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It's not just big ol' Constructions I picked up lately. I got a new batch of Dr. Wu guys for you. First up is Grasshooper (my typo is intentional, I have no clue if the Doctor's was), a very tiny Kickback. I'm not kidding when I say "very tiny." It's hard to find stuff to compare the Dr Wu stuff with... other Dr. Wu figures are fairly similar in size (their Bumblebee is roughly two heads shorter than their Optimus), and comparing one little dude to another little dude might give you an idea of how your display might look but it fails to capture the true smallness. So, here he is with Legacy Kickback. It might also be fair to tell you that he's slightly shorter than AotP Sureshot's Targetmaster buddy, or a little taller than a Titan Master. It's hard to see details on a figure that tiny, so let's zoom in for a closer look. The little molded details on his shins and forearms are not unwelcome in my book, but they're also not exactly cartoon-accurate. The colors are good, though, and the molded details on his torso are more cartoon accurate. I'm not sure why his abs are silver, though. It's not super common with Dr. Wu figures, but Kickback does in fact come with a gun. It doesn't have a ton of detail, and what's there is kind of soft, but it feels petty to complain about that on an accessory that's no longer than my thumbnail. Grasshooper's head can swivel, no tilt. His shoulders are ball joints that swivel and move 90 degrees laterally. He also ball joints for elbows than both bend 90 degrees and act as bicep swivels. No hand or wrist articulation, though. His waist swivels. His hips are more ball joints that bend over 90 degrees forward and backward, but only about 60 degrees laterally. He lacks thigh swivels. His knees bend about 60 degrees. He has no foot or ankle articulation. So... not great by most 3P standards. Not great compared to his Deluxe-class counterpart. But, compared to figures his size, like a Titan Master, a Target Master, or a Micromaster? I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't like for Dr. Wu to do better, because I've seen him do better, but I'm still a lot more forgiving about a lack of ankle pivots on a figure this small than, say, a Studio Series Deluxe. As for his gun, Grasshooper's tiny fists are maybe too small for a peg hole. Instead, the handle of his gun is sort of claw-shaped. The claw fists around his fist and kind of c-clips into place. Kickback doesn't have a particularly complex transformation, and Grasshooper keeps it that way. In fact, there are some things that are simpler than the Legacy version. He doesn't have the mask on his back to cover his robot face, and his middle leg is attached to the back of his forearm with his fists still visible. I can find no way to fold his robot feet up. But hey, his lower legs slide up over his thighs, which I wish the Legacy toy did. I do wish the feet folded in. I also wish his antenna could swivel, but I guess they're too delicate at this size. But other than that, I think he works pretty well given his size. I'm not too bothered by the visible robot fists, or the fact that the front legs are black instead of purple. There is, however, nowhere to store his gun in this mode. And he doesn't do much. He just is, and that's fine. I mean, Kickback's always sort of been the most boring, basic Insecticon. Grasshooper is just doing its best to be that boring, basic design in a teeny tiny package... a package with teeny, tiny flaws that probably wouldn't fly on a larger or more expensive figure, but can be overlooked on a 2" tall robot that comes with a second robot for under $30. And, assuming you want the other guy and he's good, I can recommend Grasshooper. As for that other guy... well, it's not another Insecticon. So, spoilers, I'm going to cover the other two Insecticons first. When I'm done, I'll talk about their packed-in partners.

Wow. The model is looking sharp 👍

It certainly won't be 1:72, then... at least, according to all the official stats. If it actually fits his 4-inch Khyron figure, it'll have to be much larger than Hasegawa's 1:72 Glaug... and almost twice as large as Bandai's 1:72 Glaug. 🤨

I heard it was D+. They don’t exactly have a great track record for their shows, but it seems like they got a lot of the original people involved, so who knows

If it goes to streaming on a service like Netflix or Disney+, it can truly honor the legacy of the original by getting cancelled after one season.

Its canon so I suppose around the series before Serenity.

Wonder if the "First batch" is for the Kickstarter orders? 1/72 Glaug Project Update Dear Backers, Thank you for your continued support and patience for the 1/72 Glaug. After reviewing our production schedule and overall supply conditions, we would like to inform you that: The 1/72 Glaug will be delayed, with the first batch scheduled to ship in the third quarter of this year. We are working diligently to ensure the highest level of quality and final presentation. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Key Product Features - Linkage Mechanism Design Sliding the cockpit activates the waist telescopic linkage. - Leg Linkage System Extending the legs drives the rear joints and side rotating structures simultaneously. - High Alloy Content Construction Built with a high percentage of alloy components for enhanced solidity and premium feel. - Sci‑Fi Lighting Cockpit The cockpit features sci‑fi style lighting effects. - Rotating Breathing Light Thruster Combines dynamic rotation with gradient illumination for a realistic propulsion effect. - Full Magnetic Control Switch System Equipped with a magnetic control switch system for improved operation. - Pilot Figure Compatibility Compatible with various pilot figures (sold separately). Shipping & Pricing Notice The first batch is scheduled to begin shipping in Q3 of this year. Quantities for the first batch are limited. Due to the continued increase in raw material costs, the product price will be adjusted after the first batch shipment. Shipping schedules for other related products will be announced progressively. We are actively coordinating overall production and delivery arrangements. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and greatly appreciate your patience and understanding. Further updates will be shared as progress continues.

Been seeing Nathan knocking on doors for a bit now and kinda surprised they decided on an animated series rather than live action. Is it set after the show or during?

For some reason, I thought this already came out.

