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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Just received my copy of WFC commander class Sky Lynx, and despite historically not caring for the character or his design, I gotta gush about this toy. First thing was the heft and substantial-ness of this thing. There's no die cast to speak of, but it feels heavy , especially the Lynx half, and solid in hand. It's incredibly detailed all over- I don't think there's a blank surface on it anywhere. The number of points of articulation is incredible, and fortunately, thus far, they're tight enough to bear that weight. I was especially surprised by the legs on the Sky half, as his bird legs always look too skinny in pics; however, in hand, they're actually 1/3 the width of the shuttle, and have five points of articulation from hip to ankle, including two in-line swivels. The fore and aft toes can rotate, and when each is rotated 90 degrees relative to the foot, it looks like it's ready to grasp prey. I still wish the toes could splay, as I think it would help the look of the feet, but with so much range of motion possible from the legs, I give it a pass. The wings, too, are on multi-hinged linkages that offer any number of posing possibilities. I expected the neck to be pretty limited , but again, Hasbro surprised me with the range of motion, both up/down and left-right that really offers some very expressive posing. The head is on a ball joint which offers 90 degrees of up/down, 360 head swivel, and just a smidge of confused dog. The mouth can open (and the tongue has a flame thrower mounted to it), but the box art is deceiving, as it's open range is fairly limited. Still with all those sharp little teeth, he looks menacing. The Lynx also benefits from a pleasant amount of articulation, including limited range double-jointed knees which can give the impression of digitigrade posture for the back legs. I guess you could do it with the front legs, too, as they're basically identical, but it would look weird. The front shoulder blocks can also pivot out away from the body, so that's an extra bit that HasTak didn't have to do, but I'm glad they did. The aft body is hollow, and there's a door strategically placed to cover his backside. I guess if you put minicons in there, had Lynx in a squat and opened that door, he could literally poop out his passengers. As EmGo likes to say, it's a thing you can do if you wanna do it. I haven't put Sky Lynx in his base mode yet, but one negative I have about my copy is that the side panels to which Lynx's back legs attach, which are on hinges for base mode, do not tab very firmly and tend to pop open every time I try to manipulate the back legs. I wish they'd put some sort of a snapping or locking connection there. The friction tab just isn't up to the task. The connection between Sky and Lynx is solid, though. It takes a bit of a push to set the aft tab before snapping the front of the shuttle down, but once it's in and snapped, it holds together firmly. Given the heft of this toy, that's a good thing. The resulting dino or dragon mode is splendid. All that articulation lends itself to all sorts of posing possibilities, and the size of the figure gives him both presence and a sense of menace, especially with that spikey grin. This is definitely a gem within this line. Highly recommended.
  2. M'Kyuun
    I've read your comments more than once praising that particular comic as being quite excellent. Perhaps I'll see if I can find it online somewhere. I doubt it'll make me change my mind about the design aesthetic, though. The Station Wagon was a very functional and somewhat dependable vehicle, but it's still ugly as sin.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Never was too crazy about that particular incarnation of Prime, and yeah, not feeling this toy. I'd be remiss if I didn't complement the impressive range of articulation they achieved. I'm just not crazy about the design itself in either mode. However, if they ever did a version of either Animated Prime or Fall of Cybertron Prime, or IDW Prime, I might be interested, as I like MMC's stuff. And yeah, I'm aware that there are already 3P versions of IDW and FoC Prime available; I've passed on both, but I'd be interested to see what MMC would do with the designs.
