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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I ordered a copy of the XL-15 today along with enough SW stuff to get the Lars kitchen. Initially, I wasn't going to get any SW stuff, but how many more chances will we have to own an Aunt Beru minifig? So I grabbed the Dagobah and Trench Run dioramas and the Dark Trooper Helmet. I was hoping the Mando's N-1 was available, but not yet. Anyway, yesterday I went looking for the XL-15 at a local Target and Wally, to no avail. I managed to find the Zurg set, but that was the only Lightyear set I've seen after looking at three Wallies and a Target since Friday. Lightyear stuff is scarce in these parts. Anyway, I'll likely end up getting another copy, perhaps to mod, or to harvest. I would like to mod it to look more screen accurate, though. I didn't look that hard at some of the other sets you mentioned. I noticed the Crystal King- big centaur-like mech or creature- what's not to like? I did notice they're using the new non-posable leg bits that were developed for the 4+ mech sets as the Crystal King's knees. I vehemently wish they'd made that thing ratchet; it could've been so useful. I don't know why or where LEGO gets the idea that little kids don't like articulation in their toys; I always did. Anyway, the newest spate of Ninjago has some downright impressive looking mechs and vehicle; it stands out as a particularly interesting wave of sets with complex mecha (with knees!) and visually arresting vehicle designs. Not since the stellar Ninjago Movie sets have so many sets in a single wave grabbed my attention. Monkie Kid is pushing boundaries, too. If I didn't know this was an official set, I'd swear it was an elaborate MOC. Downright impressive. And then there's this gem: Admittedly, I have a huge soft spot for Iron Man and his many Armors, so sets like this really appeal. Love that the car is included, and the inclusion of Whiplash is pretty cool. Still waiting for them to reveal Optimus Prime. I have a lot of enthusiasm already built up for it, so I hope it doesn't suck. LEGO and Transformers is THE toy crossover that I've been wishing for since 1984, and I desperately want it to be worth the wait.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Some new summer sets were revealed today, and this one particularly caught my eye. Long time Ninjago fans will immediately recognize that this is a complete departure from the original design. I suspect LEGO Designer Sam Johnson, a huge Gurren Lagann fan, is behind this; he's the designer for Ideas Voltron and this guy from last year's Ninjago releases. There's definitely a similar design language, and both designs feature knees, an extreme rarity among LEGO's larger mecha sets. I hope the same designer was involved in the upcoming, and yet to be revealed, Optimus Prime set. For us space fans, this is coming: There are two additional Missions sets that appear to require one to build along with a story via an app. Not so sure I'm down with sets sans instructions. I don't own a cell phone or a tablet, so trying to build this set will prove a bit challenging. I guess it's a cool way to combine the digital with tactile play, but for a semi-Luddite such as myself, it's not the best. Good thing my wife bought a small laptop- I think it'll come in handy for stuff like this. And just for giggles, because I love LEGO's sense of humor, this is coming: I don't collect Stuntz, but new innovations are always cool, and to that end, this is coming out later this year as well: They're moving right in to Hot Wheels territory with stuff like this, and for all its playability and MOCing potential, I think its cool. Not my cuppa, per se, but lots of fun. Those large trans orange bits are gonna make these expensive, though. That's a lot of plastic in large essentially single-use pieces.
  3. M'Kyuun
    I could have lived with that. Just pop on the Seeker head to complete the look. The VF-1 has aged most graciously. Surprised Kawamori didn't take a similar tack when designing the F-15 Seeker mold for Takara; it's quite different from all his valks, none of which require partsforming and generally present a much cleaner and realistic fighter mode. I wish they'd consulted him for all their fighter aircraft TFs over the years, as Takara only cares if the plane looks good from a top view.
