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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I prefer my custom.
  2. M'Kyuun
    I'm an unabashed G1 fan. However, I'm also a fan of Prime and Animated, each having its own specific art direction which I'd like to see purely in updated toys rather than being homogenized into a G1-ish aesthetic. I get that Hasbro wants everything to look related, but I don't think that's what fans want. I don't. It is what it is for now, and I do like the figs they're producing on the whole, but if I had my druthers, I'd rather they left out the G1 aspect when making non-G1 related figs. If you're speaking of MP as their premier line, they have certainly taken various directions in scale, style, and engineering since big chonky beautiful MP-01 released in 2003. I'm not a fan of the toon slavish direction, but I heartily applaud their purposeful effort to really improve articulation in the MP line. To that end, I think they've succeeded marvelously (although I think it hurt Arcee, what with her low hanging chest to accommodate butterfly joints).
  3. M'Kyuun
    Well, there's 2026 and beyond, but going hand in hand with the dearth of UT figs is the accompanying lack of Prime-ish or Animated-ish figs. I was hoping at least for a Lugnut fig, hopefully fairly close to the OG. And though it's a serious reach at this point, I was hoping for an Animated Blackout, as he's one of my grails but way too pricey on secondary. An updated Legacy fig would have been nice, even if it had shades of G1 built in. Amongst all three continuities, however, there ar still many characters in need of updates and hopefully they'll get around to them. Their choices are questionable; why not pick a continuity and finish it within a year or two before moving on. Then again, by delving piecemeal, it keeps the line interesting and offers, presumptuously, something for everyone within a year's worth of offerings. I can understand the G1 fatigue, and though that's my main collecting continuity, from both fans' and Has/Tak's POV, I can understand wanting to shake up the diversity of offerings. I'm down for that approach, even if a majority of the offerings within a year's schedule aren't pertinent to my collection. I couldn't care one wit about the 13 Primes, as I have no knowledge of them beyond the fact that there were 13 Primes in the lore (I assume comics). I would love a good set of Aerialbots, but given Has/Tak's abysmal history with jet alts, my enthusiasm is off scale low. My expectation is that once again we'll get cubes with airplane parts attached with out-of-scale small forward fuselages and too many other compromises to name. I want them to prove me wrong in the absolute worst way, but I've been in this hobby since the beginning, and alas I see little reason for hope. ☹️ I'd like to finally have a Superion in my collection, as I love planes and a combiner made of planes is right up my alley, but I'm dubious that this next take will be an improvement over past executions. Again, I hope I'm wrong. I don't think you're an anomaly; having a unified style and design language should be part of a collectible line. If they're too disparate, it makes the collection look eclectic, as my TF shelves, absolutely crowded with figs from across nearly every continuity, and my Detolf, which contains transforming toys from numerous lines, will attest. MP is a prime case, pun intended, of varying aesthetics from MP-01 to MP-10 to MP-44. My personal preference was the Husui era, to whom I shall ever be grateful, gave me my very long-awaited and much cherished MP Prowl, my Grail amongst grails. The toon-slavish aesthetic is not my cup of java, and I'm glad that as of yet Hasbro hasn't gone in that direction with the mainline retail toys. There's a nice mix of toon and toy still evident, with molded details still happily making their presence in the bot modes. But yeah, MP is all over the place, and quite frankly, they've been hit and miss with their designs and aesthetics. MP Skyfire was the last MP fig I bought (FOMO), and before that MP Skids, and before that MP Megatron. Except for the odd fig here and there, though, I've essentially stopped collecting MP and turned my attention more to mainline and 3P legends, which, IMHO, are doing it better at a small scale than the big expensive MP figs. Too, they're maintaining a unified look (toon, of course), but at least they all look good together, at least when standing with other figs from the same company. MS, NA, and IF all have their own approaches and scales, so they don't mix and match well, but within their own company lines, there's agreement, and that makes for a nice display. As an ardent LEGO fan for nigh 47 years, the minifig is an icon, and I wouldn't change it. Moreover, it's a testament to Jens Nygaard Knudsen's creativity and vision that changed how LEGO could be played with forever. There's no replacement. That being said, as someone who loves articulation and finds the minifig a little limited, I would mind it if LEGO introduced a new midi-figure with improved proportions and articulation aimed at older teen and adult collectors. I design mecha, and the minifig's limitations are evident all the time when trying to design around them. I think there's room for both on shelves. Just my $.02.
