M'Kyuun

Danth, you're too kind, man. Much appreciated. I wish I had both better photography skills and any skill at all with photo editing for better presentation. I've seen some really awesome CS builds, including M-Tron, that looked like the OG box art, which really helps to sell it. Anyway, I'm glad you like it. I'm looking forward to showing it off at BrickCon in September. Cheers for the kind words! I showed your CS transforming ships to my wife; she thought they were cool, too.

Honestly, so would I, though I shudder at the thought of the impending price tag. That said, the Yamato 1/60 was nigh perfect; the disproportionate legs were it's only major failing, IMHO. If they were to fix that, likely at the cost of the thin tail section of the fighter, I'd be all-in. Hopefully, too, they'd install a more robust non-ball-jointed hip joint, as my Yammie YF-21 is pretty loose at the hips. Bandai seems uninterested, which beggars the question of why tease a proto only to not move forward? Anyway, I think Arcadia can improve on Yamato's design; most of the work is already done for them. Proportionate legs in battroid would be fantastic, as that's how I display my valks. For those who prefer fighter, Arcadia could simply rerelease the unmodified Yamato version, appeasing both camps and making a buttload of cash in the process.

They're actually gumetal, IIRC- been awhile since I painted those. His biceps and the lower portion of his waist are the same. I have the OG toy (he was my first TF back in '84) and I tried to match the color and placement of my paint apps. There's a slight metallic sheen to it, but the lighting in my house is poor (very yellowish) and my camera, a little point & shoot, is extremely finicky about light and vibration, so my pics often suffer. In hand, I think it compares pretty well to my G1 Prowl. I also painted the interior and exterior portions of his lower legs that were cast in trans blue. I was hoping that Toyhax would include a sticker in their set that mimicked the interior leg greebles like the G1 Prowl box art, but sadly they didn't. I've always loved the look of leg greebles under glass that appeared on a number of the G1 toys' box art; I just find it an extremely appealing part of the look, and I wish it carried forward more on modern toys. Anyway, Prowl is probably my favorite character from a design and appearance standpoint. His appearances in the show were limited and he never really had much character development, but I just love how he looks and the box art for the OG toy went a long way towards cementing that in my mind. That said, I've spent a fair bit of time and money on this fig in painting, stickering, and procuring third party weapons for him to try and complete his G1 toy look, w/ a splash of toon in there as well. I'm still probably not done with him. This is the mainline Prowl I waited nigh 40 years for, and I love him. It's probably also why this upcoming 'Dying Prowl' is a bit unsavory to me- he, like the other Autobots on the shuttle, had such a cheap lackluster death and I just don't want that memorialized in a figure.

Actually, I'm surprised they retooled the hood at all. A new head mold makes sense, and they could have made a clear orange effects piece that fits in the mouth to represent the orange smoke. All things considered, although they're just chunks of plastic, it's still a bit morbid to collect figs in the act of dying. I prefer my figs alive and ready for action with as much detail as they'll give me- not pale and ghastly. Different strokes, I guess. Personally, I love the first season bots and I still feel a little bitter about how they went about dispatching them with so much careless ease for the sake of introducing new toys. These characters mattered to me and to many others, so it was a bit jarring, even as a 15- or 16-year-old, to see them done away with so flippantly. Even in my 50s, it still rankles. They could have been seriously wounded and later shown in a quick scene being taken in for medical care- out of action but not dead. Alas, that's not the way it went down, more's the pity. This was a good opportunity to rerelease ER Prowl albeit with a different head sculpt for those who missed out on him the first time. Although I have my copy, I'm hoping the regular version will get a rerelease eventually. Here's my copy, alive and ready to kick Decepti-chops! (after a bit of strategic analysis and planning, of course).

