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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Every success with your mods, Chronocidal. I agree with your suggestion that LEGO should abandon the use of rubber bands in lieu of far stronger and more efficient ratcheting mechanisms. Too, it's high time, given all the other molds they've been making, to make a canopy that's accurate to the source material. I think they did well angling the sides on this model, but the nose, a feature which seems to give them issue with every iteration, looks off to me. Anyway, looking forward to seeing your improvements!
  2. M'Kyuun
    I'm so totally down for that set; brilliant execution! I hope transforming stuff becomes more of a norm across various themes.
  3. M'Kyuun
    With all the summer set reveals coming in, there's a lot to like amidst the various themes. City has undergone a much, much needed makeover with an apartment block and a new City Center that add living and shopping spaces with a nice splash of color and architectural creativity that has been lacking for, well, decades. For the past few years, I've been looking at what's being done in Friends so far as adding color and architecture and usable inner space to buildings and wishing for that to translate over to City, and it looks like that crossover is finally happening. The Arctic City subtheme makes its revolving comeback this year as well, bringing some cool new animal molds and some really nice looking sets. Dreamzzz, a new original fantasy theme is bringing some interesting new stuff to the table as well. Even if it's not your particular cuppa, and not all of it is mine admittedly, I think it showcases the creativity and whimsy that LEGO has been known for throughout various themes over the years. Too, there's a new clicky joint apparent in many of these sets, the first such addition to that system since Exo-Force in 2006. as a mecha builder who uses those joints a great deal, and also laments their limitations, I'm looking forward to what this new joint offers. Ninjago is a favorite theme of mine; I've been watching the show and buying many of the sets since its inception, and as a mecha fan, it caters to that particular fondness more than any other theme except perhaps Monkie Kid. This year's offerings are looking great. First, the largest Ninjago City set is coming June 1st. At over 6000 pieces with 21 minifigs, it's another beautiful multi-level urban sprawl chock full of working features (a cable car, a working wheelchair lift, and a flushing toilet!, just to name a few), varied architecture, interesting color palettes, and a lot of cool building techniques that have become the hallmark of this subtheme. LEGO's mecha sets have been increasing in complexity, sophistication, and features, over the years, likely with the addition of so many AFOLs-cum-designers bringing their own love of the genre to the table and pushing the limits of what's possible in a set geared towards 8-year-olds (and 51 year-olds, too) To get either a combing mecha or a transforming mecha is a tall ask, even from Ninjago, but to get both in the same wave and have them executed so well is a rare pleasure indeed, and one I hope we'll see repeated more in the future. As a fella who designs transforming mecha, I must say I'm quite impressed with that bike; it hides its nature very well, and other than last year's Optimus Prime set, it is IMHO LEGO's best attempt yet at a transformer, lower case intentional. Hoping for more! Not to be left out, this Friends set looks stunning. I don't buy Friends sets all that often, although I often stop and admire the varied architectural approaches and uses of color that make those sets stand apart from the rather bland City offerings over the past decade. This set, however, really stands apart as something particularly well-executed and just downright beautiful. I will have it. Thus far, 2023 is shaping up to be a great year for LEGO fans; there's a lot of creativity and variety on deck, with more to come later in the year including a rather large Batcave set that I'm very eagerly anticipating. Check out LEGO's site for more goodness and keep playing well.
  4. M'Kyuun
    Concur. Why can't the LEGO designers do something like this, especially with that canopy alignment? Anyway, cheers to a great build!
  5. M'Kyuun
    Thanks! It means a lot to me. Interesting comparisons. My experience with both is pretty limited to my knowledge of the Ingram and Griffon from Patlabor, and the Blue Gale from Xabungle. Honestly, he was pretty heavily based on Long Haul, and I took some license with the split cockpit. The "Optimus Prime" arm transformation method was about the only way to make them fit, and even then, it was a bit of a challenge. I would have liked the forearms to be another stud or two longer, but then the hands wouldn't fit in truck mode. I appreciate your thoughts and the kind words.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Glad ya like it, Danth! I vacillated on whether to keep or trash the split cockpit function, but ultimately I was able to make the mechanism stable and kept it. I thought it'd make the mecha look more interesting. I kinda wanted to add a head in between those sections, but there was really no place for it to go and no good place to connect it, so I just made it a proper mecha with an operator at the controls. I like how the legs turned out, too; it has a nice-looking side profile. I would have loved to have integrated some hydraulic pistons connecting the thighs to the lower legs serving to both actuate the dumper and the legs, but there just wasn't enough room. To quote Mick Jagger, "You can't always get want you want".