  4. M'Kyuun
    The only good Scourge figure ever released, IMHO. He actually has a realistic alt mode, inspired by Boeing's beautiful X-48 UAV, and as such, it's one of the best aircraft alt modes Has/Tak has ever done for its believability and lack of kibble. While it certainly takes some liberties with bot mode, ultimately, I think they hued pretty close his original look. I love this figure. As a bonus, his weapons all tuck away neatly inside his wings, his plane mode has retractable gear, and his articulation is on par with Legacy, i.e. ankle tilts, waist swivel, and rotating wrists as well as the standard articulation we've been getting for years. I vehemently wish this had been G1 Scourge's original design, but I'm so incredibly happy we got this fig as an alternative. This represents everything that Transformers should be- believable alt mode, integrated weapons storage, excellent articulation, some functionality in alt mode where apropos, integrated transformation where the bot's bits become the vehicle (as opposed to shellforming or wearing the alt mode as a backpack). It's an example par excellence of how every TF with an aircraft alt mode should be designed, without exception, ad infinitum. (Thinking especially of all the egregiously terrible Silverbolts out there who essentially become a giant box with a plane attached to the top, and a bot with a plane on his back instead of integrating the two properly. I know it's faithful to the toon, but the tech and know-how exist to do it better, and we as fans should expect better. I do).
  5. M'Kyuun
    I never thought that hard about it. But now that you point it out, perhaps, being an island continent, Australia was besieged by a far greater plague of kaiju all along its shores necessitating greater Jaeger production numbers. I'm just spitballing, but that could be a hypothetical reason. At any rate, I was more interested in the Sisters subplot and how that ended up resolving. It was a bittersweet ending for Mei, Taylor, and Hayley.
  6. M'Kyuun
    On the space issue, I feel ya: Never enough, and they keep making more stuff. I keep putting up more shelves, but there's only so much wall space. I didn't care for the cartoon after the movie. I hated how they personified Galvatron, and after Leonard Nimoy's gravelly delivery in the film, I didn't care for Frank Welker's higher pitched crazy-voice for the character. It felt way off base. I also didn't like Hot Rod's mopey "I'm not good enough" attitude after his brash self-confident depiction in the film. As such, I only caught an ep here or there, but I just found the thing unwatchable. So, as you said, the personalities of Scourge and the Sweeps for me began and ended with the Movie, which means little to no character for either. Couple that with a crappy alt mode for Scourge, and my interest in the character dissipated. Contrarily, I love the Insecticons; I loved their introduction in First Season ( First Season is the holiest of holy scripture for me concerning Transformers- I love it, and it colors my take on TFs almost completely where G1 is concerned. After First Season, the writing took a downhill slide into whimsy and silliness and lost the more mature tone of S1, all in the name of selling toys and hitting syndication). In that vein, there was a lot of the same stuff in the Movie that I wasn't crazy about, but you know, it's still a fun watch.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Different strokes. I watched S2 last week and enjoyed it. I'm glad they wrapped it up though in the very likely case there's no third season.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Given the option, I would have also preferred the toy deco; it's just more visually interesting, with or without the stickers. I usually don't double dip unless I like the mold or they do something interesting with a repaint/retool. In this case, I think Cyclonus is one of the best molds they've ever produced, and certainly the best Cyclonus figure they've ever produced. I always loved G1 Cyclonus' jet mode- it sings to my soul; the G1 toy's bot mode, not so much. To that end, I have no issues with the toon-styled design for both his bot and jet modes, but seeing the old G1 deco on him evokes that nostalgia. I'm down with having both toon and toy decos. It's just an excellent figure. As for the Sweep, I never cared much for Scourge's weird flying-bar-of-soap-evocative hovercraft alt mode. I wonder that they couldn't have come up with something better. I got Scourge, but I just don't feel the need to have the Sweep repaint. It's not that Scourge didn't turn out well; he did. But that god-awful alt mode just turns me off.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Site's working fine for me, and has been. I type "LEGO" in the website bar and the site pops up immediately without issue. Navigation is just as smooth.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Check Target; I saw all these there last weekend. I didn't pick any of them up, but I was in total 'Squee' mode after seeing the various designs and thinking about potential LEGO sets. LEGO would be foolish to pass on the opportunity to make more Lightyear sets, especially when these are the designs they're working from. 😍 Besides, we desperately need an alternative to Star Wars on the shelf, and since these are also Disney property, the Mouse is getting its share either way. Those Buzz and Chogokin XL-15 toys are gorgeous. The XL-15 is such a sweet looking ship.😍 May have to make some mods to the LEGO set to include those lower aft thrusters and some retractable landing gear. As to questions about the color of the canopy and the seeming disparity between the LEGO set and the film caps/toys, at some point I'm guessing that canopy turns trans-yellow, as it was stated by the director himself that the chief motivation was to get more trans-yellow canopies in LEGO, his being an AFOL. I've never met Angus MacLane formally, but I've seen him at BrickCon (his stuff is usually next to mine, as we both build mecha), but he also designed the Ideas Wall-E set submission, and created a line of pop culture figs, mostly Star Wars, called Cube Dudes. Even though this set comes with a UCS style placard, which is becoming increasingly commonplace for System sets of late, I hope the XL-15 gets the UCS treatment, with all the bells and whistles thereof.
