it's a human enterprise and thus subject to frailties and I empathize; I try to exercise patience. The delays and the separation of my two packages just seemed odder than the usual delays I experience with Fed Ex which prompted my original post. In the end, I got my toys and I'm thankful that they were something of such insignificance and not medication or critical medical equipment. For those using FE for such things, I hope there's a classification or some marker to indicate the need for expeditious delivery. I didn't sign up for any special tracking; the tracking they provide suits my needs; as I said, they're toys, I've lived 51 years without them, so another few days or weeks isn't going to kill me, at least I would hope not. 😄 As to your early delivery dates from Fed Ex, I get them too, but long experience has tempered my expectations. Too, I live in WA and most stuff from Pulse originates in GA, so it's at least a week's haul to get here from there, and it seems like the majority of stuff goes ground. The shipping is free b/c I'm a Pulse Premium member, so I'm not complaining, especially with the amount of stuff I order through the year- the free shipping alone pays for it. Some of the delays and weird transit routes leave me scratching my head sometimes, though.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Just curious if any of you guys are experiencing weird delays and long delivery times from Fed Ex. I was expecting a package per email notification today that shipped on the 2nd, last Thursday. Tracking shows it's only made it to VA from Harrisburg, PA in the last 6 days, so I don't expect to see it until next week. Previously, my copies of Tarn and Leo Prime shipped on the same day from Atlanta, GA, Friday 27 Jan, initially scheduled to arrive 31 Jan, which is pretty unrealistic in the best of times. I continued to receive projected delivery dates even when the parcels were still a couple states removed. So, somewhere in this transit time, the packages got separated. I received a delivery date for Tarn on Tuesday, 2 Feb, and indeed he was delivered. Meanwhile Leo Prime decided he needed a little more time to take in the sights. On Friday 3 Feb, I got a delivery notification for Saturday the 4th, which was then delayed to Sunday. On Sunday, he was apparently on the truck out for delivery but didn't make it due to "operational reasons", or so the email they sent me said. Delivery was rescheduled for Monday the 6th, which finally proved successful. This sort of situation has become my norm when waiting on Fed Ex- lots of projected and missed delivery dates and unusual delays.
  17. M'Kyuun
    So much Yes! You know they're cooking up a Wheeljack. The only negative is that in all likelihood he will also be a deluxe, which means you won't be able to really reenact the scene where Bee rolls up into the back end of Wheeljack's Cybertronian hover-truck mode. Sometimes all that mass-shifting is a real bummer. But I'm just happy that these versions of the characters are finally getting made- unexpected but happily received.
  18. M'Kyuun
    No interest personally for the Action Toys figs, but I do have to say that Rodimus looks good. I'm just not into non-transforming Transformers. I guess these figs explain why AT are no longer doing Machine Robo figs. I wish they would have released their Supercar (Turbo) before moving on. Yeah, I'm pretty stoked for Snarl, and really anticipating the eventual revelation of Swoop. Can't wait to have the whole team. My hat's off to Hasui-san, Evan Brooks, and all the other folks at Hasbro and Takara who made these guys happen- long time coming, but I'm glad it happened within my lifetime. The gun/sword allocation is odd, and I know most fans would probably prefer they all came with their swords. Indeed, third party to the rescue! That said, we're really fortunate to live in a time where so many other companies are producing upgrade kits for the official toys, stickers to enhance them, and all the third and fourth parties making their own figs. It's so far beyond what I could have ever hoped for in terms of outside support for the hobby. This sort of thing really didn't exist when I was a kid/young adult in my twenties; I try to foot stomp how fortunate we are in this fandom. I hope it lasts as long as the brand and beyond, but nothing's forever, so I try to express how grateful I am to be living in this time when Transformers is enjoying a golden period of popularity and access. Enjoy it while it lasts.
  19. M'Kyuun
    First look at the upcoming SS86 Snarl The front legs are a little skinny on the Stegosaurus mode, but considering they and the head halves all fit into the bot's lower legs, it's forgivable. Snarl, unlike Slag and Sludge, skews much closer, by all appearances, to his G1 transformation schema. His back plates appear to have a shiny metallic gold sheen that I wish the head, legs, and tail all shared, but they appear to just be a yellowish-orangish plastic. I've never been much of a fan of robots with melee weapons, especially Transformers; if you have the tech to transform, why take a club when you can wield a cool shooting weapon? Indeed, the G1 Snarl toy came with both a rifle and a rocket launcher, as well as a sword. I'd rather have the shooters, but I'm sure some third-party company will help us out on that count. All things considered; I'm looking forward to adding this fellow to the team. After his arrival, only Swoop is left to complete a rather faithful G1 Dinobots collection in the mainline since the originals nigh 40 years ago. I'm a happy fan.
