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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    OK, so I'm a bit behind. going back to your review on Cordon and Spin-out, I hadn't noticed that the arms are black, which really mars the look of the car modes, and the fact that there's no police livery applied to Cordon. The clear windshield was a misstep, too, as the two with colored windshields, with detail behind them, illustrate what an improvement it makes. That black armature is such an eyesore; why oh why wasn't it molded in white so as to be less obtrusive in both modes? Like you said, let's hope Toyhax comes to the rescue. I'd also like to see a blue Bluestreak. I love my MP toy, but there's always room for more. With Mattel holding the license for Batman toys, it's unlikely that Hasbro could get it, too, even in a limited capacity, as Mattel would likely litigate it out of the realm of possibility. From a business perspective, I could understand it, but quashing the possibility of a transforming Batmobile would be extremely disheartening. As far as doing Marvel comics, they're already doing an X-Men crossover, so the door's open to more Marvel stuff. I'd love to see a Hulkbuster that turns into one of Stark's sports cars. Y'know, doing transforming GI Joe vehicles seems like the biggest no-brainer; it would combine two of Hasbro's biggest properties in a way that I think fans would love. They've already done Star Wars, although many of those toys left somewhat to be desired. Then again, most of those designs pose some serious challenges to being interpreted in a transformable format. The vast majority of the Joes' vehicles, and Cobra's for that matter, were based on real world vehicles, albeit with tweaks. But, they'd be far easier to translate than most of the Star Wars stuff, and if they were done at least as well as the ER stuff, I think we'd get a pretty nice collection of GI Joe Transformers out of it. With Maverick, they've already got a potential Skystriker, and I think that paint job would greatly improve a lot of folks' opinion of that figure, which, IMHO, is one of the best jet-mode Transformers ever made. The lack of paint apps on ER Soundwave that appeared on the Siege version just makes you shake your head and wonder why. I already mentioned the lack of color apps to the little button-looking details on his knees and shoulders, but the lack of the red stripes on his weapons and wrists is hard to ignore once it's pointed out, as they really add a lovely contrast, not to mention they're accurate to the sticker details of the original toy. I guess the cost of the new molds for his cassette player mode ate up the paint budget. Sigh. Might have to try fixing it on mine.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, they're the perfect size for stocking stuffers, not to mention there's a nice variety of animal forms to choose from, with more coming later in 2021. Too, they have a kawaii aesthetic that's pleasing, transformations that aren't terribly complex (younger kids will probably need some help), and most of the molds come in different color schemes for some variety. Great gift idea.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Appreciate it, but I got my shipping notice from them three days ago; it was in my junk mail, and I missed it initially, but discovered it today. So, I'll probably have them in hand by Monday or so. No interest in Sandstorm, but I am anticipating getting Thrust later this month. Hopefully the release date doesn't get pushed back again.
  4. M'Kyuun
    I hope that storm doesn't play too much havoc on your side of the country. FWIW, my family all live in PA, albeit on the western side of the state, so I have cause for concern for all acquaintances, be they friend or family. Be safe Mike, you and yours. Glad to hear you're getting your Soundwave from Wally, Mike. I've been checking my Wally this week for Netflix stuff, but they've received neither that nor the wave of ER figs with Sunstreaker yet, so I'm glad I got my chance-PO in when I did. I got my copy of Maverick today, and I'm pretty pleased with him. The paint certainly could be better, and the main gears are just weird, but in just about about every other respect, for a Transformer jet, this is a really well done figure for the minimal amount of concession to the jet mode. As a Macross fan, the obvious relationship in design to the VF-1 is most agreeable, especially given that Kawamori based the VF-1 on the F-14, and so we come full circle. It's a trend I'd love to see become a norm in TF jet design, although I think I'm in the minority in that opinion. TF fans love their blocky bots that turn into heavily concession laden jets. I will never understand that, but it is what it is. I ended up ordering Spin-out and Cordon through Entertainment Earth, since Pulse was sold out at the time, and have yet to get a shipping notice; however, I have received my Sunstreaker, and given how well that mold turned out, I'm looking forward to having the other two mold-mates. I