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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    There are a lot of us who'd like to see that, but LEGO seems strangely and stubbornly reluctant. They've touched on Pirates and Castle with some recent Creator sets, as well as the IDEAS Pirates of Barricuda Bay, which is an excellent homage to old school Pirates. We got Benny's Spaceship and a much, much smaller CS inspired spaceship from the second LEGO Movie, but otherwise nada. FWIW, it doesn't even need to be straight up blue and gray Classic Space; I just want them to make their own space themes again. The last original Space theme was Galaxy Squad in 2013, marking the longest period in which LEGO hasn't produced an original Space theme. Classic Space still holds its appeal, though, at least among us older fans. Go to a LEGO convention, and you're almost assured to see something Classic Space inspired. In this case, I mean all Space themes into the late 90s, although at this point, even Life on Mars is old enough to be considered classic as well. Peruse Flickr for any period of time, and again, you'll find MOC after MOC homaging Classic Space. What's puzzling about this is that LEGO is aware of the continued interest in the theme, at least among the adult and YA crowd, as many of the set designers came out of the AFOL community and themselves were building and posting CS MOCs. So why won't they make their own space themes. I don't buy the argument that it would hurt Star Wars: SW is a money-making juggernaut, and with all the new programming keeping it fresh, especially The Mandalorian, it'll chug along just fine. I don't know, but it's a question I'd love to ask LEGO, along with why won't they make some stronger, more versatile joints for larger mecha/creature builds? They've been using the same ratcheting joint system since 2004 with little in the way of upgrades, as well as the AT-AT leg joints which have been in use since 2003, again without updates or advancements. It's most vexing.
  2. M'Kyuun
    New UCS Tumbler coming. I have the original, and this doesn't really improve on it significantly, so I'm going to pass on it. It would have been nice if they could have given it working steering as a minimum upgrade from the original set. On the heels of the UCS set, there's a new System set coming as well, and it looks to be a great improvement on previous Tumbler sets. This is also the first time we get a Dark Knight Trilogy Scarecrow fig. It would have been nice to get a regular Dr. Crane head with a mask piece that fits over, rather than just a printed head piece, but at least it's a new character besides Bane and the Joker. I'm looking very much forward to adding this to my growing Batmobile collection.😍 For comparison, here's the System Tumbler from 2008 (set 7888-1). The back tires were more accurate on the older set, but everything else is an improvement on the new set. This is The Bat vs Bane: Tumbler Chase (76001-1) from 2013, which gave us a much simpler, and camo colored Tumbler. I thought it was a fun set, but yeah that Tumbler was a really simple design. So was The Bat, for that matter.
  3. M'Kyuun
    So, what is that design taken from? It looks like a mishmash of The Bumblebee Movie and G1 designs. I'm not a collector of non-transforming Transformers, but even if I was, this misses the mark for me. Cool for those who dig it, though.
  4. M'Kyuun
    Legendary actor, whether giving a live performance or lending his voice to an animated character, Mr. Asner left a strong impression. Hudson from Gargoyles, as well as Up's Carl are two notable performances that stand out in my mind, although there were so many more. A true loss to cinema, and I'm sure, to his family and friends. RIP, good sir.
  5. M'Kyuun
    That's been the cost of being a toy collector for about a decade now; lots of adults with disposable income willing to pay ever rising prices, not to mention a thriving aftermarket full of greedy scalpers. Add to that the artificial escalation of pricing by official and third parties, knowing that their fanbases will pay it. Although I've been willing to pay MSRP or slightly over, I'm generally not willing to pay the extravagant prices of many ebay and other secondary market sellers just on principle. Even if I want the thing terribly, I'll let it go rather than reward a greedy bastard asking far too much for said item. I'd rather they'd be stuck with the thing forever, like a bad case of herpes. It's the inevitable downside to a free market; availability comes at a cost, and the the price you're willing to pay is directly proportional to your level of passion and the depths of your pockets. I can't absolve myself from the situation, as I've spent my fair share of ducats on all sorts of toys and models over the years, thus feeding the beasts that shite these wonderful things out. So, while I'm not a fan of the ever rising prices, I'm part of the equation that facilitates it through my various purchases. As long as people like money, and inflation continues in the global economy, the simple fact is that prices are always going to go up, some more than others. The question is for each of us, how much is too much?
