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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Well, when this is their latest F-15 alt for a masterpiece entry, I have little faith in them. That said, MP-03 had a far more accurate F-15 mode thanks to Kawamori's inputs. The bot mode suffered, but the F-15 looked good, which illuminates the variances in philosophy between Kawamori's Macross and Takara's Transformers designs. Diaclone, too, which Kawamori had a hand in designing, also had a heavier focus on the vehicle modes, as originally, they were conceived of as vehicles that turn into robots instead of the other way around. The Top Gun crossover, Maverick, borrowing a bit from the VF-1, is another notable entry as well as the Generations deluxe Scourge which was inspired by the Boeing X-48 blended wing concept. The latter is one of my all-time favorite aircraft alt modes and my favorite version of Scourge. I also like the recent Dreadwing Prime homage, which also borrows a little from Macross design, burying the arms within the fighter mode and using the legs to form the fuselage and engines. Animated's Lugnut, even with his toony proportions, and the inspired excellent main line voyager figure in 2010 are rare examples of Takara's producing incredible non-fighter aircraft that hide the robot mode exceptionally well. 2010 was a good year for retro Transformer plane designs, as we also got the P-38 Lightning inspired Highbrow. And let's not forget 2009's RotF's Ransack, a WWI biplane that, at scout class, was really well done and would fly circles, pun intended, around anything in the current core class. Kudos to Fans Toys , as, to wit, theirs is the only version of Silverbolt that utilizes the Concorde's long fuselage to form the robot instead of consolidating the entirety of the robot into a giant block that's carried by a Concorde fuselage which ends up folding onto blocko'bot's back with no other contribution to transformation. I've long become disenchanted with Superion toys, as they almost all end up following the frustrating old formula of blocky bots with plane parts tacked on or blocky bots underslung under an anemic aircraft fuselage that has virtually no contribution to the bot mode. I give credit to FT for trying to break the formula, but there's still a lot of bot kibble under the wings and their Concorde's side profile looks too short and too fat. perhaps it's the camera angle, but while the top-down pics look alright, that side pic does it no favors. Due to their faithfulness to the 80s toys, Fans Toys' take on Skydive finds its F-16 mode also suffering from the need to contain a blocky bot. As an aircraft fan and an Air Force retiree who's been around military planes and helicopters throughout his career, I have a jaundiced eye when it comes to transforming aircraft, especially fighters, which have purposefully sleek aerodynamic shapes that are often tossed asunder to favor blocky robot modes. The number of decent aircraft modes created by Takara over the last 40 years is quite small relative to the number of aircraft alt-moded bots they's produced. I tend to gravitate more to Macross, as Kawamori has oft demonstrated his ability to maintain a sleek realistic looking aircraft mode, especially fighters, and yet coax beautiful robot modes out of them. Notable mention to TFC toys for their designs as well as Touch Toys' recent releases. Chinese toy developers, who've long dominated the third-party Transformers market, have established themselves as masters of the genre and these two companies (or is it the same company having undergone a name change?) are proving that a sleek fighter need not be a blocky bot or vice-versa. The fact that they are using licensed military aircraft and producing incredibly realistic and accurate versions of them that transform into interesting and fully articulated robots is nothing short of commendable. Directly or indirectly, I really don't want to support the CCP, but I'd be remiss if I didn't say I was incredibly tempted by these amazing toys. Touch Toys has a transforming Chinese Y-20 cargo plane coming out soon, and I'm very tempted, as cargo planes are far rarer as transforming toys than fighters, for reasons that I think are obvious, and having an affinity for cargo planes, I'm definitely tempted. And just as a qualifier, this is a transforming cargo plane I built from LEGO about ten years ago. I endeavor to hold myself to the same standards I hold to other transforming toy makers, a task made more difficult due to the limitations of the medium. I'm critical of transforming plane makers, but I hold myself to the same, if not more scathing, criticism. However, as much as I complain, I'm not totally jaded: there are, as I have enumerated, any number of transforming aircraft designs that are good to great, exceptional even, and I like to point to some of those as counterpoints to my own criticism. I want and wish for better transforming aircraft and it's always a pleasant surprise when something like Has/Tak's Lugnut (both versions) or Touch Toys' Carefray (the Chinese version of the American F-35) comes out and gives hope that good-looking planes without robot kibble spoiling the appearance are still produced from time to time. I wish they got the same love and care as most carformers, but I guess the rarity of the good ones just makes them all the more special and enjoyable.