  7. M'Kyuun
    Hasbro needs to take some notes; serious missed opportunity.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I've always wanted a Long Haul that had a functional dumper bed; it seems like an easy-enough thing to accomplish, especially since his bed hinges can do double-duty as his knees. Alas, to my knowledge and great disappointment, no such Long Haul, official or non, nor any transforming dump truck fig for that matter, has the requisite functionality for which it exists. So, I made my own. I call it the Variable Dump Truck 3000, or VDT3000. It has articulated steering and suspension, independent opening cockpits to seat two minifigs, and most importantly, can raise its bed to about 90 degrees for optimal dumping. Its mecha mode is fully articulated and ready to meet the challenges of any construction project! I don't know about you guys, but I'd love to see something like this on a construction site someday. Probably not in my lifetime, but hopefully this will inspire some young engineers out there.
  9. M'Kyuun

    Arcadia VF-5000G

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

    I love the VF-5000's design, and the toy looks great so far as sculpt, but I find the teal, white, and yellow color scheme to be atrocious. I'd prefer that Mirage version, but what I really want is the 'B' series color scheme. Just lovely. Not sure what Kawamori's fascination with yellow is as a heavy accent color, but it just looks terrible to me. But then, I don't like the color yellow very much to start with; it's fine on construction equipment, not so much on aircraft. The tan bits on the 5000B, and on the VF-4A look alright, though- just enough for break-up without being overwhelmingly nauseating.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Agree, some neat stuff going on. All-around brilliant effort by the builder; it has the look, the transformation, and the poseability in a concise package. Making transforming stuff is tough, and only complicated when also trying to squeeze in all the articulation. Kudos aplenty.
  11. M'Kyuun
    As will I, no doubt, but more for the vehicles than the figs. I like minifigs, some more than others, but in the majority of cases, it's the model(s) that intrigues.
  12. M'Kyuun
    The lack of rotating wings is a notable omission of a rather salient feature of the Fang which would have made it by far, IMHO, the more exciting model in this set. TIEs have never really been that exciting to me- they're ok, but the Mandalorian ships with their variable wing and hull sections are visually and mechanically much more interesting, and certainly added a notable bit of dynamism when shown in action in Rebels. Eventually, I'll likely get around to buying this set and I may just add the rotating features to improve its playability. I wish LEGO would revisit the V-19 Torrent and the Nu-class Republic Shuttle, both of which are beautiful designs long overdue updated sets. I have to disagree with Mand's opinion, as I often do, that the TIE Interceptor is a better set to get the new Mandalorian fig; my far, far greater preference is for the upcoming Spider Tank which looks amazing. 😍 Then again, I adore mecha, so anything mecha related in Star Wars generally excites. I'm still waiting for the Crab Droid from the Prequals to finally be realized in LEGO form. The Spider Tank, however, assuages some of that longing, and its Masamune-san-like design doesn't hurt either. 😊
  13. M'Kyuun
    RotB Wheeljack's a pretty neat fig, except for the atrocious head. I'm in the second camp that sees RotB as a continuation from Bumblebee, so the extreme departure from that design is rather stark, and IMHO, unnecessary; he could have easily been a new character. The nerdy head is both ugly and offensive and I wish they'd stuck with something closer to his G1 appearance. That said, my interest and enthusiasm for RotB is nigh zero from what I've seen in the trailers, so the change is relatively moot from a personal perspective, but I think it hurts the franchise overall when directors are free to do whatever they will with established characters and all sense of continuity is rent asunder by the director's whims. Alas, with Bumblebee the single exception, I've never liked the live action films and given my impression from the RotB trailer, stuff like Wheeljack's terrible makeover, the ugly Decepticon designs, etc, that's not changing.
  14. M'Kyuun
    They still don't have the angle of the nose and canopy matching, the tip of the nose still looks off (although better than 10240 Red 5's), and, yeah, the fuselage looks undersized for the size of the engine intakes (why do you need intakes in space? Are they sucking in radiation and converting it to energy?). Moreover, minifig scaled R2 is a bit underscaled as well. I think I'll pass on this one, as I have 10240 and the original, which IMHO, despite its simpler techniques and limited palette, managed to capture the tip of the nose more appealingly than 10240 or this model. The X-Wing was never my favorite ship; the Imperial Shuttle wins that prize, along with the Snowspeeder, the N-1 Naboo Fighter, and the Republic Nu-class Shuttle, which is long overdue an updated set.