  4. M'Kyuun
    The term 'uncanny valley" is generally applied to non-human yet humanoid entities, most commonly robots, but it could apply to intelligent apes as well. I'd never thought of it in that context, but I think it applies. I think there's also an argument for its application to CG renders of real people, especially deceased persons or older actors made to look like their young selves. Anyway, the effect is usually intensified the more realistic the entity in question appears to be human. The uncanny valley is that "off" feeling that's somewhat disturbing. Pedantry aside, I never got that from the Apes films, new or old. Whereas the original apes were obviously people in costume, I can, however, see getting a little creeped by very realistic apes acting and speaking in a human manner. Honestly, for all the negative feedback Affleck's Batman received, I don't hate his portrayal so much as disagree with some of his actions, like branding the bad guys. It seems an over-the-top action for the sake of it, and to make Batman seem more gruff, I guess. I get that Snyder's intent is to portray him as a guy who's been pushed a bit beyond his limits, but it seems more like sadism and desperation. The Batfleckmobile was a neat design, but I can't get behind all the guns or blowing up bad guys. It stands in contrast to his cardinal rule- no killing. I hope Reeves takes those things into account as he fashions his take on the character. Interestingly enough, however, Bob Kane's original Batman carried a gun. So there's historical precedent if Reeves wanted to go there. I kinda like the modern no guns interpretation, though. The whole appeal of Batman is that, in a world of super-powered heroes, he's super-powerless, but certainly not powerless. That he earns the respect of his superpowered peers, and oft acts as a leader for them, says something about the power of his resolve, resourcefulness, and intelligence. Bruce Wayne is a force to be reckoned with. Hopefully that comes through in Reeves' film.
  5. M'Kyuun
    The name of the company producing Red Falcon is TT Transformable, which is a bit misleading, as Takara-Tomy are also known widely by those initials. names aside, I like it from the front, but I'm not at all crazy about how the legs look in bird mode (they form obnoxiously large and rather inorganic looking boosters that contrast with the otherwise sublime look of the rest of the bird mode). Not to my taste, but if you like it, fantastic. Admittedly, I'm not really a fan of overtly sexualized...anything, really. Moreover, my feminine body preference tends more towards petite with a modest chest, so Nicee stands as a contrast (one of my hopes is that she'll come with swappable chest plates to meet different preferences). That said, what she appears to offer in engineering and style won me over to her enough to make a PO. I hope she turns out to be a good figure. I'll keep Nicee separate from the rest of my MP figs, as she doesn't really fit the aesthetic, but there was definitely some love and artistry put forth in her design, and as an alternate depiction of Arcee, I find her appealing. With no obscenity implied (you may infer all you want, though), I hope she has a smooth transformation mechanic and is just fun to mess with. I don't know much about Windblade as a character, but I like the design, especially the way Sarah Stone, and Sara Pitre-Durocher have drawn her in the comics. If BigFirebird matches the same aesthetic , especially in the face, as Nicee, I'm definitely interested to see how their interpretation turns out.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Some nice history there, thanks for sharing. I was thirteen when Transformers landed in '84, and after watching that first three-parter, I was solidly hooked. The maturity, the story, the portrayal of both bots and humans- everything about it was next level awesome to me. I continued through first season loving pretty much every ep. "Fire on the Mountain", IMHO, was the weakest ep, but still enjoyable for T-cracker's making fun of Starscream and for the rare appearance of Skyfire. I never developed the "too old for toys" phase, but b/c I was acutely aware that it was unseemly at the time, I kept my buying on the downlow. Come second season of Transformers, the writing took a definite turn away from what IMO made first season so enjoyable; the maturity in the first season's writing was lost, as well as the sense of urgency to stop Megatron. It devolved into silliness, and in great dismay, I stopped watching it with any regularity. I'd catch an ep here or there, but I was usually disappointed in the direction they'd taken. Characters like Powerglide and Warpath annoyed the ever living crap out of me- just couldn't watch it when they were on. Terrible! When the '86 Movie hit theaters, I was excited, but also apprehensive. I never got to see it in the theater, so I ended up seeing it on VHS at a friend's house. I thought it was so-so. The animation in some scenes (the breaking beakers of chemicals when Unicron attacks Krannix's planet still stands out in my mind as one of the most beautifully animated scenes) was well above par for that time. But the quick and cheap deaths of the Autobots, the death of Prime, Blurr, Daniel, the transition of Megs into Galvatron, the Quintessons, the