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Have you seen Bandai's 1/48 take? I don't own one myself so I can't speak from experience, but it represents a newer take on the old design. It still maintains the thin battroid proportions, however, but I think that just works for the design overall. The toon, like most, tended to exaggerate proportions from mode to mode. Personally, I like it and still love the look of my YamArcadia VF-1s as well. You're right- it's heretical. 😄 That fighter mode is gorgeous, even today after so many other valks. I wouldn't want to mess with it beyond the super deformed stuff, which has its own charm. I even own an SD Max version from Kitz Concept. Exactly. I wouldn't hesitate, as there's no guarantee that magic Square will follow suit, although.... You couldn't be more correct and the time more opportune. Moreover, I think Magic Square has crafted the absolutely best transformable G1 Megatron in existence thus far. He's clean with great sculpting, has a transformation that follows the G1 toy's schema (arms form the back part of the slide, chest forms the slide, legs form the handle), excellent articulation, great proportions. The only knock I can really find against it is that his trigger gives the illusion that he has a little tail. For everything else that's done so incredibly right, I can live with it. I want this in CHUG and MP scales so vehemently. I hope they see what Newage is doing and don't just meet them, but exceed them with an upscaled version to match the SS86 Prime fig. Honestly, if I had my druthers, I'd take Magic Square's current OP fig upscaled to SS86 scale as well, as I feel they have the best OP fig in existence currently. It's more accurate and better articulated than even SS86 and I'd ecstatically welcome CHUG scaled figs of their OP and Megs for my collection.
  3. M'Kyuun
    I enjoyed your thoughts, Mike, knowing that you're far more invested in Transformers than Macross. Regarding your thoughts of the Yamato VF-1 2.0 as a collector's piece, when it originally came out circa 2008, it was revolutionary relative to all other VF-1 toys, including their own previous attempt. At the time, its articulation was next-level- double jointed elbows hadn't really made much of an appearance on transforming toys yet. It may seem a little dated by current standards, but that's because it is dated. Regardless, I still have a warm spot in my heart for it (I own at least four copies of Yamato/Arcadia 1/60 VF-1s) and I've long thought that it would be the perfect toy to convert into Jetfire. I got my wish, and aside from some of the paint details being wrong or omitted for a proper G1 Jetfire homage, I'm still really pleased with how it turned out. I ordered a copy last night, in fact, so it won't be long before I have him in hand. Personally, from a scale POV, I think he works better with CHUG, as his jet mode would actually be properly proportionate compared to general car modes. I wish vehicle scale had been prioritized from the beginning over bot scale, but that's a horse that has long since skeletonized. Anyway, as @Chronocidal mentioned, I'm sure Toyhax will have our backs with some proper decals to make our Fugu Jetfire even more Jetfirey. Digressing, I mentioned yesterday that Newage, one of the most notable 3P legends scale TF toy makers currently, intends to release a CHUG scaled G1 Megatron that turns into a gun as an option over the upcoming SS86 Megatron which is going to have a tank alt mode. I had pondered whether or not they were just going to upscale their legends fig or build a new fig from scratch, and it seems they chose the latter direction. While I admit I think the thighs look a bit too thick and I'm not the craziest about seeing his trigger in his inner thighs, overall, I think it's a commendable effort and I far prefer a proper G1 Megs that turns into a gun over one that turns into a tank. A tank makes more sense; it's an argument I won't refute b/c it's absolutely true, but the fact remains that in the OG toyline, show and '86 film, Megatron transformed into a Walther P38 pistol, and by the Matrix, that's what I want for my CHUG collection. And so, I've already POed this guy. I really, really wish Magic Square would follow suit and just upscale their amazing legends fig, but at this point any option is a good one and Newage can be counted on for good engineering, materials, and paint. Looking forward to having him in hand, a long-awaited dream come true. One caveat: it would seem Newage designed him to scale with ER Prime, as SS86 Prime stands noticeably taller. I love my ER Prime fig, so I can live with it.
