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you are thinking about it, no? full-scale versions at https://twitter.com/28experience/status/1981991404147789888 --- and moar comparo shots from same fan: web-translated: full-scale versions at https://twitter.com/28experience/status/1982308081041297433

I'm in for FT Windcharger, all I have is the X-Transbots figure, and from day one that has been a place holder, and I've had that figure going on a decade now at least. Every time I've transformed XT Windcharger it's a hassle, such an awful, clunky, piss-poor transformation, and a very meh robot mode end result. Vehicle mode is great, but that bot mode and transformation were just awful, one of the worst third party experiences I've ever had.

Ever since Dr Wu released his version of Cyclonus I've wanted him to do Scourge, too, to complete the trio of new '86 Decepticons. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long. This is Star Shuttle, Dr Wu's take on Scourge. Putting Star Shuttle with Destroy Emperor (Galvatron) and Wingman (Cyclonus) really show how far the good doctor has come along since starting the Extreme Warfare line. Destroy Emperor looks positively primitive next to his henchmen! But I personally think that Star Shuttle is a bit more sharply sculpted than even the relatively recent Wingman. As good as he looks from the front, as we spin him around we do see quite a bit of alt mode. You kind of expect that in the wings, but the outsides of his legs and his backpack almost completely hide his robot form when viewed from the back. Once again, though, I'm inclined to cut some slack to a toy that's shorter than a tube of Chapstick and costs about as much as a Deluxe despite coming packed with a second figure. This time he even comes with a weapon! To be totally clear, I'm not sure if every copy of Star Shuttle will come with a gun. The impression I got was that this is a first run/preorder bonus. Star Shuttle's got pretty good articulation for his tiny size. His head swivels, no tilt. His shoulders are ball joints that swivel and move laterally 90 degrees. His elbows are ball joints which bend 90 degrees and double as bicep swivels. His wrists don't swivel, but his waist does. Hips are ball joints that go 90 degrees forward and laterally, and nearly 90 degrees backward. He has actual thigh swivels just above his knees, which are hinges that bend 90 degrees. His toes have some up/down tilt, and his ankles can pivot 90 degrees. His wings are attached via ball joints, so they can spread and flap for more dynamic poses. Star Shuttle's tiny hands are too small to practically have peg holes, so instead the handle of his gun is sort of like a c-clip that clamps around his fists. Star Shuttle's transformation borrows more from the G1 toy than the Studio Series one, with his legs turning inward and his heels folding down to make the front of the vehicle. His backpack spins 180 and a flap folds out to fill in the gap around his thighs. His shoulders shrug up and his forearms turn to plug into his cape, which then wraps around to tab in near his waist on the underside. Then his head turns 180 degrees and flips up, collar and all, so his head crest plugs into the middle engine nacelle. I think his alt mode came out pretty well, turning into a solid, swooshable little representation of the 3-engined, aerodynamic brick we all know and love (or hate, not judging). I think the biggest knocks against it are the visible shoulders and ball sockets on the wing joints. To a lesser extent, the hinges on the backpack flap and wings also seem relatively larger than they might on a Studio Series or Masterpiece figure, but it's the tradeoff necessary to make a figure this tiny that's also durable. With no wheels to roll on, not alt mode weapon storage, and no moving parts the alt mode doesn't actually do much, though. I guess it doesn't have to. And if troop building is your thing (at this price, why not?), good news! While the Scourge version of Star Shuttle comes packed with an entirely different fellow we'll talk about next time, you can also buy a two pack of Star Shuttle with a brighter blue plastic and a very pale blue in place of white, so Scourge can hang with his Sweeps. And yeah, everything I keep saying in all my other Dr Wu reviews applies here. They're not mini Masterpieces the way Newage or Magic Square make their figures. They're relatively simple, relatively cheap Micromaster-sized figures that do a great job of making your Titans and Combiners look even bigger. Their small size and small price also makes them easy to collect. So once again, yes, I recommend Star Shuttle.