  4. M'Kyuun
    I imagine it'll happen; they seem to be leaning into The Unicron Trilogy, and other than combiners, they're winding down on G1 characters in Legacy, so it makes sense that they're going to make figs from other continuities. Too, I think Takara has a vested interest in doing the UT given its purely Japanese roots. Just a matter of time before more of those characters get figs, methinks. They've already done Armada Prime, two variants of Hot Shot, and titan class Tidal Wave, as well as a few characters from Cybertron, most notably Hot Shot on whom Takara took lead. Pretty sure bet more are coming.
  5. M'Kyuun
    I think aspects of this observation applies to pretty much anything collectible, but as toy collectors (I collect LEGO, Transformers, Macross, and other robot toys here and there), and there are factors to consider: Space- there's so much of it in the universe, and yet I have so little to my name which makes displaying all my precious plastic playthings utterly impossible. A lot of what I own is stored in closets and cubbies, or in the case of my LEGO collection, stacked up in boxes in an 8' by 8' area in my rec room, much of which I've not seen in years. The joy of a new toy is another factor- I think that's just a human trait, that anticipation for a shiny new thing which tends to supplant our interest in the stuff we already have for at least a bit of time. I experience it, and when the shiny new thing turns out to be pretty awesome, it retains the interest long past its 'new stage' and takes its place with our other beloved older toys. Other new toys turn out to be mediocre, not what we expected, just plain bad, or lose their interest for us relegating them to forgotten corners of our collections or the selling block on your market of choice. Expectations- this is a big one, and as passionate collectors, it's intrinsic to our fandom. We want certain things from our toys- good quality, in terms of robot toys, above average to excellent articulation, nice details, a satisfyingly complex but not anxiety-inducing or frustrating transformation process, accuracy to various official media, be it animation, line art, or real-world inspirations. This is the one that drives those 70 pages of wonder, critique, questions and foaming at the mouth over concessions and inconsistencies, real or supposed. To a point it's fun, until it's not, and I'm sure we've all had our experiences with the dark side of collecting and fandom. Even LEGO has its share of negative detractors. Nothing we do is immune from reaction, both positive and negative. Reaction is a choice, and I try to be positive. Some folks find it difficult or just seem consumed by negativity and I lament that their lives will be colored by that dark outlook rather than just inherently finding joy in things. Collecting should, at its basest level, be enjoyable. It's what we like, and today we're so incredibly fortunate for the richness of availability that certainly never existed when we older folks from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and even into the 00s were younger. Anyway, the cycle you described @Raikkonen will continue to hold true for passionate fans as long as humans exist. I think the desire for new things, even new takes on old things, will always drive us, and that's a good thing. That innate human need drives progress. Otherwise, we'd still be driving horse and buggies on unimproved streets and using outhouses. Perish the thought! maintaining my positivity, I continue to look forward to the DX YF-21. My expectations are tempered given what we've seen, but with the bad I see the good, too, at least from the perspective of a Macross fan who prefers battroid mode for his displays. At this point, I just hope it has tight joints, can stand on its own, and that the transformation is pleasant. For the price, I think those are pragmatic and justified expectations. In short, I hope this is one that won't just be forgotten within days in anticipation of the next thing.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Wow, that's a lot of Springers. Eh, what's one more? 😉
  7. M'Kyuun
    And thus you have the conundrum that Yamato and Bandai have solved by shifting their focus towards fighter or battroid, respectively. I wish Bandai would have handled the backpack differently in a way that would have minimized its depth, but I'm also just grateful to finally have a YF-21 with decently proportional legs in battroid. I hope the backpack won't cause stability or balance issues, as I'm not a fan of using a stand for my robot toys; they should stand on their own as a matter of good engineering, in most cases. I guess we'll see when these things start releasing next month. If I read those dates right, it doesn't appear like we'll be getting ours on this side of the pond until October. Eh, time to save up and to catch some reviews before ours arrive. as always with these niche, expensive, high-end toys, I hope it's enjoyable, well-toleranced, with good durability, materials, articulation, complex-but-fun transformation, and other great features. I hope it's a damned fine toy b/c we've been waiting a long time for something to compare with or replace the Yamato on our shelves and I hope this does the job.