  4. M'Kyuun
    A rather underwhelming PulseCon. Thanks to @mikeszekely, I got a copy of Cosmos when he initially released, and I already own Dirge and Ramjet; Thrust is the Conehead I'm waiting to be rereleased. Essentially, I already own all the rereleases shown and have no interest in the rest. I am glad, however, that Cosmos, OG Bee, the Coneheads, and any other originally store exclusive releases are getting a second wider releases for those who missed them the first time. Exclusives suck, and the Hasbro guys implicitly acknowledged it. At least there's an awareness there, although I doubt exclusives will end anytime soon since Hasbro makes money off of them and I doubt the designers or marketers have much say in those decisions. I will say, though, I'm always in awe of the enthusiasm and enjoyment they genuinely take in what they do and in the various franchises in which they toil. I'd love to see what they could really pump out if they had larger budgets to work with per size classes, as that always seems to be the limiting factor between a so-so release and a truly good one. Got a chuckle over some of the comments referring to Hope, the rather fetching new marketer presenting in Star Wars. Missed Emily who always brings a lot of charm and enthusiasm to these things. Hopefully she'll be presenting for the Devy reveal which I'm looking forward to. I skipped on the CW version b/c the individual Constructicons were so poorly executed. I'm assuming Devy will be part of SS86, and thus very G1 faithful. I vehemently wish they'd done the entire team at voyager scale, which would make their construction vehicle modes scale better alongside carbots, but my understanding is that the limbs will be deluxes. Not the best but IIWII. At this point, I'm just hoping that the individual Constructicons will have full articulation, and that Devastator will connect solidly and feature a decent range of articulation and be stable.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Egg on my face-- I own that figure and totally forgot that it was a licensed Porsche! That being a given, Missing Link Jazz is definitely probable, especially given his popularity, at least on this side of the pond. Not sure how popular he is in Japan, however. I still have my OG toy, whose roof fell off years ago when the trans-plastic loop that holds it on cracked, so i wouldn't mind replacing him with a ML version.
  6. M'Kyuun
    So I just learned this morning that Newage is planning to make a G1 Megatron figure that transforms into a gun in scale with SS86. I have mixed feelings, as I'm glad there'll be an option, as we'll never get that in an official toy, but having Newage's legends fig and Magic Square's far superior version, I wish it was magic Square upsizing their nigh perfect G1 Megs to fill the slot. There are no pics yet so Newage may start from the ground up, and if so, given some of their previous engineering marvels (like their Dinobots and Skyfire), this may end up being an excellent fig and a great placeholder at the least in a mainline collection beggaring for a proper G1 Megatron with his original alt mode. I preordered my copy already, as this has been at the top of my want list for some time. I hope it turns out great!
  7. M'Kyuun
    At this point, just about any character is possible, with Jetfire likely one of the few exceptions due to licensing. Not sure where Porche stands at this point, but VW capitulated to the almighty lure of lucre years ago over their ridiculous "no war toys" stance, so hopefully Porche will follow suit and we can have a proper licensed Jazz. I'm not really into this line so much as I prefer the look and engineering of modern toys; however I'd be remiss if I didn't admit a certain nostalgic tug towards G1 Prowl, my first TF toy, or G1 Megatron whose toy I always wanted but to date have never owned. A Missing Link version of both would certainly be welcome. Soundwave and his cassettes as well. I wonder how they'll approach Ironhide and Ratchet given their desire to so closely match the OG toys. There wasn't much to work with regarding the robot portion of those toys, with most of the van being made up of the treaded weapons platform, or "tread sled" as I like to call it. Arcee is an interesting surprise, although I confess it's not doing much for me. I applaud the effort, but to my eyes, it communicates the odd and awkward proportions inherent of many of the G1 toys. Sunstreaker, however, looks pretty good to me. When they get around to Hound, I'm curious how they'll address the OG toy's stubby T-Rex arms to actually make them proportionate and useful. As I mentioned, my toy collecting interest lies elsewhere for the most part, but I concede to curiosity how Takara will approach certain characters, given the limitations of the OG toys, and who among the expansive pantheon of characters will get the ML treatment. I'm happy for G1 collectors, as this breathes new life into an old line of toys, kinda giving us a retrospective look at how the toys may have been had the technology and mindset been advanced at the time. It's cool and I look forward to seeing where Takara goes with it and what surprises it may hold. Arcee certainly make the list.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I'm here for ya! 😜
