M'Kyuun

Comic precedents notwithstanding, I'm iffy on the prospect of someone new taking on the mantle of Black Panther. Chadwick Boseman did such an excellent job portraying the character; that leaves some big shoes to fill. The next actor to fill the role is certainly going to feel the pressure, as comparisons are a forgone conclusion. It's the nature of the beast, delicious pun intended.😛 Personally, I didn't really feel the need for, nor expect a sequel to the first film. Given the unexpected and far too early loss of Mr. Boseman (RIP), I thought it fitting to let it stand alone within the current MCU franchise. If they want to make another Black Panther film 10 years down the line, apart from the current MCU series, great! I think a tv series detailing T'Challa's upbringing and growth into the man, and ultimately the leader, he becomes would be a cool project for Disney to contemplate in the interim.

Magic Square's take: AFAIK, no pics in jet mode have been released. I looked, but didn't find any.

I agree, Skyfire looks good. I like a number of TT's solutions/features- the extra hip joint, the knee design, the extending feet, the collapsing backpack & Respect mode 😉, the folding wings, the gorgeous landing gear. I'm surprised they didn't try to give him more abduction range in the shoulders through yet another clever solution. Too, waist swivel. It is a cool fig, though, and if I didn't already have Phoenix, which I still prefer for various reasons, I wouldn't have hesitated a second getting an order in for this guy. I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't still tempted. Not sure where I'd put him, though- I'm outta space, especially for these larger figs. To have an official Skyfire, aside from Siege Jetfire, is something I wished for for a long time, and now that it's here, and done well, not getting him seems a missed opportunity. Sigh.

'Preciate the review, Mike. I believe my copy is on its way to me. I generally don't go in for repaints, but I thought the changes between Wreck-Gar and Junkheap differentiated them enough to warrant having both. Too, there's the idea of one riding the other like we saw in the film. Lastly, while I'm not a huge fan of the Junkions per se (I thought they were a little too ridiculous, even by 80s standards), I have a thing for transforming motorcycles (I'm not even a fan of the real things- go figure), and Wreck-Gar is one of the notable molds from SS86. Makes getting a repaint/retool more justifiable, in my mind anyway.

Just got back. As with my viewing of false songstress, there were about seven in attendance including me. I only recognized three people from the previous film's screening; sadly, not the best turnout. I wish they'd do more to promote these films. We were treated to the same opening stuff as related by @kajnrig and like the first film, we experienced no glitches or issues, at least that I detected. Following up on Kajnrig's observation, I never noticed how much blatant innuendo is present in Sheryl's lyrics. Too, I was surprised by how much the story changed. Anyway, since I've never seen either film before, I'm glad I had the opportunity to see them for the first time in the theater where they were intended to be seen. I do have to say, though, in spite of all that screen, most of the aerial combat scenes happen so quickly and have so much going on that I found it difficult to track what was going on at times. I get that they want to make it dynamic, but I think those kinds of scenes were handled better in Zero and Plus, where the flight scenes can be followed much more easily. Maybe my age is showing. After the film, the vids for Gorgeous, Good Job, and Wings of Farewell played- a blend of fanservice and cutesy weirdness as only the Japanese can deliver. I didn't mind; May'n and Megumi are both talented singers on their own, but they complement each other well when performing together. I prefer Megumi's voice personally; I'm all for more Ranka songs. As I said earlier, I wish turnout and support was greater for these; I want Bandai to get a strong message of support, but sadly, that's not the reality, at least not by the low attendance at my theater. I'd love to be able to walk into a store like Barnes & Noble or even Target and pick up the newest valk toy, but I think that day is still way off, if it ever happens at all. I keep hoping, though.

Likewise, and I'm going to see Sayonara no Tsubasa tonight. I'd like to see them do the same with Macross Zero. I didn't care for Delta, but I'd probably go see a movie from it, too, if only to support the franchise here in the States.

That Mirage is very impressive, but well out of my price range. I'm guessing the various bits are held on with magnets? The way he took the foot and head off and just put them back into place one-handed with no pushing to seat them on a ball joint leads me to think so. Very cool; appreciate the post, @no3Ljm.

