M'Kyuun

Bot mode is pretty sharp but I'm not too crazy about the car mode. MMC had a version of this guy as well. I find it interesting that Hasbro is starting to relent on their no-transformation restriction for other parties making Transformers figures: Robosen, LEGO, and now this collaborative approach with other toymakers. With all the talented third parties out there who've been doing it as well or better than Takara, there's a lot of potential for some really cool official toys to come out of this collab. Hopefully a really well-executed Seeker will come of this, something along the lines of Touch Toys' Carefray, which is one of the most accurate transforming fighter figures to date, an incredible feat of engineering. It sets the bar high, and I'd love to see the same approach with an F-15, an F-35B (complete with lift fan and rotating nozzle for VTOL), or an F-22. I'd really, really love to see a YF-23 done this well, but now I'm just dreaming bigly.

Oh, well, in that case, interest piqued. Thanks. I'll definitely try to tune in.

Not at all surprised that Delta resonated with a younger, mostly female crowd, especially in Japan. It definitely did not resonate with me, an American retired Veteran in his forties at the time of release. Macross Plus hit home in a big way, as did SDF:M, Macross Zero (those dogfights!), and Frontier for its more mature storytelling, good use of the music/singers, and the lovely VF-25 and variants. M7 didn't really grab me like the others, and not until I was already halfway through. Couldn't stand useless Basara and hated most of his songs. The VF-19 was wasted on him. I also didn't like that Max and Milia were split up- such a good team; putting those two characters from the OG series in that situation was just gas on the fire. I hope the next series is more like Plus or Frontier and less like Delta or M7 with at least three new valk designs to salivate over. I like the stories when they're good, but I'm in it for the awesome transforming jets. Today's kids' focus on electronics and heavily on social media as opposed to collecting toys and figures is just sad. Toy loving nerds need to take back the world! When the internet goes down, I have plenty of toys to keep myself occupied; I don't need likes and subscribers to give me a sense of purpose or validation. Alas, the situation doesn't bode well for toymakers down the road after all of us 80s kids are gone.

Thanks for posting these, Mike, as otherwise I'd have no idea. That said, more and more, less and less is appealing to me as they move further into Armada and Bayverse. Little sad on the collecting front, but good for my wallet. It's a really good LEGO year, so my funds won't be as stretched. Speaking of which, there's a rumored LEGO Bumblebee coming which I imagine, like Prime, will be based on his G1 toy. No pics yet, unfortunately.

Well, I believe Takara are taking lead on these so they're not under the same restrictions as we and other countries so far as toy gun restrictions go. We would simply have to buy it from Takara directly or another overseas store. I imagine Takara will get around to updating his old G1 self eventually.

The additional articulation would have made me very happy back in the 80s, but I've been spoiled by any number of modern takes on these characters. The old G1 toys just don't look that great to me, even with the added articulation. If they get around to doing Megatron, I might bite, as I never owned G1 Megs. Too, the G1 cassettes if they were to trick them out with better articulation. For the most part, though, I'm happy to leave the G1 toys in the past and embrace modern figs with what I feel are better aesthetics and engineering. However, nostalgia is a powerful draw; I get that. I'm far more drawn to vintage LEGO sets than vintage Transformers, but that passion is the same. There's definitely an audience for these and I hope they're fun and fulfilling as they fill a certain niche in the collection.