Also up for preorder.

Marvel Legends X-Men '97 Wolverine and Storm x2.

Latest Haul.

downscaled from https://twitter.com/28experience/status/1983178984725852185 --- Cross has an unfortunate defect with his copy: https://twitter.com/cross_W42S/status/1983164809609916737 web-translated: while Gorilla's bit frustrated with his recent string of Bandai mfg-luck... https://twitter.com/MTM_025_8_S04/status/1983136583575580889 web-translated:

^^ Wotafa does spend a bit of time explaining on the mold's subtleties around the head. There's a neck joint that acts as a lock, and the head lasers have to be angled outwards first before they can be rotated. The shoulders purple diamond elegantly moving in and out of the way as the speakers are opened & closed is a very nice touch and makes up for the lack of rotating pilot seat.

wotafa's...

Thank you very much for the appreciation! The PA is a Fujita design, but I wanted it to push towards the FSS side, as you noticed, so I lengthened the ankles, the midsection and the neck. The leaner MSG hands and the modified elbow joints work in the same direction. The massive anti-ship missiles would have countered this concept (IMO they are too large even on the original kit). I considered just using a light color here, but in the end I made new missiles from plastic rods. Coincidentally, they emphasize the Uma-jirushi appearance that might have been the base for the wing design. Limiting the additional details also works nicely for actually finishing a kit 😄

These are just so ridiculously similar, I'm really looking forward to doing a comparison. Went ahead and asked AE to ship mine, along with an HMR VF-19P, so hopefully it won't get hung up due to the usual DHL shenanigans.

Looks like a before and after where he just realized that there’s a floating head that looks just like his next to him

Yeah. "Julian" either forgot to do it or just haven't check the manual for it, yet...

It may have been a good idea at some point, but I still think it’s best to either do stories before the sequels or preferably long after them and not mention them at all

I’ve been wondering this about almost every Disney production. The moment you think they may have learned a lesson, they go right back to messing things up again. Kinda like a junkie that seems like they may have turned things around after rehab and asks to borrow some cash, but it turns out that they just want to buy more smack. And once you think maybe they’ve reached rock bottom then they make Iron Heart

It’s basically just scaling down and simplifying the 1/72. But I definitely want it for my 1/100 kits

Is the DX mistransformed? I thought there was a panel on the inside of the leg that covered the gap. Very surprised there are no uniboob covers!

Another piece of news - May'n will be performing at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival on 2nd Nov 2025 at 17.30 after the showing of Sayonara no Tsubasa - at Midtown Hibiya Step Square (free entry)

Giant Step (from Kamen Rider Fourze) after 12 years and more B-Day pix Kinda off key ! XD https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQRYlR6EQfQ/?igsh=MTd5cGVnMXRvbTdmNg%3D%3D&fbclid=IwY2xjawNtMcFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFUbUxwRmxQUWtmRWNieVNyAR6rM7ExRIazaKvxhJFkymTX5_mQ-D6AOdgbDBkTfVPk5TvtHScVg8Sz319e0g_aem_uRR9UF-o1PeVA9tXSOumlQ

It's interesting that both versions' overall sculpt turned out to be so similar, & the visual differences are just more of nitpicky ones. 1. The DX has the hump on the back where Yamcadia's doesn't. 2. Feet on DX looks better whereas the other looks a little lost. 3. DX has that big gap on both sides below the uniboob, whilst the Yamcadia (by extension, also the HMR) has that additional articulated flap to cover it. It'll be interesting to see if that gap becomes more of a conspicuous see-through when viewed from the side. 4. DX has a shorter forearm, which makes it look better, and nicer sculpt in that it tapers thinner from elbow to hands, whereas the Yamcadia is mostly same width. 5. I always wished the area below the knee pads on the Yamcadia is body colored - the black makes it look like there's a big gap there. Thankfully this is a not an issue on the DX.