usually don't double or triple dip on molds, unless there are significant changes, but since I didn't get MP Cordon, this offered a less expensive yet still good alternative. Plus there's something inherently cool about the emergency/police liveries that I've always liked among TF figs, which I think goes all the way back to my first TF toy, G1 Prowl. I briefly fence-sat on POing X-Spanse, but c'mon, it's a fairly well done, nearly bot kibble free SR-71. The aircraft enthusiast in me just couldn't pass that up. I do wish that the forward fuselage had more involvement in the bot mode, like becoming the arms, but relatively speaking, its still better than most of the official Silverbolt toys that have ever been done, and that's a small win. I so wish they'd done the more stylized Blackbird from the early X-Men films, but beggars can't be choosers. I'm curious to see what their next crossover will be. I pity the fools if they make BA's van from ER Ironhide's mold. Original KITT and Airwolf top my list. At least Hasbro seem to do a pretty good job with helos, so I have faith that the latter might actually turn out alright. It'd be even better if it had the retractable guns and rocket launcher, and hell I'll be crazy and and say retractable landing gear, too, but I think I'm asking a bit much from Hasbro. And if they do do a KITT, they need to do a slight remold of ER Prime into Goliath. It's a must. I'd love, love, love an '89 Batmobile and Tumbler TF figs. Both are Holy Grail toys in my 'want list'.
  5. M'Kyuun
    I don't believe there is, either. There's a separate topic for 52Toys, which is where I've been posting since starting my collection this year. But yeah, nothing really for generic transforming toys. Then again, there aren't many transforming toys that I'm aware of outside of IPs for which we already have threads.
  6. M'Kyuun
    I think that, ultimately, will prove out to be the most practical solution if indeed a true spaceplane as described is attempted. SpaceX's accomplishments over the past few years make me think that it's on the horizon. It was reusable, but nowhere even close to the idealized level that was projected. Too, as @Thom mentioned, it couldn't takeoff like a plane, as was the original vision. It required an enormous amount of maintenance, and as you say, was likely a financial sinkhole. But without it, we wouldn't have had the vast array of satellites, both commercial and government, in orbit, nor the ISS, which relied entirely on the Orbiter to get the modules into space and get them assembled. Nor would satellite repairs have been possible. What do we have now to repair a wayward satellite? There's certainly a need for a manned space vehicle that can haul large cargo into orbit, intercept said objects for retrieval or repair, and to bring them back to terra firma. An actual spaceplane with at least the capacity of the old shuttle will again be a large vehicle requiring a great deal of engineering, not to mention some powerful propulsion systems, and perhaps a new way of thinking about how to achieve the necessary propulsion in a staging capacity to reach escape velocity. I like Thom's idea for detachable rockets. Seems the most practical approach for achieving the requisite power whilst shedding weight on climb. I stand corrected, sir. The tiles were actually ceramic, and very brittle. Despite numerous incidents of foam breaking off during launches, the management at NASA became complacent about the occurrences, as no serious damage had been done to the shuttle until STS-27, Atlantis, whose crew knew of the damage and, having no recourse to survey the extent nor attempt repairs in orbit, felt a certain apprehension that it would be their undoing upon reentry, such that Cmdr Hoot Gibson intended to leave a scathing rebuke to NASA as his final message. Upon landing, over 700 tiles were damaged, and a bit of aluminum hull had melted. A very close call whose occurrence didn't change anything, and Columbia paid the price for their negligence and complacency. One of Columbia's astronauts was Michael Anderson from my adopted hometown of Spokane, WA. What a shame that highways are named after him in memoriam instead of a living honor for his accomplishments, and that Lt. Col Anderson isn't with us still, perhaps teaching physics to the next generation of astronauts. Fortunately, Columbia seemed to shake them up, and more concern was exercised thereafter; no other shuttles were lost, and the last modules of the ISS were lofted before its retirement. I haven't checked that link, yet, @JB0, but I shall, and thanks. I own "Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and her Crew" by Mike Leinbach, who was a mission director for the shuttle program, and later headed up the search efforts for both debris and the remains of her crew. Given his intimacy with both crew and craft, it's a compelling read, and he rightfully assesses NASA's role in a deservingly critical light while heaping praise upon the thousands of volunteers across several states who aided in the search efforts, some of whom lost their own lives in the process. Good read.