  6. M'Kyuun
    Not my cup, but I do hope it finds a plentiful audience willing to support it financially, as this figure will open the doorway to more previously Japanese-only related Transformers toys. Best of luck to supporters, and to Haslab. FYI for folks who've POed Kingdom/SS86 stuff from Pulse, my copy of Wreck-Gar is coming, but I got delayed notices for both Rodimus and Rhinox to October and December, respectively. I hope this doesn't become the trend with the rest of the stuff I have POed with them. I'm patient, but it still kinda sucks, especially when I see reviews and such popping up everywhere.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Well, the whole market has gone up for 3P. 3P legends figs are now priced around what the MP cars were priced at 10 years ago. Expensive little buggers. But if you cast your sights about at toys in general, especially independents like Joy Toy, Acid rain, etc, the prices are high, not $300 high mind you, but still, expensive. Then again, I collect LEGO, and that's a hobby that'll burn money like kindling if you amass any quantity of it, and I have a house full. But I think Mike's right concerning FT; they see the aftermarket for their product, and have adjusted the price up front so they can make more revenue. As a business decision, it's smart so long as demand remains for their products, and that demand doesn't seem to have diminished. They have a devoted following, even if some of their pieces have had less articulation than what has become standard, or over-complicated and frustrating transformations, or other assorted issues. As for me, I have FT's Dibots (Dinobots), Phoenix (Skyfire), and Thomas (Astrotrain), with their Blitzwing preordered. From experience, I'll say I'm extremely pleased with them all. They're well built, with very G1 faithful designs. No regrets, and I look forward to their Blitzwing, if it ever releases, although the price I pay for him is gonna sting a bit. Main line Generations remains my primary Transformer collecting focus, but I still buy the odd legends or MP scaled fig from time to time. I just went in on all three of XTB's Omnibots, as I've been wanting figs of those guys since the 80s, and I wasn't going to let that opportunity slip by, especially at $100/pc. I'm also getting the Harrier and the F-16 Aerialbots from Dreamstar Toys, as those are some mighty fine looking jet formers, and I love the Harrier, so he's a must. And while they're not Transformers, per se, I'm getting TFC's "Fiery" Chinese attack helicopter guy, and the Flanker fig when they finally make it available for PO. We get so few decent jet formers in Transformers, so I'm trying to take advantage of these rather well done transforming aircraft.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Um, no. I just did some backtracking to see when I ordered it (October 2020), and the order was canceled in December of last year and a gift card emailed to me. Apparently I wasn't paying too close attention to what was going on, lost track of it, and have been waiting on it all this time. Due to many preorders from numerous vendors, as well as a poor memory, last year I started annotating what I've got on PO with what vendors, and I've had Thrust in there all this time. I strive to keep it current, but sometimes I miss stuff. I don't think I voluntarily cancelled Thrust. He's my favorite of the Coneheads, and I wanted him to round out my collection of original three Seekers and the three Coneheads. Something happened there, and it flew under my radar for some reason. Anyway, I guess I can check him off my list now; unless they do a reissue at MSRP or a bit over, I won't be getting him at scalper prices. C'est la vie. I wanted him for completion's sake, but if I'm being honest, I'm not the biggest fan of the ER Seeker mold. IIRC, Hasui was the designer for that mold, and in an interview he mentioned borrowing heavily from the Classics mold due to extreme time constraints and lower budget. IMHO, it shows, and I wish we'd gotten better. The Classics toy had a better jet mode, especially the smooth forward fuselage sans huge hinge and proper round exhausts.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Heh, I'm still waiting for eight of the nine Kingdom figs I POed thru Pulse, ER Thrust from Target (which I POed quite a few months back), and SS86 Slag, Kingdom Sideswipe/Maximal Skywarp, and the Jurassic Park two-pack from Amazon. The only toy I've received recently was Kingdom Red Alert, with whom I'm pretty happy, other than the odd color choices that don't really match the G1 toy or the toon. I'm thinking of painting him to more closely homage the G1 toy, which I still have. I like the changes to the mold that bring him to the doorstep of being a Countach without being a Countach.😊 In this and Jazz's cases, close enough is good enough for me. It's better than nothing at all, especially in Jazz's case. So, I'm playing the waiting game. I'm patient, though.
