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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
mikeszekely replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Life's been busy so I've had this stuff on the backburner for awhile. But I have some more stuff coming this week or next, so I better get these repaints out of the way. First up, we have Studio Series The Last Knight Nemesis Prime, who is a retool of Age of Extinction Optimus Prime. He comes with the same sword, shield, and gray part that lets you plug them onto his back. And, because Nemesis Prime was just a mind-controlled Optimus, deco changes are pretty subtle. The blue plastic is a little lighter, the gray plastic a little darker. There are some mold changes, too. The most obvious one is that he's porting a new head. In addition to having the extra purple eyes and red "I'm evil now!" stripe, they've swapped his masked face for his unmasked face, which I kinda like. They also remolded his forearms. That's because, for reasons I do not fully understand, Optimus gets like 95% of his new knight body when he scans a passing truck, but his arms change again to have a more armored look when he picks up the Sword of Judgement later in the film. That armored look is the one that carried over into The Last Knight. In addition to a new head and new forearms, Nemesis Prime has a few more accessories. The larger arm blade that could also be used as a handheld sword is gone. In its place Nemesis gets a smaller arm blade and the quad-barreled shotgun he used in the film. With the retooling being fairly minor, you can expect that Nemesis and Optimus have the same articulation and the same transformation. With none of the remolded parts showing in truck mode the differences are even more minor... again, there's the fact that the blue is a tad lighter and the gray plastic a bit darker, but that's nearly it. The only other difference, which seems to come down to cheaping out on how many parts need to be painted, is that the flames on the sides of the cab are shortened so they don't spill over onto that last panel. Prime's sword and shield can still work with the storage part, and despite being a new mold the smaller arm blade is designed to plug into the the shield, same as the bigger one. This allows the whole shebang to be stored on Prime's back in robot mode or on his trailer hitch in truck mode. The new shotgun is a bit trickier. It has a slot on one side that can fit over the edge of the window on Prime's backpack in robot mode. It can be stored on the side of the truck over the rear wheels by grabbing onto a tab there as well. I like the new head, forearm, and accessories... I kind of wish they'd left off the stripe and given him normal blue eyes as just regular The Last Knight Optimus. Personally, I think if you wanted a copy of this mold that I'd go with this one over the Age of Extinction version, but if you already have that one and aren't keen on shelling out 2026 Leader money on another one it's mostly the same toy. Next up, we have the Takara T-Spark 40th anniversary Lio Convoy. This toy reminds me a lot of what Takara used to do with their Legends figures (or what they've been doing with their Dramatic Capture Series). They took a mainline toy, in this case Legacy Evolution Leo Prime, and spent a little more money to "fix" it. Fixing it, in this case, means swapping the blue paint with a metallic blue paint, redoing some parts that were painted metallic gray/silver in white on his chest, adding metallic silver over the white on his inner thighs, finish painting the bottom of his abs, and coloring his shoulder joints. Of course, some minor deco corrections alone wouldn't be enough to get most people to shell out a premium to import Lio Convoy. No, the big change here is that they completely remolded the lion head and mane, including the bits on his forearms. This doesn't just change the look (which we'll address in a bit), it adds the spinning gimmick "Lion Typhoon" from the cartoon/original toy. Transformation is basically the same, but the result is something else. Gone is the Kingdom/Legacy habit of trying to make the beast modes look a little more realistic, a move that really didn't pay off for Leo Prime in the first place. I think a lot of people's main complaint with the figure was the doofy lion face. T-Spark Lio Convoy's lion face is very cartoony. I think you could fairly question whether it fits in with the other Kingdom/Legacy Beast Wars toys, but it's undeniably far more cartoon-accurate, and, IMHO, a marked improvement. That said, they come with some drawbacks. T-Spark Lio Convoy comes with half the accessories of the Legacy toy. He's got the longer, thinner weapons, which are now very nicely painted and can still store in the lion's back. However, the shorter, fatter blasters are omitted. This is because, due to how his mane was remolded, there isn't room to store them. Yes, there are still 5mm ports there. And yes, you can still flip the mane over and put the blasters there for an attack