Junkions, and other assorted items annoyed and dismayed me. So, while there are some things about the Movie that I like (the entire Prime and Megs showdown, Unicron's transformation), it didn't have the impact on me that it has had on so many other Transfans. First season set such an indelible tone in my head, and I wish to this day that they had continued on with it into the following seasons. Alas, not to be. I bought a toy here and there pre and post Movie, but after I graduated in '90, I was off to Okinawa for two years, which was pretty much a Transformers blackout, as our programming was very select on the military's Far East Network, or as we called it, the "Forced Entertainment Network", which heavily favored sports, a topic for which I have never had any use. I am nerd to the core. To their credit, though, Star Trek Next Generation was on there. One would think being in Japan would have been a grand opportunity, but I was a very narrowminded 19 year old with little interest in learning about my host culture, a fact that makes me want to travel back in time and administer the grand-daddy of ass-kickings to my younger self. I did buy my first Gundams over there, though. I remember seeing the train Transformers in a toy shop not far from base, but I didn't buy them. I wish I had, as they were in Japanese packaging, and they were never sold here in the States. Anyway, my interest in TFs didn't pique again until Beast Wars, although like many, I was iffy on the whole organic alt mode thing. The show was fantastic, though, and once they moved into Transmetals, I got more into collecting. RiD and the Unicron Trilogy didn't interest me much beyond a few toys- the shows were unwatchable. The advent of MP-1 in 2003, followed by Classics in 2007 set me on the road to becoming a much more dedicated collector, as the G1 influence of those figures struck a chord that remains at the core of why I'm a fan. As long as it never diminishes, I'll probably keep buying these little plastic puzzle-bots until I croak. I'm also from PA, so I used to buy a lot of my TFs at Ames (and Fisher's Big Wheel). In fact, I think I bought G1 Prowl, my first TF, there. Small world.
  7. M'Kyuun
    That transforming plane is pretty interesting. I'm already on board for BigFirebird's Nicee, but if they're venturing into doing their own stuff, and it looks like this, then good for them, and for us. They're also producing a set of five kawaii fembots that transform into different bikes, and then further combine into a gestalt called Magic Henshin Girls. Not sure if that's based on anything or their own invention, but it has its charm. You mentioned seeing the jetformer in Windblade colors, but nothing about that says Windblade, especially in light of Nicee's design. I'm thinking their Windblade will also have an obvious level of femininity that can't be ignored. Honestly, given how much time has passed, I'm surprised they haven't teased at least proto shots if indeed they are doing Windblade. They did release some artwork, which is much more in line with what I'd expect based on Nicee. For anyone visiting that FB page, scroll about halfway down to see some colored renders of V2 MP Seekers.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Yep. At the moment, I wasn't thinking about the G1 stuff falling under the title. i stand corrected, and yep, definitely down for Cyclonus, and likely most of the other G1 characters. My preference is far more for the bots transforming into something mechanical, but I did enjoy some of the solutions employed in the BW toys to make the transformations possible. Actually, IIRC, I didn't buy a whole lot of the organic creature toys, but I did buy some. The polar bear was the first one I ever bought, as well as the first release of Primal and Megs as a bat and an alligator, respectively. I bought them before the show even started airing, so imagine my disappointment when the polar bear dude wasn't in there. As for Primal and Megs, the ape and T-Rex modes were definite upgrades. TBH, I think the only original core BW figs I own are Primal and Megatron- oh, and Inferno "For the Royalty!"; I can't recall how many others I bought, but I remember most of them didn't really appeal to me. I had far more interest in the toys when Transmetals came along, and I know I bought a slew of those guys. I liked the aesthetic for Beast Machines, as well, and I bought a few of those too. I regret that I never picked up a copy of the more show accurate Thrust toy they made. As for what follows Kingdom and the WFC line, my preference is for them to do something completely new. If indeed they revisit RiD or the Unicron Trilogy, unless they pepper something G1 or Animated in there, I'm pretty much out. I didn't like the shows at all, but I remember, b/c I'm a TF fan, and that's what was on offer at the time, I bought a number of toys from that era. Anyway, I generally form a sentimental attachment to my toys, but I never did with any of the toys from that whole period. The designs didn't appeal to me, and I thought the toys I did buy were rather poor. However, I think I'm in the minority so far as my opinion and interest in RiD and Unicron Trilogy goes. If they do revisit those shows next, I'm happy for the fans who will finally get updated toys for their collections.
