M'Kyuun
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About M'Kyuun
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Pineapple Eater
- Birthday 07/05/1971
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That's quite a set of projects: any of the three ships is impressive on any number of levels by itself, but the fleet gives pause to really consider the amount of engineering, detail work, time, and brick that's involved. That's a hefty financial investment, as well. I hope he comes to BrickCon in October; even if he only brings the two smaller ships, it'd still be an impressive display. A friend of mine is working on a custom ship that'll likely be around four feet in length when completed. I've been helping him with some of the structural issues, as it's more in my wheelhouse than his. However, I'm hoping he'll get it completed enough to display in October. He may have to omit the interior to do so, although an interior is planned. This will be his first LEGO convention, so it'll be a cool model for a first time showing.
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All things NASA & SpaceX. Past, Present & Future.
M'Kyuun replied to 505thAirborne's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
You sound like you have an inside track. I've read Rowland White's "Into the Black" concerning the development of Columbia, the astronauts involved, her first flight, and certain secret govt ops with which she was tasked. Very interesting book. I'm currently reading "Bringing Columbia Home" by Michael Leinbach, who was intimately involved in the recovery and fault determination after Columbia's disintegration upon reentry, which was due to the damage to tiles and the loss of a reinforced carbon carbon(RCC) structure(s) on Columbia's left leading edge upon liftoff and upon achieving orbit, respectively. It goes without saying, if one is familiar with the heat resistant tiles and their maintenance, even at layman's level, that they posed both the only solution for heat protection and the greatest weakness to the orbiter on every flight. NASA had some close calls, the experience of which made them a bit too nonchalant in Columbia's case. In reality, had the crew done an EVA (the Canada Arm wasn't equipped on STS-107, so an EVA would have been much more difficult to accomplish), there's likely little they could have done to make repairs, and thus would have been aware of their fates upon reentry. Instead, NASA gave them reassurances that there was "absolutely no concern for reentry", believing it to be true without validation. The rest is tragic history. I'm more aware than most, as Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson, USAF, was from my adopted hometown of Spokane, WA, and we have any number of streets, highways, and monuments dedicated to his memory. Anyway, concerning Parker, it's apparent, given the mission at hand, that she's going to need some serious sunblock 3M if she's to survive her mission intact. I'm just curious what that protection entails, especially given the fragility and difficult application of the ceramic or foam tiles used in the Shuttle program. -
All things NASA & SpaceX. Past, Present & Future.
M'Kyuun replied to 505thAirborne's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I've done no reading on the Parker, but I'm curious if they swathed it in tiles similar to what were used on the orbiters (the accidental dislodging of which spelled Columbia's doom), as not much else, at least here on Earth, can handle the temps and still allow anything to survive. -
Consolidated Megazone 23 Toy/Model Thread for 2017-2018
M'Kyuun replied to RavenHawk's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Makes you wonder why they didn't at least use a soft ratchet here, especially since the arms have die-cast. Friction joints are nice for freedom of movement, but once there's too much wear, you're stuck with a floppy toy requiring constant maintenance to artificially recreate that friction. On a toy this expensive, it should never be an issue. If this becomes a prevailing issue common to the figure, I hope Arcadia addresses it prior to further releases. Thanks for sharing guys. -
Yawn. Reminds me of the 'extreme' trend from the early 2000s. Didn't like it then either.
