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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I'm catching it on Sat the 18th with the wife. I seldom go to downtown Spokane (parking is expensive), but as it happens, the mall with the theater playing Transformers just got a LEGO Store last year, so that and eating somewhere where we don't usually frequent are additional draws. Kinda wish they'd come up with some new animation for this instead of just playing a few eps of the old toon (as much as I love it), but I guess we have Transformers One to look forward to in the fall. I hope it's good.
  2. M'Kyuun
    I doubt they were referencing other toys, as Lucasfilm would provide them with reference materials, not to mention they look grey in the films, and LEGO was still fairly isolationist in its approach to media. The OG Kenner TIE was white, and that would have made more sense to me than the blue and black which never matched the Kenner toys or how the actual filming models looked onscreen. Again, I just chock it up to LEGO's weird choices. However, I remember that Action Fleet TIE; I like that color as a way to distinguish it, besides the forked wings, from standard TIE fighters. Almost wish they'd made the current TIE Interceptor set (75348) a similar shade of blue, but they went with standard light bley.
  3. M'Kyuun
    CW from top left: New Age's Freyr (Swoop), Rhedosaurus (Sludge), Herbie (Bumblebee), and Vanishing Point (Cliffjumper).
  4. M'Kyuun
    Alas, all good things... Such a good show. Looking forward to how they wrap it up.
  5. M'Kyuun
    For its day, it was an impressive model. There were virtually no curved or rounded bits back then and most of the System scaled TIEs were essentially cubes with panels. That they were able to coax a somewhat ballish cockpit section for that model really elevated it above the smaller sets. The blue and black color scheme always made me scratch my head, but it may have come down to the cost of the colored plastics. This was back when LEGO was struggling financially, and I've heard over the years that black was the cheapest color for them to produce, so maybe that was a factor. But then again, they did the Millennium Falcon and AT-AT sets in grey, so who knows? It was just one of those weird LEGO decisions from the past. Fortunately, they're much more concerned with accuracy these days and they've got the financial wherewithal to do pretty much what they want.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Wotafa's reviews always evoke a smile or a laugh. I don't speak Nihongo, but his enthusiasm and presentation carry the message clearly. This is a guy who really likes toys and has the personality and skill to show them off in a light and enjoyable manner regardless of language. Gotta say, Takara did a good job with OG Wheeljack. Sure, his bot mode is a little compromised to fit all those panels, but in this case, I'd prefer all the panel-fu over his just being a big shellformer where the entirety of the vehicle mode maybe split into two parts and folded into one another. This guy's engineering took ingenuity and manipulating all those leg bits to form his boxy Cybertronian hover-van mode is satisfying. Love, too, how, like the toon, his arms form the front of the vehicle. They didn't need to add his shield, or his little propellers, but they did to complete the scene, and I appreciate that. The proverbial frosting, though, is being able to fit OG Bee, after folding the outer bits of his hull, fully into Wheeljack's vehicle mode. Again, they could have just phoned this fig in, but they went the extra mile to bring him as close to the animation as possible at this size class and I think they did an admirable job. What he lacks in accuracy in bot mode he makes up in sheer fun factor, play experience, and nostalgia. I think most G1 fans will be happy to have him. I surely am.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, I've seen MOCs that do the ball section better, but I think they're trying not to copy anybody else and put their own stamp on the design, not to mention make the build experience more interesting. However, as it's a display model, I'd prefer they just went with what looks best. I have the OG set still in all of its blue and black glory (still wonder what they were thinking going with that color scheme for TIEs for years when light and dark grey existed), and my need to collect everything LEGO Star Wars cooled off years ago. I wish there was a LEGO lending library where you could check out a set just to build it for the experience and then return it. But maintaining the integrity of the sets would be extraordinarily difficult even if you kept the sets in-house. Sure, I could buy the set, build it, and then sell it, but what a hassle. I'm better at buying stuff than selling it, which is why I own so much crap. 😄
  8. M'Kyuun
    I've played most of the Fallout games since Fallout 3, and it captures the look and feel of those game very well. Kudos to the location scouts for finding so many real-world derelict and dilapidated places to film. In Fallout, the environment is as important to the game as any other element, and they did an exceptional job of capturing those areas and set pieces in the show to resemble game environments. Ella Purnell does a great job as a cheeky adorable Vault dweller who leaves the safety and naivete of her vault on a quest. Aaron Moten, in turn, gives an enjoyable performance as a member of the Brotherhood of Steel with his own issues. Not to be outdone, Walton Goggins chews the scenery in both his pre-bomb life as a popular actor, and post bomb life as a ghoul bounty hunter. Moreover, just like in the games, the Vaults hold secrets and surprises. My wife and I watched the first six eps today, and we're planning on finishing it off tomorrow. My wife has never played the games, so I give her a little bit of backstory as we go along, but she's into the show regardless due to the strengths of the storytelling, the incredible visuals, and well-acted roles across the board. Def hope this gets another season or two. It's fun to visit the Fallout universe in this format.