  20. M'Kyuun
    No worries. I didn't have time to record my impressions in the morning, so when I returned home, I pretty much went into my second post without further context. I'm bad about posting and then going back and reading what everyone else has been posting- just have to get my thoughts down before they dissipate. I do my fair share of retroactive quoting. I liked RiD, at least what little I can remember of it. I'm also not glued to the humanoid woman with small bits of kibble attached serving as fembots; it's one of the biggest issues with G1 Arcee insomuch as trying to translate that lithe spare toon design into a functional transforming figure when there's so little alt mode in her bot mode to work with. If they are, in fact, making RiD Strongarm, as I suspect they are, compared to Animated and Prime, her chunky appearance isn't too far a stretch to fit in with the CHUG aesthetic. I didn't realize Earth-mode Hound was going to be in the Buzzworthy line. Like all my TF toys, I'll try to score mine from Pulse if possible before trying to find it at Target. I get the sense that Hound will be a blasted store exclusive but Detritus, if in fact he's a Hound recolor, will be general retail. Hate that direction, but that seems to be their modus operandi these days. In spite of their motto to the contrary, it certainly does us fans little good. Interesting. Legacy Arcee's not a bad toy at all, and a relatively faithful interpretation of the Prime character; she certainly has a more cohesive and better looking motorcyle mode than the upcoming Legacy Prowl, IMHO. From my limited PoV, based upon almost weekly trips to my local Wally, but little elsewhere, Arcee sold far better than her Velocitron repaint, Road Rocket, who I passed on, and who warmed the pegs for some time. However, I don't have my finger on the pulse of the community even a fraction as much as you, so my perspective is, to say the least, limited. Poor sales could be chocked up to resistance from the fan community unable or unwilling to accept the current direction in Legacy of CHUGifying everything outside of G1 to a similar aesthetic. It's not my preference, either, but I don't hate it. I have the figs, and I plan to continue picking up the ones that appeal. IIRC, Arcee was the first fig to adopt this new direction, so being the inaugural release as such, I could see sales suffering at the onset; we're a fickle and ever-aging fandom, slow to adopt to change. Alas, Legacy's here to stay for the meantime and the foreseeable future, which dashes hopes of rereleases or updates of prior toys in their original forms but does open up some interesting interpretations like the upcoming Skyquake/Dreadwind, whose mold, IMHO, far outshines the original Prime toys, especially in jet mode, which suits me just fine. 👍 Like you, I'm not in the least interested in any manufactured lore they've conjured to explain the crossover figs; it's all about the toys and how well they're executed. I'm curious to see what other characters and continuities they mine- seems like nothing's off the table.
  21. M'Kyuun
    I was sooo hoping that by now Macross would have become far more ubiquitous here in the US, but so far as I've seen, nope. Nothing on Netflix or Hulu, no toys, no models, no books- zip. What was the purpose of reaching an agreement with HG if they weren't going to capitalize on the market? We're still no further than we were pre-agreement, except, I'll concede, the valks are a little easier to get from domestic e-tailers. Beyond that, though, the great Macross invasion I was hoping for never materialized. I, too, was hoping for some better update news about Arcadia's YF-21. My hope is that they're going to address the proportion issue with the legs. While it may make the fighter a little thicker, that's a concession I'll happily take in lieu of a better proportioned Battroid. In every other way, Arcadia's YF-21 is a gorgeous toy. I'd still be interested to see what Bandai's doing with theirs though.
  22. M'Kyuun
    I posted the list and took off for a friend's house this morning so I didn't have a chance to research some of the names on the list I wasn't familiar with. I've done a little searching now, and seeing Strongarm, I'm guessing their dipping their toes into Post-Prime RiD as the next toon to G1-ify. I'd forgotten who Bludgeon was, although I own the RotF toy of him, which IMHO, is the toy to beat. Coming from that era where the toys were much more complex, I'm not sure a modern voyager will unseat it, but I could be wrong. I had no idea who Detritus was, but apparently, he was a repaint of G1 Hound which makes me wonder, incredulously, if he's going to be the first version of Siege Hound's retooled Earth mode we get. If so, grrrr. All in all, though, a pretty good year to fill out more of the G1 roster, especially first season/'86 Movie characters, which is my sweetest of sweet spots when it comes to Transformers. However, while I can appreciate what they're doing to homogenize all continuities into a CHUG aesthetic, I wish they'd just make updated toys of non-G1 toon characters with better articulation in their original aesthetics. Those aesthetics often are what set them apart from everything else and made them unique which was a big part of their appeal. That ship has obviously sailed, but I hold out hope that maybe someday they'll reconsider and return to some of these non-G1 toons giving us updated toys in their original looks like many of us desire.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Updated Breakdowns for 2023 Legacy Evolution/Studio Series Wave 3 & 4 - Transformers News - TFW2005 Down for Deluxes Beachcomber, Bombshell, SS86 Brawn (finally!), Voyager SS86 Ratchet, and leaders SS86 Snarl and Prime Dreadwing. And maybe core SS86 Frenzy.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Likewise. I may skip the mansion (probably won't though), but everything else- yes!
  25. M'Kyuun
    I bought a small steel mesh colander specifically for washing LEGO- the mesh is fine enough that no parts will sneak through. It works well; my only concern is parts hopping the rim when I'm rinsing them, but I try to be careful. But I agree- the colander method is the most efficient way I've found to wash parts, at least in small batches.
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