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Partsforming aside, they did a great job on Bee for this line. Part of me would have liked his alt mode to be a little more chibi to reflect the G1 design, but this works well. I daresay, this is an improvement over MP Bee v2. So I got my tenth anniversary TF: Prime Breakdown and Flying Vehicon two-pack today. My emails led me to believe that delivery was rescheduled to tomorrow and neither I nor my wife heard the delivery guy on the porch. Alas, I didn't discover that it had been delivered until 10PM, four hours later, when I getting ready to go to bed. My excitement was piqued, however, so I at least had to open them up and check them out. I managed transformation for both without instructions. Having the original car Vehicon, transforming the flying version wasn't too much of a stretch. Thing of beauty, it is. Love it. It definitely gives me a cool Batman vibe. Breakdown wasn't too difficult to sort, especially once I figured out how to get the arms in place. Getting the rear end of his truck mode proved to be a bit trying, as the legs fold but don't really lock into anything or each other, which allows for a lot of flex in his truck mode if you're trying to get things tabbed and you're squeezing from the front. Once I readjusted my approach, I finally succeeded. Love the beefy truck mode they gave him. Good looking fig in both modes, and I'm glad they finally gave him a US release. Shame it took a decade. Now the odd stuff: Both Breakdown and Vehicon came with individual plastic bags containing sprues, a second set of instructions, and a sticker sheet. In my 36 years of collecting Transformers, I can't recall ever having this level of assembly required. Essentially, the sprues contain the parts to make their respective weapons, which also transform into little beast modes. I'm going to wait until tomorrow to do the assemblies and sticker-work, but I thought I'd let folks who bought this set know what to expect. I certainly wasn't expecting little model kits with these guys, nor a very G1 looking foil sticker sheet for both the figures and their weapons. I don't mind putting the weapons dudes together, but, man, I hate putting stickers on, and wish they'd come painted/tampoed instead. Bellyaching aside, I'm looking forward to completing the look for both of these guys and giving them their weapons. Fun, fun.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I'm curious to know what you think was terrible about it. Seriously, without malice or sarcasm. Are you involved in the aerospace industry, or have a hand in some of its design? I'm especially interested if you have a personal context, although a well argued point is always welcome regardless. For my part, while I think it was a remarkable vehicle with unmatched capabilities, having worked on a Rockwell product, the B-1 Lancer, I can attest that their engineering so far as maintenance friendliness is concerned, leaves much to be desired, and the folks tasked with keeping the shuttle fleet flying have my deepest sympathies. A major sore spot was the vulnerability of the ceramic heat shield, which ultimately spelled the doom of Columbia, and nearly so for one of the other shuttles. For our next design, I hope the scientists and engineers involved create a more robust, durable, and less labor intensive process, as that is one system that certainly needs to evolve. My other thought on the matter is that scientists and engineers were still dreaming big in the 60s and 70s pertaining to space. I think these folks were inspired, and Apollo was that shot in the arm that made them feel like damned near anything was possible. To that end, there were all sorts of expectations for what a space plane, or at least a "space pickup' would, should, and could do. Reality, much like gravity, is a difficult force to overcome, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if many expectations and desires for the developing shuttle program had to be round-filed due to any number of realities that limited its performance in various ways. If you can elucidate in that regard, Dynaman, then you have the proverbial floor, sir. Too, you may be correct concerning another spaceplane. Still, I'd love to see it- the enthusiast in me loved the shuttle, and the idea of a shuttle, and having seen it and seen the possibilities with such a vehicle at our disposal, there burns within me (I'm sure I'm not alone) a deep desire to see a successor to the venerable STS program with 21st century technologies brought to bear. There's a certain romantic quality to the Shuttle that just isn't possible with rockets and capsules, no matter how spacious and clean and 'futuristic' said capsules have become. Dragon's a thing of elegance and beauty, but there's something deeply cooler about a spaceplane that's difficult to articulate. Edited to correct my my error concerning the heat tiles being comprised of foam. They were ceramic.