I had a couple of the Playmobil Space sets as a kid, and I thought they were glorious. That shuttle is still an impressive toy after all these years, and I loved the blue Astronaut figs with their domed helmets and red jet packs.😍 Good stuff for sure. Unfortunately, my mom gave my Playmo stuff away when I went to the military. I still have the box for this shuttle, but not the actual toys. 😭

Indeed. I'm a huge champion of Hasbro's decision to upsize the minibots to deluxe scale. Hard to believe this is the only G1 Cosmos they've released since '85. I hope Windcharger, Gears, Brawn, Seaspray, Powerglide, & Beachcomber get the same treatment. As for Tonkanator- interesting way to market a Devastator recolor. No interest here, but for those who enjoy collecting the G1 toys and variants thereof, it's a unique take for your collection. If we end up getting a new team of Constructicons via either Legacy or Studio Seies '86, I wonder if they'll do the same with those figs? Nice way to milk the molds and offer a modern Tonkanator variant.

And maybe the Earth will start rotating clockwise on its axis, water will stop being wet, gravity will start to repel instead of attracting- all distinct possibilities in a diametrically opposed parallel universe. Let's just say I have little faith in Has/Tak when it comes to TFs with jet alt modes. I think Maverick was a one-off- the most absolute of absolute exceptions.

No, I didn't figure it was even an option. I bought some JB Weld for plastics, including nylon, today, and tomorrow I'm going to try and affect a repair. The fig is still serviceable as-is, and could probably even still be transformed, but knowing that it's broken bugs me. The fact that my own incompetence is the cause bugs me more. Anyway, I'm going to try the repair route, and if that fails, I may just rebuy it. It's such a beautiful fig, and if I end up botching the repair, it's worth a second purchase.

Magic Square is just knocking it out of the park. Both of these clean up better than the MP figs, especially in the sides of the upper torsos. I so wish they'd upscale their stuff to match mainline scale.

Query for the repair experts here: I broke the hinge to which the arm linkages attach on my Magic Square Doomsday(Megatron). It's sculpted to match the side vents, and there's not much real estate with which to attach it. I tried Gorilla Glue, which had zero effect. Been thinking of trying JB Weld, but I'm casting about here to see if there's a better glue or method to use. Appreciate any suggestions.

That's pretty sharp. As a building experience, I think the A-10 would be more fulfilling, especially if you and your kids are aircraft fans more than Transformer fans. I've never bought any of these independent kits, but some of them are really well done, case in point.

