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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Much obliged, good sir.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Magic Square's Ratchet looks leagues better than Takara's MP. Actually, they're knocking it out of the park with all these G1 figs. Really impressive at this scale, especially after so many years of mediocre to just plain bad legends scaled figs from Hasbro. I like a lot of what New Age has done, and are doing, but, Magic Square generally has more refined sculpts, better integration of joints, and generally better overall proportions. If I had to choose only one company, I'd have to go with MS on most of these figs. I guess the girl Seekers hits a niche market for the folks that like the girl wearing mecha/plane/tank/machine-of-choice as armor trope. Not really my thing. @Convectuoso Is there a site where these guys are being exhibited? Please share a link if you have one. Thanks!
  3. M'Kyuun
    It's hard to believe nearly four years have passed since LEGO released a couple waves of sets based on Overwatch, and then no more. Despite having never played the game, I was a fan of many of those sets, which were mecha-heavy, and lamented their absence in the successive years. Well, it appears that they haven't abandoned the license, and with a second game potentially releasing, amidst a number of high-profile departures at Blizzard including Overwatch designer and director Jeff Kaplan, LEGO has at least one tie-in set, based on the large mech in the trailer. There's an article and more pics over on The Brick Fan. While this looks a little anemic in comparison to the bulkier animation model, it's certainly recognizable, and on its own is a pretty cool anime-ish looking mech, which rightly floats my boat. I'm especially pleased to see the new 2022 Technic/ Exo-Force hybrid joints showing up here (I count at least four) used to create streamlined hips and shoulders. I can't say enough how excited I am that LEGO at long, long last have finally made these, and I can't wait to get them in my greedy paws to build something with them.🤤 Too, I love this bolder direction towards mecha models; these sets are ever increasingly looking more like MOCs than official mecha sets of the past, and I welcome the change. Add to this a no-kidding combiner mech coming out later next year in the Ninjago theme, and it's getting pretty exciting what LEGO is doing. I'm hoping a good-quality transforming mech will appear in the very near future; that would be a dream come true. For now, though, I'm just happy that they're doing stuff like the Overwatch Titan here, and Zane's excellent Titan Mech. LEGO have come a long way from and Now if they would just put knees on most of these. (Zane's Titan Mech does in fact have knees, BTW, but their appearance in mecha sets is still, frustratingly, an exception rather than the rule).
  4. M'Kyuun
    Not sure what they're waiting for. They showed their proto a couple years ago, which already looked pretty good to my eyes, and then went totally silent on any further development. It would have been great had they had the release coincide with the US showing of Macross Plus, putting a lot more effort behind promoting both, with at least a tv ad to promote it; had I not been on this forum, I never would have known about its release in theaters, so I'm thankful for this community. Anyway, Bandai has to be aware that there's demand for a YF-21, at least among its Asian audience. I don't think they really have a good gauge on the American audience, but judging by the rollout of M+, they're never going to achieve much of an audience without more widespread promotion and marketing. I think Plus was the most likely film, next to SDF:M, due to Robotech, to capture a Western audience, since the storyline mirrors the real-world ATF contest in the late 80s, which ultimately ended in our leaders choosing the wrong plane to be our next gen fighter. It's a shame they didn't promote it, and more of a shame that they didn't have a shiny new toy to make it more enticing. At this point I hope they didn't scrap what they had to go in a similar direction as Yamato, prioritizing the fighter over battroid, giving us yet another unbalanced looking b-mode with disproportionally skinny legs.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, it was time for a replacement, and I'm glad they went with this new neck bracket, which will, in true LEGO fashion, likely start showing up in other themes and in different colors. I don't mind it; it lets you see what's going on inside clearly, which works well from a toy perspective. Granted, you'll never see that amount of clear glass on a pressure vessel at the current limits of technology. Imagine how hot it would get in there if something went wrong and they were stuck facing sunward for any period of time. Yikes! These and the 2019 CIty Space sets are all inspired by actual and conceptual machines planned for NASA's intended lunar and Mars missions over the next decade(s), albeit with varying degrees of license on LEGO's part. I wish they'd exercised much more license with that rover, i.e., more this 😍 and much less this: 🤮 