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Enjoying the Springer reviews, @mikeszekely. Saltus is my MP Springer of choice as well, primarily b/c of the car mode's non-canonical but IMO better looking wide rear end. That said, his chopper mode leaves somewhat to be desired, but his bot mode looks really good, and since that's how I display (like most TF collectors I assume), I remain happy with the choice. I remember when Allen came on the scene, but I think the chunkier proportions left me cold. Anyway, I passed on him. This review is a nice retrospective, and I'm glad you shone a light on him b/c, for its time and despite the creative liberties taken, it's a pretty good take on the character and the alts are some of the best-executed of any of the 3P Springers, including Saltus. Hats off, too, to Unique Toys for living up to their name with such a creative transformation. Everybody else's takes, including Hasbro's, are fairly boilerplate insofar as the shoulders and arms form the front fenders/wings, legs form the aft hull and tail of the chopper or rear section of the car, and the chest forms the hood and grill. Furthermore, those retractable landing skids are just a wonderful touch that's so lacking in all the others. I love that little feature and wish it was more prevalent on other Springer figs. I'm hoping you'll eventually take a look at XTB's Virtus. Judging from pics, it looks to be another really good representation of the character. The heli form suffers the most concession with the shaping of its aft hull leading into the tail, but in terms of car and bot modes, weapon storage, accessories, and just overall capture, it's a respectable effort that IMHO ranks among the best thus far. I will point out, however, the fallacy of releasing this guy with two small human figs who obviously can't fit in the tiny two-seater cockpit (with steering wheels no less!). Ah that old pickle, mass shifting.
  9. M'Kyuun
    The differences lie in that the circled one on the right is the DX with its HUGE nacelles to accommodate the legs and the circled one on the left is the HG model kit which appears to be in delimiter mode given its lack of arms and no sign of them or the legs extended below. The HG model appears to have better proportions between fighter and battroid, although I believe they employ partsforming to achieve the ideal look of each mode. I'm not a big fan of that approach, however, as I prefer transforming toys that use creative engineering and techniques to solve the various challenges, especially when it's done exceedingly well. Indeed. In real world, the YF-22, F-22 by extension, and the YF-23 are all necessarily large fighters to accommodate both large supercruise-capable engines and greater internal weapons storage. Kawamori-san mentions both in the hjweb article and in his Macross Designer's Notes the fact that he based the YF-21 on the YF-23, one of his favorite aircraft (and mine), and his early drawings really reflect that as he continued to evolve the design to its final form. The marriage of the YF-23's silhouette and the Quedluun-Rau's signature form into the YF-21's design still stands as one of his most unique designs among his extensive catalog. I wish he'd given more consideration, however, to the possibility of toys being made from that design, as perhaps he may have reconsidered some elements, like the leg storage, to make them more practical for 3D application. As it is, he did toy and model makers no favors with the extent of animation license taken in its design. Despite its warts, I'm anticipating my copy of the DX YF-21. Since I display all my valks in battroid, the Yammie YF-21 always fell short due to its disproportionately skinny legs and loose hip joints. It was unstable and looked awkward and I finally put it back in its box some years ago. In all other regards beyond those legs, Yamato created a nigh-perfect YF-21 and I would love to see Arcadia amend the design to accommodate larger legs and hopefully stronger hip joints, and rerelease it as a 2.0 version. Between that and the DX, I think the Arcadia amended version would be superior given the base from which they started, at least aesthetically. The DX might beat them in the articulation dept unless Arcadia made improvements there as well. I'd certainly be down for a copy. Until such an announcement is forthcoming, all we can do is hope and save our pennies. Lots and lots of pennies. 😄
  10. M'Kyuun
    I think the wide bulky backpack gives the illusion that it's bigger than it is. Height wise, it should be about the same as the YF-19. Compared to the venerable VF-1, they're both large fighters and thus large battroids.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Likewise, Twich, on all counts! Hopefully we'll cross paths again at some future Macross showing.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Indeed! Of course, Kawamori's throwing up "the Dyson". 😀 Kinda bummed that the hjweb page didn't auto-translate; if anyone who can read kanji could summarize, that would be most appreciated. EDIT: Disregard; for some inexplicable reason, the translate setting didn't work on my wife's laptop, but it works just fine on my PC. Currently reading through it. Some interesting history from the man himself on the simultaneous creation of M7 and M+. Y'know, that DX YF-21 is looking pretty darn good to me. Fighter's a little thick in the caboose, but I'm alright with the tradeoff to get that battroid with proportional legs. This is always going to be a design that demands concessions depending on where the focus is; Yamato gave us a gorgeous lean, streamlined jet at the expense of the battroid's legs. Bandai, thankfully, chose to focus on the battroid's proportions, and the fighter mode takes the hit. The latter is my preference, and I can't wait to get this fig for my collection. I just hope it's well-engineered, sturdy, and not a PITA to transform.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Really wish Arcadia would revisit these with an eye towards making the Knight Saber figs more robust. Linna is the only Yamato fig I own and her arms, especially her left, barely stay on, as the pegs are tiny and shallow and there's nearly no friction there to hold them on. I love the Moto-Slave design and I'd love to see improved toys of both it and the girls. I wouldn't mind seeing Sentinel's take, either, although I'd hope they'd go no smaller than 1/15 scale, and hopefully a tad larger.