  10. M'Kyuun
    I hope the last part turns out to be true. I hope they go back and redo Astrotrain with better alts at some point, too. I'm happy to see Blitzwing on the list; he was always my favorite triple-changer due to the alt modes, although admittedly, his jet mode was heavily compromised, and those compromises seem to affect many modern third party takes as well. I have little faith in Has/Tak's ability to improve the jet mode, but a more G1 accurate toy still stirs my curiosity. Somehow, I have a feeling the turret will pop off and become some other accessory this time around, as that seems to be the trend. Wonder why there's another voyager Soundwave? New fig with better, more accurate engineering, or just another repaint? Hopefully the former. The Netflix Soundwave is ok, certainly a far cry better than the Siege version with its lame excuse for an alt mode, but the way the shins are backwards in Walkman mode bugs me, as well as the crappy weapons placement. I wish they'd they'd copy the G1 toy, which produced a more accurate looking Walkman, not to mention storing the weapons like the batteries they were meant to represent. It was, and remains, such a nigh perfect toy; all it really needed was updated articulation. Bulkhead's an interesting addition; I wonder if he's going to be an Animated or Prime homage? Animated could stand a little love, but I'm biased. Nice to see Kickback in deluxe scale, as well as Skids, whose design I always liked. It'll be interesting getting both a mainline and MP version of the same character within months of each other. Hopefully the other Insecticons aren't far behind. I hope Elita-1 is indeed a brand new, and hopefully much improved, mold than the lazy shellforming Arcee mold. It'd be nice to see at least some effort put into making part of her become her car mode rather than just wearing the whole damned thing on her back. Still no Brawn, Gears, or Windcharger.🤕 Hopefully in the next batch, or part of Friday's reveals.
  11. M'Kyuun
    The Egoista is a unique design, reminiscent of the Mach 5 from Speed Racer. But yeah, the last few car models from Lamborghini, although pretty designs, are very similar in their looks and not as daring as the original Countach, including the new Countach. Too, their foray into sedans and SUVs kinda misses the point. Anyway, this thread went astray quickly. Guess I shouldn't have posted that pic. As seems to be more and more typical over the last couple years with Fed Ex deliveries, my Kingdom Red Alert, which was scheduled for delivery yesterday, then today, now shows pending, although it was showing in transit 40 minutes away in the Spokane Valley this morning. I don't know what's up with Fed Ex, but I've had any number of deliveries seem to arrive within the area, only to go pending for some odd reason. I'm guessing it'll be out for delivery tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. Just seems odd that it gets so close, with what one would assume would be enough time to make it to the local depot and on a truck for delivery within the same day, but doesn't.
  12. M'Kyuun
    I must be on the flip side of the coin. I was never into He-Man as a kid, although I was acutely aware of the toys. I didn't own any, but they had distinctive names, looks, and gimmicks that kinda stuck in my brain all these years. So, going into the Netflix show with no preconceptions, I enjoyed it. But I'm aware there's been a lot of negative reception, so I'm guessing they went left field with it compared to the original show. If there's a second season, I'll watch it, too.
  13. M'Kyuun
    I've never been much of a comics reader. I dabbled in Iron Man comics briefly in the early 90s, but that's it, despite my lifelong interest in superheroes. The Marvel films have certainly changed the game; they've found a good formula for making these movies fun, interesting, visually stunning, while maintaining the humanity of these superhuman people. That said, while I had only a tangential knowledge of the Avengers courtesy of cartoons over the years, The Eternals are a complete unknown to me as comic book heroes. Obviously the majority of them have their roots in ancient human mythologies and lore, much like Thor. Having watched one trailer, and having read an article, I'm slightly more educated. The trailer has me sold as another beautiful spectacle at the very least, but the caliber of talent on board as well as a different dynamic and viewpoint for these ancient heroes offers enough difference from the Avengers to make it interesting. As I said, the Marvel Superhero franchise has set a pretty impressive precedent; historically, these comic heroes were a hard sell in live action (1979 Captain America, anybody?), but these movies have done a really good job of making them seem visually credible. Not content to rest on the CG technology, these movies were all written and acted very well; even the 'worst' of them is still better than much of what came before. I'm looking forward to seeing this new cast of heroes do their thing. Too, more opportunities for some cool LEGO sets. 😍
  14. M'Kyuun
    😄You're funny. I don't collect as many versions of the various molds as you do, as I usually try to be one and done on a mold unless there's some thing about it that sets it apart. In the case of the whole WfC series, moving into Legacy, I'm bending that rule quite a bit for the sake of completing the main first season cast, and then some. If it's a good mold, as both the Siege and ER Sideswipes turned out to be, then I don't mind having more. I'm still not buying all versions, but quite a few more than I have in the past. Nice review. My copy is slated for delivery today, so I'll get to do my own in hand comparison with his Siege counterpart later today. I hadn't noticed it until looking at your pics, but it's lamentable that Has/Tak didn't slightly indent the tail light detail on both ER Lambo bros to match the original car and make it easier for us DIYers to paint them in the absence of factory paint. The shapes of those lights is still iconic, and to have them, and have them painted, on these figs would have been nice. They're unlicensed, and so not exact copies of the Countach, but enough salient detail is there to give a strong impression. It's little details like painted tail lights, rims, etc that I hope we'll see more of with Legacy, since Hasbro made a tidy profit this last quarter. I know Transformers is only one of their many brands, but it's still one of their most lucrative, and it'd be nice to see a little upshot in quality in the next batch of figs. It'd also be nice if all the requisite G1 toy weapons/accessories, minus fists and other partsforming elements, came in the box with each fig as well, rather than relying on third parties to kit them out. Too, stuff like the ER Vanette bros' feet and roof should be fixed before production. It's lazy and spoils what could be a great fig if they just tried. I'm digressing hard into gripe territory. We all know the shortcomings. So, it's nice when something like ER Sideswipe/RA comes along, as the Siege version was so close to the Countach look, I didn't think Hasbro would bother. Glad to be wrong. Oh, and FWIW, both the black and blue versions of Siege Deep Cover have his tail lights painted, but neither Siege Sideswipe nor Red Alert do. So much inconsistency in this line. Really makes you wonder how these things are decided. Anyway, the real Lamborghini Countach's backside for your viewing pleasure. Bellisimo!
