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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    It's a thing you can do, apparently, but I doubt that's the intended position for the backpack. I'm hoping it can be positioned like the proto shots with the backpack flush against the shoulder swing hinge roots. In that config, the rearmost part of the battroid's hoody fits through the gap in the center of the backpack, just like the line art. No, they're a bit on the short side, but I think it's a concession for the double-jointed elbow joints which are bit large and ugly and definitely do not match the line art. I appreciate having double joints, but with all their engineering know-how, that that is the best Bandai could come up with is disappointing to say the least. Strong concur. Again, a company of Bandai's experience should be solving these challenges with clever engineering, not partsforming. Partsforming is somewhat acceptable for smaller, less expensive figs , but on a DX costing some of us north of $300, it shouldn't even be a consideration. It rankles even more when Yamato figured it out on their high end YF-21 sixteen years ago.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Well, it stands unassisted. That's one important question answered. So weird elbows, stubby forearms, and Resolute Desk on his back aside, I think it's overall pretty striking. My main gripe with the Yamato is fixed, and fixed well. I can happily abide the chubbier fighter for this battroid mode, although I think the fighter represents pretty well. Comparisons to the Yamato and to line art are inevitable, but in the interest of striking a more equal balance between fighter and battroid modes, I think Bandai did a good job considering how much animation magic was employed both in Kawamori's line art and in the M+ OVA & movie. I'm excited for it. I got my PO through BBTS as FOMO loomed. As such, I'm paying a $100 markup, but if I canx my PO, I lose my $35 prepayment. At this point, I'm willing to just swallow the cost; it's a hard gulp to be sure, but I've waited a long time for this figure and I've been saying I'd take the prototype since 2019. Little has changed since that proto was shown (admittedly, it could have used some tweaks as suggested by any number of members here), but as the saying goes, "Bandai gonna Bandai" and here we are. However, on a positive note, as I mentioned earlier, I like how this looks. It's unmistakably the YF-21, the blue hue in this pic looks fantastic (I hope this is the actual blue color as the official pics for POs make it look a bit too dark, IMHO), the articulation appears to be well above standard (at least in the arms and legs), and there's no shortage of tampo. YMMV on whether that's good or bad; for $350, I'll take the tampo as opposed to YamArcadia's $300+ valks with barely any markings. Despite the design and transformation differences, they still managed to pull off the delimiter mode for those who want to do that. Yes, they had to resort to partsforming , but I'm sure that's an artifact of actually using those big nacelles to house the legs in fighter. Perhaps spring-loaded doors would have been preferrable, but that's not how they went. I have no interest in ever using the delimiter feature, so it's moot to me, but if that's how you want to display, they at least offered a solution. If I have one other niggle, it's Bandai's obnoxious reluctance to paint their landing gears white. Why? It looks so much better than the bare metal and reflects how real aircraft, at least in the US, are painted. Regardless, I'm all about battroid and I'm digging it. Looking forward to hopefully getting mine in August (BBTS are notoriously slow at getting stock).
  3. M'Kyuun
    Likewise- it looks great. Not into Nascar, and other than the varied color scheme, the car itself is kinda meh to me design wise. I hope they do more stuff like the G12 Vision- that's a sweet looking car and they did a commendable job capturing it in brick. I wish they'd made a new windscreen piece to better approximate the real car, but otherwise, it's very well done. I'm not really a car guy per se, but I do like the look of a lot of the supercars that they choose to do as sets. Moreover, the line has distinguished itself as having some of the most complex and interesting builds utilizing novel parts usage (NPU), advanced techniques, and heavy reliance on SNOT builds to achieve the looks of the various vehicles. Of all the themes, as a building experience, they offer the most bang for your buck in a small set and you have a cool car to show for your effort.
  4. M'Kyuun
    LOL, nope. 😁 I knew those trucks went back to the 80s, but I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled across that set in my quick research.
  5. M'Kyuun
    No thanks- not a big fan of electronics in my toys. The features are usually unappealing to me, they take up extra space, add extra weight, and there's always the risk of battery leakage/damage. I don't want that liability in a toy north of $300. TBH, I don't want it in a $25 toy.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Comparing the proto with the production, not sure if it's the lighting but I prefer the lighter blue of the prototype, which is odd b/c I generally prefer darker colors. I think the lighter blue just makes the details and the tampos stand out better. Nor is mine. I've waited a long time for this; thus far, there's nothing I'm seeing that's so egregious as to put me off. It looks quite lovely overall.
  7. M'Kyuun
    😄 Need a plate with a nice bagel on there, too.