  9. M'Kyuun
    I wish I could be so enthusiastic, but I have no expectations for this at all. Nevertheless, I'm curious to see the trailer if only to get a feel for it. I hope it's good.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Classics are classics for a reason; there are qualities to those films that have had an effect on people that have made them extremely popular for various reasons and that are difficult to recapture in an update or a reboot. The simple answer to reboot madness is to do original stuff and leave the classics alone. Sequels are another category where sometimes less is more. I wasn't aware of a Jacob's Ladder reboot. That's a film that I never would have even pegged for reboot material. The original gave a pretty haunting look into the life of a post-Vietnam veteran's dealing with delusions from what we today would call PTSD and likely exposure to all the chemicals we dumped both for defoliation and psyche-ops. Tim Robbins gave a great performance. No need for a reboot.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Interesting. I'm guessing they're going with a tank mode, as a pistol at that scale would be ludicrous except in the hands of someone with gigantism. (Sadly, Andre's no longer with us). Moreover, there's the old chestnut with gun restrictions. I'm still curious to see what they pull off. Robosen have proven themselves extremely adept at doing what seemed impossible- making Transformers toys that can move autonomously and transform on their own. As I get older, more and more I get to see what was once sci-fi become reality. Fantastic!
  12. M'Kyuun
    I'm with David; I think Takara took inspiration from large American military helicopters while not actually copying any of them directly. I looked to see if the Japanese had any large choppers in the JDF from which they may have drawn inspiration but turned up only American helicopters like the CH/MH-53. I read the Wiki which claimed CH-53, but the SH-3 Sea King is another good example for inspiration. Comparing Sandstorm's G1 and Legacy chopper modes to both the CH-53 and H-3, notable bits, like engines, are missing from Sandstorm; the shape of the pontoons is incorrect for both SH-3 and CH-53; the large horizontal stabilizer is missing; the vertical stabilizer is too small and incorrectly shaped to match either RW chopper; the SH-3 has 5-bladed main and tail rotors while the CH/MH-53 has a 6-bladed main rotor and a 4-bladed tail rotor; the shape of Sandstorm's empennage and tail differs from either RW chopper; the number, size, and placement of the windows differ from either RW heli. In short, Sandstorm is a caricature inspired by large American helicopters. The latter is an assumption, as I haven't done a deep search to look at all of the world's large helicopters circa 1984 to see if there are better candidates. However, as the Japanese have exposure to America's military by virtue of our bases on both Honshu and Okinawa, as well as our military partnership with Japan, their direct exposure to our aircraft is likely to be the main inspiration.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Y'know, I love helicopters and as well as she was realized she should appeal to me but somehow she doesn't. I picked up Magneus, and although I'm not the biggest fan of their Rock-Lords-esque exteriors, I dig him. I love his color scheme, monochrome though it may be, and the overall design of both of his modes. Shard's chopper mode is well-executed (as I mentioned above, Has/Tak have no problem cranking out a decent looking chopper, but ask them to do a fighter and, in the majority of cases, prepare for disappointment). Even her bot mode is decent, although that tail should have either folded up or found some utility as a weapon. I think the two-tone green color scheme is the greatest detractor. i get what they were going for, but a robot cum chopper laden in Kryptonite isn't the best look, IMHO. I didn't order her, but if I happen upon her in the wild, I may pick her up, especially if I haven't bought anything in awhile when I see her.