  15. M'Kyuun
    Not to undermine his other cinematic works, but, like most Westerners, Chiba-san will always be known to me as Hattori Hanzo, swordsmith unparalleled from Kill Bill, my favorite Tarentino film. To be honest, I had no idea who he was when I first saw the movie, as I've not watched much in the way of Japanese cinema. But even in the brevity of his appearances, there was something genuinely likeable about him, and yet believable as this incredible swordsmith. Love the scene where he throws the knife back into its holder in the kitchen. Real or faked, I don't know, but given his many black belts in as many disciplines and lifetime of martial arts training, I'm betting real. RIP, good sir.
  16. M'Kyuun
    It's that attitude by the fandom at large that has given Takara-Tomy license to produce atrocious jet alt modes all these years. If the fandom, as a whole, stopped accepting compromised and inaccurate aircraft modes, then perhaps we'd see better. But for some reason, people seem far more accepting of them as compared to car alts, which will never in this or any other universe, dimension, or otherwise, come within a fraction of the coolness of aircraft. Aircraft superior, cars inferior.😜
  17. M'Kyuun
    While not Transformers per se, new pics of TFC's Craft series transforming Chinese attack chopper showed up on Twitter sporting a shiny silver coat of paint. Not sure if that's accurate to how the Chinese paint their military choppers, but it looks pretty sharp nonetheless. Nice vibes of the old Boeing-Sikorsky Comanche stealth attack helicopter from the mid-90s. What is it about load out pics that speaks to coolness factor? Anyway, I POed this guy, and seeing these pics does nothing to excite regret. Bot mode looks a little spindly, potentially fiddly, but the overall toy looks pretty neat to me. I hope it's solid, with a mildly complex but fun transformation that doesn't require uncomfortable bending of things around other things to achieve. OK, you can get back to discussing MP scaled Starscream toys again....😉
  18. M'Kyuun
    I agree. MP-52 has much more pronounced lumps and bumps on the fighter's underside, as well as the big faux canopy cover, and the too small forward fuselage. For anyone even remotely interested in planes, specifically the F-15, it's a hard thing to overlook. I get that the Seekers, by design, are going to carry over some of the bot characteristics, like the prominent knee pads and chest intakes, but both the Maketoys and DS-01 versions prove that you can still pull off a pretty accurate toon Screamer with a less compromised jet mode. I really wish NewAge would upscale their legends Seekers, as they employed some really cool solutions and aside from parts of the forearms hanging out on the belly, it's a pretty sleek and mostly accurate F-15 (the wings need to extend back a bit more, but in a MP scaled interpretation, I'm sure they could find ways to eliminate or fix both of these issues).