  8. M'Kyuun
    So, essentially the tradeoff is a greater gap in the backpack to have the backpack sitting higher, or have the backpack sit flush but lower. I think I'll display mine flush. Man I hope those hips, knees and ankles are all on strong ratchets or tight friction joints (but not so tight as to where you'll stress the plastic while posing the damned thing). Anyway, glad there's the option, but it seems weird that it wouldn't be designed to sit high sans gap. Ah well, Bandai.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Picked up the new 60440 Yellow Delivery Truck this weekend and it doesn't disappoint. LEGO-branded transport trucks go all the way back to 1967 and perhaps even earlier. There've been several tractor-trailer sets, and this latest offering is the largest and, IMHO, the most realistic of them all. I especially like the new fifth-wheel modified plate element (3779) that allows the truck to back up into the trailer hitch (a small ball joint with axle) as well as a red whip element which is used as an electrical umbilical connecting the cab to the trailer. Although the space is cramped, the cab can turn with the whip connected between cab and trailer. The driver's compartment is 6 studs wide but can accommodate two minifigs thanks to the use of 1x3 jumpers and a couple Technic plates. The cozy sleeper even has a flat screen tv on the wall. The hood can open on a double hinge or be removed by unclipping it to reveal an easily removable engine. The set comes with two toolboxes and set of tools that are stored in the foremost compartment of the trailer. The rest of the trailer accommodates four pallets of LEGO sets, all of which feature printed tiles. Although I didn't show it, each set can be removed independently from its pallet. Other prints include: and x2 The set also includes a hotdog stand, a sign for the hot dog stand, a white construction helmet, and a forklift. It comes with four minifigs and contains 1061 pieces for $100 USD. If you're someone who likes City or just enjoys these big rig sets, I think this one will delight. there's a lot of playability and realism built in and I hope to see more of the same in future sets. this year's City Construction theme is looking impressive as well. I'm definitely down for that exquisite excavator.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Hopefully the backpack is on sliders and can be pushed in flush with the 'shelf', as folks are calling it. If such is the case, then it'll look more like the prototype, which looked much better with the backpack snugged against the shelf. Fingers crossed the final version is just mistransformed.
  11. M'Kyuun
    As a G1 fan, pragmatically speaking, most younger kids, especially in the 8-14 range, unless introduced to G1 by parents or older friends, are likely unaware of it. Sure, G1 Optimus is iconic- even the little kiddies know who he is, but I'm betting more of them associate with Bayformer's Prime or TBM Prime over any of the toon versions. I don't think kids watch toons like we did as kids; they're too involved in social media stuff and the internet in general. Ergo, all this retro G1 stuff Has/Tak are peddling is to the old fans' benefit far more than to the kiddies. Nostalgia drives us and, let's face it, we have far more disposable income than your average kid, and we've demonstrated to toy companies that there is an exuberantly willing market to buy plastic playthings that used to be associated solely (and woefully mistakenly IMHO) with children. I think it made good sense to make Legacy G1 Prime similar to the G1 toy while making a few improvements to the design. It worked: I had little interest in ML Convoy, but this deluxe with its tweaks appeals to me. This man-child will be more than happy to add him to my stockpile of plastic playthings.😁
  12. M'Kyuun
    Preorders up on Pulse Got deluxe G1 Prime and Animated Motormaster.
  13. M'Kyuun
    I understand why they referenced the old E-Hobby Exclusive set, but it's a bit of a copout over making an effort to actually homage the actual Gobot toys a little better. I reiterate my desire for Bandai, Takara, and Hasbro to work out a mutually beneficial collab to allow Has/Tak to produce faithful updates to Gobots. I'd love, love, love toys of Royal-T and Road Ranger as a minimum. I'm pretty happy with my Action Toys figs and only wish they'd had more ability to realize all the "600 Series" toys instead of being limited to Revenge of Cronos. A collab as I mentioned would be the best opportunity to pretty much get all the characters and it'd open up a whole new line of nostalgia-fueled revenue for all three companies. Deluxe class Powerglide is a big yes. I imagine he's an eventuality in Legacy, as the last version we got was a legends class fig back in 2014. IMHO, he wasn't a bad fig, but in keeping with redoing all the Minibots in deluxe scale, he's due an update and I'm here for it. LEGO Transformers Bumblebee New Stock Images - Transformers News - TFW2005 LEGO Bee is catching flack. Looks like he's going to be a partsformer, as the windshield needs to be removed for transformation. I think it's odd, given how closely they skewed towards the G1 Optimus Prime toy, that they didn't follow suit with this model. I don't think it looks too bad, but even before the car mode was revealed, I was wondering why they approached the hood panels the way they did. As a transforming mecha LEGO MOC designer, I can think of better ways to approach it. Anyways, as both a huge LEGO fan and a TF fan, this is a must-buy, as I've been hoping for LEGO to do a transforming robot theme since I was a lad in the 80s, and an actual collab with Hasbro to do no-kidding Transformers characters that actually transform is a dream come true. Execution may leave somewhat to be desired, but as a beginning effort with the potential for future improvement, I'm all onboard.