  15. M'Kyuun
    With you on the wishing it was closer to OG Cheetor in color. The copper lower legs and hands just throw everything off. Shame they couldn't find a way to hide the hands better in cheetah mode; nevertheless, it does look good in profile. Regarding Kingdom Cheetor and this fig, I wish they'd put the lower leg on some sort of slider or hinge mechanism that allows the cat's entire back leg to sit out from the body and allow for full range of motion at the hip. One of the most irksome things about many of these figs with beast modes is the immobility of the majority of those beast modes, and I wish more engineering had gone into ensuring that both modes have a full range of articulation instead of the focus being on the bot exclusively, or nigh exclusively.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I was just realizing it when you posted.
  17. M'Kyuun
    I already bought Lio Convoy (Leo Prime) in his original colors, so I'm passing on Nemesis, although I prefer the painted pupils and I think it looks pretty sharp overall. However, one copy of that mold is all I need, and I'm overall satisfied with LP. I think the original WfC game Bee/Cliffjumper mold (I have Bee) was superior to this new fig, especially the look of the upper torso. The arms & head are more accurate, but everything else is just off. Regarding the Nemesis, I was surprised that they made her a fembot, but pleased nonetheless. The bulbous forearms are an unfortunate artifact of the shape of the ship's hull; if they could shift back to form elbow armor, giving the impression of her having thinner forearms, at least partially, her look may have been improved. Regardless, overall, I think she looks fine. I don't, however, care for the look of her weapons, especially the tiny little stabilizer-cum-axes, which look ridiculously undersized. The boarding ramps, while a neat feature, don't look like they actually extend far enough to reach the Ark if you sat the ships side-by-side. Guess we'll see. I like that the lower stabilizer can fold flat, but honestly, a stand that attaches to it and holds the ship upright would have been preferable for display purposes. I'm sure third parties will come up with solutions. The only other thing they mentioned today that excited me was SS86 Brawn, but it looks like we'll have to wait until next month to PO him. I'm patient. Wait, what?!!! Is it a new more G1 accurate mold or just a rerelease of the crappy Kingdom Earthrise mold? Google's no help.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Preorers are up on Pulse for this morning's Fanstream reveals. Kinda irritating that they continue to make up Junkion characters that nobody asked for but still no Omnibots nor Ramhorn nor Steeljaw. They even made Devcon, a throw-away character from one ep of the toon w/ a crappy bot and alt mode. I just want some modern updates of the Omnis in the main line- nice lookin' bots with nice alt modes and, like Tracks, a third weaponized vehicle mode- they seem like no-brainer figs, so why are they continually ignored?
  19. M'Kyuun
    This guy came yesterday, and what a looker! Admittedly, I'm not a fan of the ultra-toon detail-less bot modes which have become vogue both officially and unofficially, but regardless, I still find this fig quite appealing. I'm sure Toyhax will have some solutions to the lack of detail in the near future; Jazz is a perennial favorite, so I'm sure they're expediting a set even as I type. Jive's poseability is pretty standard for both MPs and even many official Generations figs these days. Notably, his head is mounted on both a swivel and an internal hinge allowing him to look up at about an 80 degree angle. He has both a waist swivel and an ab crunch that allows for about 30 degrees of arc, but only when the waist is neutrally forward; twisting the waist obstructs the upper torso limiting the ab crunch. Digression- I hate the term 'ab crunch', but since it has become the parlance of reviewers to describe the waist bend, I use it too, although I cringe internally as I type it. Moving on, the elbows are single-hinged and only bend about 95 degrees. The ankles have a rocker of about 20 degrees and no real fore or aft pivot although you can unlink the toe from the heel plate which will allow the toe to bend about 10 degrees up and about 3 degrees down relative to the heel which stays parallel to the ground. As poseability standards continue to progress, I hope a fore and aft ankle pivot becomes the next big push, as I think that omission is more limiting than ankle rocker in terms of trying to achieve dynamic poses. I found the transformation a wee bit on the unpleasant side for the extreme tightness of some parts that make you feel like you may break something in the effort to manipulate or separate them, and for the tight quarters and fiddly nature of the leg transformation which essentially has you turn the back end of his car mode inside out. The transformation itself isn't difficult so far as understanding what needs to go where; the agony comes in the form of all the resistance in carrying it out. However while the journey to either mode is fraught