LEGO Con just wrapped up and there were a number of cool reveals: Nearest and dearest to my heart is the long-rumored update to the perennial Classic Space favorite, the venerable Galaxy Explorer (10497): (POs are up on LEGO.com- got mine already!) Classic Space fans have long clamored for a return of CS in some form, and when LEGO put out a number of themes for fans to vote on as the winning theme for the 90th anniversary set, CS was a close contender behind Classic Castle. This is a wonderful love letter to us CS fans, and the only thing that would have made this better is if it had included a base plate with a little radar station like the original set. But given that the ship model is about twice the original's size, and a very faithful update at that with all the original's play features plus more, I'm just super thrilled that this is happening. I can only hope it paves the way for a renewed interest by LEGO in original space themes. However, Classic Castle was the ultimate winner of the 90th anniversary vote, and LEGO outdid themselves with an ambitious set that pays homage to a number of CC sets, especially the Black Falcon's Fortress: Coming in at a whopping 4514 parts, The Lion Knight's Castle (10305) promises to be an impressive centerpiece to any castle layout, or just as a stand-alone set. Features include a working drawbridge, which when closed will unceremoniously drop any hapless fig on the bridge into the dungeon below; a working waterwheel that spins a grinding stone, a working portcullis; the ability to close it up for a fully walled fortress or open it up to reveal a fully detailed interior. It's a thing of beauty, and a great tribute to Classic Castle. The Galaxy Explorer and Lion Knight's Castle will both be available under the new LEGO Icons theme on their Shop site. For Marvel, LEGO unveiled a modular styled Sanctum Santorum (76218): As with all the Modular series, this one has Technic bricks built into the base of the building to readily incorporate it into a layout. Too, it's jam-packed with features and Easter-eggs. As a Modular fan and collector, this is a cool and unique addition to the series, which has long been more representative of city life with a very 1930s-50s-ish look and feel. This joins the Daily Bugle as yet another Marvel set that can integrate with your Modular Building layout. From the upcoming Avatar sequel (of which there are four planned), the Taruk Makto & the Tree of Souls (75574) set features some good use of colored elements as well as new minifigs with new heads, tails, longer arms, and longer legs to represent the Na'vi's taller stature compared to regular minifigs, a new Direhorse mold, and a brick-built Leonopteryx. From Star Wars, Cad Bane's Justifier (75323) and a new AT-TE set (75337) are coming in August. For the artistic among us, LEGO is introducing a Floral Art (31207) mosaic set with which one can build one of three different prints of flowers from different parts of the world. For Minecraft fans, The Abandoned Village (21189) and The Skeleton Dungeon (21190) offer the ability to continue expanding their Minecraft world in physical brick. Finally, Series 23 of the Collectible Minifigures is coming, this time celebrating costumes. Credit for all pics, which I copied shamelessly, goes to The Brick Fan. Lots to look forward to in the fall. For me, the new Galaxy Explorer rises to the top of the list in terms of my excitement and anticipation. As a CS fan from the very beginning, this is truly a Holy Grail set, one that I've personally hoped for (or a rerelease of the original) for many years. Mike Psiaki, a long-time AFOL-cum- Designer notable for numerous Expert Creator sets like the Mustang, the Astin-Martin DB-5, Ferrari F-40, Volswagon Beetle, Apollo Saturn V Ideas set, Creator 3-1 Blue Power Jet, and many more, is the primary designer behind this updated Galaxy Explorer, and given his penchant for always building working features into his sets, as well as head-scratchingly impressive techniques, I'm even more excited to build this set and swoosh the ever-living bricks out of it. Aside from Classic Space, there's quite a bit of new goodness coming this fall across a number of themes that's sure to please most LEGO fans. More opportunities to Play Well. Cheers!

That's my thinking as well, and it makes sense. Unfortunately, thanks to HG, Macross isn't a well known franchise in the States due to their long-standing embargo. (Kinda shot themselves in the foot now that there's an agreement between BW and themselves which could greatly expand the Macross market) There were about seven of us at the screening last night, which isn't terrible, but not great either. It was a small auditorium fitted with recliners, which reduces the seat count by probably a third of the original capacity when they use to have the old standard swing-down seats, and there were still a lot of empty chairs. They screened it at 7 PM, which is actually a good time as most people are off work, as opposed to an earlier showing. But the fact that , AFAIK, there is literally no advertising of this playing that I'm aware of- no tv or radio ads that I've seen or heard- does little to generate interest among a wider audience. I found out either here or possibly Twitter- I don't recall which now, but suffice it to say, there's really little in the way of putting this out in any meaningful way, and they only show it once. Anyway, having watched the series through twice, I went in expecting a very condensed version of the series, which it is, in part. Like M+, they tinkered with the story, so it diverges a bit and changes things up. Honestly, I don't mind, as it made it less predictable, and new scenery, especially anything mecha-related, curries no argument from me. I enjoyed it, though- it's been about a year or two since my last viewing of the series, so the music, the valks, the three main characters all brought a warm feeling of nostalgia. The ridiculousness of the role of the singing really struck me, despite being a longtime Macross fan. Likewise the constant need in Macross for a large antagonist, relative to human stature, to justify the need for the valks (b/c cool isn't a good enough reason?) In my mental space, cool is justification enough for any sort of giant robot. Anyway, I'm glad I went; I enjoyed it, enjoyed the little bit of conversation I had with a couple other dudes there (although the conversation turned more to Gundam than Macross), and I look forward to seeing Sayonara no Tsubasa on the 30th.

Ooooh. That's more like it. Could live without all the toy decal details, but I guess it's all or nothing. Darn it- now I want to spend money. Before I do, though, I'm willing to wait for MS to show theirs for comparison. You know they will. I usually find one or the other to be more appealing to me per character, so it's worth waiting for the preferred option. This is a pretty snazzy Grimlock, but I have a feeling MS' won't have those exposed inner legs. From an engineering standpoint, I think MS are usually more refined. this does some things I dig, though, so we'll see. Gawd it's a great time to be a TF fan.