  14. M'Kyuun
    They don't bother me. I'll likely leave the packs off.
  15. M'Kyuun
    Already made room in my Detolf for this guy.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, there were certainly hokey bits in the OG. IIRC, the kid sitting next to me laughed when Bee and Sparkplug made their short drive to the Burma cave entrance. However, even though it was aimed at 8-year-olds, stuff like Prime's frustration after getting shot down chasing the Decepticons' ship, or the concern after, the moment when Prime tells Ironhide, "There's a thin line between being a hero and being a memory" after he's injured speak still to the older me. These are the moments that continue to resonate and manifest the more mature tone of the first season over successive seasons when the writers were essentially given carte blanche and the show became much more silly, and ultimately lost my interest even when I was a kid. I agree that the Space Bridge ep should have been left off and the presentation should have just been the OG 3-part miniseries. Prior to this, Frank Todaro and Arif Kinchen were unknown to me. Frank's Wheeljack wasn't convincing, but his Starscream was impressive. Arif channeled Scatman Crothers pretty well as Jazz, and I was glad for it. Crothers had a unique voice, which he lent to other toons over the years, most notably Hong Kong Phooey, which I also watched as a younger tike. Welker and Cullen were still pretty on point. Cullen's Ironhide wasn't as robust as it was in '84, but his Prime is still just as good as ever. Welker is just amazing for his range and his ability to switch between voices instantaneously. Age hasn't done much to tarnish his pipes. As cool as it was to have the VA's voice the first ep, I was glad when they played the rest with their OG voice tracks, as those voices and the inflections are what I remember and love still. I was glad they had the names of the VA's who've passed, but it was up there and gone way too quickly. These people gave voice to much of my and many other kids' childhoods, a huge impact, and it would have been nice had their names been on screen long enough to read all of them.
  17. M'Kyuun
    In doing my research while writing my previous post, XTransbot's Virtus caught my eye as the best representative of Springer in all three modes over the other MP-scaled toys, and over other toys as well including MFT's legends take (although MFT's has the stabs). I have MMC's Saltus as my MP Springer, but he's hardly accurate for all the liberties taken, most notably his car mode, which was also the reason why I chose him, as I never cared for the canon aft section being narrower than the front. However, I have to tip my hat to XTB for the extent of their accuracy. Looking forward to your review and whether you reach the same conclusion. Regardless, enjoy your new not-Springers. Oh that's sweet. I wore this. Like Mike's theater, mine didn't have the cup or bucket either. No biggie personally, as I didn't get any concessions knowing I was going to dinner right after the show. Glad I abstained; dinner was excellent. I thought so, too, even though the loss of many of the OG VA's was noticeable as they did the table read through the first ep., and some of the OG VA's voices have changed with time. Still, I appreciated the effort, and they looked like they were having a good time. The fellow who voiced Starscream did an admirable job; Chris Latta's high pitched delivery is so distinctive and tough to mimic. I knew I was going to enjoy it though; first season of G1 is my favorite and the only one I own on DVD.