  9. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, definitely not random. he did a decent job as Starscream, too. His Wheeljack wasn't there, but y'know, they had a lot of guys doing voices back in the day and even with all their talents, few VAs really have the range of Frank Welker or Scott McNeil. I wish they'd called on more of the OG VAs to do voices for this production, but some of them may be retired, unavailable, or sad to say, one with the Matrix. I enjoyed it more for the effort, but I still prefer the original voice track- I just think they nailed inflection, tone, feeling, etc so well in those first three episodes. It set the stage well for seasons to come, though I feel like they departed from that more serious tone in the second season and beyond. Anyway, it sounds like both Frank and Arif have serious reverence both for the show and certainly for the older generation VAs who brought those characters to life so vividly and memorably in the original show, and for that alone, I'm glad they had the opportunity to do the voices in place of Chris Latta and Scatman Crothers, two cartoon VA greats who definitely left lasting impressions. I'll toss Kasey Kasem in there, too. As to '86 Steeljaw, I knew beforehand what I was getting, but somehow having it in hand only deepens the disappointment at just how poorly done it really is. @mikeszekely's comparisons with Eject, arguably the best cassette bot thus far in this sub-micro-cassette scale that Hasbro created for WFC/Legacy, highlight even further just how craptastic Steeljaw is. Added to the lackadaisical engineering and lack of articulation the need to partsform part of the lion mode and the supposed esteem of the Studio Series line is dubious. The G1 toy was far better executed. It may have been a lion shaped wafer, but at least the wafer became a recognizable lion with articulated legs (3 points both fore and aft). This thing looks like a yellow Pomeranian. I can live with the accessories partsforming, though I'd rather they integrate given advancements and progression in transforming toy techniques. At this thing's scale, though, some concession is understandable. I'd have rather they just replicated the g1 toy at the smaller Legacy scale- at least it would have had more poseability and a better cassette mode. Like most of Hasbro's cassette efforts thus far, it only cements my profound hope that Dr. Wu will get around to making all the main cassettes as there's a need and a want there, at least on my end. Regarding the TF: One toys, my Wally has them, or had them as of last Tuesday. I want to see the movie, but honestly, the aesthetic, especially concerning the alt modes, doesn't grab me. My feelings in that regard aren't hurt, as space is really becoming an issue for me. To that end, any toy I feel I can skip without regret, I happily do so.
  10. M'Kyuun
    From a fellow with a stutter to becoming one of the most iconic voices in film history, James Earl Jones made an impact that few will ever eclipse. As @Hikuro mentioned, he rarely played lead roles, though he definitely made an impact as Mufasa. I still get goosebumps watching Lion King. He shone, however in supporting roles. He always had presence, a likeability to him, and that great baritone delivery. For Star Wars fans, certainly, his passing is a sad certainty that never again will we hear the true Dark Lord of the Sith utter another word. Imitators and A.I. may try, but there was only one James Earl Jones. Rest in Peace, good sir.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I think the Doc's doing a pretty good job with them as well based entirely on product pics and @mikeszekely's comprehensive reviews. My personal druthers for Dr. Wu's products rest with his impressive Legacy-scaled micro-cassette figs of which he's done a fairly limited number thus far. I have both his versions of Slamdance and Squalkbox, and for their sizes, they're well-done and easily eclipse Hasbro's sub-lackluster cassettes (except Eject who is by far the best official cassette bot they've done thus far in their inexplicably preferred undersized micro-cassette scale). Dr. Wu has more cassettes on the way: Decibel, another combiner from the Japanese cartoon, as well as his versions of Overkill and Slugfest. My hope is that he'll eventually get around to doing the primary cast of cassette bots: Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, and Ratbat, as the official versions leave much to be desired. I will say, however, SS86 Rumble was almost great: They could have omitted the crappy non-functional pile drivers in lieu of working elbows, which would have made him pretty much perfect at that scale. The engineering and appearance in both modes is fantastic; cassette mode suffers a little, but it's still better than most. I was hoping some third party would make new arms for him with working elbows (and perhaps even minimally functional drivers), but to wit, nobody has, more's the pity.