  9. M'Kyuun
    I hope that desire for a new spaceplane to replace the retired STS comes about within the next decade, as there's certainly a need for such a vehicle. The Shuttle was and is irreplaceable for its ability to haul large cargo into space, and to retrieve and repair satellites in orbit. Falcon Heavy can take largo cargo up, but we still haven't a feasible way of retrieval and repair in situ in orbit. Time for a spaceplane 2.0.
  10. M'Kyuun
    I wish they'd scale up to deluxe and voyager scales to provide alternatives to craptastic Hasbro releases.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Good points from both of you guys that I hadn't considered: that this was intended, ultimately, to be a vehicle used in lunar and Mars' atmospheres, which don't support aerodynamics well, if at all. I was thinking of purely Earth missions. To that end, I think a secondary landing system would be useful for an Erath demonstrator, but, evolving its ability to land vertically and intact for reusability on other worlds is an imperative. The sight of these SpaceX launch vehicles landing vertically is still unbelievably amazing, one that was pure sci-fi until SpaceX accomplished it with Falcon 9. I'm in awe of what they've accomplished and look forward to seeing them continue to trailblaze.
  12. M'Kyuun
    As incredibly impressive as landing a rocket on its tail is, since they're positioning this one on its side in flight and using conventional stabilizers to control its flight aerodynamically, why not just land it that way? Install some retractable gear and let it glide in. Or, put some chutes in the nose in case there's an engine fault, at least as a backup, so the entire rocket isn't a loss. I don't think they should abandon what they're doing, but given the amount of money that's wrapped up in each rocket, not to mention the blood, sweat, and tears involved, have a contingency plan in place just in case. That would be my approach if I ran a space agency.
  13. M'Kyuun
    I was at my Wally yesterday, and they didn't have any of the latest figs, so no Soundwave, Bee, or Elita-1. They've actually been keeping their Transformers section reasonably stocked this year, a first in a very long time, so I've little doubt it's just a matter of time. I must have been dozing when all those ER POs came out, b/c I missed Soundwave, and I don't remember if I got one in for Bee or not. I skipped Elita, although if I had my druthers, I wish she'd come with ER Ratchet instead of Lifeline, as at least she has a different head, and she featured in the old cartoon.
  14. M'Kyuun
    It's unfortunate that the media, and humans in general, tend to crave bad news and failure over anything positive. As for myself, it seems to me that every new accomplishment by SpaceX elevates what once was science fiction into reality. It's exciting. They've more than proven that they have the right stuff for this generation and its goals of furthering human work in space. At this point, NASA sits on the sidelines, launching the occasional satellite with little fanfare or media attention, and with little in the way of notable innovation, at least not on the scale that SpaceX is currently trailblazing. The Mars rovers are still some of the most amazing accomplishments by NASA, as well as Apollo, and the OSIRIS-REx probe. It's a shame that stuff like OSIRIS, which is an incredible accomplishment, essentially gets overlooked b/c, I imagine, there's really no human drama involved. Apollo suffered the same fate pretty much as soon as Neil and Buzz stepped foot on the moon. Norman Mailer, in his book Moonfire, essentially says the media became bored once they landed safely. Apollo didn't interest the media again until Apollo 13, and once that ended, thankfully, well, Apollo never again enjoyed much media attention, despite its increasingly successful contributions to science. It's a sad but true commentary on the obtuse and negative nature of humanity.