  9. M'Kyuun
    I thought Reeves' Apes movies were done extremely well. I was hoping for at least one more, but I guess he's moved on. From PotA to Batman is a big step; Apes has its fans, but that franchise is niche compared to the juggernaut that is Batman. I hope he does a good job with it. Like with the Nolan films, I think he's smart to try and give us something different than what's been done already with live action. On the bright side, it can't be worse than Snyder's take. As for the challenges of becoming Batman, I don't know about you guys, but purposely taking that first leap off of a tall building and putting full trust in my gear would take more courage than I think I possess. Leap accomplished, the next challenge would be swinging free and clear of any obstacles that might entangle you or just stop you in a most abrupt and bone-crunching fashion. As Squidd mentioned, there were the briefest glimpses of Bale's pre-Batman struggles. I think Reeves could add a normally unseen dimension of the character by exploring Batman's early learning curve. It might add some levity as well. Also, from a psychological POV, it would be fascinating to watch Bruce cultivate both of his personas with purposeful intent to create an unquestionable contrast between them.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Looks better to me than the MS, although I could live without the red detail on the thighs. I want to see heir cassettes and how they compare/contrast with the MS versions. If they can actually pull off decent cassette modes and bot modes, I may just have to get a set. Argh- I really don't want to get sucked into collecting legends. When they're done this well, though, it's hard not to be impressed. The NA Seeker is just a brilliant design- I kinda wish a 4th party would upscale it to voyager.
  11. M'Kyuun
    The T30 Rattrap was, and remains, the best version of the character to date. The Kingdoms doesn't look bad for what looks to be legends scaled (guess that's what "core" is now?), but given what a company like NewAge or Magic Square, for that matter, would do, it comes across as a bit lackluster. Pass for now. The only Kingdom figure I really have any serious interest in is Dinobot, as all previous main line Dinobot figures left a lot to be desired. If they make him at a voyager scale, I'm hoping he'll be a good looking figure in both modes, but much more fun to transform than the MP. The gap on that Wally reissue G1 Starscream is a bit extreme, especially when seen next to the original Diaclone toy. Sheesh.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Odd that, as it seemed like a good seller to me. But then again, the lack of any notable presence by Maketoys this year is concerning. I still have their take on Thrust PO'd, and that toy was serendipitously supposed to come with wing fillers for Skycrow, the only other Maketoys Seeker I own. I hope they're still in the game. If nothing else, they offer a far more affordable alternative, especially now that Takara have thrown in. It's fair to say that V2 will likely fall into the $250-300 range. That stings a bit. However, with an official one out, odds are more likely that the market will be flooded with used copies of Maketoys Seekers, so if V2 ends up sucking, I'll probably pick up a Meteor & Lightning to fill the ranks. As for filling out my Generations ranks, my Target Seeker 2-pack should be arriving on Saturday. It'll be the first time since I started this hobby in '84 that I'll have all three first season Seekers standing together on a shelf. I own all three of the Classics Seekers, but Skywarp came boxed with the Ultra Magnus recolor of Classics Prime, and I never opened them- they're still MISB somewhere amongst the many boxes of toys I've accumulated over the years. As it turns out, it was a Target exclusive, too.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Ah, it was only a matter of time. But yeah, particularly in that scene, he comes across as being this close to losing control. I guess it works for intimidation factor, but it's inefficient. If they play it right, that may just be the charm of this Batman movie relative to the others. Focus on the growing pains, if you will. I suppose the car makes sense for a guy who's still starting out, but it feels more FnF than Batmobile to me.