I was attempting to see what was so questionable about the 'misbegotten' SLS launcher you mentioned, but all I found were pics of the rocket they've been using, which looks like a typical rocket with two typical rocket boosters. Besides the basic phallic nature of rockets in general, nothing questionable. What were you referring to? Share the humor, man. Yep, the Mario bit has the CS logo on it. A studless verion of that was used on the UCS AT-AT to represent the second floor external hatch. There was a drilled hole found in one of the Soyuz capsules, as well. I didn't follow the story any further, so I'm not sure who they blamed. Given NASA's safety record compared to that of Roscosmos, they have some gall to throw any shade our way. Anyway, NASA astronauts have taken drills and drill-like tools into space for decades [the Hubble repair mission (STS 125) stands out], so it didn't seem odd or out of place at all when I saw the pic. In fact, I like the idea of putting tools into the sets, as repairs will always be a requirement in any human endeavor requiring machines and equipment, and it also harkens back to the old classic wrench/screwdriver from Classic Space. The recurring element I see in these new sets, as well as the 2019, is the new portal bit whose use was somewhat superfluous in some of the 2019 sets. it would have been nice if they'd made the effort for it to be a perfectly usable form of transit from model to model, but in some, like the Lunar Space Station and its mini-shuttle, it was more a point of simple docking without the ability to move a fig from one vessel to another. It was a serious missed opportunity for some cool realistic playability. Too, the fact that all those portals opened directly to 'space', without any sort of airlock to adjust for pressure was a bit disappointing. But I guess they don't expect kids at the lower end of the age recommendation to recognize certain physics realities. Not sure if I would have recognized them at 6 either, so The new Moon Station continues the trend, as I doubt it'll have an airlock either, and that rover certainly doesn't. God forbid that hatch springs any kind of leak, as the driver's only in shirtsleeves. We'll need a space mortuary set for all the dead astrofigs in the next wave. Sometimes, it sucks being an adult anchored more to practicality than imagination. Life was certainly more fun as a kid guided by imagination over science.
  6. M'Kyuun
    It would indeed.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Double post; Mods, please delete.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Man, other than the inabilty to turn his head, Keaton's Batman suit just embodies the character. It's a shame more Batman designs haven't copied the front cape drape, as it just adds so much menace to the look, not to mention the larger cape is practical for gliding. Beast Kingdom did a nice job with both. Digging that black Hulkbuster, too.
  9. M'Kyuun
    I hope the Webb works out as advertised; it'll be to the next generation of astronomers what Hubble was to the last. Remarkable discoveries lay ahead.
  10. M'Kyuun
    I also just got back from seeing it, and too, with fellow MWer @twich, who is now the only MWer I've ever met in person after nearly two decades of being a member. That alone made the experience even better. 👍 Getting to 'talk shop' about Macross with someone who not only knows what I'm talking about, but can converse intelligently about it was in itself worth the price of admission. Glad we met. It was great to see M+ on the big screen, the only Macross film I've ever seen in that format. I hope more Macross movies come, and there are better turnouts. We had about 10-12 people show up in an auditorium that probably seats around 30-40. Perhaps it's b/c I haven't watched my DVD copy in a few years, but it felt to me like there was additional footage that my DVD doesn't have. My memory is crap, though, so I may just be misremembering. I enjoyed the subtitling, as there were numerous bits of dialog that were better than what I remember from my DVD, and from the OVA English dub. There was way too much of "Bad Dog" in the soundtrack for my liking; out of all the gorgeous music that Kanno-san wrote for the film/OVA, that one grates and should have been relegated to the very short scene where they're calibrating Sharon. Fortunately, we had no interruptions or sound issues, and got to enjoy Kawamori-san's intro in full, which I thought was pretty cool. Macross Plus was my introduction to Macross, and a major gateway for me into becoming an anime fan. It remains one of my all-time favorite animes, and probably still my favorite out of the Macross series, although I hold the original SDF:M and Frontier in pretty high regard as well. Seeing it again after a few years have passed, and in good company (everybody was quiet throughout, except for the occasional chuckle, usually involving Isamu in some shape or form 😄) gave me the warm fuzzies as you only experience with old friends. It's still a remarkable bit of cinema, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it on the big screen, which is something I never would have thought possible a year or so ago.