  14. M'Kyuun
    I never cared for the Fuzors, but due to the writing and awesome super-cheesy but noble characterization Scott MacNeil delivered, I became a fan of this guy. That said, I never bought the OG toy, so when this fig was revealed, I was onboard. In hand, he doesn't disappoint, and I have a companion for the oft reluctant but ultimately charmed Blackarachnia. Along with Silverbolt, Legacy United Sandstorm occupied most of the room in the Hasbro Pulse box. I'll leave the in-depth review to Mike, who does a far more admirable job of it. he comes in bot mode, as most do, and well, he's definitely G1 Sandstorm. Right up front, I dig him. The old Thrilling 30 fig was an interesting retool of T30 Springer, arguably one of the best triple changers Hasbro has ever delivered. However, T30 Springer's translation to Sandstorm gave us a cool VTOL mode, but a rather questionable buggy mode due to the extreme size difference between front and rear tires. and he didn't quite scratch the itch for a G1 accurate toy. This achieves that, IMHO. Unfortunately, there's really no storage for the cage in bot mode. However, the main rotor hub can be extended up for chopper mode or pushed down into his back for bot and buggy modes. If you extend the rotors, you can slide the cage under the rotors and carry it like a backpack with little to no effect upon the rotors. With every triple changer, there's usually one alt that takes the brunt of the compromises, and in Sandy's case, it's the buggy. However as compromises go, it still presents pretty well, at least from the front and sides. Move to the back, however, and the heli tail , poorly disguised as a ludicrously small spoiler, as well as the heli nose halves, are rather apparent, although the nose halves are sculpted well and rotated to blend with the fenders. As compromises go, it's not so egregious as Astrotrain's unfinished shuttle mode nor Blitzwing's half a folded tank hanging off the bottom of his jet mode. If those cockpit windows could somehow be turned red, they would have made good tail lights making for a more believable back end to the buggy. Chopper mode works a little better IMO. Sandstorm is another t-changer whose alts are severely off-scale to their RW counterparts. Likely inspired by Sikorsky's CH-53, a beast of a machine which I've seen up close, but sadly never got to fly in, the alt modes for both the G1 and Legacy toys capture a decent likeness. It's a passable representation that at the very least, puts to shame the vast majority of jetformers Has/tak have cranked out over the nigh 40 years of the franchise. Takara, for whatever reason, can make a pretty decent helicopter alt, as they've proven many times, and I wonder why they can't do the same for fighters. As both an aviation fan and a Macross fan, it's frustrating. My only niggle with the heli mode is that I wish they'd incorporated a set of retractable main gears into the arms for accuracy's sake. Unfortunately, due to how he's designed and due to his triple changing nature, there's really naught to be done about the huge back buggy wheels serving as his nose gear. As Mike pointed out, too, having the rest of his windows painted black would have been nice. Overall, though, nice copter mode. Anyway, in the accessories department, Sandstorm benefits more than most, as he comes with a rifle, a pistol, a working winch, and a cage, which gives the helicopter mode something to do in terms of utility and said cage doubles as a protective cage over the buggy's engine. It's fantastic realization and implementation. I'm down for accessories like this, even if there's little to no storage or use in bot mode. Overall, pretty neat figure, def one of the better triple changers, and overall a win for fans for how well it skews in all three modes to the G1 toy. It's a good update, and I hope Blitzwing and Astrotrain, via SS86, get theirs too. We already know Springer's coming, and IMHO, the Seige toy was nigh perfect, so it remains to be seen how and if they can improve on an already good fig.
  15. M'Kyuun
    Great review, Mike. I agree on all points, but I still think he turned out better than expected, compromises notwithstanding. Woulda been nice had they found a way to hide that bot chest within the truck, but I appreciate the "Changing Gears" gimmick. It's a nice nod to the toon and shows that Hasbro and Takara are paying attention to what third parties have been doing for a long time now. Def agree with that last sentence, as that's what I've been wanting since the early 90s when articulation standards started to improve, and especially when Classics was introduced. Been a long wait, but has/Tak is finally giving me, for the most part, what I want in the mainline concerning updated G1 figures. Oh yeah, and you can add new improved more accurate F-15 alt-moded Seekers to the list, as well as better versions of Blitzwing and Astrotrain with much better alt modes than the last pair. Glad I'm not into the Japanese Transformers; that Ginrai looks all kinds of terrible to me.
