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M'Kyuun

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About M'Kyuun

  • Birthday 07/05/1971

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    mcquownw@hotmail.com

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Spokane, Wa
  • Interests
    Robots, especially those that transform; LEGO; sci-fi; well-engineered toys

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I concur. I just put together the second of the Speed Champions Lamborghini two-pack (the blue one) and applying the decals was a pain. Moreover, there are, TBF, a fair number of printed parts included in the set as well, but as it turns out, one must exercise diligence in applying the stickers so that they match up with corresponding printed parts. I didn't realize until after I'd already applied the ones on the slopes of the hood and they misaligned with the printed complex slopes forming the edges of the front end. Thus I had to pull the one off and reapply it so that it lined up. The other one was close enough so I didn't bother, but it's stuff like that that sticks in the craw. I get why LEGO maintains the sticker option, but on livery or detail heavy sets like the SC line, I kinda wish they'd just print everything for a smoother frustration-free build process. I'm looking at that Mattel Honda set and thinking how useful any number of those parts would be if LEGO made them too. I like that Mega Skystriker/H.I.S.S. Tank set.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Speaking of Soundwave, while I applaud the LEGO designers for making their version as good as it is, I was disappointed that the hips couldn't bend fore or aft and the forearms were rather skinny, proportionally, and the hands couldn't retract into the arms. So I fixed mine.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Agree. SS86 Soundwave shares a fair bit of the Netflix's engineering/transformation. The cassettes aren't much better than what's come before, either. I'm thinking Ravage's jet packs and tail are on a separate piece that has to be parts-formed onto him after he's transformed, much like Steeljaw. At least the G1 cassettes had complete robot/creature modes- only the accessories were parts-formed. The Condors' wings aren't the right shape, and while Ravage's legs are an improvement over the previous release, his No-Neck Ed head and block-o-accessory sticking up on his butt just detract from what should be a svelte cat-like form. Again, his flatness notwithstanding, the G1 toy still looks better. Ravage here makes for a better Steeljaw, IMHO, as that wide neck would make for a good mane. A little cassettte deco would go a long way towards selling the alt modes, too. Funny that they still put out stock shots with mistransformation errors. It gives the impression they don't understand how to use their own products. So, not really the "Wow" factor I was hoping for, but it does make some improvements over the Netflix version, which suffered the additional kibble from its WFC crappy spaceship alt mode. I'll get him, but I can't help but feel a bit letdown over some of the execution, especially, as usual, with the cassettes.
  4. M'Kyuun
    I'll add my kudos for your customary extensive writeup and pics. I've made a few poor efforts towards doing minimal reviews, so I appreciate all the work you put into your elaborate efforts. As to the thing itself, I think we the fandom at large recognize that both the individual bots and the final gestalt are good, but certainly not perfect by any stretch, and as always, it leaves one hoping that the next installment, b/c there's always another installment, will be further improved. I skipped the CW team entirely b/c they left far too much to be desired. On this go round, the figs were markedly better, and I bit to my general satisfaction. Of course, I have the same complaints as everyone else, mostly, but on the whole I think it's a much better collection of figs. I'm still waiting on Mixmaster to complete my team and assemble Devastator, but thanks to this and other reviews, I'm well informed on what to expect and what to do, so a sincere thank you, Mike. I do have to say that, with all the extra effort and higher price points for these guys, I'm a bit disappointed that Devy's elbows don't even achieve the standard 90 degrees. C'mon Takara, you can do better. One more thing for third party add-on kit makers to fix, I guess.
  5. M'Kyuun
    My wife and I have been binging Orphan Black on Netflix this week and we finished it this evening. We enjoyed it immensely. Huge kudos to Tatania Maslany for pulling off one of the best multiple character portrayals I've ever seen, not to mention all the folks who made her concurrent appearances in scenes look seamless. Just a damn good show overall.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Oh, lucky! Scavenger showed up yesterday, so Mixmaster is the only one I'm waiting on now. I ordered him from Pulse and all my Pos have been showing up recently, sometimes just a day apart, so shouldn't be long now. I'm happy to finally be getting a full official Devastator after 40+ years of fandom and collecting, but I wish they'd done a better job with the individual Constructicons. They're not as bad as the CW team, which I skipped entirely, but stuff like Bonecrusher's too-short forearms, Scavenger's lack of a rotating deck in excavator mode, Hook's weird arm proportions, etc erode the joy I was anticipating when these guys were announced. They're good, but not great, and I was kinda hoping for great. I am, however, looking forward to getting them all assembled for the first time. Devy was, I'm sure, the primary focus and from what I've seen in reviews, huge superfluous butt-flap notwithstanding, they did a pretty good job with him.
  7. M'Kyuun
    I think a lot of us can relate to that; toys were always important to me as we were not well off so I didn't have a large or complete collection of anything, and I cherished what I did have. Transformers and building blocks were my two favorite things (not much has changed over the last 40 years except for the volume of my acquisitions. 13-year-old me would absolutely piss himself if he could see what I have now). Oddly enough, the scale thing often hits me more when I'm out on a walk and encounter the odd LEGO piece that a kid has dropped on the sidewalk. LEGO has been an integral part of my life for most of it; I handle it or see it every day and yet when I encounter a random piece it in the wild it always seems so small, like it's smaller than it really is. It's a weird perception, but in that analogous comparison I can completely understand @26662's amazement at how small the G1 toys were compared to today's main line and SS86 figures, and all the more diminutive compared to MP.