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technoblue

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  1. technoblue
    I received my Hasbro Pulse Premium expiration notice after finishing work today, and decided to renew. This last year was a good run on the service for me, and I can't knock my primary benefit which is the free shipping. Given how shipping costs keep inching up elsewhere (understandable, of course), I'm keen on keeping that active.
  2. technoblue
    I skipped every mainline combiner set except for the POTP Predacons, which have been formed together here at home as Predaking from day one. Those combiner ports are massive and chunky indeed. Luckily, the look fits given how much the new Predacon set is a homage to the original G1 set. It will be really interesting to see what HasTak comes up with for this new batch of combiners, but I'm still going to be picky about them. I wholeheartedly agree about Devastator. I would love to see him get a WFC update with new tooling. I don't know how realistic that is, given how an Ultra Magnus with an updated ER Prime inside was rumored to be too pricey for Kingdom. However, if such a thing is in the cards, it would be fantastic. The UW/CW set just didn't do the gestalt or any of the individual figures justice (IMO). I agree. I think the chances are quite high that we'll get the scooter, but the group over on tfw are debating it. As a bonus, I also hope that we get a Charlene fig, but that may be more of a pie-in-the-sky thing since she had more of a presence in the comics.
  3. technoblue
    Dude. Just stop. Educate yourself: https://jacl.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Brochure-Words-Can-Kill-the-Spirit.pdf
  4. technoblue
    Power to the dream. * sigh * Here's hoping the art book is worth the wait.
  5. technoblue
    I love how this series dangles its carrots and keeps things moving. Added to which, this episode has some choice moments. Subtle points were brought to light, and nothing about what was revealed felt out of place or preachy (to me). It has me going back and rewatching earlier episodes too. Well done.
  6. technoblue
    Ha! I understand that too well. Shopping more carefully is probably for the best when picking up boutique items like these PF Valkyries. To share a related story, I started using another proxy shipper to deliver stuff from the UK once amazon.co.uk put restrictions on their overseas orders. Like FromJapan, this proxy also relies on DHL for fast shipping. The prices have been steadily increasing too. I have to wonder where things will end up once Japan Post, Royal Mail, and USPS pick up the international backlog again.
  7. technoblue
    It was a difference of $80 for me between the two, but FromJapan did give me a choice. I opted for the oversized shipping box and oversized shipping price. Oh well. The box itself could have fit two of Arcadia’s shipped VF-4s comfortably and three might have squeezed in if FJ used no extra padding/protection aside from the original shipping boxes. I can see how it might be a better buy if you’re shipping more than one proxy item. Just one, though...ouch... The PF YF-19 is already priced high to begin with. That kind of proxy shipping added on, with all the other versions in my collection, makes it hard to commit.
  8. technoblue
    I like this MPM Optimus for his bot mode. I also like that the alt mode doesn’t have his legs crawling up the back of his cab. That was a feature of TP Optimus and not really Bumblee Movie Optimus, which shares cues with G1 Prime. The length of the legs isn’t a big deal for me, but it would be a cool gimmick if this MPM Prime can pull MP-10 or MP-44’s trailer. What I’m not sure of is those alt mode cat ears. If it’s a mistransformation, it’s meme-level hilarious. I might pick it up for that reason alone, especially if I can fold the ears back down after it gets old. Seriously, this is the first MPM release that’s actually tempting me. I usually skip them and stick to the regular MPs. And on that note, Skids looks good. I don’t mind revisiting the original Datsun styling with this release. I am going to hold my final judgement until I see the painted prototype, though. I was disappointed by XTB’s release. Takara looks to have more sculpted detail in their Skids face plate, and that’s a plus in my book.
  9. technoblue
    That's a good point, but a high price to pay for those intake warnings. I may end up going for it.
  10. technoblue
    +1 On the Creator Expert sets. The vehicles are just good fun all around. I've been doing my best to keep up with most of them. I find myself pickier about the UCS sets these days. Some of them demand too much space, and the UCS city/base sets are not really my thing. I'm more into the Star Wars system sized sets. Of course, I would need to hide my wallet if LEGO brought back a traditional space theme. HaHa! Speaking of which, it's been hard waiting on the 911 but there's only a few more days to go. I'm going to try and get it along with the new Amelia Earhart gift set.
  11. technoblue
    I'm waffling on the PF version too. I have their original full set pack release, Bandai's VF-19 and their YF-19 too. I think Arcadia is going to have to do something along the lines of the 0D to get me to budge this time.
  12. technoblue
    You could say all that was a hidden opportunity... I’ll see myself out.
  13. technoblue
    Eh, I agree to disagree on that opinion. Given the rover's naming heritage of Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity, I think the name Perseverance fits right in. It also has a double meaning given the trials that NASA has faced to complete each of these Mars missions over the years. One that they continue to succeed on spectacularly as each rover works well over its own planned mission schedule. This, even as US space exploration becomes increasingly commercial.
  14. technoblue
    It does look like a fun build, but I put it on my wish list for now. I'm thinking of saving it to help pick up a gift with purchase later on.