I don't own V1, but after getting their Megatron, I needed an Optimus; V2 was being promoted at the time. and looked pretty good to me. Seeing them side by side , I have to say I prefer the V1 proportions and overall look, but since I have Light of Freedom for my MP collection, having a more MP-44 styled Optimus for my burgeoning legends collection seemed a good move for variety's sake. I like the fig, so no regrets. I haven't watched any V1 reviews, so I'm not sure how it transforms, although I doubt there's not much difference between it, Light of Freedom, and Light of Justice 2.0. The transformation is pretty cool, except for some overly tight bits, like the sliders for his wheel-well/torso sides and the extending pegs for the rear tires, both of which make me nervous every time I transform him. There are a lot of moving parts in such a small package, and when they're too tight, it's nerve-racking trying to get them to move without applying too much force and breaking something. He's a fun little Optimus toy, though, and fortunately, mine came with the repair bot thingy that inhabits his trailer (early copies were missing that bit due to some issues with the factory, IIRC). other than some tight bits, I have no complaints; Magic Square did a great job. This looks pretty good, although I'd prefer it had trans-yellow plastic around mechanical innards like the G1 toys. If they do a toy-accurate verion with metallic paint and the trans-clear bits, I may be down for a mini-Grimlock. I particularly like the way the arm expands into the dino leg and the dino tail with moving bits. Love that sort of detail that allows some expression and realism in dino mode. I'm not a big fan of the ultra-toon smoothness all over- I prefer surface detail on my bots, which is another reason I hope this gets the toy-accurate treatment. The core design is really good, though. The question remains, how long 'til MS reveal their Dinobot designs? I wish the SS86 Grimlock looked this good- he has that really awkward and chonky looking rear end in T-rex mode and a non-articulated tail. Amazing how much better this little Grim is over a leader class toy.

Getting ready to go see False Songstress at 7 PM PST. I've watched the series twice, but I've never watched either of the films, so I'm going in fresh. Part of me wishes these were dubbed, if only so I can concentrate on the visuals more without having to read subs, but there's something to be said about watching a foreign film in the original language with the inflection thereof. Anyway, I'm hoping to enjoy it. Along with Plus and SDF:M, I think it's one of the best Macross productions, and the VF-25 cemented itself as one of my favorite valks. Too, I liked the character development of both Ranka and Sheryl- Alto pretty much stayed the same broody dude throughout. 😄

New toy!

Yeah, most likely the legs aren't at the proper detent. Too, assuming the backpack tabs into the legs, that connection may not be made. You'd think they'd be mindful of such things in promo material, but there's Droopfire for all to see. All those years on ice must have exacerbated his arthritis. Hopefully, it's a simple remedy to straighten him out, and he turns out to be a really well-done and enjoyable fig. Fans have waited a long time for a proper MP Skyfire, and overall, toon-slavish lack of detail notwithstanding, he's a fine-looking take on the character. If I didn't already have FT's Phoenix, which does some things I prefer over MP Skyfire, it wouldn't even be a question of getting him. Even so, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still tempted.

Jordan has proven himself to be adept at writing a cool and interesting take on the horror/sci-fi genre, with a lot of Black perspective and a bit of humor. Get Out and Us were both well done, and Nope looks to continue the trend of dark, quirky, funny, & suspenseful storytelling. Looking forward to seeing it.

Although my care factor is pretty much off-scale low at this point, I'm assuming Primal will be a different character from Prime as he was in both the Netflix show and in the original BW. I'm just tired of the continued Bay influence in the live action films. I wish they'd retire it and start anew. Bee deserves to have an actual mouth like his original animation instead of that dumb looking perma-pacifier. Interesting news: Bandai Spirits and Takara Tomy are forming a collaboration under the tagline "Dream Together" on the 16th. Curious what that will entail, and what it might mean for TF fans if Bandai gives the go-ahead to TT to make figs based on the Beetras line (Deluxe Insecticons), Dorvack (Roadbuster and Whirl), Machine Robo (Gobots), an actual VF-1 based Jetfire, and others. I'd love to see that as a consequence of their joining forces, although I'm not holding my breath. The thought of Bandai licensing their 1/48 VF-1 as an official Jetfire is pretty exciting though, and given the agreement with HG, potentially possible.