  15. M'Kyuun
    Honestly, I think the Furai model is a little more understated than Nicee, who's both curvaceous and anthropomorphically voluptuous. The Furai is more along the lines of how I'd like Big Firebird to do their Windblade; anatomically correct but without the large chest. This is nigh perfect, although on an actual transforming toy, the wings are going to have to be larger, so there will be more kibble on BFB's. The styling of the Furai is downright beautiful; I love the suggestion of all the various bits comprising her body, and the coloration that accentuates it. It's sharp, adds an essential element of her being a mechanical entity, but with the anatomical shaping of a human woman. It checks all the boxes for me for a well done fembot. For my own personal tastes, I'd prefer the suggestion of breasts, much like G1 Arcee or how Windblade is drawn in the comics rather than actual separate breasts, as, from a practical standpoint, a mechanical entity has no need of sexual reproductive organs, and the subtle suggestion of a feminine shape is apropos. Just my 2 cents.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I saw those other Headmasters today as I was perusing TFW2005. I got all but Brainstorm during TR, and I'm good with them as they are. I do love the retro boxes, though- nice touch. Kinda wish they'd done that for the whole of WFC, or at least the ER /Kingdom for the G1 bots. The toys may have sucked back then, but the packaging was spectacular. I like the Blurr mold for TR, so I doubt I'll mind its reuse for Brainstorm. Heck, it even made for an arguably better Arcee than the ER figure. At least the bot was involved in the transformation. Looking forward to getting my Breakdown and Flying Vehicon on Saturday. I was sooo bummed when I missed out on it back when Prime was still airing, so I'm very appreciative of this second chance to get him and Breakdown, another character we never got here in the US. The 15th anniversary of Animated is drawing nigh, and there was talk on the TFW boards about some Animated-generations hybrid stuff coming. It's all extreme speculation apparently stemming from yet another rumor that there's a Megatron with a helicopter alt possibly coming. Honestly, if either is true, I'm down. Unlike Prime, who is and always shall be a truck in my mind, a handgun is both impractical and impossible to produce here in the US, and the idea of his becoming a tank works. but I'm far more open to Megatron taking on other alt modes. Curious to see what comes of all this erstwhile vaporware.
  17. M'Kyuun
    Yes, most likely. $20 is a bit steep though, especially when you factor in shipping on top of that. I figured they'd pack the head with another product, specifically their Windblade, which I'm planning on getting when and if they go forward with it. Thus far, we haven't even seen test shots, so it may or may not happen. I hope it does, as I like the aesthetic, give or take the prominent chesticles. I'd actually prefer a more understated chest, but it is what it is. If the rest of the fig looks good, and her jet mode looks good, I'm down for a copy.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Sorry to hear about your Postal woes. I'm no stranger to them, either, but fortunately they're seldom. Anyway, I've had my Nicee for a few months, and I think you'll develop an appreciation for her once you have a chance to play around with poses and accessories. IMHO, she's well made, with both modes looking good, and a transformation that's pretty basic but gets the job done. This is how I keep her posed. She's flexible enough that I've actually got her eyeline sighted down the length of her pistol.
  19. M'Kyuun
    I received an unexpected but welcome package from Walmart today in the form of the WFC: ER Soundwave 3-pack. I ordered this guy last Monday when I got an in-stock alert and rushed to get a PO in. The EDD was 22 December, so imagine my surprise when I opened the box and saw this guy in all his G1 glory. as a side note, I hope yours is coming soon, too, @mikeszekely, as I know you've had difficulties with Walmart's delivering on POs in the past. Thus said, I'll leave it to Mike to do an in depth review, as he's got it down to a science, whereas all I can offer are ramblings and poor photography. Quick impressions: Bot mode is very G1, and his chest even pops open by pressing the release button on his shoulder. It never gets old. He comes with three weapons: his two batteries-cum shoulder launcher and pistol with extending barrel, just like the G1 toy minus the chrome, as well as an additional folding rifle the origin or significance of which I know not. He comes with two cassettes (hence 3-pack) Ravage and Laserbeak, which are the same disappointing