  11. M'Kyuun
    It does indeed, and for us mecha builders, these new 1x2 light bley ratcheting joint bricks will likely prove phenomenally useful, especially in smaller or compact models that require motion. Can't wait to get a slew of them for my own builds. As to the set itself, it's well done at that scale, and makes for a splendid display piece. I hope it sells like ice cream in July, and we get a plethora of similar sets from both Forbidden West and its predecessor, Zero Dawn.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Generations Selects Cyclonus and Nightstick now available New Arrivals – Hasbro Pulse , Transformers Generations Selects Cyclonus (Toy Colors) Pre-Orders Live - Transformers News - TFW2005
  13. M'Kyuun
    I mentioned it before, but I didn't post those particular pics. This incredible beauty releases on May first. Pretty excited.
  14. M'Kyuun
    I still have quite a few of the Binaltech figs in storage; the heft of the die-cast and the lovely paint work definitely gave them a premium feel compared to their all-plastic Alternator clones. I have a few Alternators, too, but I mostly tried to get the Japanese releases despite the much higher price tags. Alternators at one point were selling for about $20 here. Considering the engineering and licensing, compared to a Generations voyager, it's amazing how quality vs price has shifted. Granted, I'm super happy that articulation has been a focus since the WfC line started- that's a good trend, and I hope they keep on improving. I have Alternators Prime, BTW, and yeah, he wasn't quite on par with some of the better molds, chief among them being the Ford Mustang, the Mazda RX-8, and the Suburu Impreza. Articulation was a weakness of many of those toys; the novelty of having a fully transformable licensed car with at least a partial interior, steerable front wheels (rubber even!), and opening hoods, trunks, and doors mitigated the disappointment at the weaker points of the bot modes, which were almost certainly secondary considerations. They're a neat part of TF toy history, though, and rarely get the honorable mention they deserve. To that end, thanks for putting the spotlight on them if only briefly, Mike.
  15. M'Kyuun
    Robotech? I know of no such creature. 😉 Foremost, thanks to Shawn and Graham for creating the site, keeping it updated, and assigning mod duties to a cadre of dedicated folks who keep the peace, among other assorted duties. It's a great place to visit, but I suggest you lean back, put your feet up, and stay awhile. As far as toy and hobby-based media forums go these days, this is about the most tranquil one you'll find. Keep your discourse civil, respect differing opinions (but don't be afraid to voice yours), share cool stuff, and enjoy the great community we have here.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Someone needs to put a Black Series 6" Luke in the driver's seat, as I think that'd be pretty close to scale. It doesn't look that off to me, but as SW vehicles go, the Landspeeder is pretty meh. I want that C3PO, though. Honestly, now that I've got my UCS grail (the heavenly AT-AT), my interest in SW has waned quite a bit. Def not buying as much as I used to. I'm looking far more forward to picking up Buzz Lightyear's XL-15 than any SW stuff. And the Tallneck.