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Although not on the same level as Macross, Mospeada, etc, 52 Toys has some interesting stuff, especially their more recent figures over the past two years where their engineering has been improving. Most of their toys are robot animals that convert into cubes, but they've also produced teams of vehicles (construction, submarines, jet fighters, and most recently a racing car and sci-fi motorcycle) that can combine in different ways to form humanoid robots. They've also partnered up with a couple of Japanese designers who created a line of creatures called BeastDrive that can transform into vehicles, such as their inaugural figure, a sporty car that turns into a Velociraptor. They come as kits which contain the central articulated frame and several sprues of add-on armor bits to flesh out the model. I have this one and I was surprised by how clever the transformation is and by the level of articulation. It was easy to assemble and looks good in both modes. The only gripe is that the deco is achieved via waterslides. I'd never really done waterslides before, but I took my time and got them all applied. IMHO it makes a huge difference over just a plain white car. I have their rabbit/stealth plane and Ptero/car on order. Chinese company Sci-Figure Industry made a transforming J20 fighter jet and a WZ-10 attack helicopter, both licensed Chinese aircraft, that are very well-crafted toys with complex transformations and highly articulated robot modes. The realism of the vehicle modes is the real plus with both designs, giving little indication of their transforming nature. I have the Aegocopter WZ-10 figure and it is a very impressive fig in-hand. Transformation is rather involved, but man is the chopper mode impressive. Touchtoys is another Chinese company producing very realistic licensed Chinese vehicles with complex transformations. Among their designs are a Y20 transport plane, an HQ-9 Mobile SAM launcher, a J-35 fighter, a 055 type Destroyer ship, and a J-16 fighter.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Zero hope at all that this will in any way even come close to the actual VF-19 design, or be anywhere as clean or as elegant. You can already see that the entire forward fuselage is slung on his back, a design trait of exactly zero of Kawamori's valks, especially the VF-19. With licensing possible now in the West by Big West for any Macross series outside of SDF:M, of which Harmony Gold has the rights, they could have simply paid the licensing fees for the M7 designs and a la G1 Jetfire, incorporated yet more Macross designs into the Transformers universe. Primus knows we could do for some actually good jetformers, and when it comes to transforming jets, few do it better than Kawamori. Takara, OTOH, has a pretty dismal track record and this looks like it's keeping with tradition, alas.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Honestly, I think Pratt would make a better Bumblebee in the same vein as TF One's or the Animated character, where he's more brash. Honestly, though, as much as the G1 characters are iconic at this point, I'd love to see a show with a whole new cast of characters much like we got with Beast Wars, only with Autobots and Decepticons. I think it'd be cool to see an old grizzled Rodimus Prime at the end of his days as leader passing the Matrix to a new up-and-comer and a whole new crew of bots, both Autobot and a post-Galvatron Decepticons who share a truce and fight against other threats to Cybertron and Earth. One of the reasons for fatigue in the franchise is that they continue to repackage the same main characters over and over and maybe it's time to introduce new characters and move the story along to a future where other bots are the focus. I say this as an unabashed G1 fan.
  15. M'Kyuun
    My only reluctance with using A-listers to do the voices is if there's a tv series in the works, as they'll undoubtedly resort to using pro VAs. I'm sure the VAs would do a great job, but the difference in voices would be awkward, at least initially. Kinda like Frank Welker's high pitched whiny Galvatron voice after Leonard Nimoy's deeper gravelly delivery. I hated Welker's Galvy voice and his unhinged characterization in the toon. I wouldn't want to see the same annoyingly flagrant differences in the voices and characterizations in a tv show. As a one and done, though, I'm fine with getting Hollywood actors to do the voices.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Congrats on early screening and thanks for the heads-up concerning end credits. My wife and I usually stay til the end anyway, but nice to know it won't be for naught. Guessing you liked it/ thought it was good?
  17. M'Kyuun

    Bandai Sv-262 DX valk

    M'Kyuun replied to seti88's topic in Toys

    By far. That's pretty sharp.
  18. M'Kyuun

    Bandai Sv-262 DX valk

    M'Kyuun replied to seti88's topic in Toys

    Love the Sv-262's design but my god that color scheme is fugly. 🤮 I'm not crazy about gold either, but at least the blue and gold were complimentary and looked sharp.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Oh man, that's inexcusable. I ordered mine through BBTS as well (it's in my Pile of Loot waiting to see if any of my other POs come to save on shipping) and I'm most definitely curious to see how they'll handle this for you in the event I have the same issue. Best of luck!
  20. M'Kyuun
    I hope you all enjoy it. I'm looking forward to it. I figure every iteration of Transformers has been someone's G1, their intro to the franchise. Hopefully the naysayers will get something positive from it, too, b/c you know they're going to go see it regardless. 😄
  21. M'Kyuun
    I think a renewal version is highly dubious; they had five or so years to tweak and massage the various kinks out of this toy and yet they seemingly did little to improve it. It's a second fiddle valk toy manifesting any number of departures and odd decisions, especially all the partsforming involved. It smacks of one-and done, just get it out there so we can wipe our hands and move on to something else, like Gundam!