The DX Sv-262 is a PITA to transform. I managed to transform it to battroid and that's how it has remained. I don't think I ever reattempted going back to fighter. The majority of it wasn't too bad, but those wing armatures were no fun. Since I display my valks in battroid, I'm good. I venture the opinion that Macross Plus is more popular than Delta (will ever be), and so, too, the two primary valks (although I have a soft spot for the VF-11, a lovely design in its own right and a valk that gets too little love). If initial sales of the YF-21 are good, I think Max and Milia versions will follow at a minimum. However, we already know this toy is going to be a mixed bag, as we've already exhausted many pages airing our grievances of which Bandai seemingly did little to nothing to fix since the unveiling in 2019. Desperation for a new toy is driving the acquisition of the YF-21 for many, myself included, but I'm not blind to its faults, either. If it's a solid toy with a non-frustrating transformation, good tolerances, and overall good quality, I think it'll soften some the more questionable design flaws, at least make them a little more tolerable. However, given the amount of critique this thing has already suffered, any misstep in quality or build is going to deep six this toy due to the umbrage onslaught. I'm sure Bandai's fully aware of the criticisms, but they're betting on the fandom's desperation. The fact that all this feedback is out there and yet nothing really changed for the better indicates that they're happy to one-and-done with this mold. FWIW, I hope it's a solid toy. Shitty backpack design aside, I've been pretty content with the battroid mode since the proto was unveiled in '19, so for my display purposes, it does the job. That said, I don't really handle my high-end toys, but for those who like to mess with them, the build quality, tolerances, and aesthetics are going to be far more meaningful; failing these criteria, I don't see much of an afterlife for this toy in repaints. If it sucks, the internet won't hold back. I was very much hoping that Bandai's DX would inspire Arcadia to take another crack at the YF-21. Even if they only did a partial retool of the Yamato to bulk up the legs, it would be the improvement I desperately desire. In all other regards, it's about as close to perfect as humanly possible. I'll take a chubbier jet mode if it means the battroid is more proportional, and hopefully the hips would be on ratchets this time around. The best thing about Arcadia is their genuine passion for Macross; it comes through in their toys, the little touches. I think a new YF-21 release from them would smoke Bandai's DX. Shame they didn't capitalize on the opportunity. In that absence, I feel we the fans lose.

Considering there's money to be made from milking a mold, I'm sure we'll see every possible variant. Sorry to hear about your Yammie's breakage. At least you can display it in fighter, which is its best mode.

Stoked for the B:TAS Batmobile,, another grail realized. The choice of dark blue as opposed to black is unexpected, but I can live with it. I wish the Batmobile itself had some pop-out gadgetry of some sort, even the hood guns like the '89 Batmobile, but as far as capturing the look of the car from the show, it's pretty dead on. The only Batmobile left that I'd love to see in an official set is the Arkham Knight version. Oh, and perhaps the Batman Beyond version as well. Fingers crossed. Glad to see villains other than the Joker in this set; however, given how large a role Joker played throughout the series, I hope we'll get a B:TAS Batwing with Joker, Penguin, and Catwoman. Nightwing and Batgirl sets would also be welcome with Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and Scarecrow. Needless to say, I hope they're just getting started with Animated Series sets. The Nolan Batman with Batpod is another pleasant surprise. There was a limited edition Batpod set released a few years back which sold out very quickly; I missed out on it and have lamented it since. There have been no other Batpod sets released until now and I'm itching to get a copy. I love that the buildable Batman can ride it. If they make a Dark Knight Rises Catwoman, that'll be pretty cool, too. There've been a lot of summer sets revealed. Some notables: City has been expanding beyond its boring focus on Police and Fire sets with some interesting and inventive sets, and this one stands out notably for its inclusion of a scaled down but instantly recognizable version of the Exo-Force Stealth Hunter from 2006. Admittedly, the set as a whole doesn't interest me much, but man would I love to have a whole series of those mini-EF mecha as stand-alone sets. For some reason, car transport tractor trailers have always fascinated me. This set really hits home for me, as it's just so well executed both aesthetically and functionally. However, while I'm not a car guy, that tricked-out 50s car kinda steals the show. Speaking of aesthetics and functionality, construction makes a return this year: While the mobile crane is impressive, I intend to pass on it; however, that excavator is a must! Love all the faux hydraulics (even simulated hoses running over the top of the main boom) throughout all three parts of the digger arm. The cab is beautifully realized, and the cabin window even has safety bars. I hope there are more like this coming in the fall wave. This beggars for an articulated dump truck and perhaps a heavy bulldozer or an articulated front-end loader. Cargo is one of my favorite City subthemes and I've enjoyed collecting a number of cargo ship sets over the years. However, this set is a departure from previous sets as the ship's hull is not a large single hull piece that floats, but a return to brick-built like the old 80s and 90s sets. The ship is also quite small relative to previous cargo ship sets. However, what the ship lacks in scale, the entirety of the set makes up for in atmosphere and charm. While I prefer the boats to float, I have to admit this set is warming my heart. This year's City Jungle Explorer subtheme sees the return of Johnny Thunder, LEGO's answer to Indiana Jones in the Adventurers series which ran from 1998-2003 and saw Johnny tackling everything from mummies in Egypt, scorpions, dragons, and yetis in the Orient, to Dinosaurs. Johnny's return is a little more grounded as he explores the jungle. Notable this year are the introduction of an adult and baby gorilla as well as a red panda. I'm quite taken with that helicopter, especially the cockpit section. Nice-looking Chinook-inspired heli. Space is ever popular and LEGO is leaning into it this year: Not only did the designers capture the look of the Apollo rover with all of its instruments bristling, but it even folds up like the real vehicle to fit in the Lunar Module. Too bad there's not a scaled version of the LM to squeeze this into. Now that would be a big, impressive set. Speed Champions returns this summer with three new sets: I saved the best for last. While the first two I pictured are just meh to me, the Lamborghini V12 Vision from the 2020 Gran Turismo Sport game is such a stunningly beautiful and complex design. I had my doubts they'd tackle it, but I'm sure glad they did. It's not perfectly accurate, especially the shape and size of the front part of the canopy but considering the medium and the scale they're working in, it's a really good capture. I'd love to see Speed Champions tackle other media like tv cars (K.I.T.T.) and anime: The Mach 5 and the Asurada from Future GPX Cyber Formula. As they've been doing for the last couple of years, LEGO's releasing yet another large elaborate Marvel set that's both playset and display piece. And in the mecha realm, these two have caught my eye. The first is Cole's Titan Dragon Mech. Once again, Ninjago gives us a large, lovely anime-styled mech with decent articulation (even knees!). The second mech of note has a completely different aesthetic, but no less interesting (at least to me). From LEGO's Dreamzzz theme, this is Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Battle Mech. For those who've not seen Dreamzzz, Z-Blob is a gelatinous dream creature created by a kid named Mateo. With Mateo's creative power in the Dream World, Z-Blob can change forms, usually adopting a robot suit. This new mecha is a nice upgrade. Moreover, most Dreamzzz sets have a 3-1 feature where the main model is partially rebuilt or modded, and the same is true for this one. My only gripe is that the articulation suffers due to the use of those round curvy trans yellowish-green elements which are meant to represent Z-Blob's exposed extremities between the armor bits. It makes for a cool look but hinders the pose-ability. Nevertheless, I find all the models appealing, and though I rarely do so, I may end up building all three configurations. There are so many more sets coming; I just picked a few that appealed to me. Looking forward to picking these and others up as summer approaches. Lots to look forward to.