  15. technoblue
    I'm late to the discussion, but wanted to say that I'm really into the new direction we're taking with this pinned pre-order thread and the separate toy threads. I'm hoping that it all works out, although I also understand how big changes like these get pushback from those who got used to the previous paradigm. I've seen it in the writing industry as everyone there is still slowly moving from printed publishing to the more modern digital methods of content delivery. There are a lot of parallels there, but it's all off-topic on this site, so I'll just summarize it by saying this: although there is push back early on, once your audience sees that the new system is working it's usually accepted by most. All that is to say that I don't think we need to worry about any hardline stubbornness in this case. Anyway, I like the idea of a 2-3 week window for keeping this thread "live" so to speak. As long as there is an active pre-order going on during that window, this thread should be open to new posts—an accessible resource. If we enter a lull that's longer than that set time, then ideally all thread activity should die down naturally within the same short window. There may be some stragglers who stop in, but these forum members would be able to easily review the latest pre-order activity and go to the respective toy threads to wait for release day updates. If things get out of hand, and something happens whereas this thread dives way off topic, the moderators can certainly lock the thread as they do. That's a good backup option. Basically, I'm thinking we should keep the purpose of this thread as simple and as focused as we can. I don't see any reason to make it complicated.
  16. technoblue
    I've been enjoying it too. All the world building with the episode-long sitcoms seems to fit quite well, in hindsight.
  17. technoblue
    Alas, nothing official from Bandai on Max’s DYRL 1S. We did have one member helping others to customize their existing DX 1S Valkyries, though, and I think a conversion to Max’s 1S was part of that effort for a short time. Indeed it is. Bandai teased the DYRL 1As some time ago and we have Kaki’s already. I think there’s a very good chance we will see Max’s in an official release too, but we don’t have it...yet.
  18. technoblue
    That's a tough one. If I remember correctly, only the oversized KO has its own separate add-on kit for the front chest piece which is a shame. I'm not aware of any direct sources like that for the standard-sized release. Shapeways isn't showing anything either.
  19. technoblue
    As a writer myself, I'm very keen on the limitations of the medium to convey complex ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Two people can approach the same page with a completely different understanding of the text, even when the author leaves their own liner notes! If that same author is trying to create something while distressed or grieving, then the connection with the audience may become strained unintentionally. The debate did begin over semantics, but it was over the semantics of word choice: tone versus undertone. The way I read it, this is how we got into the tangent about literary devices. In parallel, we were also having another discussion about context: NGE's core plot and how religious symbolism may or may not factor into that plot. The result of that discussion (for now) is that one's context can very much alter one's perception of the story and its themes. Anyway, that's just how I see it from my side of the screen.
  20. technoblue
    Curious. What if we were to perform a quick exercise? Replace all the religious symbolism in NGE with references to Norse mythology. Would the plot be able to stand on its own with this change? When you say the symbolism is there "to set the mood", do you mean it implies double entendre? I'm not sure I agree. Instead, I think Anno and his creative team coopted the terminology for their own use (as others have implied already), and then incorporated these words and the basic definitions into their own world building. It's a subtle but important difference. NGE is inherently a Japanese creation, and not something that comes from the West. This is also important context. Although it's true that the audience will bring their own ideals and mores to bare when interpreting a creative work, truly understanding that work also means taking time to understand the author.
  21. technoblue
    Yeah. I'm looking forward to other new MPs too (and not just the update/rehash MPs). It is curious that Skids got bumped to the head of the line. XTB's version was a good effort, but ultimately I passed on it because I wasn't keen on the face sculpt. Toy style MPs are few and far between. For instance, I wish they had given us a toy version of Sunstreaker instead of the sticker upgrade kit that came with Spinout. As much as I like both toon and toy, I also hope they go more toy/hybrid with Skids. It makes the collection more interesting. Just my opinion.
  22. technoblue
    Nadia and Evangelion are often compared favorably to one another, but Nadia has more filler. Anyway, just to give my two cents, how I understand it is that the symbolism was originally used to set the show apart from its contemporaries and help market it. I don't know enough to say if that didn't develop into something more over time or not. Like you wrote, DYRL VF-1S, it's been said that Hideaki Anno was dealing with a crisis of his own at the time, and he is also on record saying that there are multiple interpretations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Themes_of_Neon_Genesis_Evangelion This. ^^ Death and Rebirth rehashes the anime but does flesh out a few things with added info. End of Evangelion goes further showing how SEELE responds to Gendo. Rebuild retells the events and then gets us to what comes next. Like, easnoddy notes, the later films aren't as internal to Shinji and his ego and so we get to see a lot more of what's going on outside of The Human Instrumentality Project.
  23. technoblue
    True. Netflix redid the dub for their streaming release. I’m thinking it was a licensing/rights issue, but the Netflix dub also changes some of the dialogue. The Rebuild movies have most of the dub cast from the old ADV dub reprising their roles so, depending on when one first watched Eva in English, the Rebuild movies aren’t as jarring...that is, if you can stand Shinji...
  24. technoblue
    Thanks for posting the Figure King images @sh9000. I’m liking the design work on MP Skids. It’s going to be interesting to see how much of that detail migrates over to the prototypes.
  25. technoblue
    Yeah. The final film has been a long time coming. I'm okay waiting for a few more months, or even until the end of the year (if need be). To think, the first film was released back in September 2007.
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