  14. M'Kyuun
    At this stage, with only a gray proto to go on, and no idea what the fighter mode looks like, I think it's a bit too early to drop the gavel. I have niggles, but I'm not going to discount it just yet. I still need Starscream and Thundercracker to complete my first season MP Seekers, so if this ends up turning out well, I may just be in for two. Honestly, I hope it does. Gonna be expensive, though.
  15. M'Kyuun
    What looks like a second wing on the back is actually the lower wing panel; the wing splits apart allowing the tail boom and stabs to sandwich within the main wing surfaces. I might've considered it elegant engineering if they'd kept the hinges internal and unseen. But, the hinge for opening the wing surfaces is huge and can clearly be seen. My concern is that it won't tuck away flush in fighter mode, either, leaving a huge hump just under and slightly behind the leading edge, which will be clearly visible from straight-on, spoiling (both figuratively and literally) the wing profile. I too think they should have just found a way to tuck them into the lower legs, as there's already a big panel there with what looks like some sort of swiveling mechanism built into it. The idea of employing a false chest doesn't enthrall me, either, although that seems to be the case. I like the solution Maketoys employed, where the actual canopy is supplemented in bot mode by just a little bit of faux canopy to finish the look. I don't see the need for a false cockpit, just better engineering to use what the alt mode provides already. The other design choice that favors my bent toward Maketoys is the fact that, despite a small buttflap, its overall back kibble is relatively minimal and more compressed, enabling a thinner side profile. From the profile pic of V2 doing his ab crunch, there's a bit on the back of his lower waist that looks to me like it needs to be untabbed from all the upper back kibble. I wonder how that's going to impact waist swivel? The legs are cleaner on V2 than Meteor, even with the big hinge, but honestly, the tail booms on Meteor's legs never really bothered me. The deep knee bend is nice; the enhanced articulation is definitely a good selling point for Takara's offerings; for the last few releases, however, other factors have dissuaded me from going in on the official toys, especially when I felt third party got it closer to what I wanted in a MP figure. I'll echo @mikeszekely's sentiments concerning the null rays; those things are chubby, stumpy, and just the wrong shape altogether to my eyes. They should be thinner and longer, extending beyond the hands. The only good point I see about them is that they appear to hinge into place for fighter mode (why else would that linkage be there?). Hopefully, they'll get a lot of fan feedback and change them before final production. So far, I'm not seeing a lot to sway me away from the Maketoys version; both nail the essentials of the toon look pretty well. I definitely don't like the look of the giant hinge connecting the lower wing surface on the Takara V2, but how it looks in fighter will be a big deciding factor. I think we've all come to expect by now that with jet-formers, the alt mode is always the sacrificial lamb, and I fear that may be the case with this toy. It remains to be seen. Hopefully fighter pics will come soon.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Definitely promoting the song, but more than that, it felt rather long and disjointed, so you get no real sense of what it's really all about- what's the end goal? To prevent a dystopian future? The time stuff is cool, and it seems like they're using it to a different effect than we usually see in sci-fi, although to my eyes, it looks more like telekinesis. Still, I like sci-fi, and this looks interesting. From all the stuff going on in the trailer, it seems to me it'd be better realized as a series.
  17. M'Kyuun
    This I remember. I don't recall the land mode, but that just makes it better. Totally down for a toy. Might have to cobble one together with LEGO. Kinda reminds me of the Bubbleship from Oblivion, except, this preceded it by over a decade. Perhaps Daniel Simon is a closet Macross 7 fan.