  16. M'Kyuun
    So, I initially missed the PO window for this guy on Pulse and secured a PO through Target instead. Then this Sunday morning past, I just happened to click on Pulse and Wheeljack was once again available so I POed him there as well with the intention of canxing my Target PO. Unfortunately, I hadn't logged in when I made my order and had no receipt in my email, so I just figured I'd get two copies and perhaps sell one of them off. So yesterday my Target Wheeljack showed up. After messing about with him, I discovered to my chagrin that the left elbow had been improperly drilled and pinned which causes the elbow to rub against the forearm and limits the elbow bend to under 90 degrees. It's also harder to move the elbow in general. I decided to try and remove the pin and see if I could potentially redrill the joint, but I could only get the pin to pull out about an eighth of an inch before it was just kinda stuck. I didn't want to damage the arm irreparably, so I just tapped the pin back into place. In all other respects, the figure is fine and I enjoyed transforming him into his Cybertronian mobile cube mode. 😄 Perhaps that's the Cybertronian version of the minivan; in hindsight, given that that's the alt they gave him on Cybertron, it seems like a van or truck mode would have been more suitable for ole Jacky. For an inventor who likely often scrounges for junk and materials to build his gadgets, it seems most fitting, certainly more so than a racing car. Alas, history. Anyway, in light of the unfortunate elbow, I'm glad I have a second copy on the way and I vehemently hope it'll be assembled correctly. In regards to the figure itself, as a fan from the very beginning, this is one of those unexpected figures that I didn't know I wanted until they did Bee in his og Cybertronian form. At that point, Wheeljack was an absolute must. Although the bot mode is compromised a bit by a lot of kibble to achieve that blocky alt mode, the arms forming the front just like the animation, the little ramp in back, the propellers out front, the shield, and best of all, the ability to fit Origins Bee inside like the animation all conspire to make this figure a triumph. In hindsight, it's a shame that the cartoon bot modes weren't tailored to reflect their Cybertronian modes, but in the 80s, toons were 22-minute commercials and the focus was on reflecting the toys. Too, most toy lines only enjoyed popularity for a year or two, maybe three tops. Had they the foresight to see that Transformers was still a flagship property 40 years on propelled primarily by its now global adult fanbase, perhaps more consideration would have been given to how these characters were depicted. Different time, different way of thinking. Happy to report I managed to get a PO for SS86 Swoop. Although I have my reservations about the overall design ( undersized and improperly shaped wings, non-compressing arms that don't partially retract into the body, chubby beak, barely-there toes, no tail, back thrusters sit too close together- all in reference to the OG toy), I think he looks great in bot mode and also alongside his fellow Dinobots. I'm sure there'll be a handful of third-party upgrades to make him look more like his G1 toy self, but stuff like the arms likely won't be addressed. A longer curvy set of wings will go a long way to making him look Swoopier, though, so I welcome that. Compared to the other four, it feels to me like there was far less investment in his design, as the majority of the others were almost over-complex and changed for the sake of change (looking at you Sludge). Swoop, by contrast, is less complex than his G1 toy, and that just shouldn't be the case in a leader class toy priced at nigh $60.
  17. M'Kyuun
    Oh!!!! I didn't see it in action, just the pics. Watched the vid. Yeah, a herky-jerky mechanism controlling a surface that large with a sizeable and potentially fragile load, no less, should definitely be smooth-acting. Until a certain point, it seems as if there's a spring-loaded mechanism helping to propel the bed up. At the lower end, it seems like the spring is held in check whilst the motor moves it to a certain point at which point something releases and the spring, or potentially compressed air in those cylinders, gives it that rapid upward jerk. I think it'd be better served using gear-driven linear actuators. It would be a slower ascent, but at least it'd be a smoother action. Catapult action FTW! 😁
  18. M'Kyuun
    Actually, they make a toy version with chromed wings and a clear (not smoked unfortunately) beak. NEWAGE H57EX FREYR TOY VERSION,New arrival (tf-direct.com) I would have preferred the toy version if it had the blue chest, however despite making a few other color variants, sadly they don't make that. Anyway, I was posting the pic just to show the differences between Hasbro's version and one that skews closer to the G1 toy in its sculpt and transformation. In other words, what the Hasbro leader class toy should have been. Sadly, Hasbro doesn't do chrome anymore, probably due to its tendency to chip and flake over time. I miss it.
  19. M'Kyuun
    No intention of buying, but just to insert my $.02, that truck is amazing, and while I also generally eschew electronics in my toys, the implementation is simply stunning, especially the tilting bed. It's amazingly realistic and adds that extra bit of cool to an already cool vehicle. Now if the Ingram was also RC and you could walk it off the truck, that would really be something! I imagine that's where toy tech is headed in the next 50 years. We already have walking, talking, self-transforming Transformers courtesy of Robosen. Love the Griffon's design. Threezero's is gorgeous, but with LEGO and Transformers central to my collecting and display space extremely minimal, I'll continue to be content with my little Kaiyodo.