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The Third Party Transformers Thread
M'Kyuun replied to slaginpit's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
The shoulder joints themselves on my copy don't seem to have any issues, although the joints that rotate the entire arm under the hood for transformation are pretty tight on mine. Still, I appreciate the heads up. I noticed that the stalks for the shoulder ball joints are pretty thin, so I'm already wary of putting much force at all on them; they would have benefitted from being die-cast rather than plastic. -
The Third Party Transformers Thread
M'Kyuun replied to slaginpit's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Just got my Gundog, transformed him (great example, IMHO, of how a transformation should be; complex enough to satisfy, but not overly so, with nothing superfluous, and tabs-o-plenty to keep it all together), and put him through his paces, so to speak. Sublime toy. This is my first Maketoys figure, and it's left me thus far with a very positive impression. Flaws- so far the only things I see are the front bumper is loose and may require a drop of adhesive, and there are some very obvious sprue marks on the outside lower surfaces of the aft front fenders that can be clearly seen when folded up into the heels. Fortunately, they aren't too visible in jeep mode, unless looking at it from a 3/4 view from the side. The only engineering qualm I have so far is that, despite being on a ball joint, there's virtually no up and down movement with the head. In my mind, with today's articulation standards, that should be a given. The other is that the jeep gun stores a little awkwardly in bot mode by tabbing into the shoulder cannon, or to his arm. Both look weird, and I kinda wish there was a way to mount it to his back in such a way that it could swing up over the shoulder. It's not canon, but I think it'd be a nicer looking alternative, especially if there was a back armature that allowed the gun to swing into position for jeep mode as well. Gripes aside, until more info comes out about the official MP, I've found my Hound. Additionally, I got him in the dark green G1 toy deco, and I'm glad , as it's sharp, especially in contrast with all the chrome, but also much more apropos for a military vehicle. -
Dumbassery on my part- simply wasn't paying attention when I transformed him to bot mode the first time, so the detentes which allow for ankle tilt were facing out instead of in. After a healthy dose of facepalm, I rotated them to the correct orientation, and all was right with the world. His dino ankles are still weak though, and I see no way to artificially strengthen them. Still, with patience and tweaking, I can get him to stand unassisted with his tail in the air, so they are strong enough to hold him up, but a gentle breeze will knock him over on his nose. I think those joints could have benefitted from some medium strength ratchets. I don't think dish soap in the ratchets is a good or necessary fix to the shoulder ratchet issue, as it's messy and by it's very nature of breaking down grease and oil, primary constituents of plastic, probably not a good substance to have in contact with plastic over a long-term. Rather, it's an issue of space between the two sets of ratchets. A better solution would be to make a small gasket (folded paper would do) or find a small thin o-ring and sandwich it between the gold shoulder armature and the ratchet that holds the dino leg panel. Whatever choice of spacer used, it needn't be very thick, no more than 1 mm thick. If an o-ring is employed, simply cut it so that it can be placed over the pin. The leg panel ratchet can be easily slid along the pin by grasping the plastic bit that runs from the ratchet up to the panel and moving it inward so the tongue and groove mesh together , after which said spacer can be placed into the opening created next to the gold armature. I've not had to do it to my copy (yet), but that's the method I intend to use should my copy develop the prevailing issue. It should prove to be a simple, inexpensive, non-destructive, and completely reversible method for fixing the issue.
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Well at least he was inside the aircraft; in the last MI, he was strapped to the outside of a plane while it took off and flew about, a stunt that would probably make professional stunt guys a little nervous. He learned to fly a helicopter for this film, and as a novice chopper pilot, wanted to push limits. The safety folks were the clearer minds in that scenario. But I'll tip my hat to the guy for doing most of his own stunts; not many do. Well, Jackie Chan, but he's been doing stunts before Cruise was even making movies (Jackie was a stuntman in the 60's and 70's before becoming a leading man).
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The Third Party Transformers Thread
M'Kyuun replied to slaginpit's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Just had to rub it in! Seriously, nice pic. I like both color schemes, but that dark green with the red knees and chrome bling really make him stand out. -
I don't own MP-09, but I concur with your observations about the paint and engineering on these BW figs, not to mention sculpting- the face sculpts for Primal, Cheetor, and Dinobot are all spot-on, with beautiful paint. At least two of Dinobot's faces have moving jaws so you can change his expression just by how much his mouth is open-brilliant. I just transformed Dinobot back to raptor mode going by memory from transforming him to bot mode yesterday, and from a few glances at the box to figure out what goes where. It's not a super difficult transformation to understand, but there are a lot of moving parts, the legs need to break up and be positioned, and there are any number of tabs that need to be snapped into place to arrive at the finished product. I noticed that most of the tabs have a slight flange which gives a satisfactory 'snap' that keeps the connections solid. In essence, he turns inside out from one mode to the other, with a bit of extreme yoga thrown in to cram everything within the body cavity. It's a good solution to realize the very different looks of both modes. I also discovered that I had his ankles turned the wrong way; once remedied, he now has ankle rockers and the joint feels stronger than it did before- holds him up just fine with both of his weapons equipped. No issues with the shoulder ratchets, either.