with frustration, the end result in either direction manifests itself in the beautiful bot you see in the pic, or an equally lovely Porche 935 sans the more involved racing livery of either the G1 toy or the real car for toon's sake, of course. (Sorry, I neglected to take a pic of him in his car mode this morning before transforming him back to bot mode. At the moment, I just don't feel like converting him back for the sake of a couple photos. My apologies for being the laziest of reviewers). Here's a pic I liberated from Bing images: The car doors are mounted on an extremely tight double hinge ensconced behind the very narrow bit of fender behind the front wheel and it's a nail-biting exercise to extend them. Why that joint is so tight when it only supports the doors is beyond me. It certainly didn't need to be, as the doors are only plastic and quite lightweight. Tabbing and untabbing the roof from the legs is another too-tight situation that warrants fear of breakage. There are also several panels throughout that warrant the use of a spudger, a tool I have yet to procure; I used a pair of tweezers, being careful not to scratch anything. While it's a fiddly bit of labor to achieve, the car mode is rather lovely to behold; I wish it had more of the actual livery with sponsors and such, but as I mentioned, Toyhax will no doubt have us covered. I'll feel a bit of regret if in fact Fans Toys releases a toy version later on, but for now I'm quite pleased with this fig, transformation woes notwithstanding.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Given how utterly atrocious Ravage turned out in both Siege and ER forms, and as much as I'd like Ramhorn and Steeljaw in this new size, I have no faith that a Has/TT version will even approach mediocrity. At this point, I'd rather Dr. Wu just went through the whole catalog of cassette minions and made them all with better articulation. Credit where it's due, Has/TT did a pretty good job with Eject, trans-plastic notwithstanding, and with the new improved core class Rumble, except for his unfortunate lack of elbows which I hope some third party will eventually remedy. I really, really wish they'd kept to the standard real-world micro-cassette scale from G1 and MP; I get why they changed it for this line, but I don't have to like it.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Between his work on Batman:TAS, Spiderman and His Amazing Friends, and Gargoyles alone, he made a sizeable impression on a lot of people, myself included. Huge talent, and my life has certainly been enriched by his writing. He leaves quite the legacy for all of us fans he touched, and so much greater the loss to family and friends. RIP
  22. M'Kyuun
    I've never heard of the Soviet Dark Star project, so I greatly appreciate the mention and the link. Interesting stuff. Still doesn't change my mind about G1 Skyquake though. 😄 Concerning Prowl, I've got the Evo version coming, but without a single doubt, the Animated design is vastly superior. Alex Kubalsky is one helluva designer. I'm not sure why Has/TT felt they needed to change the proportions so dramatically; he was meant to be a thin gangly ninja, not, as you say, Paul Blart. 😏 Alas, I got him anyway, and he's due on my doorstep next week. Prowl, IMHO, was one of the best toy designs in the entire Animated line, and I wish they'd done more to replicate it for Legacy. However, I have both the original and the Samurai versions, so I'm good. I recently bought this fig despite already having, and loving, Fans Toys' Phoenix. With both in-hand, my preference remains for Phoenix. However, Skyfire is a character that I never expected to get the MP treatment, and given the differences, I caved. Honestly, no regrets, although I agree that the backpack is a bit fiddly and a number of the ratchets, especially the ankle rockers, could have been much improved with a greater number of detents for a much-improved range. Coming from an aviation background, I adore the landing gear on the MP which look far more realistic than those on Phoenix. I prefer Phoenix's chest and waist sculpts even though they're inaccurate; they just look better to my eye. I also love beyond words the use of Phoenix's arms to fill out a portion of the fuselage so seamlessly in lieu of other Skyfire toy designers' penchant for hiding them in the backpack, including Takara. That's some cool engineering and it's not lost on me even if the end result, once again, isn't perfectly accurate to the animation. And that's where Takara's Skyfire makes the difference; it is incredibly accurate to the animation, especially in bot mode. The hands are a bit odd, though, as the thumb is stuck at a particular angle instead of being able to rotate at the base, a limitation that makes some poses look awkward. And though it's animation accurate, I don't like the backward angle of the thighs when he's standing perfectly erect; it just looks odd to me, and I find myself wanting to bend them forward so they appear more perpendicular to the ground, but then you're putting him in an even more awkward looking pose, so there's naught to be done but accept that that's the way he was designed. Again I prefer what they did with Phoenix as well as Generations Skyfire (Jetfire) in this regard. The MP has no shortage of accessories, with 3 articulated minifigs, his gun, 3 swappable faces, 3 interchangeable faction plates, a stand and adapter, and a couple blast effects parts- it's a nice assortment that adds to the play value of the fig. The minifigs, in particular, are fun to interact with his jet mode, to which they're properly scaled. Overall, Takara-Tomy did a pretty fair job on him. Some articulation points leave somewhat to be desired, but the overall aesthetic is pure Sunbow toon, and he's still an impressively posable figure, especially at his scale. IMHO, he's a win for TT and for fans.