molds from Siege albeit with G1 accurate heads. Both fit snugly, one at a time mind you, into his chest. In cassette mode, Ravage's one flat side is painted to resemble a cassette, whilst Laserbeak's one flat side is painted to reflect the decals on the wings of the G1 condors. I do like that you can change the look of his chest depending on the mode, but it would have been nicer had the cassettes been better engineered to be flat on both sides like the original toys. This is one of the few cases where the G1 toys were better than their modern updates, and I'll never understand why they didn't maintain the real-world mini-cassette scale to work with both MP and the original toys. Soundwave's cassette recorder mode resembles his G1 self, mostly, from the front, although look at him from any other angle and the illusion is broken. Again, in recorder mode, the original toy did it better. ER SW's chest is nearly as thick as G1 Soundwave's alt mode. Since ER SW's arms also swing behind his back like the original, it creates a large unsightly protrusion on the back of the recorder. Also, unlike G1 SW, whose weapons, neatly disguised as batteries, stored away in a compartment on his back which also featured a handy belt clip, ER SW's head stores in his mini-backpack, and the weapons, still disguised as batteries, have no realistic compartment in which to reside, and so peg onto the backs of the legs awkwardly and unrealistically. Usually, when something has been done right, it's copied, but one must abandon any such expectation of Hasbro. I digress. One other difference is that although HasTak copied the basic shape of G1 SW's lower legs with the angled kneecaps, which filled in space in recorder mode on the G1 toy, they have them fold with the kneecaps out in recorder mode, which is an odd choice. Too, there's a centimeter gap between the lower edge of the cassette tray and the function buttons where the hinges are clearly visible. Again, it was done better on the original toy, whose tray sat snug against the function button area and hid the hinges. The area with the function buttons (there are actually two sets of function buttons- a larger one for alt mode, which becomes a butt flap, and a smaller set on his crotch and front independently hinging hip panels) forms his lower waist, which is able to swivel, so that's likely why they didn't try harder to hide the big gap. there's quite a bit of paint on this fig: the edges of the cassette tray are painted in a light yellow, as well as the little arrow detail in the lower center, the horizontal stripes on his upper chest and lower legs (which intersect in recorder mode), as well as his knee vents are picked out in gold, and his shin and knee details, as well as the insides of his legs which are molded to form the front of his recorder mode, are picked out in silver. They even have the "L" and "R" molded into them. The function buttons, fore and aft, are painted silver, as well as a small detailed section of each shoulder. I wish they'd thrown a touch of red and yellow on the small rectangular details on his knees to reflect the G1 toy's decals, but it's certainly not a deal-breaker, and fairly easy to do myself. the paint apps, overall are pretty crisp on mine. No real complaints there. The eyes are translucent red light-piping, which may offend some. It doesn't really bother me, although I wish they'd used trans-yellow, as it would show up better and be G1 toy accurate. As-is, his eyes are rather dark, especially if there's no direct overhead light source. For all my complaining, I still like this figure, and I feel like I waited an eternity for it. I was really bummed when I missed the original PO for him, and stoked when the toy gods saw fit to grace me with an in-stock notification at a time when I happened to be on the computer (a rarity). I didn't like the Siege toy's alt mode at all, and patiently hoped and prayed that this figure would become a reality. In hand, it has its flaws, especially when I compare him to the OG toy; the tradeoff, of course, is that this fellow has far better articulation, and fits in with the rest of CHUG . The alt mode is acceptable, certainly better than the Siege's questionable alt, and it satisfies with the old push-button opening cassette tray, a must-have feature of any self-respecting G1 Soundwave toy. Do I recommend him? Sure. It does enough right in both modes to fill that need for a G1 Soundwave figure to go with the rest of Generations. I wish more effort had been exerted in the engineering to bring his alt mode closer to the original, especially his backpack battery compartment, but as it is, it gets the job done.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Nope, AFAIK, it is it's own thing.