  17. M'Kyuun
    I wasn't aware of its effects on plastic. I don't recall having those issues personally, but apparently some have. We of the pre-internet days seem to have been made of sterner stuff.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Yay! Good for you, man! Close enough. It won't have the same sheen as chrome, obviously, but I can totally understand their reservations against using vacuform chrome, as it generally peels over time. This is one of those situations where a concession is completely understandable. Even if they continued to omit the hinge, at least put mechanically detailed wings on him and paint them silver. Of the Bayverse characters, I would think he'd be among the more popular Decepticons. He should have had his own mold for ER; if nothing else, it would have been an interesting way to cross-universe with Binaltech/Alternators Grimlock and Wheeljack. too, I wouldn't be opposed to their creating a new character for the mold. I'm not completely beholden to the lore, so if they want to reuse a mold and give it a completely new identity, I'm fine with it. If it's a really good mold, I'll double dip. I had to look him up, such is my Armada ignorance. TBH, I think I have that toy somewhere in the bowels of my closet, unseen and untouched for many years. But yeah, as a base, with some major retooling, I could see that working as a G1-ified Blackout. Again, as do you, I think he and Barricade need their own molds to really pay proper homage to the original designs even while giving them the G1 makeover. But, we both know a hypothetical Legacy Blackout will likely be a retool, and since Armada may be getting some Legacy love, a probable Cyclonus update isn't too bad a place to start. That's a good call, Mike. Hopefully someone from Hasbro is reading this and taking notes.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, Kickback is good. Just fix the wings. Y'know, as much as I love the pseudo-Datsun mold, I kinda wish they'd done something more Mustang-ish for their ER Barricade. I wouldn't mind seeing a Legacy Blackout, either, although if they wanted to keep its alt similar to the CH-53, it'd have to be its own mold. There just isn't anything else close, except perhaps Vortex from the Combaticons. If they get around to doing Bruticus, perhaps we'll get a repaint/retool of Vortex as Blackout. I'd prefer it had its own mold, though, keeping the salient feature of Bayverse Blackout, which they could repaint as Grindor to get some mileage from the mold. I saw a different Velocitron mentioned on Twitter (don't remember which one) as a potential release this morning, and that gave me hope that Override would be coming too. as I mentioned previously, my hope is that they'd keep the basic leg and foot transformation- she has a pretty cool looking alt mode and I'd want to see that carried forward in an update. Can't think of a suitable existing toy that would make a good retool/repaint. Guess we'll wait and see.
  20. M'Kyuun
    I missed this, so the recap is much appreciated, Mike. Speaking to the energon weapons, I get what they were going for, and if I truly believed kids were going for these more than us old crusty G1 fans, I'd be fine with it. But, I don't believe that, I have zero use for the energon weapons, and wish the budget for those had been put to better use on the primary figs. As to the Legacy combiners, while it'd be nice if the CW figs worked with them, honestly in terms of making improvements to the overall figs and combined forms, I'd rather all effort was placed on making the best figs possible without trying to do cross-over compatibility. Too, I think the CW figs would look out of place with the Legacy figs just in overall aesthetics. The CW figs just look cheaper b/c they are, and they're far more stylized than the very toy/toon-faithful Legacy figs. The resulting combo would look odd, methinks. So far as doing spread releases vs boxsets, I honestly don't have a preference. Boxsets are convenient, sure, but they're also an expensive single buy, and more than likely would end up becoming dreaded exclusives that are in high demand, short-stocked, and inevitably difficult to obtain. By putting the individual figs out in waves, it's a little easier on the wallet and by making them general retail releases, easier to obtain. Too, there's the anticipation and fun of collecting all the necessary figs to finally piece together the gestalt. It's a play pattern that's been ongoing since the original G1 Constructicons, and I think they should continue it both from a marketing perspective, but also as it helps them with repaints/remolds of different figs. As to packaging- 100% closed boxes with nice box-art. The fig is protected not only from damage and theft, but also germ transfer from uncovered coughing & sneezing, and unwashed hands all over the exposed parts of the figs. I applaud Hasbro's commitment to decreasing plastic waste, and I'm all for closed and sealed boxes for everything. I'm pretty meh about Machine Wars, but I'd like to see them try to tackle Trans-Metals. I know the vacuform metallic paint is a bit of a showstopper for them; it's just not good, they know it, and want to avoid it. Finding a suitable alternative is what's holding them back for now. I hope they solve it, as the TM BW figs were some of my faves. Still have a buttload of them in storage. And one has to admit that that shiny paint and vibrant colors made those toys look sharp. I have little fear that we'll see any updates of Animated, as that particular theme seems to be the red-headed stepchild that they'd rather shove in a trunk, double-lock, and forget it ever existed despite the huge fanbase it still retains. That may be a good-thing so far as their trying to translate every non-G1 theme into a G1-esque look for Legacy. I'd rather get updated Animated toys that looked like Animated. Judging by the Prime toys they're doing, there's something lost from the original figs in the translation. Those originals, for the most part, were pretty sharp looking, with some rather interesting and complex engineering. the Legacy takes, not so much thus far. It's in Targets as well; just came across one earlier this week.