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Prior to this figure's announcement, I had no awareness of G1 Skyquake or any of his recolors; the design was completely foreign to me. Contrarily, as a Prime fan, I was very aware of Skyquake and Dreadwing from the series, whose toys I initially greeted with great anticipation and equal disappointment for the egregious concessions in jet mode, specifically the all-too obvious pelvis halves which ruined the jet mode for me. I passed on those toys in hopes that something better would come along. Admittedly, I'd hoped that 'better thing' would be a leader class toy during the Prime run, but I've found it in Legacy Skyquake regardless of the additional G1 homages. Right up front, I'm not at all crazy about the G1 toy except for its overall shaping being vaguely reminiscent of the SR-71. Legacy Skyquake, like Prime Skyquake before him, certainly adheres more to the traditional fighter shape, even if the Legacy fig's jet mode is a bit chunkier and less sleek than his Prime namesake's. I love how the arms tuck away Macross-style (I am a Macross fan after all), and how the pauldrons and legs form the majority of the jet's fuselage, the retracting landing gear, the well-proportioned forward fuselage (which is oft too-small, especially height-wise, compared to the rest of the fuselage in most jet-formers). Although the jet mode is more sci-fi-ish than real-world, it addresses rightly many of the things that are often fudged or omitted in most jet-formers and I simply adore it. Not even the gap between legs and pauldrons gets me down; so much of the major stuff was done well that I can simply overlook it. YMMV, of course. My copy is due to me next Monday, if Fed Ex comes through, and I can barely wait; this is one of my most anticipated figs for '23. I appreciate the tip about the backpack; definitely a point of interest. I too wonder about the swivel on the cockpit, as, given the amount of planning that goes into these toys, I highly doubt it's superfluous. The fact that, with a few modifications, you can rearrange his transformation to more closely resemble the Prime robot mode, I imagine we'll see something similar done if indeed a Dreadwing repaint is coming. Let's be honest, it's more a case of 'when' than 'if'. The change in arrangement, too, would help differentiate the two figs beyond just a mere color change. I hope that's what they do. For Skyquake, I agree with Mike's 70-30 Prime/G1 comparison; my hope is that if they do a rearranged version of Dreadwing, it'll skew closer to 90/10 Prime/ G1 in its overall design and style. I'd say 100% Prime, but that's simply not realistic at this time. Maybe in another decade or so. To the heart of the matter concerning G1/ other continuity chimeras, I too would rather they just made straight updates to the other continuity figs, especially my beloved Animated, whose design style was so unique and cartoonish and very un-G1 with its real-world inspired vehicles and gadgets. I'm an unapologetic Geewunner- First season is my TF bible and I will love it 'til the day I die. That said, not everything needs to be G1 or G1-ified; part of the strength of the brand, much like humanity, is its diversity and variety, and instead of trying to gel everything into a vanilla version of G1, I'd rather they simply celebrate what made those non-G1 continuities great by updating them as they were intended to be.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Cool history, both of the toy itself and your personal history with the toy. I'm inclined to think the 'blue' part of the name has some associative meaning regardless of the toy's actual colorization, as you said (blue skies). Perhaps it's in a long-forgotten interview somewhere. At this point, it's the name that has stuck and we can only indulge in conjecture and be happy that he's getting yet another modern toy.
  25. M'Kyuun
    I wondered the same thing and just chocked it up to the Japanese custom of giving things odd English names. Triple Jim is a weird name for a bot, too. The 'Triple' part makes sense, but using a common English name like Jim sounds odd. I guess we're too used to names that are more descriptive of personality or characteristics than actual proper names. Thanks Bob Budiansky! I'll take names like Optimus Prime, Jazz, Prowl, or Hound over John, Rick, Bob, or Bill any day. 😁
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