  14. M'Kyuun
    For a moment, I thought that that was Missing Link with cheaper paint and materials, but the legs look better on this than the OG toy. I passed on ML, but I'm def down for this budget version. He'll be a little small compared to other recent main line OPs, but the novelty of having this homage is cool. So, I'm fine with them repackaging TF characters as Gobots, but I do wish they'd try a little harder to match things with the OG toys. This is Pathfinder. Blue Cosmos just doesn't quite evoke the same image. No issue with green Warpath as Treds, whose original toy was pretty atrocious. This is definitely an upgrade for him. Gears is a good choice for Small Foot, I just wish they'd retooled her head to better represent the OG toy instead of Gears' big block head. So after doing some research into Gobots, I discovered that these guys were all reimagined as part of a 2004 E-Hobby exclusive Collector's Edition "G1 Gobots", and their colorations coincide with those toys and later comics. I wish Hasbro, Takara, and Bandai would reach an agreement allowing Has/Tak to make modern versions of the OG MR toys as Gobots. That would be a lot better than endlessly recoloring TF characters who often have little in common aesthetically with their Gobot counterparts. Not sure if I want to go in on this BBTS exclusive, but at least they picked good toys for all three.
  15. M'Kyuun
    It was the confounded wing linkages that caused me frustration. Been years since I last tried, and I'm sure I encountered other challenges with it, but those linkages are what stayed with me. Bit disappointed with the lackluster ankle articulation; usually Bandai's pretty good about giving their valks a decent range, but the 262's ankles are really limited. Beautiful valk though with a unique looking battroid.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I copy you on that backpack; Yamato was able to make theirs sit much more compactly to the body. Bandai has had a decade to study that toy and capitalize on its finer points, but obviously, and disappointingly, they went their own way and not necessarily for the best. Honestly, the bigger legs are the main selling point for me, as I detested the skinny legs and wobbly hips on the otherwise perfect Yamato. I think Arcadia is passing up a golden opportunity to tweak that toy, improving the leg proportions, and essentially putting out a better product than their competition. That said, knowing at least superficially some of the DX's flaws already, I'm willing to give the toy the benefit of the doubt. If nothing else, I think the battroid looks alright, and I like all the tampo markings compared to Yamarcadia's dearth of markings. Since battroid is my favorite mode and how I display my valks, I think I'll be ok with it as long as it can stand on its own without falling over at the slightest provocation. I hope it's more fun to transform than the Sv-262.
  17. M'Kyuun
    Well, par for the course with LEGO. They could have easily built in some clicky-hinges that would likely be strong enough to manage the weight, but stability is their primary concern, not articulation. Stability is good, but yeah, I'd prefer this thing had better articulation. The way they made the hood panels fold just confounds me: why not follow the pattern of regular Transformers Bee figs and just have the panel where the legs go move out of the way instead of breaking up the iconic Beetle front end? I'm assuming Joe Kyde, former Transformers designer at Hasbro-cum-LEGO designer designed this (he designed LEGO Optimus), and one would think he'd try to preserve the Beetle front end for Bee's feet. He is a little chunky on top, but I think that's an artifact of this being LEGO. The face is an improvement over Prime's, but I'm guessing the entire thing isa print on the same piece they developed for Prime's mask. I'm hoping the crest, the face, and the Autobot symbol are all prints. The legs are likely stickers, just like Prime's. I'm guessing the windshield is on his back or somehow folds into the body. Looks like the pelvis bends 90 degrees forward for transformation, as I doubt very much they gave him an ab crunch. Most Bee TF toys rely on the knees to help fold the legs, but obviously that wasn't an option here, so I'm curious how they're going to manage the transformation. Prime's was pretty straightforward, following the G1 toy's schema. This guy looks a little more complex. My birthday's in July, so this'll make for a nice b-day present. 😉
  18. M'Kyuun
    Hmm, I hadn't thought about competition between Ferrrari and Lamborghini. Seems a little petty when it comes to toys. Moreover, LEGO only has the one shade of regular red, "bright red", which is what they use for their Ferrari sets as well as pretty much everything else that they want to depict in a normal shade of red. Obviously, they'd use the same hue for the Countach if they chose to or were permitted. However, I'm thinking the color is an issue b/c the Speed Champions Countach was also done in white, which I thought an odd color choice then. But as we've seen from the Transformers world and licensing among various automakers, they can be very picky about what they allow in a toy when it comes to their licensed products. I wish aircraft manufacturers were as stringent or we might have had an accurate F-15 mode for MP Starscream instead of the travesty that they made instead. I'm digressing. Regardless of the color, this model is pretty impressive and I'm sure somebody somewhere, if all the parts are available, will rebuild this in red. I'm with you on yellow, though-🤮. Not a fan. Black would have looked sharp, though.