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Even on discount, I doubt I'll spare the expense as there are things I like better about the SS toy. It's been a while since I messed with my copy, so I took him down this evening and transformed him for the first time in a couple years. The transformation itself is rather apparent, but some of his bits, like the split fairing over the cockpit, didn't want to stay together very well. Still, the helicopter mode is quite large and impressive, and, a few obvious tabs, slots, and hinges notwithstanding, accurate to the MH-53 Pave Low, which I've had the opportunity to see and clamber around in (but sadly never flown in) having worked Spec Ops many moons ago. I still wish they'd fixed the hands on this release, but IIWII. Had I known Grindor would be released with better paint apps and swiveling hands, I would have waited. Alas, retrospect. Funny that the CAD is already in the wind. Blackout, IMHO, is one of the better '07 Bayverse designs, with an alt mode that positively sings to my soul, and a bot mode that I genuinely like. I should be excited about this release, but I'm feeling rather ambivalent about it. IMHO, it just doesn't represent much of an evolution from the SS toy. I'm left feeling a bit 'meh' by it. I look forward to seeing the eventual reviews and comparisons, and perhaps something will convince me otherwise, but for now, I'm probably going to pass on this guy. On a different note, I've voiced my general disdain for the UT toys, but perusing Twitter, one poster reminded me that this gal existed. Despite kinda digging her alt mode, I don't think I bought her toy back in the day (which is ironic, as I bought any number of other figs which I thought were much worse). Anyway, if Has/TT are embarking on updating UT characters, I wouldn't mind an update of Override as long as they preserve the leg portion of her transformation. The shape of her shins and feet forming the front fenders is just aces and gives her alt mode an iconic look. 😍 However, if they chose to make the entirety of her shoulder form the back fenders to slim out her chest, I'd be down with that decision. I think I'd prefer she had Hulk arms over that wide chest.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Appreciate the review, Mike. Looking forward to this guy. I'm one of those that wishes the thighs would collapse and tab into the lower legs and that his wings mimicked the G1 toy's more mechanical details with a spray of silver paint. It's my main niggle as the rest of him is so faithful to the original toy, and then they go and try to make the wings look organic. IMHO, that'd be like making the heads on the Dinobots look organically accurate while the rest of the dino body looks robotic. It's both weird and uncanny. Too, those wings could have benefitted from an additional hinge at the base to allow them to flare out like real insect wings in flight. The closed chest doesn't bother me as this isn't meant to be a Diaclone, and IIRC, none of the Insecticons ever used that feature from the toys in the animation. It was simply an interesting, if somewhat mysterious, feature of the G1 toys. Speaking from personal experience, I didn't learn about many of the G1 toys' origins as Diaclone and Micro-change until I was an adult, so those weird cockpit-like cavities in the Dinobots and Insecticons made no sense to me when I was buying them as a teen. Accordingly, I generally disregarded them, as they served no purpose; beyond nostalgia, they still don't. However, had Has/TT kept that feature intact for these new Insecticons, it would have offered an excellent opportunity for weapon storage had they invested the money they wasted on those useless and unwanted energon weapons in making the actual G1-inspired weapons fold into little cubes that would fit in their chests. To me, that's the desired solution. After 40 years, as part of the design evolution, perfectly integrated weapons should be part of the package with these things. Sucks that it's not. Alas, IIWII. To end on a positive note, I am rather pleased with how this fig turned out overall. While it is a bit simplistic, and perhaps a step backwards compared to the superior grasshopper mode of the legends scaled TR figure, as an updated G1 toy, it succeeds. It's not perfect, but I still dig it for what it is, and it's one of my more anticipated Legacy figs, along with his arthropod brothers Shrapnel and Bombshell.
  23. M'Kyuun
    For those interested, MPM Blackout has been revealed. I already have the Studio Series version, which itself is a pretty good fig of this guy. Not sure what this really brings to the table that would make me want another leader scaled Blackout at a likelier higher price tag. Looks nice, though.
  24. M'Kyuun
    I really don't have the room for a complete collection, but I do have a smattering of faves that I wouldn't mind having. I too hope they won't be too-high priced either, or I'll be skipping all but maybe one or two. Curious to see how these turn out, though. Never had any M.A.S.K. stuff as a kid, so the chance to pick up a few updated toys is definitely appealing.
  25. M'Kyuun
    I didn't even know what it was initially until I scrolled down to the atrocious alt mode. This is a prime example, no pun intended, of why I generally loathe the UT toy designs. I consider it one of the lowest points in the franchise. If you like it, though, good for you, and honestly, for the sake of the UT fans, I hope they make more. Every fan deserves updates to their favorite lines, and not everything has to be G1 all the time.
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