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The Third Party Transformers Thread
M'Kyuun replied to slaginpit's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Same page with Classics Hound- still one of the best TF toys ever made, IMHO. Alex Kubalsky designed Classics Hound, Mirage, and Bumblebee, and after eleven years, they still stand out as amazing designs, esp Hound and Mirage. I love them so much that either one or the other always accompanied me on deployments, and even today, I often sneak one of them into my bag when I go on a trip. I was greatly bummed when Alex quit Takara-Tomy, as nearly all of his TF designs were notable. All that being said, toy colored Gun Dog will be a nice addition to the MP shelf, as I need a Hound, and the similarity to the Classics version makes him more appealing to my eye. -
The Third Party Transformers Thread
M'Kyuun replied to slaginpit's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
You're lucky, Kuma. I looked for deals, found none, paid full price with free shipping via slow boat, so I won't get mine until the end of the month or September. Wish they'd paddle that canoe a little faster. But, I think the patience will pay off; it looks like a solid figure from the reviews I've watched, and I like the toy homage better than the animated look. Just the overall chunkier look of it, really. I think Takara made too many compromises on their official version, especially since the head attaches to the end of that fugly armature and doesn't really appear to tab into anything, the shoulders look too small, and the face doesn't look like Hound at all, at least to me. -
Recall. Yeah, right. Not a big deal for me personally, as I don't like keeping batteries in toys too much- there's always the fear of leakage ruining the toy. However, in a toy costing in excess of $200, it's not acceptable, either.
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Got my Dinobot today, and was extremely mindful and attentive of the shoulder ratchets. Both of mine are fine, although the gap is very slightly wider on one of them (don't recall which side, now). Anyway, while handling the parts in question, I would grip the armature holding the raptor leg panels and push in towards the center while rotating it, thus ensuring the tab stays interlocked with the slot. It seems to me the gold shoulder mount is just a little too wide, or the tab too short, for what Takara intended. It makes me wonder if a small thin o-ring couldn't be inserted in there to keep the parts closer together as a more permanent, non-damaging fix. Alas, I've made no mods, but am mindful of that joint when transforming him. Got through his transformation sans instructions on my first try- it seems a bit daunting at first, as he is chock full of moving parts, many of which are necessary to break up his bot legs and body in order to contort into position for his raptor mode, but once you just look at everything, it makes sense. The only parts I wasn't sure about for bot mode were those very same dino leg parts attached to the ratchets of concern. However, a glance at the box showed me where they go, and I successfully got him into bot mode without any casualties. Tomorrow, I'll probably put him back in dino mode, as that actually seems the more challenging side of his transformation. I'll say this, his head ends up in a most unflattering position in dino mode- maybe that's why he was always in a mood on the show. He's a chunky bot, rather top heavy, and the ankles on my copy are a bit weak. Same for his raptor ankles. I have to very carefully tweak this and that to get him to stand unattended in both modes, a situation that I find dismaying on a new and expensive figure. Engineering-wise, just looking at the transformation, Takara did some really nice work. Dinobot's on-screen incarnations benefitted heavily from CG magic which does in no way lend itself to a three dimensional representation. I'm sure the designers spent a few sleepless nights wondering how they were going to get him from bot to beast and maintain the toon looks of both. The solution is a clever bit of plastic origami that comes together well. It's not perfect; both modes have seams showing bits of each other, but it's all forgivable when you consider how much they got right. I think his tail is one of the most impressive bits- rather than just contenting themselves with an inflexible tail for the sake of its becoming his weapon, the tail features several joints along the latter half in two axes of motion for some nice expressive poseability, while still maintaining the ability to fold and split into his iconic spinning weapon. Very cool. Kudos, too, to Takara for the spot-on sculpting of both bot and dino heads (love that tongue), and for the rich scaly texturing throughout and the lovely paintwork. It's a beautiful figure. Last note, referring to ArchieNov's post; I haven't tried putting batteries in mine yet, so I'm not sure if it suffers the same issue. The weak ankles in both modes are thus far the only issues I have.