  21. M'Kyuun
    While I was on active duty years ago, I ran into different folks at different times who'd been stationed at Edwards AFB, where Gen. Yeager ruled the roost, so to speak. The man, deservedly, was larger than life, and apparently he, and his wife by extension, as officers' wives often do, liked to throw their considerable weight around in acts of entitlement that oft rubbed their fellow airmen the wrong way. In truth, I heard more negative stories from fellow airmen than positive about the good general, as he, and his wife, were apparently unpleasant to deal with. That said, one can't ignore the enormity of his accomplishments, or the extremity of his courage in facing the odds, supposed or real, of successfully accomplishing those acts which have brought him much deserved recognition and accolades. It's difficult for us in a post SR-71 and Concorde world to remember that before a young Capt. Yeager strapped on a Bell X-1 and rode it to supersonic history, many scientists had dire predictions concerning what would happen to a human being if he passed beyond the sound barrier. Pilots are brave folks by default, and test pilots are a breed above, with extraordinary intestinal fortitude in the face of potential death or dismemberment every time they strap in; however, I'm sure behind the bravado, Capt Yeager , for a fleeting moment, couldn't help but wonder if those scientists were right. It's only human to consider our mortality from time to time, and despite his godlike status, he was still one of us in the end. I've seen Gen Yeager's Bell X-1 at the Smithsonian, and it's difficult to think that such a small craft accomplished a world-changing paradigm of thought in the field of aeronautics, and that a young captain had the audacity and courage to face those uncertain odds and ride it into history. What's also amazing is that Gen. Yeager started his career as an enlisted aircraft mechanic , became an enlisted pilot, received his commission, and climbed the ladder farther than the vast majority of prior enlisted officers ever do. In so many ways, his story is unique, and we've truly lost an American hero in his passing. Godspeed, General. RIP
  22. M'Kyuun
    Good review, Mike. I'm still waiting for mine to show up- probably this week. As a Macross fan precisely because of Kawamori's realistic jet modes, Maverick strikes a chord with me, as did G1 Jetfire back in the day. It's no secret that the VF-1 was inspired by the F-14, so it's cool that here we have a transforming F-14 inspired by the VF-1. Of course, this is still HasTak, so it lacks the refinement of a Macross design, but in the world of Transformers, where most jet modes are butchered all to hell, this stands apart as a step up, and I'm happy that they made it, even if, as Mike points out, the F-14 is not so iconic and singular a specialized movie vehicle as say Ecto-1 or the DeLorean. As a Top Gun tie-in, though, it was never going to be anything else. Well, I guess they could have made it Cruise's bike, but compared to a fighter jet, that's pretty lame, even for Hasbro. Unlike most TF fans, I've never been a fan of blocky bots turning into misshapen and otherwise concession laden jet modes. I consider it an artifact of simple and practical engineering practices in the 80's when toys were still considered for children, and little consideration was given to imparting realism if there was a gimmick involved, such as transformation, where the gimmick took precedence. Moreover, the designs often became even blockier than the toys to simplify the cartoon artwork, since it was all hand drawn and required hundreds, if not thousands, of separate cells. Thus the blockiness that is so cherished is an anachronism of simplistic design and rendering, and no one, I suspect, ever for a second, thought that people in their thirties and up would still be attached to these things thirty-plus years on, with toy technology of a caliber that we could only dream of as kids. I think, had they ever had an inkling of the longevity of this franchise, they may have tried a little harder, been willing to spend a little more, to improve the aesthetics of both toy and toon. Maybe. I'd love to pose the question to Hasbro, Takara, and Sunbow just to see if , had they some prescient notion, they would have attempted to improve anything. Anyway, having watched and read a few reviews and read some forum chatter, I see far more negative criticism of Maverick than positive, mostly for the reasons Mike himself mentioned: too skinny, too lanky, not blocky enough, doesn't fit with the rest of their collection, and the paint job sucks, among others. Of these, the paint job is the only thing I would have liked to see done better. The other issue I have is with all the hollow spaces in bot mode, but it's become such a regularity with TF toys over the past five or six years now that it's basically par for the course, as the saying goes. But I applaud the design direction in its fairly accurate depiction of an F-14, while still transforming into a pretty well articulated bot. I wish this was the direction for all jet mode bearing bots going forward, but the shadow of nostalgic integrity looms profoundly over this franchise, and I fear that we're likely stuck with atrocious jets that turn into blocky bots so long as my generation remains the lifeblood of the fandom, which equates to about another roughly forty years or so before we 'all are one' pushing daisies. I'm curious, and also apprehensive, of what will become of Transformers after we've all tread our last and a wholly new generation, unburdened by nostalgia, takes the reigns. Will there even be interest at that point? I hope so. It's such a cool and fun concept, it makes for some really neat and oft sophisticated toys, and it offers infinite opportunities for storytelling, as well as mining the vast mine of lore already set down in toons and comics.