That he does.😄

I saw this in a thumbnail advert this morning and thought it was a new take on Shockwave. Turns out it's a Bandai Spirits kit called GIG R01Provedel Type-Rex 01. Wouldn't take much customizing to make him more Shockwave-y though.

All I want out of today's announcements are Steeljaw and possibly SS86 Springer, although I think the Siege toy is pretty well done so I'm not sure I need a partial retool of an already good take. I wish they'd actually shown Steeljaw; the cassettes are a particular favorite subset of TFs for me and I really hope Steeljaw is well done. Given the precedents, I'm not holding my breath. I can hope though. Looks like they're taking a break from more Animated or Prime figs. Ah well, more money in my pocket for now.

Lucy and Maximus are important, of course. Just like in the game, Lucy, the vault dweller, provides the viewer's main frame of reference when it comes to the wasteland, and her character has the greatest growth in terms of her outlook, decisions, and actions as her story progresses. Max has a smaller arc, but after the conclusion, I get the sense his importance to the story is going to expand much more. The Ghoul is a fascinating character. He's lived a long time, seen a lot, knows a lot, and time and the wasteland have changed him. But at the core, he still holds on to some of his ideals from when he was purely human. He offers an adjacent yet seasoned view of the wasteland in stark contrast to Lucy's naive and optimistic outlook. He comes off as a bad guy, and some of his actions are ethically questionable, but he rarely does anything without a reason or purpose behind it, and he's not just killing for the sport of it. His is the most interesting viewpoint given the lens of time through which we see events unfold over a 200+ year timeline and all the machinations to which he was privy. Walton Goggins is captivating in the role. Just overall, I like all the main cast and I'm looking forward to S2.

Thanks, Mike. Welcome news, indeed. At least now I know so I can keep an eye out for them. Much appreciated.

Ooooh! I had not seen those, but I'm totally down for a set. Where did you find these guys and are they available for PO yet? I've been on Showz and TFSafari all week and haven't seen them there.