  11. M'Kyuun
    From a toy standpoint, that thing's pretty neat. Too bad it's wasted on one of the dumber looking Bayverse designs.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, painting the faux hatch to match the rest of the car would have been a definite improvement. Sucks, too, as you pointed out, that the faux hatch chunks don't really tab into anything- not the best. I've never handled XTB's Savant, but I may have to watch one of the comparative reviews, as I imagine the XTB is likely superior to the Takara, at least in articulation, if not other areas. I passed on the XTB, but now that I have an official Skids coming, and XTB is the only other contender, I'm a little curious how they measure up. Along with your idea of swappable toon parts, I'd have loved it if they made a swappable shin piece that resembled the original box art for Skids. Love that window that lets you see the robot-innards.❤️
  13. M'Kyuun
    Pics of the two additional 2022 City Space sets have just hit the interwebs courtesy of German site Stone Wars, so I thought I'd share them. Click the link for pics of other upcoming sets. So, this thing is neither the prettiest nor the most innovative rover I've seen, but it's what we're getting in this wave, and I'll get it regardless. It definitely takes its cues, perhaps not for the best, from NASA's rover concept: Perhaps we've been spoiled by decades of really cool and amazing artists' concepts in all forms of media to have become a bit snobbish towards a less than aesthetically appealing looking vehicle like this. It may be practical, but in my eyes, it's fugly as sin. Even the old 1979 Classic Space ATV has this new set beat leaps and bounds aesthetically. Still a thing of beauty in this old LEGO fan's eyes.😍 I do have to say, I appreciate the closeup of the astrofigs, as we can now see the new neck-mounted backpack piece, which looks to have four studs on the backplate to build upon, and indeed, I love the new brick-built backpacks and separate helmets in lieu of the uni-helmet pack that LEGO's been using since 2010. Now the little dudes can properly turn their heads while exploring, just like the CS figs could. We've come full circle. That crappy thing was ready for retirement, IMHO. This is a far better way to go. Love this. I wish we had more angles, but since this is in the wild now, I'm sure it won't be long before LEGO releases official pics with more and better views. Kinda curious if that middle section has something inside it, as it's six studs wide, enough to cram a minifig in there with a tiny lab, or maybe a storage compartment of sorts. That little capsule is sweet looking, and appears to be comprised of two new molds. Too, this looks to come with five minifigs, which is about two more than I would normally expect in a set this size. Not complaining. Finally, it's a little bittersweet to see the CS logo emblazoned on everything when this is clearly not CS. But, at least they're keeping the logo alive, and it's always welcome. Looks like asteroid capture and examination are at the core of the play pattern, which is fine, as that's pretty much what NASA has planned for future missions. Overall, between the stations we've seen already and these sets, I'm pretty excited for some LEGO Moon missions in 2022!
  14. M'Kyuun
    Just watched the first ep, and gotta agree with all the good things being said. Very well written and acted. The movements of the characters are so fluid and lifelike, and yeah, even the facial animations are incredibly well captured. Too, as a world building show, the steampunk direction is beautifully captured as well. Like just about everyone else here, I have no familiarity with the League of Legends game that inspired it, but if the game was anywhere near this good, I think I'm missing out. Looking forward to watching the rest. Take note Netflix: more like this.