Bumblebee and a bit of Primal from the upcoming Rise of the Beasts live-action Transformers film. I can sum up my feelings with "Meh". 😒

That is one impressive set. I love how LEGO continues to push boundaries, sometimes playing a little looser with their traditional stability requirements to create sets with more realism and sometimes nigh skeletal structure, as with the loops here. It looks more like a MOC than a set, and the sense of dynamism is palpable just looking at it. You can't look at this and not want to see the cars go speeding through those loops. I don't plan to get it (I wouldn't know where to put it if I did), but I applaud the audacity, presentation, and playability of it. So, I got this guy yesterday. It's set # 10302 Optimus Prime with 1508 pieces. This is a dream set for me. I've been playing with LEGO since I was about six, several years before the debut of the minifig and LEGO's Classic themes of Town, Castle, and the only one that truly matters, Space. 😍 I was thirteen when Transformers debuted, feeding my unquenchable love and passion for shape-shifting robots. Of course, a marriage of the two followed thereafter, although my early MOCs were, quite simple, having more in common with Gobots than Transformers in terms of complexity. But I digress. LEGO Optimus Prime (gawd it feels so surreal to type that, and yet it's real!) takes its design cues from the G1 OP toy. Except for the need to rotate the waist 180, and the need to remove the fists, its virtually identical. While it's rather simple, as a first step into producing a set of this nature, it works well. Too, LEGO is obviously aiming this at us old fogies from the 80s who are going to recognize the original toy in this, plucking the strings of nostalgia ever so unsubtly. They know what they're doing. (nodding wisenly) Prime comes with an accoutrement of toon related weapons and accessories, all of which appeared within the original three-part miniseries which introduced us to the wonderful world of the Autobots and Decepticons in Sept 1984. They include an Energon Cube, Prime's Energon Axe (from his duel w/ Megatron atop Sherman Dam), his trusty Ion Blaster, and Sideswipe's jet pack, which he borrowed in Ep 3 to pursue the Decepticon ship Victory as it headed back to Cybertron. Info kindly provided by the instructions themselves, which are full of toon factoids as you progress through the various builds. Wonderful and much appreciated touch. Ion Blaster With a mix of both Technic and brick work, Prime's signature weapon looks the part. I love the way the stock was designed, using an old windshield piece in black to encapsulate the sloped bricks, perfectly capturing the look. I wish they had printed or offered stickers for those grey bricks to provide vent detail. Missed opportunity. Although the gun has a grip, the stock itself attaches to Prime's arm. The hands alone are incapable of holding the weapon. Energon Axe In the first pic, I forgot to attach one of the splat pieces to the handle section of the axe, but it gives an idea of how it was assembled. Both of Prime's arms have a couple black 1x1 Technic bricks with fixed axle holes built within into which the brown axle on the axe can be inserted. The hand needs to be removed before attaching the axe, unless you just want to use the transformation joint and have his hand hanging oddly off the bottom of his arm while wielding the axe. Sideswipe's jet pack This is the most involved build among Prime's accessories, and probably the most superfluous, as like the Energon Axe, it was only ever used once in the OG cartoon. Too, it belonged to Sideswipe, who I don't recall having ever used it himself in the toon, or at least having attention called to his having used it. The existence of it at all harkens back to Sideswipe's bio, and the inclusion of various features/abilities as mentioned in the old Tech Specs in the toon always brought me a measure of joy. Thanks Mr. Budiansky.🙏 The light tan clips snap onto two black 1x2 plates with closed bars built into Prime's back, which is a bit hollow without it attached. Optimus cleans up nicely with the jet pack attached. Wrapping up accessories, the Energon Cube is the simplest build, mostly comprised of 1x2 trans-dark pink bricks. It can be seen in the first pic I posted above. Optimus Prime So I'll just say out of the gate that my feelings are mixed on this set. I'm beyond ebullient that it exists, and the potential it holds for more. LEGO Transformers is a theme I've wanted more than anything since 1984; it's been a long wait, and I honestly never thought it would happen. I've never been so happy to be wrong. I think it turned out very well, probably better than it should have. Early sketch model: That said, the limited articulation, which is endemic to these large mecha models minimizes the visual and tactile impact as opposed