  22. M'Kyuun
    Cheers @jenius for a great series of reviews and show-n-tell vids on the DX YF-21, and on Macross toys in general over the decades. Always super helpful and greatly appreciated! Honestly, due to the craptastic and capricious nature of Kawamori's original lineart, the fighter proportions don't bother me as much. I honestly prefer the forward fuselage be a bit smaller to favor battroid, my preferred mode for display. Granted, Yamato found a good fix years ago and Bandai could have shamelessly copied it; I doubt anyone would have faulted them and it would have given the bird an appropriately longer nose section. Alas, no. I like the copious tampo, especially in contrast to Yamato's YF-19 which didn't even have the intake markings. The lack of the canopy V-cut is lamentable but I can live with it. The shelf and the methodology of handling the backpack is another matter entirely; on a high-end toy commanding a $300+ tag, and with a decade+ old toy available to use as a framework for what works, Bandai made inexplicably poor choices that fall short or far short of what Yamato accomplished with their version in terms of engineering, accuracy, care and diligence. For the price, especially in terms of what we're getting from third party companies making Transformers these days at similar or lesser price points, the DX YF-21 feels like a half-hearted effort. However, as a battroid fan, it definitely addressed my primary gripe with the Yammie, those skinny legs and wobbly hips. Proportionally, the DX looks really good in battroid, and as Jenius pointed out, it has apropos stability allowing for posing. Mostly though, from most angles, it just looks really good to me and the fact that it'll stand on its own makes me anticipate my copy. I hope I won't suffer the bent laser, but time will tell. It's a hell of a bitter pill to swallow for those who have suffered it, and other flaws, on an expensive new release. I hope Bandai ultimately does right by their consumers.
  23. M'Kyuun
    So many grumbles! I'm 53, watched G1 's premier in Sept '84, and have been a fan since. I'm also a fan of Beast Wars, Animated, and Prime as well as Cyberverse. I vehemently despise the Bay films, but I liked the Bumblebee Movie- at least it had heart and wasn't dominated by a psychopathic Optimus Prime. This looks to have heart, and humor, abounding. It's decidedly not G1, and I'm fine with it. Between the various series, films, games, and comics over the years, this franchise has proven to have room for many iterations, generally only linked by virtue of the main characters' names if little else. I'm hoping it'll turn out to be a good film- I already like it far, far better than any of the thoroughly abysmal Bay films, and I think if one gives it consideration outside of the lens of G1, it'll prove to be a fun addition to the Transformers lore and filmography. I'm keeping my outlook positive.
  24. M'Kyuun
    I was excited for this film having only seen a trailer or two and not spoiling it for myself beyond that. I'm a longtime fan of Alien and consider Aliens to be one of the few sequels in the history of film to 'better' its original film. Empire Strikes Back is another, but I digress. I also liked many of the historical elements of Prometheus as well as the character of David 8 whose machinations fall well shy of Asimovian standards. I barely remember Covenant, which tells you how much of an impact it made on me. Scott's films were beautiful to look at, but elements of story and many of the characters just lacked appeal (except Noomi Rapace, whose presence and performance is nearly always memorable) Of the other Alien sequels, Alien 3 resonated with me for its story, characters and setting and for introducing the Xenomorph's ability to take on the attributes of whatever creature it impregnates, in this case a dog. That Fincher killed off Hicks and Newt right at the start, two characters who deserved more stories in the Alien universe, is his greatest disservice to the franchise. So Romulus looked like it had promise.
  25. M'Kyuun
    This was the swan song of designer Niek van Slagmaat (Toothdominoes) who has been working on Ninjago for years. He is changing positions, but as a love letter to Ninjago fans coupled with his love of robots and mecha in general, he wanted to create a mecha set with as many bells and whistles as possible and IMHO, as both a mecha fan and a Ninjago fan, I think he succeeded. The head design, light piping notwithstanding (I hadn't noticed it, so thanks for pointing it out) is probably the weakest part of the whole build. The articulation is amazing, especially the sliding kneecaps which echo any number of Gundam and other modern mecha designs. The ankles are of note as well, as on most LEGO mecha, they are severely limited in their range of motion for stability's sake, but on this model, the friction actuators add the requisite stability to the ball jointed ankles enabling a decent range in all directions. It's an impressive set that hopefully will inform future mecha sets.
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