  19. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, pretty impressive. I found him and Overdrive on BBTS and POed them. I looked, but couldn't find a listing for Camshaft. Guess I may have to look at Chosen Prime. I realize they're renders, and thus idealized, but XTB are hitting all the right notes so far such as capturing the real vehicles, the flight/weaponized modes, and the the strong nods to the G1 toys in the look and details of the bot modes. Nostalgia just pours out of the screen when I see these things, and let's face it, the Omnibots , for some unknown reason, have received little love over the years, both officially and non. With so many obscure characters getting toys in the TR, PotP, and WfC lines, I figured we'd finally get mainline updates, but that hasn't happened. Getting them at MP scale and complexity is even better, though, and I sincerely hope they turn out well. The only other XTB toys I own are Apollyon and Eligos, both of which have their issues, but still look pretty good on the shelf, especially Eligos. I just love the look of that fig in either mode; it's the transformation that's frustrating. Too, one of the pegs that holds the cockpit section down snapped off years ago and remains embedded in the hole (crappy design IMHO). But for the few warts, they've both held up as decent looking figures. If XTB had come up with the leg mechanism that Takara used on MP-36, I most likely would have skipped MP-36 altogether. Maybe. Anyway, from my experience with two older XTB figures, the transformations are involved and not in a fun way. But they do a good job on sculpt and paint. I haven't kept up with how they've evolved, and I certainly hope they have. I hope these guys not only look good across modes, but also have interesting and fun transformations that make it enjoyable to go through the process. Edit: BBTS now has XTB's take on Camshaft. Got him POed now as well, so at long last, I'll own all three Omnibots. (I only got Downshift when I was a kid- I had to bust him out yesterday and do some comparisons to the XTB version- nice update, IMO.)
  20. M'Kyuun
    I think I might; one of the theaters in the Northtown Mall in downtown Spokane is showing it. I've never seen TF:TM in a theater, so it'd be a neat experience. I just watched my old DVD yesterday. Man that soundtrack, especially the Stan Bush songs, still grabs ya. "And you can win if you Dare!"
  21. M'Kyuun
    As with MP-52, the Classics Seeker, and the Earthrise Seeker, the entire forward fuselage is too shallow vertically, as the bottom where the nose gear are mounted should sit only slightly above the bottom of the standard intakes, or right about where the gap is between the white bits between the red chest areas. The Maketoys fighter is pretty accurate in this regard; it's a shame they didn't copy MP-03's rotating chest intake gimmick to clean up the bottom even further.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Options are good, b/c opinions vary. Just checked my email; lo and behold, my Red Alert is also shipping from Pulse. Kinda odd when I've had eight other Kingdom/SS86 figs POed for some time now, and this guy, a more recent PO, is shipping already. WTF is going on with Hasbro's distro?
  23. M'Kyuun
    Man, I've been wanting Omnibots for so long, and XTB struck a perfectly updated toy look that appeals to me. I have no where to put these, and as I'm in the process of looking for a new house in a strong seller's market, probably shouldn't spend the money on something so frivolous, but the temptation is strong. Sooo strong.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Thanks for the replies, guys. I was starting to wonder. Anyway, I'm patient, and these reviews are nice for for whetting the appetite, so to speak, and also informing on the positives and the negatives. As for Rodimus, like JBO, I'm kinda take him or leave him; he's not usually a character I feel I need to have. However, I like toys, and this is a well done toy of the character that offers more than pretty much any previous release. I do wish, however, that they'd employed some similar shoulder articulation as the excellent Cyclonus. All things considered, he's certainly better than the PotP version, which I have, as well as the MP version, which I don't. I don't mind the alt mode interpretation; he's traded in his sportscar younger alt mode for something a little more mature (station wagon- so apropos!). Speaking of a more mature character, I think they may have gone a little overboard with those huge bags under his eyes- his face gained more planes to convey having aged a bit, but he didn't go from 17 to 70 in the space of the time it took Optimus to say, "Arise Rodimus Prime". Alas, it is what it is. It won't stop me from enjoying him when he finally arrives. As for distro, my local Wally, just two miles down the road, barely got anything Transformers well before the pandemic had its effect. I just don't think they order stuff. The second closest Wally, where I worked for a few months many years ago, continues to be , generally, better stocked and with a better variety of figures across classes and lines. Ironically, my Wally is a SuperWally, while the one I worked is the smallest Walmart in Spokane. Go figure. Beyond toys, my Wally has been pretty good about keeping the necessities in stock, for the most part. They, too, suffered the typical shortages that stores everywhere suffered at the onset of the pandemic, but they've since recovered from the initial madness, and have been able to keep stuff like TP, towels, hand sanitizer, etc in stock for months without issue, not to mention fresh produce, dairy, and food in general. In fact, I'm taking my mom-in-law out there in a couple of hours. I check the toy aisles every time I go, but I'm generally met with the same empty, or nearly empty, pegs and shelves in the TF section every week. Sometimes they surprise me, though, but those times are few and far between.
  25. M'Kyuun
    I don't mean to derail, but with all the new figs showing up at retail, has anyone who POed through Pulse received shipping notices for anything? I sure haven't. One would think POed items would ship before they start hitting shelves, but apparently our paid membership's privileges only go so far.
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