A fellow AFOL and good friend of mine who builds very large MOCs mentioned to me a month or so ago that he was contemplating building an M-Tron layout and asked whether I would consider building a mecha for it. Unbeknownst to him, I accepted the challenge. Unbeknownst to me, in the intervening weeks, he changed his mind and began working on a Space Police 3 themed MOC instead. 😄 Anyway, I was already well along with my design which was based on an earlier, simpler MOC I'd built back in 2014-15 and have since thought of improving. My friend's request was the motivation I needed to actually put in the work. I finished it yesterday and overall, I'm fairly pleased with it. The back wheels can castor 180 degrees, allowing it to circumscribe a fairly tight turn. However, although I mounted them on Technic friction pins, the friction imparted is nigh negligible making anything but very short reverse maneuvers impossible due to the wheels going in opposite directions. Not my initial preference, but design considerations drove the choice. Those familiar with the venerable and still awesome 6989 Mega (or Multi) Core Magnetizer (also known as Mobile Recovery Center) released in 1990 will remember the two cargo pods with their distinctively printed angular side panels which could be raised up to access the features within. For my rover, I decided to build my own, giving it a bit of a 21st century upgrade, as it were. As such, I envisioned it as an A.I. imbued drone with an array of handheld power tools, a generator with power cable, a toolbox with several handtools/extensions for power tools, and an extendable, multijointed neck which doubles as a standing platform for our intrepid astrofig to affect repairs at various heights. Too, as can be seen in the pic below, the resting spars can extend independently and are tipped with small wheels to allow the drone some mobility. When collapsed, they are compatible with the MCM's original pods. Of course, as is my wont, this rover, like the majority of my MOCs, is "more than meets the eye'. 😜 I tried to stay true to the original red, light gray, and black color scheme for the most part; however, I did sprinkle some silver bits here and there throughout the build for a little additional flavor, as well as the few odd white bits, which occurred, too, in the original M-Tron sets. The only real deviation is a dark bley Technic liftarm with ball joint which I used for the waist/crotch piece. Oh, and a few blue Technic friction half-pin, half-axle pieces. The resulting mecha is fully articulated, including the thumb and two fingers per gripper. It can also carry the pod on its back (I neglected to take a pic, sorry). Take my word for it (the boosters on his heels are double jointed and can extend about a brick's height allowing for walking poses with the pod attached as well as just providing stabilization in general). Yet another photo op I missed. So, full disclosure, in 1990, I was entering the military, and while I owned one of the smaller M-Tron sets, the theme on the whole didn't really grab me. I thought the MCM was cool, but I never pursued it, even after entering active duty when I had the funds to buy it. Dumb, dumb me. Thirty-some years hence, I finally scored a copy and it's such a magnificent model, definitely a standout when weighed against the whole of the Classic Space and post-CS eras. My friend, the one who originally engaged my interest in building a mecha for his then proposed M-Tron layout, is a huge M-tron fan, and I was intrigued to venture into this theme to which I had never really given much thought. I love the utility, practicality, and playability of this theme, and the magnet gimmick just adds that extra bit of fun to the mix. My mecha build had its challenges along the way, but ultimately, I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. I hope it appeals to some of you out there, and moreso, I hope it inspires. Cheers and play well! Edit: It's literally a dark and stormy night, so what better way to pass the time than to take a few more pics.

I knew licensing was split between various entities, mostly between Bandai's owning the toys and Hasbro's owning the names, which kinda does them little good. While they've pasted a few Gobots characters' names on regular TF figs with approximate paint schemes, it's just not quite the same as having dedicated molds to represent the old toys/characters. As I said, it'd be cool if they struck a deal with Bandai to use the MR toy likenesses for a line of Gobots, although my skepticism is barely reigned when it comes to the jetformers among them.

I feel ya, especially concerning new molds for extremely obscure or made-up characters, and lazy approaches to main or far more established ones. Third parties are taking up some of the slack, but stuff like Breakdown or Astrotrain can only be fixed by a whole new toy purposely designed to get everything as right as possible. It boggles my mind that no third party has stepped up to produce toys in CHUG scale when the official ones are lackluster or just downright terrible, or in the case of G1 Megatron, make a fig to fill a void that Hasbro won't touch. We have two great legends makers, one of which has made two excellent Optimus Primes in MP scale; how much more difficult would it be to upscale some of their figs to CHUG scale as another option? I'm guessing the threat of legal action is very real, so they just avoid it altogether, but man, I wish they'd at least test the waters. At the very least, Magic Square's Doomsday (Megatron) would be a welcome fig in both CHUG and MP scales. I don't think Rock Lords is a line that too many fans are clamoring for. I don't believe they sold well back in the 80s when all things transformable were the rage. It'd be far better if Has/Tak entered into an agreement with Bandai to produce Gobots figs under the Transformers banner. However, Action Toys did their Machine Robo line, and now Megahouse is producing MR figs as well. Both companies are restricted to characters from Revenge of Cronos, which may be the only MR property Bandai holds. Anyway, I doubt Has/Tak could produce figs much better than the Action Toys figs, but if they could secure the license, I'd give them the benefit of the doubt. At any rate, I'd take a Leader-1 or a Cy-kill over Boulder or Magmar from Hasbro any day, although given Has/Tak's history with jetformers, I can only imagine the travesty that would be Leader-1.