  18. M'Kyuun
    I just saw these listings over on Twitter and figured I'd check in. Along with Sandstorm, who I've never heard of, there's also a G2 Megatron. Never cared for the G2 colorations, so pass. Too, I didn't even bother getting the ER version of Megs; too similar to the Siege toy, and I vehemently dislike his obnoxiously huge cannon sword. IMHO, the Siege version is better. Huffer! At long last, they're making Huffer! I'm very cautiously happy. I'm guessing Wheeljack is a reissue. Tracks is ok, but really, there are so many other characters from first season that still need figs in this line. Huffer's a good sign that more minibots are coming, though. Fingers crossed. Never heard of Slammer or Wingfinger (terrible name). I agree about T30 Waspinator- it's already a really good fig, so I'm not sure how they'll improve on it. Airrazor's a nice addition; she hasn't had many toys over the years. I wonder if Silverbolt's going to make an appearance, too. His romancing of Blackarachnia was one of the more enjoyable elements of season 2. I wasn't crazy about the Fuzor designs, but Scott McNeil made Silverbolt an unforgettable character. Anyway, I hope these leaks keep coming, and they keep bringing more good news of additional G1 characters to the line. Hopefully, we'll at least have all the first season characters when they're done.
  19. M'Kyuun
    It's also available on the LEGO website. Forty bucks seems a little steep for that, but then again, this is LEGO. I have the Betrayal at Cloud City set (75222), which incorporates that scene, so easy pass for me. This has been one of the sparsest LEGO buying years I can remember in a very long time. Out of all their themes, very little has really been that appealing to me this year. I was very much disheartened to learn of their canceling the Osprey set. Moving into September, with the release of the fall sets, there are a number of them that I'm looking forward to getting, but on the whole, it's been a slow year for LEGO acquisition. More money for other stuff, I guess. I started collecting Beast and MegaBox figs from 52Toys this year, so I guess it's a tradeoff. Universe help me if next year is packed with goodness across all my collections. This stuff tends to get expensive really quickly.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Every time I see something like this, or watch yet another vid of one of Boston Dynamics' amazing robots, I can't help but think we're inexorably heading towards Cameron's Skynet scenario.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Ever since seeing Macross Zero, I've wanted a fully transformable Octos. I still want a 1/60 Variable Glaug. I made my own with LEGO, but it's not quite the same. I also want an Fz-109a Elgerzorene, or an Az-130a Panzerzorene. The enemy mecha from M7 got no toy love, which is a shame. I also want a VF-14 Vampire, b/c who doesn't want a valk based on the A-12/SR-71? What's the transforming police mech from? It's silly in a good way.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Thanks for the shout about the Target Seekers. As I do most evenings, I checked the link last night and lo and behold, they were in stock. Needless to say, I got my PO in ASAP. I checked Wally for Soundwave after that, but he's still MIA. Hopefully that'll get restocked soon, and then I think I'll be good for the exclusives I want, at least for now, or until the next core character they make exclusive. It'll probably be Huffer. At voyager scale, I think you're going to get your wish for Cyclonus; he should stand at least as tall as Prime and Megs. I'd like to see a pic of his jet mode. Unpainted, the proto still looks pretty good, so I think I'll be rather pleased with his bot mode. Looking at his elbows, looks like only 90 degrees of bend- kind of a bummer. I wish greater than 90 degree elbow and knee bend were part of the articulation improvement philosophy for this line. Then again, it took 35 years to make ankle rockers a standard. Sheesh. Not sure I have another 35 years in me to wait. At that point, I'll be more concerned about my own articulation, or lack thereof. I think it'd take a concentrated effort to make a worse Cyclonus than CW; I didn't like that mold for Silverbolt, but it at least fit the blocky G1 aesthetic for the character. It was in every way wrong for Cyclonus. I passed on both, no regerts. I'm surprised Galvatron isn't part of the '86 SS line. Or did I miss something?