mode. There's even enough room to stow them there in robot mode (though, again, his back works). But there's not enough clearance to close the mane in lion mode. A side effect of this is that Lio Convoy has no handheld weapons, as the tabs on the blasters he does have do not fit in his fists. You can still plug them into the mane bits on his forearms, though. He's also got longer Lion Claws, which better match the original toy/anime. The longer claws are too big to fold entirely away inside the lion leg, but are oriented the other way around to hug the contour of the back of the leg. I've always been a fan of Lio Convoy's design, and while I was happy to get the Legacy toy at the time the fact that they didn't paint the rest of his abs and the terrible lion head were definitely sore spots for me. The T-Spark version fixes all of my biggest complaints with the toy, but the reduction in accessories is a bummer. On the whole, I'd say it was worth it to me to upgrade from the Legacy toy, and this is 100% the version I'd recommend getting if you want a Lio Convoy but don't have one yet. But if you already have the Legacy toy I can definitely see why it might not be worth it for you to upgrade. I'm not sure I would if they release the T-Spark mold in Nemesis/Dark Amber colors, and I don't have any plans to buy the announced Legendary Green version. Last but not least... ok, well, actually least. Yeah. It's Junkion Jalopy. Jalopy is a repaint of Axlegrease from the neck down. No mold changes, same exact accessories. The only difference is his head, which isn't even new. It's the head that Hasbro created for the Tow-Line repaint of Scraphook. I suppose I prefer the car retool that is Jalopy/Axlegrease/Lockdown to the truck version that is Scraphook/Towline... but if I'm being totally honest, while I was fine buying all the retools of SS86 Wreck-Gar (and would probably be willing to buy a few more), I was never a fan of these fan-fiction, waste of slots and new tooling budget (that would have been better spent on making a proper Breakdown instead of sticking a spoiler or Wildrider, and no, I will NOT let that go). I don't recommend Jalopy, because I don't recommend ANY of these Junkions. So, if I don't recommend Jalopy, a fair question to ask is why I bothered to pick him up at all. Honestly, I didn't, at first. But the answer is actually Axlegrease. See, I get where the team was coming from... the Junkions don't have to be this monolithic species, so why not make one that's a girl, and why not make her a Decepticon instead of the usual Autobot ally? See, whether I actually like/recommend them or not, I do already have Scraphook, Trashmaster, and Crashbar. Aesthetically and conceptually, Jalopy just fits in better with them than Axlegrease does. Now, again, maybe it's fine to have three dudes in the usual Junkion colors hanging with the Autobots, and one misfit who decides to run off with the Decepticons, except that an undocumented feature of the Junkions is the ability to combine into Junkasaurus as long as you have one Trashmaster (or, I suppose, Animated Wreck-Gar, who I definitely will NOT be getting), one Crashbar (or, I suppose, Road Pig from the Walmart Star Raiders line), Scraphook, and Axlegrease (or, in a pinch, Tow-Line or Star Raiders Lockdown). Swapping Axlegrease for Jalopy will give Junkasaurus a more cohesive, uniform color scheme.- 18183 replies
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RIP. . . . . . . NERDS!!!!! [respectfully]
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All Things Videogame Related: EXTREME VS!!
sh9000 replied to Keith's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
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Most likely what I'll use the Wave 1/100 Destroids for.
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General 1/18 Scale Figure and Toy Thread
sh9000 replied to sh9000's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I chose Colonel Tigh, Commander Adama, Daggit and Boxey, Lieutenant Athena, Lieutenant Zac Adama, Lord Baltar, Serina, and Lieutenant Sheba. https://us10.list-manage.com/survey?u=11cccf0d3634bfef8e682daa4&id=22cf02a086&attribution=false New poll for other movie and tv series figures and vehicles. 1/18 Airwolf, Knight Rider, and 1983 V would be awesome. -
Your Most Recent General Toy Purchase - 2024 Edition
sh9000 replied to azrael's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
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Old_Nash_II started following [R.I.P] Robert Carradine
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https://deadline.com/2026/02/robert-carradine-dead-age-71-1236734055/ Thank you for the comedy films of my childhood.
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When I first watched Macross2, I had never seen Do You Remember Love and probably only robotech's Macross Saga and I enjoyed it. Watch with subs! Later I watched DYRL and realized just how on the rails Macross2 was and just how great it's predecessor was so it lost a lot of it's shine.