Glad they caught him, although I doubt the penalty will be that severe and he'll be free to continue stealing. They need to raid this guy's house, as there's probably enough stolen merch in there to warrant grand theft charges, but they probably won't. Because it's toys he's stealing, it won't be taken as seriously. Alas, crime pays. This guy's worse than scalpers, who generally at least pay for the stuff they resell at exorbitant prices. In instances like this, I think the Middle Eastern culture has the right idea so far as punitive measures.

Honestly, I'm not bothered that they reused Shrapnel's legs, as I was a bit concerned, given how closely they've been modeling these after the G1 toys, that the shins would be hollow. While it may not be the most ideal solution from a fan's perspective, it makes sense for Hasbro to make him a partial retool, and it doesn't look bad to me. The upper body and head are clearly Bombshell, and I'm fine with it. Is it lazy? Yep. Is it unexpected? Nope. Just Hasbro Hasbroing the sh!t out of it.

Well, reading it again, if Company B is indeed Bandai and they have no plan to release their YF-21, then it makes sense that the Yammie is the only 1/60 option. FWIW, I'd take that Bandai toy as-is if only b/c it has better battroid proportions than the Yammie. If this guy's statement is true, then I lament what could have been from Bandai and hope that Arcadia will give consideration to making some much-needed improvements to the Yamato toy's legs and the joints thereof (the hips are quite loose on mine although it has barely been handled) and release it. It'll be crazy expensive, but worth it if the improvement is significant.

So is Company B a subsidiary of Arcadia? This is the first I've heard of it, and to my knowledge, Mr. K. worked for Arcadia. Anyway, I would have loved to see them improve the leg proportions on the Yamato YF-21 design. It was otherwise a nigh perfect YF-21, but the disproportionally skinny legs just threw off the look of it in battroid, which is my favored mode for display. I will happily accept a fighter with a thicker backend as a concession; Kawamori-san applied liberal use of artistic license to the design in his original lineart, such that it was always going to be challenging for a toy company to realize an ideal 3D representation that transforms.

Sure, but there are better ways to go about it, like Animated Bulkhead or G1 Trailbreaker, which give the illusion of chubbiness without looking terrible. Nedrybot just looks like lazy engineering.

Pretty awkward placement of the wheels in bot mode on that JP Jeep fig. The Gallimimus is on par with the majority of BW figs, so not too bad. Not terribly interested, though. OTOH, I dig that Prime but not enough to crowdfund. The effort, however, is laudable.

RIP to a true warrior; she overcame the adversity of an abusive marriage and through her indomitable energy, positivity, and talent, became a superstar. Cheers to the Queen!

Funny, I was just looking at these in the LEGO Shop. I'm so glad to see LEGO putting out a regular set of the '89 Batmobile for folks who couldn't get the GWP set that was released with the UCS '89 Batmobile, or who don't want or can't afford the upcoming $400 Batcave Shadowbox set. This Batmobile model is very similar to the one in the Shadowbox; the big intakes on the sides are accomplished differently, but otherwise, they look remarkably similar, down to the extendable machine gun feature. It's also nice to finally get the '89 Batwing in minifig scale. Very long time coming for both, as these are the Batman sets I've been waiting for since they first obtained the license in 2006. Both of these and the Shadowbox shall be welcome additions to my ever-growing LEGO Batman collection. I hope at some point they do B:TAS sets, as I'd love to have an official Batmobile set. I'd also love to have a Batman: Arkham Knight Batmobile set, either UCS (with all those awesome functions and features) or a simplified version at minifig scale. Sure, I could MOC it, and I've seen some great MOCs, but as a fan who loves building and collecting sets, I want that experience as well as the model(s). Anyway, with every new revelation, 2023 looks to be one of the most exciting, if expensive and space-unfriendly years to date. So, so many great looking sets coming and we're not even halfway through!

I must say, it's nice to see Keaton in the Batsuit again, and they've captured the ambiance from the Burton films really well. I've never been crazy about Ezra Miller's Barry Allen portrayal, and that dislike carries over to this film. However, I'm still willing to go see this in the theater when it releases- movies like this are meant for the big screen, and I so do enjoy going to the theater from time to time. At the very least, I hope Batman is given a significant amount of screentime as that will be worth the ticket price, especially with all his wonderful toys on display.

These are adorably awesome, Danth! Love the shape of the legs on the smaller one especially, but both are brilliantly executed. Admirably, neither individual ship, nor their combined mode, which is a neat trick in and of itself, gives away the fact that they transform. That's always a challenge, and you accomplished it well. Too, they're Classic Space, which always earns points right off the bat with me. Good stuff! Thanks for sharing!