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Are the thighs on G1 OP and UM's core made of die cast? It's been a very long time since I handled that figure and I don't recall. However, that would account for my mistaking them for being chromed, as they're pretty shiny in the pics. I was thinking, too, that there may be a moveable panel to allow for more forward knee travel, but I couldn't make it out if there is. There could also just be more clearance in the leg mold to allow for the thighs to swivel forward a bit. Regardless, I'm thinking the pics show the extent, or very close to the full extent of thigh forward motion. If it could kick up higher, I'm thinking they would've shown it for the 'ooh, ahh' factor.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Interesting, if simple, solution. As I surmised, the knees act as the armored form's hip joints. I wonder if the previous poses represent the limit of hip articulation forward or if the legs can kick higher. I don't have my reissue of G1 OP handy to see how much forward bend his knees have, but then the ML core's feet and calves have been modified so it's entirely possible the knees have as well to affect greater pose ability. The armatures holding the core's thighs in place are concerning for the potential to scratch or rub off the chrome.
  10. M'Kyuun
    I was never into G.I. Joe anywhere near as much as Transformers, but I did watch the show, almost on a daily basis in fact, even as background noise, after school. I thought the Joe toys were incredible, but I only owned a handful of figs and the only vehicle I owned was the Dragonfly helicopter. I still have it, but my Wild Bill's rubber band dry rotted a long time ago and he rests in pieces somewhere in my collection. Anyway, I thought a crossover was a cool idea until Hasbro decided to do Megaron as the HISS Tank, a vehicle I dig, and the end result was far from spectacular. Bee was better. Kup's better executed than the others, but IMHO, the greatest hindering factor is making the vehicles become established TF characters instead of tailoring the transformations to suit bespoke characters. I've argued before that not everything related to Transformers needs to be Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee, Starscream, etc. I get why, but I point out how abysmally bad they turn out as a result whereas creating a new character to fit the vehicle and creating a more efficient transformation schema to fit the vehicle-to-robot conversion is the optimal solution. Anyway, while I like the concept of Joe/TF crossovers, the execution thus far has been less than appealing, alas, but my wallet and too-full shelves thank me.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I appreciate what they were going for, but I prefer the original spherical Death Star set that they released. I like the Imperial Shuttle they made for it, although the nose gives me bull terrier vibes. 😄 I made my own for the OG DS playset.
  12. M'Kyuun
    I agree, and I think that's the point. Kavalier is inherently unlikable, purposely so, and his arrogance is ultimately going to be the downfall of his little fiefdom. His number two, Evil Daddy Warbucks, is also cruising for some karmic takedown. The male IT guy is one of the few truly decent people working for Prodigy. His wife the therapist, who seems old enough to be his mother, also seems like she has the hybrid kids' interests at heart, although she also seems to be more comfortable towing the company line. The engineer's mate certainly seems like he's more than a bit on the slow side beggaring how he would have ever qualified for the job. This show, for all intents, is about monsters and I guess, rather than being creative, the production is falling back on the old 'people make dumb decisions in horror films' trope to ensure that said monsters get their chance to do what they do thus upping the body counts and the gore factor. I rather enjoy both in sci-fi and horror, but it's always more fun when, as @Seto Kaiba mentioned, the protagonists make smart decisions, do everything correctly within their power, and still fall prey to the monsters. Stupid or negligent protagonists offer easy prey and in turn erode the menace and cunning of the monsters hunting them thus lessening the whole experience.
  13. M'Kyuun
    I was wondering how the legs of the inner bot were going to line up with the armor, but it appears that the inner bot's knees will bend forward in line with the armor's hips. I'm curious what sort of attachment points they're using to keep the inner legs in place. I'm thinking they either limited the thigh movement to what we're seeing here to allow the inner bot's lower legs to remain somewhat in parallel with the armor's thighs or those thighs can continue moving forward leaving the inner bot's legs just kinda dangling behind them having reached their limits. Regardless, this is a challenging bot to approach with the ML methodology, and I give Takara mad props for accomplishing what we're seeing in the pics. If I was buying this, the armor's knee joints, pins connecting two relatively thin panels, would give me a bit of concern over long term durability given the top-heavy nature of the figure. However, again, I have to tip my hat to Takara for imbuing this with the level of articulation they've achieved here and yet keeping both bot and alt modes looking virtually identical to the OG toy. It's an impressive bit of problem solving and the execution is quite well-done. I'm assuming the buggy dude came with the OG Diaclone toy, as I'm not familiar with its coming with OG UM. I didn't see it 'til you said it! 🤣 Honestly, not one of the better bits of box art.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Ironically, she and deluxe Alpha Trion, who I picked up at Target on impulse, are the only two TFOne toys that I intend to get thus far. Elita One was the only TFOne fig that I purposely ordered b/c I liked the look of the design enough to plunk a few ducats down. A3 was a little disappointing in his beast form, but I like the bot mode. For all these beast moded figs that use the back legs , at least from the knee down, to form the rear legs of the creature, I wish they'd add an additional joint that places the back leg to the animal's side allowing for complete 360 rotation of the hind quarter instead of just keeping them awkwardly in line with the rest of the robot leg. As for Elita, I think the level of engineering is fine given the size of her alt mode and the fact that she's on a deluxe budget. Could she be better, sure, but not unless they reinvent her on a higher budget with more complexity.
  15. M'Kyuun
    Wow, that's some next-level cosplay. I'm not even a fan of the Ride Armor, but I certainly appreciate the culmination of talent and craftsmanship that this represents- just extraordinary!
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