I expect that'll be the case for most of the MW. Maybe a few purchases of Sureshot. In a fanbase that already skews more toward G1 than later Transformers, MW tends to skew even further into "geewunner" than average. I love the deeper lore, though, and the Thirteen have fascinated me since Furman first started cooking them up in his Dreamwave days/DK's The Ultimate Guide to the Trasnsformers, so I'm also very looking forward to Quintus and Amalgamous. I like the design and colors of the Japanese Lio Convoy and Big Convoy better than Optimus Primal, so I'm in for Big Convoy. I debated whether or not I really wanted Quickstrike or not. He made the cut because he was a regular (albeit late) member of the cartoon Beast Wars cast (correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that just leaves Depthcharge and Rampage, and then maybe the Transmetal versions of some characters, to wrap up the cartoon cast). Razorclaw, on the other hand, is based on a 2003 Universe toy and isn't even the original Beast Wars toy to bear that name... that'd go to a 1997 toy that turned into a crab. Agree bigly. I got Trashmaster, that's enough of that mold.

Got my 2 last night. So far have unboxed one, opened the front and rear landing gear, attached the speaker pod launcher and put Basara in the cockpit. Front landing gear seems more tight and less prone to collaspe or fold compared to the YF-19. Have not transformed it from Fighter mode yet. I'll keep this one in fighter mode and when I unbox the second one at the weekend, that will get transformed to battroid mode. It's really solid in fighter mode and in my opinion looks great, apart from the speakerpod issue, which I personally don't really consider that much of an issue. I just wish Bandai had made the sensor on the front bottom of the launcher collapsible, so that the launcher could be stowed a tad closer to the plane's belly. I really like all the small tampo printed warning markings, which is something we never got on any other version of the VF-19Kai. Seems Bandai finally learned their lesson and made the tampo markings small and understated unlike the YF-19 and YF-21, which in my opinion had way too many large, gaudy and unnecessary tampo printed markings. I really hope the next release is a VF-19S or VF-19F.

Brawl and Blast Off were my only two orders this time. I'm not a big fan of their homegrown Junkions either, and IMHO, they wasted what could have otherwise been a good fig by reusing a Junkion mold for Animated Wreck-Gar. I have the OG toy, which is far superior than this wannabe.

I preordered everything but Razorclaw (wake me when it's G1 Razorclaw), Wreck-Gar, and Jalopy. I wasn't a big fan of those fan-fic Junkions in the first place. Though, I might buy Jalopy if I happen to see him in stores one day; with his more traditional colors and Autobot badge he makes a better part of "Junkasaurus" than Axlegrease.