  23. M'Kyuun
    I got them for completion's sake, but I agree; both are notably weak designs in a line( I'm speaking of the entirety of WFC) that on the whole had a lot of good designs, and some very standout designs. Hopefully, they'll do a better Arcee and Ratchet/Ironhide down the road. For my tastes, the T30 is still the superior Arcee fig. I wish they'd shamelessly borrowed some ideas from Ocular Max's Azalea, as it would have helped ER Arcee immensely. As for the Vanette dudes, they need to start from scratch and make something better. I don't mind the Siege version, except for the terribly lazy feet; however, it didn't translate well, needing a huge partsforming roof and still retaining those awful obvious robot feet, which, had they just made a way for them to rotate 180, or at least the toes, as @mikeszekely mentioned before, with apropos details, they could have helped the shaping of the van mode. What a wasted opportunity to make something better. I'm aware of a couple 3P attempts to make better feet for the van dudes, but honestly, I've already spent more on these lackluster figs than I care to admit, and I just don't feel like wasting any more time, money, or effort on them. I'd rather wait to see if some 3P surprises us with one, which is highly unlikely, or wait for HasTak to take another crack at it, which will probably be a few years to a few decades away. It saddens me that 3Ps no longer dabble in the Generations scale beyond legends, as there are times when the official release is such a letdown that an alternative is a welcome beacon of hope.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Inherently, there's good and bad to the theatre experience, but I still enjoy it when there's a movie that promises some spectacle. Something like Godzilla: King of the Monsters is such a film. I didn't care a whit about the human drama, but some of those Mothra scenes were amazing on that big screen. Same with the Star Wars and Marvel films; whether or not the story grabs you, for the time you're there, it's a treat for the eyes. Sticky floors and rude people within proximity are usually my only gripes, and we usually have more of the latter than the former at my local theatre, which is relatively new, about 10 minutes from my house, and pretty well maintained. Before they built it, I had to go down town to watch a movie in a theatre, so with my theatre having been shut down nearly all year due to Covid, I fear its permanent closure. I hope not; I very seldom got to go to the movies as a kid, so as an adult, it's an enjoyable experience that my wife and I usually enjoy, and I hope we don't lose it.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Yep- toon styled gears, as awkward as he looked, would be fitting for ER. likewise Brawn. I don't foresee any combiner stuff in this line, either, but one can wish. Perhaps in SS down the line. That seems to be a good way for them to stretch out releases over a greater time line, as the SS line seems to be a separate line with its own considerations apart from the main lines. If true, then it affords them a more flexible usage of their budget. If they decided to do the Constructicons in voyager scale, then they could do it much more reasonably over a year or two's span as individual releases, with more attention to detail and articulation applied to each bot, which would be my preferred way for them to redo them. I don't want a repeat of the lackluster CW version. I'd rather they took their time, crafted some nice looking Constructicons with full articulation, and give us a nice looking G1 Devastator without too many concessions. Anyway, I think SS is going to turn out to be good thing down the road for G1 releases, as just about everybody from the OG series was in there at some point, and that opens an opportunity for more updated figs. I hope they use it a s such a platform. ER is a good line, but there are some stinkers in there, too ( Astrotrain, the van bros, and Arcee come to mind), and I wouldn't be opposed in the least if these and other not-so-well-done figures got a more quality redo in Studio Series. I'd forgotten about the upcoming Ark figure, and like you said, there are very likely repaints for the BW figs coming, and some of the ER figs as well (pretty sure we'll get a Pipes from Huffer's mold), so yeah, I'll sit tight and wait to see what else they reveal. Seeing how well done Grimlock is, I can't wait to see Slag, and I hope they do the other three, or at least Sludge and Swoop, who appeared in the Movie. Poor Snarl- missed his 15 seconds of fame for some reason.
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