Likewise, although I generally like everything about the new Batcave. A new improved minifig scale '89 Batmobile is the proverbial icing, if you will. I think like many Batman fans, or at least fans of the '89 Batmobile, getting a minifig scaled set was a huge want since 2006 when LEGO first started producing Batman sets. It was my number one want from the theme, so that GWP was greatly anticipated. NGL, the UCS '89 Batmobile was also high on the want list, and it did not disappoint- it sits atop our dining room hutch with the GWP sitting next to it. For reference, here's the GWP set. Some notable improvements to the model in the Batcave Shadowbox set are a rounded windscreen with a studless roof, brick-built fins in the back with proper shaping and scalloping, better part usage for the large side intakes, and best of all, extendable machine guns instead of the crummy tacked-on stud shooters on the GWP set. Here's the Batmobile from the Batcave Shadowbox set. Unfortunately, this is the only close-up unobstructed pic of it on LEGO's site. However, there's a video on the page that shows some of the working features of the set. Can't wait to build it!

SS86 Brawn looks great!

I feel ya. Although I managed to get the '89 Batmobile GWP, I missed out on the UCS Batpod, which I would have really liked to have had. You couldn't be more right about the disparity between their projections and actual demand, as all too often we see them fall short of meeting said demand. I'm also with you about just getting rid of exclusives- just make everything available to everyone, even if it means a limited run. At least then everyone has a shot at getting the set on equal footing without dealing with absurdly overpriced offerings on the secondary market.

It's a must for me. Love the overall bookish design and presentation. Thing's huge, so I'm not sure where I'm gonna put it, but I'll find a spot. This Batmobile looks to be an improved version of the '89 Batmobile GWP set that came with the most excellent UCS '89 Batmobile. Definitely looking forward to building this set.

I still prefer the original WfC Bumblebee and I'm passing on the new version- that big chest and inaccurate legs turn me off to the fig. Never cared for the WfC Prime design; I passed on the original and I'm passing on this new version. I do however love the FoC version and the little deluxe toy we got back in 2012, and I hope we eventually get a really well-done voyager figure. Thanks for the review @mikeszekely.

I was unaware of this valk, having not seen the Macross Delta Movie. Brilliant job by the builder; so often, transforming models in LEGO suffer from the necessity of using various joints and connections which cause gaps and are difficult to cover, not to mention sculpting issues. This is very toyetic with exceptional shaping, judicious use of the various joints employed, and just overall engineering to impart the full range of functionality and articulation. In a word: impressive. Regarding Kawamori's catalog of valk designs over the decades, the fighter mode skews more towards spaceship than modern fighter jet in its design. One may be inclined to say he was inspired a little by the X-Wing Fighter of Star Wars fame.

For sure, it's a promising year thus far, and with rumors of other promising sets on the wind, the goodness looks to continue beyond the summer wave. Alas, I'm short on space for all this stuff, so finding somewhere to put it all is my main challenge. Too, it's not getting any cheaper, but then LEGO always has been an expensive hobby. Upping the temptation and excitement, we just got our first mom & pop LEGO store here in Spokane a couple weeks ago, and I want to support them, so I'll gleefully be paying them a visit on June 1st to pick up a bunch of the new sets. 😁👍

Hmm, I wasn't even aware of this game. I'm a Netflix subscriber, but honestly, I'm not a big fighting game fan. Now if they got War for Cybertron or Fall of Cybertron, I'd be interested. I wish they'd make a G1 game using the same game mechanics as those games, which, IMHO, are the best Transformers games ever made. In other news, apparently there's a "Dying Prowl" version of Earthrise Prowl coming. It's a rather macabre and unnecessary way of reissuing the fig, not to mention there are still characters in need of figs that have yet to receive them. The forsaken Omnibots come to mind, as well as Gears, Seaspray, Powerglide, any number of cassettes (including existing ones that could use some serious improvement-looking at you, Ravage), improved Mirage and Seeker molds, an 'origin' version of Wheeljack in his boxy Cybertronian alt mode (of which brilliant custom model maker Jizai Toys just created an amazing digital model), and perhaps new Deluxe Autobots that skew closer to their original Dorvack models. I really wish, too, that Takara would work out a way to make a proper G1 Megatron that turns into a Walther P-38 to fit in with the WfC/Legacy line. That would sell like water in the desert, and I'd be all in for a copy. Legacy Evolution Titan Nemesis Behind The Scenes - Transformers News - TFW2005 As a nice companion to The Ark, I recently POed a copy of the upcoming Nemesis, which I think turned out pretty well. However, I wish the bot mode had turned out exactly like the concept art, which looks amazing to me, almost more Animated than G1 to my eye, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Regardless, I'm glad we're getting her, and I like the thin, lanky proportions of her bot mode as a nice juxtaposition to the bulky Ark's. Gripes aside, it's still a great time to be a TF fan.