Missing Link Optimus (and, to a lesser extent, Bumblebee) were interesting to me because it took a figure I (and I expect most Transformers fans) was incredibly familiar with, but gave it a more modern level of articulation and made a few improvements to eliminate the partsforming elements of the original. Missing Link Sunstreaker was interesting to me because I wasn't familiar with the original. Although the Missing Link version featured articulation and integrated hands that the original never did, it was my first time experiencing even the basic transformation engineering. The newest entry in the Missing Link line is interesting to me for third, brand new reason—because there never was a G1 toy. Yeah, we're talking about Missing Link Arcee. Note that she's based on an unreleased prototype, though there's a Missing Link version of said prototype. This made for a tough call on my part... the prototype version, with its different head sculpt and mix of orange and purple colors, could be argued as being more toy accurate. Except that it literally only existed as a hand-sculpted, non-transforming prototype. I'm not even sure if the images that were making the rounds were even of the physical prototype. Frankly, it's not certain that the toy would have actually been orange had it gotten further along in production, and I ultimately went with more traditional Arcee colors (though I wish they'd have kept the prototype head sculpt). Regardless of color, Missing Link Arcee gives a reasonable depiction of what a G1 Arcee toy might have looked like, with awkward shoulders, a flat chest, wide hips, and knock knees, though she still seems a bit more modern than the likes of G1 Kup, Blurr, or Hot Rod. Heck, her car kibble even cleans up quite a bit tighter than the SS86 toy! There seems to be a big departure here compared to the other Missing Link figures released so far. See, while Prime and Sunstreaker did come with stickers, if you wanted that look, their sticker details were actually sculpted and painted onto the toys already. Arcee, on the other hand, is looking pretty plain here. She doesn't even have an Autobot badge on her chest. But there are stickers that provide that badge, as well as covers for the screws on her shoulders and colorful bits for her toes and belly button. Her sole accessory is this pink gun. Although not a match for the gun she uses in the '86 movie (which the SS86 toy's gun is based on), I do believe that it's based on a gun she briefly used in the third season. If you want the movie-style pistol, well, I hear it comes with the prototype-colored version. Takara really wants you to double dip on this mold. Articulation isn't quite up to modern standards, but far beyond most of the actual '86 toys. Her head can swivel, and she can look about 45 degrees upward. Her shoulders, including the car fenders, can swivel, while a hinge gives her maybe 60 degrees of lateral movement. Her biceps swivel, and her elbows can bend just over 90 degrees. No waist or wrist swivels. Her hips can go about 90 degrees backward and nearly 180 degrees forward, though you have to move them out enough to clear per pelvis. Speaking of, they move 90 degrees laterally. She has a restricted thigh swivel; you can turn her legs about 45 degrees outward and just a touch inward. Her knees bend about 120 degrees. Her feet can tilt up and down about 45 degrees, and her ankles pivot about 45 degrees. Arcee can hold her gun in either hand. There are also peg holes on her backpack you can plug the gun into. The transformation is, honestly, kind of similar to the SS86 toy. Hinges move her hips to the rear of the vehicle, and her legs swing up so they can tuck under it. The front of her torso flips up to form the nose of the car, while the hood scoop, seats, and rear section with the fin are all parts of her backpack. The big difference is that SS86 Arcee has a lot more backpack to unfold, using it to make up more of the car's exterior while hiding her limbs. Meanwhile, Missing Link Arcee uses the arms to make the fenders and sides of the car, with her actual thighs making parts of the rear. And, y'know, maybe G1 toys didn't always have the best robot modes. But the vehicle modes were still pretty good, and that's definitely the case here. Not exactly cartoon-accurate, as she's significantly narrower with a longer nose that goes way past her front fenders versus the cartoon, yet it does so in a way that captures the sporty, almost hourglass shape the car had with wider fenders and a narrower cockpit, a short, round butt, and a long, sloping nose in a way that Titans Return, Kingdom, and even MMC's third party version didn't quite get. My only real gripe is the corners of her pelvis sticking out a bit from under the nose. Weapon storage on G1 toys wasn't aways a give, but there are two holes near the fin on the back of Arcee's car mode. Either of them can be used to store her gun while she's in alt mode (they're the same spots you can use the store them on her backpack). Growing up poor, I had more Gobots than actual Transformers prior to the '86 movie, but in the Christmas of 1986 I got the entire movie cast save for Cyclonus, Scourge, Gnaw, and Springer. I've rectified that as an adult, and even posted here comparing the '86 toys to some modern Siege, Kingdom, and Studio Series counterparts (something I could update, what with newer SS86 versions of Magnus, Springer and Galvatron). Despite being an important part of the new-for-the-movie cast, and despite having her SS86 figure hanging with her modern movie counterparts, Arcee is not among my 1986 G1 toys. While not truly a 1986 toy, or even a reimagining of an '86 toy with additional articulation, Missing Link Arcee is a sort of "what if?" that can represent the character with my actual 1986 toys. I think that's all I really needed her to be, but the fact that she's kind of decent even by modern standards, with a lot less kibble on her than most Arcee toys, makes her the sort of toy I want to recommend regardless.