  23. M'Kyuun
    Not a bad lineup, although I wish there was more G1 in there. Still, I have my Generations Rhinox, Waspinator, and Rattrap on display with my MP BW figs. I thought all three were well done. I'm curious to see how the Kingdom figs look, as the BW stuff in the main line has always been hit and miss for me. I passed on Generations Cheetor, as it looked really wonky to me. Likewise Dinobot. The only decent representation of Dinobot thus far is the MP (IMHO), and he's pretty chunky due to basically turning inside out, and sports a cheat for his chest. I notice he's not listed, but I'm sure he'll be in the next wave. Hopefully he'll be leader scaled, as he was taller than Primal in bot mode, and since they seem to be more cognizant of bot scale in this line, it would make sense. With having MP versions of Primal, Megs, and Blackarachnia already, and my enthusiasm for BW toys waning, at least in the MP arena, my excitement quotient is rather low. Guess I'll wait and see how they look/handle, as I don't find the MP versions very much fun to transform. If these are fun to mess with and look good, then I'll likely get them. Out of all these, I'm most excited for Cyclonus. CW Cyclonus was unmitigated shite. I like Universe Cyclonus, but the prospect of getting a far more G1 representation is exciting. The last deluxe Warpath was a really good figure; I'm curious to see how they'll make it better. Hopefully there's a deluxe Powerglide coming too. It'd be great to get a deluxe Huffer that can tow Prime's mini-trailer (it'd actually scale better to Huffer, methinks). We haven't had a decent official G1 Huffer since the original toy, and it'd be sweet to get him in this line. I've got the Magic Square version standing in, but I'd love to have a properly scaled ER version.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Truly. But it was repeated maneuvers like this that spelled her doom, constantly exceeding the load limits on the airframe. She lost her left stab during a high-G maneuver and crashed. Fortunately, the pilot was able to eject safely. The SU-57 is a pretty bird. The thrust vectoring setup is ingenious; the vectoring occurs in a single plane, but the augmenters are canted at angles, which allows for vectoring in all three axes, depending on how they're independently deflected. The engines are also linked to the flight control systems, which through thrust control and vectoring, assist in maneuvering the aircraft. The F-22 only vectors in the pitch axis, and as Chronocidal mentioned, the F-35 doesn't have thrust vectoring, except for the F-35B version(Navy/Marines), and that's only for hover and landing configurations. So, it would seem, our Russian friends have a leg up, so to speak. Thrust vectoring is great for airshows, but in practical terms, I believe the US goal in air superiority currently is look first, shoot first, minimal close engagement. We don't want to get close if we don't have to, as it puts the aircraft and pilot at risk. It's why stealth is a salient feature of all modern US fighters and drones- we wanna see the enemy without being seen ourselves, as much as possible. The F-117 opened a lot of eyes to the benefit of low observability, and that philosophy has carried forward since the Nighthawk proved itself over Iraq. To my way of thinking, it's preferable to the gung-ho dogfighting mentality of the 40s-80s. Planes are expensive, the technology prized, and, while pilots may be replaceable, humans are not. It's in our best interest not to lose any of these assets in combat. That's not to say we shouldn't be prepared for close encounters (of the jet jockey kind, not ET), as one never knows how a situation might evolve. Too, our guys, and theirs, often escort the other when we edge a little too close to borders; if such encounters took an aggressive turn, our pilots need to be ready to engage. It's a fact of life. I just hope it never comes to that, or what lies beyond that first step.
  25. M'Kyuun
    I waited decades, even passing on the Yamato Garlands, to finally get a Proto-Garland, my favorite variant. Arcadia did a good job, even though they fudged the cockpit/half figure. The only other criticism I have is that the hips barely have any lateral swing to them, and on a modern figure, that's a bit of a letdown. It can do an "A" stance, but it's pretty limited. Otherwise, it's a gorgeous figure.
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