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Saw the Transformers 40th Anniversary showing of the first four eps of the G1 toon today. A number of OG voice actors and a couple stand-in VA's performed the majority of the first ep's lines "live" - the timing was a little off here and there, but it was still pretty cool, and they did a split screen format so you can see the VA's doing the lines along with the show. Welker and Cullen have definitely maintained well. I was a little bummed that Corey Burton wasn't part of the table read; he voiced Spike and Shockwave, and Gregg Berger, bless his soul, sounds nothing like him in either voice, or Casey Kasem for that matter. Kasem had such a recognizable voice from doing radio, but I'm always amazed at how well he was able to change his voice for the various characters he performed. I was pleased to see a memorial to all the OG TF VA's who've passed on at the end of the presentation. I was hoping for some sort of dedication or mention; it's a blink-and-you'll miss-it moment, but at least it's there. Hmm, honestly, I prefer the tires visible in car mode even if it conflicts with the animation. I'd still rather they rotated 180 with tire on one side and the tail rotor housings on the other. I was going to mention the incongruity of his front wheels having green rims whilst the back ones are grey, but it makes sense in the context of the animation, especially since they didn't bother retooling him with his rotor housings. Both Siege and SS86 are also missing the intake/exhaust details on his shoulders under the yellow and green wheel fairings. They're included on the SS86 box art, though. Subsequent to the arm design and transformation schema, the heli modes of both Siege and SS86 versions lack their wing engines and fail to cover the front tires. I just noticed, too, that Neither version has the large horizontal stabilizers in heli mode. Even the G1 toy had small horizontal stabs. I could keep nitpicking, but suffice it to say, while I think the Siege and SS86 Springers are good figs on their own merits, the Studio Series version still falls a little short of movie accuracy despite the improved shoulders. To really approach any semblance of screen accuracy, SS86 Springer should have been a whole new mold. Maybe someday.
  19. M'Kyuun
    I was an aircraft hydraulics tech in the Air Force, retiring at 20 years back in 2011. From the standpoint of having served, thank you for your service. Fortunately, Kawamori likes to experiment with the Macross Saga, so it's hard to predict how the next installment will play out. We definitely want different things, but however the next installment turns out, it's nice to know we have the older shows to fall back on to fulfill what we like most about Macross. If you liked M7, I'd say give Delta a watch. Instead of just having one or two singers like most Macross series, Delta has a group of girl singers and there's more frivolity IIRC. I only watched it once, I don't remember if I even finished it, and it's been years since I've watched it, so memory is pretty faded. I remember my impression more than anything, and it just didn't grab me like Frontier, Plus, SDF:M, or Zero, which all had more mature tones. That said, I liked it better than M7. Hayate was a better protagonist; I didn't care for Basara. I'm waiting for Disney plus to stream the majority of the Macross series sometime this year. I'm hoping it'll land big with American audiences creating a robust market for Macross merch, especially Valkyrie toys. Moreover, I look forward to the opportunity to rewatch some of the shows (with my wife who has only seen SDF:M and Plus). Some may consider it heresy, but I hope they provide English dubs for all the shows; reading subs is a PITA when you're also trying to follow Valks in action, and the dialog delivery is really quick necessitating rewinding so you can follow one or the other. I personally find it more enjoyable when I understand what's being said, even if some original nuance is lost. Pertaining to your mention of Macross II, that's kinda the black sheep of the Macross Saga, and it's highly unlikely we'll ever see any official reference to it in anything that Kawamori produces. I wish Arcadia would make a VF-2SS- lovely design that deserves a really good toy.