  20. M'Kyuun
    QFT. The SS86 Dinobots have been, on the whole, really well done with some surprising engineering and departures from the traditional transformation schemas. When it comes to the Dinobots, I'm more in the, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" category, as other than adding additional articulation in both modes, I really don't need them to reinvent the wheel. However, reinvent they did, especially with Sludge. The result is an elongated body and a longer tail section, which is more accurate to the real animal than the OG toy. I wish they'd stuck more to the OG toy, which was my only Dinobot fig as a kid. I have nostalgia driving my bias there. But, as I said, the first four Dinos have been pretty good, enough to pique my interest and anticipation for Swoop. That this is how they realized him compared to the previous releases is disappointing. As you said, I'll have as much, if not more than the toy itself costs, invested in upgrades to try and hopefully bring him closer to how the OG toy's Pteranodon mode looked. Unfortunately, there probably won't be much of a fix for his arms so far as their partially retracting into the body to give him a slimmer profile. But if he has longer properly shaped wings, that'll go a long way towards making him look better.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Got me- I was scouring HP for it, but it wasn't there. However, I have a copy in storage, and at this point, I'd be inclined to wait for a potential Missing Link version if they could work out the details with Bandai. Of course, Harmony Gold would do their utmost to forbid sales in the US, but most of us are no strangers to Asian online stores. He looks ok, like most jetformers, from the top-down, which seems to be their favored viewpoint on most aviation alts. However, he's very boxy in Pteranodon mode if stood upon his barely-there toes. Those wings are far too small and the wrong shape. Newage did it better and exemplifies what I was expecting from the SS86 toy. Newage even spread the bot legs in Ptero mode to widen the space between his jetpacks and allow the tail to be seen. I don't think SS86 has a tail at all, but the G1 toy did. Unfortunately, this figure skews close to the terrible animation model allowing for the least complex engineering of any of the SS86 Dinobots. It's a disappointing disservice to the line and a rather meh ending to collecting the team. Hasbro above, Newage below. Which one looks right to you?
  22. M'Kyuun
    A little disappointing. The arms don't compress to foreshorten, nor do they compress into the body to give him a thinner more streamlined body profile like the OG toy. The beak is a little too fat, there doesn't appear to be a tail, and the Pteranodon feet are barely there. Finally, the wings are quite short and have the wrong shape. This is supposed to be an update, but the all-important dino mode got the shaft (hmmm, similarly to most jet alt modes- Has/Tak just seem to have a thing against good flying alts). It boggles the mind how Takara produced a much better looking and accurate Pteranodon 40 years ago and then by way of 'update', produces this utter brick with inaccurate wings. The bot mode looks good, though. I'll still get him to finish the team but given how well the previous SS86 Dinobots have been done overall, this is a letdown. Hopefully, third parties can at least address the wings.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Iron Eagle and Enemy Mine are the two stand-out films for me. I've never seen Officer and a Gentleman. Many a year has passed since I last saw either of the former films, but I remember Louis Gossett Jr. disappeared into the role of Drac in Enemy Mine (the heavy makeup probably helped). Perused his IMDB- he has been acting non-stop professionally since 1957 and has a prolific list of credits including voicing the Vortigaunt in Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One and Lucius Fox in three eps of The Batman cartoon. You definitely left your mark Mr. Gossett. RIP
  24. M'Kyuun
    I'm a helo fan in general, so a Blue Thunder Transformer would be awesome; however, it simply doesn't enjoy Airwolf's popularity even though the former was in a theatrical film and a tv show (which simply lacked the depth of Airwolf). As helo designs go, the heavily modified Gazelle still stands as one of the coolest, most unique helicopter designs ever, even if it was only used in a film.
  25. M'Kyuun
    The only way I could see a General Lee being made is if they either remove the Confederate flag entirely or create a facsimile thereof due to its dark history. And both of those options would likely not sit well with die-hard fans, so, yeah, it's a safer bet to avoid it on Hasbro's part. K.I.T.T. OTOH is a total win. The only thing I fear is that they're going to try and make the bot look like the Hoff, 80s hair and all, and TBH, even as a kid, I wasn't too plussed about Michael Knight. The car, however, was awesome. I'd love an Airwolf crossover, and in keeping with her "Lady" moniker, make her a fembot.
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