  19. M'Kyuun
    I think red would have been more suitable (always reminds me of Sideswipe) than white, but it looks amazing. These Icons models harken back to the old Model Team sets which released from 1986-1999, along with an updated release of 1995's Blue Fury (5541) in 2004. Many of those sets were pretty impressive for their time, especially given the limited palette at the time. These were the "Adults welcome" sets well before LEGO started purposely targeting sets towards adults. I had three of them, unfortunately all parted out to build MOCs many years ago. These Icons models have advanced remarkably, but those old sets are due respect for just how good they were.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Good review, Mike. I was messing about with my copy last night in anticipation and was a little bummed that the wrists don't rotate, a should-be must on any fig that wields a sword. Anyway, though he has his flaws, at this scale he's a pretty good take, especially his bot mode. I, too, wish his wings tabbed in somewhere, as the ball joints seem to have different resting points leaving mine a little asymmetrical. Too, the back wheels on mine don't rotate freely; the pins were installed too tightly on them, I think, although the front wheels rotate just fine. As you say, Springer's car mode is generally his weakest (by design) regardless of what version of Springer you have (except MMC's Saltus whose stylistic take was the main reason I got him as my MP Springer); however on Falcon I think it turned out better than his helicopter whose aft fuselage and tail boom aren't properly shaped. Personally, as an aviation fan, I wish the opposite was true, but as you said, eventually New Age and Magic Square will likely get around to doing their own versions which will in all likelihood be superior given their pursuits of toon accuracy, for whatever that's worth.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Oops, I missed the Tomahawk repaint when I was perusing the TFWiki. No worries regarding the lighting; at least you have a photo setup. I usually ad-hoc by propping up a piece of foamboard on my kitchen table or counter and hoping that the overhead lighting/sunlight from the slider door is sufficient. I just got my first cell phone, and its photo capabilities far surpass my old Kodak point & shoot, so hopefully my pics will turn out better from now on.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Ok , I feel better. I didn't even know Botcon Springer existed. Wow, all the way back to 2007! Kinda crappy, though, when they repaint a fig with a single alt mode as a triple changing character. Both Cybertron Hot Shot and Cybertron Evac, each having a single alt, were repainted as Springer.
  23. M'Kyuun
    First off, I must confess that when I said , "What's one more?", I meant Virtus, as I didn't realize he was in that lineup of Springers. So, I feel a bit guilty for the insinuation that @mikeszekely needed to get MFT's Springer. However, it made for a neat review and I appreciate the expenditure of money, time, and effort involved. I concede your opinion on this fig- def a step down from their other triple changers. "Another crack at it". Hmmmm😉 Despite my initial reluctance to delve into the legends rabbit hole, the quality of these figs compared to even MP offerings is pretty doggone amazing, and their small size makes display a far easier task, especially when space is at a premium, as it's rapidly becoming for me. One other thing of note is the options in the legends landscape: of course there are New Age and Magic Square leading the charge, and I find that one or the other does this fig or that fig "better" to my preference. Every now and then I'll get both companies' takes, but usually one or the other. Iron Factory has their own style which is cool but doesn't mix with the uber toon stylings of NA and MS. Mecha Fans Toys (MFT) are relegated to fourth party status on TFSafari. Nonetheless, as Mike has shown us in his various reviews, they're no slouches in the TF legends game; one must note that they've tackled most of the triple changers, some of the most challenging and complex figs to design, and they have acquitted themselves quite admirably. Thanks to Mike's and other fans' reviews, I felt compelled to add a number of MFT's triple changers to my ever-expanding collection of legends figs, and I've not been disappointed. To that end, I'm looking forward to the next review.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Likewise; nothing about this set is remotely exciting. It's a purely shameless cash grab. TBH, I thought Mainframe was just a made-up character to justify his appearance in The Ark. Regardless, he's such a low-tier level character that just about any other character would have been more enticing.
  25. M'Kyuun
    This mold raised eyebrows when it was first released, and though I own both Ironhide and Ratchet, I consider them two of the weakest figures in my MP collection. The mold hasn't aged any better and it continues to beckon for an improved toy. I wish Magic Square would upsize their version to MP scale.
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