  15. M'Kyuun
    I'll be there, too.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Good review. I appreciate your thoughts, and agree that the arms are bit too skinny comparative to the rest, the shoulders' disjointed attachment, the calf fillers suck when they could have split the hatchback cover (although that would have left a large voids in the legs unless they devised some sort of cover to swing out and cover them in bot mode), the minimized articulation comparative to 2021 standards, and in my own opinion, the rather monochromatic and 'blah' look of the legs all bring this down a few notches. As to the 'hybrid' look and the sculpted details throughout bot mode, well I'm a fan of that approach, so no complaints on my part there. But there's merit to your suggestion of additional swappable bland parts to make it look more like the animation for those who prefer it. All things being equal, that would have raised the price, and I wouldn't have liked paying extra for parts I'd never use. As to the chrome, I don't mind it; it's apropos of G1. I do, however, wish they'd gone ahead and included the little scooter accessory, as the price is the same for this without it as for the other color variants that do come with it. Why not just throw it in? Too, woulda been cool if that scooter transformed into a gun or some usable accessory in bot mode. Wasted opportunity. So, Skid's a mixed bag; a serious step back in a number of regards, but a desirable change from the plain animation aesthetic. I do wish they'd step up the articulation as a bare minimum of improvement. A boring transformation doesn't bother me as much as things being challenging to maneuver into place, as you indicate is the case with the arms. Alas, this isn't the first, nor the last, Transformer toy to have elements of the transformation be irritating or harder than they should have to be. Even with the negatives, I'm still looking forward to getting this fig. Overall, I think it presents well- the paint looks beautiful, the bot mode is ok, and the car mode looks great. I wish he was better executed, but as-is, I think I'll still find a measure of enjoyment when he arrives.
  17. M'Kyuun
    Watched 7th and 8th seasons of RWBY last night (been a year or so since we last watched 7th season, so a nice reminder). My wife and I really enjoy this series; it's come a long way from that first season where non-essential people in the background were basically silhouettes and the level of graphics was pretty low. They leaned a little harder on anime-style humor more in those early seasons as well, but gradually the art and the story matured along with the characters. Seems like they're starting to wrap things up, and I have a feeling 9th season will be the last. Even so, it's been a fun ride.
  18. M'Kyuun
    I started reading her Vampire novels in my twenties. I think Memnoch was as far as I got as well- maybe Armand?- been way too many years, and I vaguely remember them now. But yeah, Interview with the Vampire came out in theaters, and I think that was my launchpad into the books, which I enjoyed even more. Ms. Rice could certainly tell a good tale and create engaging characters. And like @TangledThorns says, she popularized the heavily romanticized vampire theme that continues to inform stuff like Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Series to this day. RIP Ms. Rice, and thanks for the stories.
  19. M'Kyuun
    It's a shame we're all not closer, as we have a ready-made community here, with geography being the hindering factor. Like you, I'd be happy to share my toys with a good reviewer, but AFAIK, none of the better-known reviewers live anywhere near me. IDK about other folks, but I think it's pretty cool that your daughter's into robots at such a young age. She's off to a good start in life. 👍 I love it when Skullface includes his girls in his reviews- he seems to have a great relationship with them, and the fact that they're not only accepting of his hobby but willing to participate on his behalf says volumes. I don't think my wife would do that for me, although she has gone to a number of LEGO conventions with me, and deals, albeit with a little exasperation, with 1/3 our house being full of LEGO and toy robots. I hope your daughter continues to embrace it, for both your sakes, as it'll always be something you can bond over.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Congrats on scoring these for your specific collections. The Classics Prime mold still holds up as a good looking Prime, and that Nemesis deco looks sharp. I have the WfC Bumblebee fig, and although he is a bit shellformery, I still thought he was an interesting take, and a nice-looking fig as well. Anyway, I'm happy for ya, man. I hope they continue to bring you joy. Oooh, that's a really nice self-gift. Ya might have to share a pic and a thought on it once you've had time to put it through its paces. Have fun!
  21. M'Kyuun
    If you ever find yourself coming to the area, definitely give me a lookup. These days I get the lion's share of Transformers online, mostly from Hasbro Pulse. But I do check the TF section of my local Walmart here in Airway Heights every week, and on infrequent occasions, I'll venture over to the Shadle Walmart, which generally has a better selection and more product in stock than my local store. Even more infrequently, I'll run up to either the South Hill or the North Spokane Targets, which also generally maintain a better selection and stock than my local store. My local store is a Super Store, but it maintains a pretty small toy section comparative to the other Walmarts in Spokane/Spokane Valley, but they just doubled the size of the alcoholic beverage section, b/c that's what we need in a hickish town full of already abysmally poor and discourteous drivers, many of whom are likely high on some form of legal marijuana. In short, pretty much any of the Walmarts or Targets in Spokane except the Airway Heights store. Too, if you're in the Valley, Fred Meyers is worth checking, although, I think you're better off looking at either the Target on Sprague or Walmart off of Sullivan/E. Broadway out there, too. As for the vintage toy store I mentioned, it's called Time Bomb and is located on West Garland Ave near the Shadle area. It's a neat store to visit for all the 70s & 80s toys.