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The computer and electronics super geek thread
davidwhangchoi replied to azrael's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
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Well, in that case you may like Macross II: Lovers Again because it is really just more of that. In terms of themes, tone, and content it's easily the sequel closest to the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Macross: Do You Remember Love? movie. It's a very "safe" sequel that takes relatively few risks and doesn't do much to change up the established formula. It's very like a Gundam sequel in that regard. That lack of innovation is one of the main criticisms Macross fans level at the OVA. The setting hasn't really changed substantially despite 80 years of in-universe time passing. The mechanical designs are, in large part, 90's updated versions of the original designs instead of anything really new or radically different. Well, like I mentioned above it's a very "safe" sequel that's not really taking many risks with its story. It still has the same themes about idols and song as a form of communication, but mixed in with a plot heavily inspired by Roman Holiday and some new themes about nationalism, xenophobia, and journalistic integrity. The one area where it really diverges from the established formula is that its protagonist is a civilian journalist rather than a soldier, which lets the story go in some new directions. I think most fans would agree that it's merely "pretty good" where most other Macross titles are usually "great". Partly because 6 OVA episodes isn't really enough time to fully develop every character, so the love triangle can feel a bit one-sided. It is the title that hews most closely to the original form of the Macross formula, so if that's what you're after you'll probably enjoy it.
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@nightmareB4macross here’s an up to date pic of my display cabinet. This is almost all of my builds since I started getting close to 2 years now. I’m almost out of room already. 🙃 Please excuse the backdrop. My bench is in the basement next to the furnace.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
rsvictor1976 replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
The toy itself didn’t have any issues. The joints were tight, no stress points, everything fit well. Besides the color, it doesn’t really look accurate to the screen character. I know it’s an older mould. Overall I’m happy it’s in my collection like Jazz and Perceptor but I don’t think it’s something I’ll play around with a lot and it’ll just sit in the display cabinet.- 18183 replies
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I took a few better quality phone pics of that old theater scout from last year that I brush painted with lacquers.
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Probably stuck on the same drifting barge along with every VF-31 aside from Hayate, and all of the teased VF-1s Bandai can't be arsed to produce. The fact that we got a re-released Kairos for the 10th anniversary of Delta is frankly a miracle, and absolutely insane to consider that they re-released that mold, rather than any actual named character variant from any other series or movie. That's just freaking depressing to consider. Yeah, sorry to say.. Luca, Chuck, Arad, Mirage, Messer, and even Hikaru, Max and Milia, Bandai thinks you are all less viable products than a CF unit.
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Hahahaha. I posted this on another forum and someone said it looks like the mech is skiing. Hahaha
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"Hurry up goldenrod, or you're gonna be a permanent resident!" - Han Solo - ESB
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Forgot about VF-11MAXL. It's battroid version right? Would be great if they also did VF-17T, and other stuff from M7 like max/miria VF-22S and assorted VF-11, VF-19, VF-17 variants. Probably too much to hope for though.
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If I'm reading it correctly, this is the Blu-ray specs: Audio: Japanese Subtitles: Korean* ※ why the languages are like the only things written in English is beyond me... Source (image on the left side): https://www.miragemall.co.kr/m/product.html?branduid=3739813&xcode=003&mcode=000&scode=&type=P&sort=regdate&cur_code=003&search=&GfDT=a2d3UQ%3D%3D PS: I think the title should be changed. It's not a 25th anniversary release, just the Korean "Macross F: The Movie Steelbook Edition - Lenticular Version". [2월 26일 오후2시부터 예약시작][2026년 4월 24일 발매][블루레이] 극장판 마크로스 F 스틸북 에디션-렌티큘러 버전 [Pre-orders start at 2:00 PM on February 26] [Release date: April 24, 2026] [Blu-ray] Macross F: The Movie Steelbook Edition - Lenticular Version
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The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread
Dangard Ace replied to slaginpit's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Yup it's XTB Abaddon. I like it just fine. Only messed with it for 30mins. Spent more time trying to find a faction symbol I liked. Eventually used a metallic purple waterslide applique. It's not overly heavy like Sov 1.0 and I don't have Sov 2.0. No wish to own Sov 2.0 either.- 9497 replies
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
26662 replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
What’s your impression? I’ve only owned the G1 version - as a military brat and science nerd, he was always my favorite. I think I have maybe half a dozen sitting MISB.- 18183 replies
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I think they've run out of Frontier valks they're interested in reissuing - which is frustrating, because they are one release from finishing Skull Squadron. Where's my Super RVF-25 Revival, Bandai?