  20. M'Kyuun
    I tend to forget how many of these figs are exclusives, SS86, and other lines and technically don't fall under the mainline umbrella. They're all the same scale and aesthetically made to work with each other hence my inclination to lump them all, or many at least, under mainline. Anyway, regarding your nitpicks: 1. The front end is too angular, kind of reminds me of Bumper as much as it does Bumblebee. I concur. It's an obvious concession to eventual retooling as Cliffjumper, but it would have been nice had it been executed a little better to homogenize the shape of the entire hood/feet. alas, no. 2. I wish the tires folded under his feet the way Netflix Bee does. Honestly, I hadn't noticed, which is weird b/c I share the same preference anytime feet are made from a chunk of vehicle with wheels. 3. The dark windows. I just have this funny feeling that another version will come in a year or two, maybe as another store-exclusive, with blue windows. Most likely, as they'll find some way to repackage it with subtle changes to milk both the mold and the fandom. The black windows don't bother me that much, but yeah, the blue looks better and matches the animation. Odd that since this is Studio series and that's the whole point of this line.😒 Guess you don't want to wait until I have one in-hand and do a review, since I don't have those Vietnamese factory connections. But I'll still hook ya up. Good find, and thanks. Yeah, I like that. I can live without the other sword, hammer, and the catapult shell. Of course, the shell has meaning from that one scene in the film, but honestly, it'll just stay in the box for perpetuity. I just want his rifle and prop-sword. It would have been nice had they retooled his legs a bit to be able to rotate the tires 180 degrees to manifest the round bumps like the animation. All their retooling focus was on the upper body, but that would've been a nice touch for the legs. Gotta say, we've come a looong way from this (Credit to Brave Fortress from whom I shamelessly copied pics): I still have my G1 Springer, and he was a bit disappointing back in the day, although I still think he has a pretty good helicopter mode. Bot and car modes, though, leave somewhat to be desired. Obviously, a lot of creative license was taken with his animated bot mode for the film, and between Siege and SS86, we're only just now getting figs that even come close nigh 40 years after the film. Both versions are a bit lean compared to his chunkier toon model, but honestly, I prefer the look of the Siege/SS86 versions. Too bad they couldn't make those tires on his arms disappear into the body, but otherwise, looking pretty good.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Well, we like what we like. personally, I dig SS86 Bee; I've been wanting a mainline Bee that resembles his chibi G1 car mode for some time. I like the Netflix version, too, with its realistic car mode, though I'm not crazy about the partsforming aspect shared by Bee and Cliffjumper. At least the partsforming bits can attach to their backs and look like they're part of the bot mode instead of some awkward shield or weird weapon that neither of them ever had in the toon. As for non-partsforming chibi Beetle SS86, I'm looking forward to him and his obvious retooled moldmate, Cliffjumper, to add to the collection. The Missing Link Bee and Cliffy just aren't doing much for me, as the OG toys just weren't that great, and even with articulation, the proportions are odd, especially the arms. SS86 manages to give us the Chibi Beetle and a better proportioned bot mode, and that's the stuff of awesome. I busted out my Siege Springer and ran through the transformations yesterday all while looking at the new SS86 retool. Def some improvements towards toon accuracy. I'm also glad they made his sword transform into the main rotor, although it's odd that there are no stock shots of him holding it-- just the other non-transforming sword he comes with. I wish they'd done more to cover his front tire in heli mode, and his faux landing skid should have been yellow. Otherwise, the majority of the changes look good and the new shoulders may even give him more range of motion, as they're a little limited on the Siege version. I ususally try not to double dip on figs, especially when they're as well done as I feel Siege Springer is, but the improvements look to be just that, and IMHO, worth picking up his somewhat new and improved self.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Thanks Mike. SS86 Bee wasn't showing up when I searched for it on Amazon, so I appreciate the link. Scored a copy! My humble thanks. 🙏 I also got Steelpom and Springer on Pulse. Rather fecally inclined that they didn't put Bee on there too. Kind of a slap in the face to members.
  23. M'Kyuun
    So, the vast majority of what was shown held little interest for me. I'm mostly into the G1 stuff, so Steelpom, er Steeljaw , SS86 Bee, and SS86 Springer have my attention more than anything. I already have Netflix Soundwave, and I'll not buy another copy even if it does come with Buzzsaw. I'm holding out hope that Dr. Wu will get around to making all these mainline cassettes eventually. Anyway, I already have Siege Springer, and an excellent fig is he; however, the SS86 looks to have enough improvements that I may double dip- this version lacks the battle damage of the Siege, has the angled shoulders, and I love that they worked in his integrated wrist gun. I'm a sucker for features like that, and I wish more bots came with them. SS86 bee is probably the biggest surprise, and I love the direction they took. I like the ER version a lot, partsforming notwithstanding, but I like how they're leaning into