  22. M'Kyuun
    I also want them to do a new and improved Imperial Shuttle. Next to the AT-AT, it's number two on my wishlist. I passed on the first UCS IS b/c there were things about it I just didn't care for- the wonky wing mechanism, separate landing gear piece, and the inaccurate shaping of the nose section. Now they have all these subtle curved elements and a larger palette of Technic elements to really improve the engineering and shaping of the ship to more accurately capture it. Too, I'd love to see a new version have a usable space in the back, as the original UCS model was full of the wing mechanism. I think they can do better. I've seen better MOCs. After what they accomplished with this AT-AT, they've raised their own bar. Guess we'll see. I appreciate the kind words, @technoblue. I generally don't do reviews b/c I suck at it, but I'm very passionate about LEGO in general, and super enthusiastic about this model in particular, and I really wanted to share my excitement about it- show it off a little, if you will. I can't say enough what a brilliant set this is, and I vehemently hope you find the space and the time to get yourself a copy. This is truly one of those rare sets, like the awesome Ninjago City sets, that stands apart and really beggars to be a showcase within the collection. Anyway, play well, man, and all the best with your builds!
  23. M'Kyuun
    Gotta agree; actually, I'd take Bee Movie Soundwave over the Siege Soundwave. That was one of the laziest alt modes ever, and as nondescript as the Bee Movie alt mode is, Siege is so much worse. 🤮 Needless to say, I passed on Siege in the hopes they'd eventually do a dedicated tape deck version. Glad they did, glad I got a copy, and while I have a couple nitpicks, overall I really like him. Funny how they're crossing over the SS figs to Buzzworthy. I prefer the ER versions of both Clifffy and Kup, although I confess the grey legs and arms and brighter red make Buzzworthy CJ 'pop' more. Agree on the spoiler- it was one of those defining traits, and it's a shame they couldn't make it happen with that mold.
  24. M'Kyuun
    I'm a little ashamed to say I didn't know her name, although she's worked on any number of anime that I like, especially Macross Plus, which is still my favorite of the Macross series. Indeed, she passed too young (only seven years older than me), and she leaves both a great legacy and a great void for what she may have produced had she remained with us. The greatest void, however, lies with her friends, family, and fans for the human being we've lost. RIP Nobumoto-san
  25. M'Kyuun
    Likewise, at least in the Macross and Transformers arena. I have a buddy here who's into LEGO, and we attend LEGO conventions together and encourage each other with our MOCs. But on the robot front, yeah, I have no-one local, so these forums and the TFW forums, tentatively, are my outlets. I've often wished we lived closer, as like Scyla, I'd love to throw some of my stuff at ya for review, not to mention just to have a local bud to share the hobby with. Between the cost of shipping and the fear that my package will get lost in transit, I've been reluctant to make the offer. I've thought about sending my FT Dinobots your way, but Good God, if those were ever lost I'd be an emotional wreck. I love those guys, and as much as I'd love to hear your in-hand observations, it's just not worth the risk. Skullface is a supremely fortunate dude for all the stuff he gets to handle. I'd love an in-person opportunity to see a great deal of that stuff, but I don't know of anybody around here that's into it. I'm sure there are nerds here- Spokane's a decent sized city, we have a vintage toy show a couple times a year, there's a vintage toy store (lots of second-hand 80s stuff), and TFs generally, especially Generations figs, don't usually warm the pegs for too long. So, I'm fairly certain there are more like me out there, but there doesn't seem to be a community, at least that I'm aware of, so we're all pretty much just doing our thing solo. AFAIK, I'm the only one from Spokane on here and on the TFW boards. Seattle enjoys a much more robust and enthusiastic following, but Spokane's just a wasteland.
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