to something that can be posed dynamically. It looks very good, like their Voltron, but playability is severely limited. As a big fan of maximum articulation, I can't help but feel a pang of disappointment when these sets come out and they're essentially statues from the waist down, much like the OG Transformer toys. Alas, stability. On to Optimus. Ready for action! His right leg is one click forward and the waist is turned slightly to his right as well. His feet do not pivot fore and aft, but they do have ankle rocker, and the toes can rotate through an arc of about 130 degrees on friction pins. I have the toe rotated down a little to support the pose, but the friction is just barely capable of bearing the weight. In this pic, I have his left arm butterflied back about as far as it can go, and the right arm is abducted at the shoulder as far as the arm structure will alllow, which isn't much. Those big plates with the Autobot symbols restrict shoulder movement away from the body. flexion rotation at the shoulder is 360 unimpeded, and the elbows bend to 90. the wrists rotate 360, the thumb is made of a 1x1 modified rounded plate with closed bar and a 1x2 slope, which allows for a fair range of motion. The fingers, which are connected into a single rotating unit, can open and close, giving the "piano hands' look. There's an internal hinge joint within the arm that allows the hands to swing 90 degrees perpendicular to the bottom of the arm for transformation. Optimus features a brand-new joint piece to accomplish a compact hip joint. For larger mecha builders like me, it's godsend, a piece I've been wishing for for well over a decade. Like Prime himself, it was a long but much gratifying wait. These illustrate the hip rotation and limits of the ankle rocker- at full spread, his ankles don't quite bend enough to allow him to stand flat-footed. Unfortunately, Prime has no bending knees, but due to a ball and socket connection, his lower legs can rotate 360. Truck The salient feature of Transformers, of course, is their ability to change their forms, and in this regard, LEGO Optimus Prime doesn't disappoint. Modeled from the original Diaclone Convoy/ G1 Optimus Prime, Joe Kyde, who previously worked for Hasbro designing Transformer toys there, brought his wealth of design experience to give us a complete "Transformer experience' in this model, which heretofore hasn't been the case with other licensed Transformer building systems, like Kre-o. The result is an unmistakable cabover truck that does a very good job of filling in most of the gaps, especially where the front panels meet the arms creating a cohesive look. It's not perfect, however: there are large gaps in front of and behind the shoulders as well as on top to allow for clearance to swing the arms out. I can forgive it. The toes curl down and rest at an angle displaying some trans-red bits that provide brake light detail. This looks better than many official and 3P solutions for Prime's feet, where they often hang out obtrusively. These just meld into the back of the truck nigh seamlessly. I like it. I didn't take a pic of it, but Prime's gun can nestle snugly in the gap between the legs in truck mode- it doesn't attach to anything, though. As storage goes, not bad. Below are some underside shots in truck mode. In the pics, you can see how the hands stow behind the front panels and bumper. The bright orange bits on the feet are rubber studs that help give the model traction when standing. The head Prime's head is a complex build of brackets, wedge plates, slopes, tiles, and of course the bits used for his antennae, or ears as I've seen some refer to them. There's a 1x2 plate printed with his eyes, and a 1x2 tile printed with the vent detail on his helmet. His head is mounted on a ball-joint, which gives a generous range of motion. Some ado has been made about the bit of bracket below the eyes, but in-hand, it doesn't bother me too much. The ack of a nose protrusion is more noticeable to me, but that'd be a tough thing to add in at this scale. As it is, it does the job well enough. That wraps up my review. As I said in the beginning, I'm exceptionally pleased and grateful that this set exists, hopefully paving the way for more. It's not without its flaws, but overall, I think the execution was well done, as both modes look clean and reminiscent of the original G1 toy. The fact that it can be transformed without removing parts is the icing on the proverbial cake- it just completes the experience as a Transformer toy, and IMHO after nearly forty years of waiting, it was worth it. The lack of knees and other limitations in articulation are disappointing but not unexpected in a model this size. Fortunately, it's LEGO, and infinitely mod-able. If you're a Transformers fan or a LEGO fan, this set should have great appeal for you. Highly recommended.