the "penny racer" look of the OG minibots for Bee. Of course, you know there'll be a Cliffjumper and other repaints/retools- this is Hasbro we're talking about, and that's just fine. As long as I get Bee and Cliffy, I'm happy. Not happy that SS86 Bee's not going to be on Pulse. One additional thought: I prefer this approach over the Missing Link; most of those old toys just don't enthrall me, and honestly lost their appeal for me back in the 80s. I pined for what we have today, and I'm just glad the franchise hung on long enough for technology and passion to give us what we wished the toys would have been. YMMV, of course, but that's my outlook. With the upcoming leader class SS86 Optimus, this G1 toy-inspired version is curious, especially with Missing Link now available, which is as close to the OG toy as you can get with modern articulation. Is this going to be a happy medium between something like ER prime and '84 Prime? It's definitely a headscratcher, but I'm curious. Right now, I'm more interested in SS86 Prime. ER Prime is such an excellent figure; for me, he's the mainline Prime to beat so we'll see. So, I'm a Soundwave/cassette fan and let's be honest, the Netflix/Walmart-exclusive Soundwave, a retool of the abysmally terrible Siege figure with the nondescript whatever-the-heck-it-is alt mode beggars for a completely new figure from the bottom up. If I had my druthers, he'd be rescaled to accommodate the G1 cassettes, allowing them to be universally swapped between lines. Moreover, the larger scale for the cassettes would permit better engineering than this crappy smaller scale (although Dr. Wu is doing a much better job within this scale than Has/Tak). However, even keeping within the current scale, Netflix Soundwave's leg transformation to recorder mode bends the knees the wrong way leaving the specifically shaped kneecaps, which filled in a gap in the facade of his G1 recorder mode, just hanging out weirdly. I still have my OG Soundwave, and those kneecaps, that decision to turn the Netflix version's the wrong way, just annoys the hell out of me. Takara did a great job on MP Soundwave, so why isn't that attention to detail being applied to the mainline? Or at least with consistency, as some figs are just amazing. Third parties are nailing this sort of stuff (I type as I look at my Magic Square Soundwave and his little minions, which are all better than the Hasbro figs at a much more diminutive scale). Anyway, I'm hugely disappointed that HasTak didn't avail themselves of the opportunity to completely redesign Soundwave and his minions for the better in an SS86 leader scaled release. ☹️
  24. M'Kyuun
    Well, it's better than Ravage, but still pretty underwhelming, especially those stubby non-articulated legs. Looks more like a Pomeranian than a lion. The head, mane and upper body and integrated weapons are a plus, though. If they'd put more of the budget into the figure instead of that superfluous speaker accessory, perhaps they could have figured out how to give him longer legs with at least knees. The G1 toy was more articulated and just looked better, flatness notwithstanding. Modern figs should manifest progression; this is a step backwards IMHO. Too, would it have killed them to apply some grey paint to the other reel? This just looks weird. I desperately hope Dr. Wu does improved versions of all these cassette bots. Well, the reveal I was most looking forward to is out there now. That and the toy itself are a bit disappointing. Still planning on getting Steelpom, but man, I was really hoping for better from an SS86 release- more Eject and less...this.
  25. M'Kyuun
    That makes two of us. And from there it's easy to extrapolate to so many other cassettes. I want them all. I was going to mention the snail's pace of MMC releases, but it got lost in the shuffle of my thoughts. But yeah, unfortunately their releases come at a trickle rather than a deluge, and as you mentioned, their success with combiners overshadows the cassettes, which I assume are probably seen more as novelties by comparison. I think the same for Dr. Wu comparing his mini-takes on the mainline characters and his mini-micro-cassettes. In either case if I was to hazard a guess on which are the more popular products, the cassettes would finish last. That sucks for cassette fans like me, but hopefully in the case of both companies they're seeing enough sales of their cassettes to warrant continuing production. Mentioning MMC's Bruticus, my favorite of the combiners, I put up a strong resistance to getting them, as I love the all-in-one direction they took and I thought they all turned out looking pretty good; Onslaught suffered the most IMO, but considering everything he has to do without the amelioration of add-on parts, he's more than acceptable. Moreover, if I did get the team, I have no idea where I would put them as I have so little space for stuff in my house. Eventually I want to install a decent sized building in my backyard for storage/shop/ and display, but I'll probably have to wait a year or two. I stand corrected. I got my copies of Eject and Rewind well before my Steeljaw, as I had the version with chrome gold paint POed from showz for a long time and finally FOMO made me settle for the regular gold painted version instead. The time lapse between acquisitions owed to the disparity in my mind. I wasn't aware that MMC was working on Ramhorn or Ratbat, but that's favorable news indeed. Perhaps we'll see at least one of them release this year. I'm still happy that they led with Ravage, my all-time favorite cassette. Still brilliant and still gives me the warm and fuzzies when I see him in my Detolf.
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