Sweet! Now just have to figure out how to make them transform! 😉

Bleah. Sorry for the long silence, work has been a monster lately. Not entirely done yet, but managed to pull the arms together and figured I needed to do a test pose in the game environment rather than just a model screenshot this time around. I've still got some work to do to get the movement constraints right (those slider pistons on the arms are very weird, and watching the anime in half speed, I'm half convinced the animators gave up on them as well and just manually set their positions in every frame 😉), and there are a few details still to go, but overall I think it's a good representation. Now to make it dance! 😄

@derex3592 hull yeah! That’s looking great! John Moscato. I’ll look him up and look for the kits. I think I remember a Phalanx kit a year back? I’ll have to search. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for anything in the future. Thanks and I look forward to seeing more pics of your collection. 🤤 Started this reissue of an older 1/144 HM L-Gaim Bat-Shu. It’s only two runners, some hoses and very simple. No decals. Got the test fit done today and will get this rolling next week. I have lots of other more modern kits in the mix too but after the Spartan I want to do another tired old kit.

Drama, mainly. One problem with NuTrek is that the titles without a strong connection to golden age Star Trek shows is that they don't seem to have a good head for detail and struggle to grasp the scale of things even more than Star Trek writers usually do. This is less of an issue with NuTrek titles that lean heavily on pre-Kurtzman shows and movies like Discovery seasons 1 and 2, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and Prodigy since the writers of the latter three (esp. Lower Decks) seem to include longtime fans who actually understand the setting. The shows that try to "break the mold" and do their own thing (Discovery S3+, Picard, Starfleet Academy) struggle a lot more. For instance, there's this recurring problem in Star Trek (2009), Discovery (S1), Discovery (S3), Picard (S1), and now Starfleet Academy where an interstellar power with the might to rival the Federation is mistakenly treated as being so small and so profoundly top-heavy that the loss of a single planet, ship, or leader is enough to collapse the whole thing utterly. They keep forgetting these rival empires are civilizations as big or bigger than the Federation, with dozens or hundreds of worlds under their control. NuTrek's 32nd century setting seems to get hit with this especially hard, because the writers are creating new factions to rival the Federation but aren't bothering to think them out in any meaningful detail. The Emerald Chain is the main threat to the much-diminished Federation in 3189. It's supposedly a massive criminal cartel that wields so much power that it's not only a de facto interstellar government... it outclasses the Federation politically AND militarily. We only ever see one ship - its flagship, Viridian - and the loss of that single ship in conjunction with the death of its leader Osyraa causes the entire organization to collapse practically overnight. Its collapse is so abrupt and so total that just a few years later in 3195 the impact of the Emerald Chain is proposed as a historical topic for a debate class at the Starfleet Academy. The Venari Ral have the exact same problem. We're told roughly where they ply their piratical trade, but the scale of their organization is never elaborated upon beyond being "smaller than the Emerald chain". We can say for certain they possessed at least eight ships based on dialog from that very episode, and that's about it. Capturing Nus Braka again is presented as the de facto end of the Venari Ral. Ep6 seems to exist to establish two things: Nus Braka and the Venari Ral are brutal and cunning enough to be a serious threat to the Federation, but lack the military strength to oppose the Federation directly. That it's going to be the cadets rather than the captain who ultimately save the day and defeat the Venari Ral in this series. We've seen that the Venari Ral's ships outclass smaller, lightly armed Federation starships like the Academy-class training ships and the Intrepid-type Sargasso. Presumably larger, more powerful Federation starship classes rival or outclass them in turn. Not to mention Starfleet seemingly has a LOT more ships at its disposal. Nus Braka's plan was, by the standards of NuTrek, actually pretty clever. He manipulated a rival pirate crew (the Furies) into attacking the Starfleet Miyazaki training exercise and taking the cadets hostage because he knew Nahla Ake was in command of the exercise. He knew that the Furies reputation for killing hostages would, bare minimum, get her to panic and use her connections to pull every Starfleet asset in range out of position to support the hostage rescue and thus reduce the number of ships in range to reinforce that starbase when his forces attacked it. Ake's initial panic was enough that Vance pulled IIRC five capital ships out of position to support her. By that point, Braka had already won. That she was so worked up and desperate she went to him looking for a silver bullet solution that would 100% guarantee resolving the situation with no further loss of life gave Braka the opportunity to antagonize her with impunity, further compromise her judgement, and sell her a solution that conveniently required pulling the one ship that was still defending his target out of position too. The starbase's defenses were formidable enough that, even with a clean run at it with no chance of enemy reinforcements, the six Venari Ral ships that Braka sent on the raid still needed almost 20 minutes just to take down the station's shields and we don't know how much damage they took in the bargain. Had Ake not panicked like an idiot and pulled every ship in range out of position Braka's six ship raiding force might've found itself facing the station, the Sargasso, and at least five Starfleet capital ships warping in. A harder fight, and potentially a losing one depending on how powerful those other ships were. Once he finally graduated to the status of a Major Threat, Starfleet sent a force too big for him to cope with and that was Game Over.

Chances would be extremely high that they'd end up Masters of The Universe-ring or Tomb Raider-ing it, if not downright Velma-ing the thing... soooo many examples of how off the rails it could get. Better leaving it alone as a time capsule of when shows were mostly good instead of almost all bad.

I presume like the Regults, this will be self-standing, but I love the look of this in flight. Has anyone aside from @jenius found a stand option? I wish there were a bracket or cradle that would allow a Yeti/Archi to work with these.

F**k yeah!

Firefly was lucky to get a movie and it was a good one!. I just hope the animation doesn't suck.

Toggles/options are fine, the problem is now you need registry hacks and/or entire 3rd-party programs just to restore basic options and functionality that used to be present. If I could simply "click a long list of options" that'd be fine and only take minutes. But instead it's a game of "touch and go" for "how many registry alterations and programs can co-exist before they start causing problems"?

Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling is a pretty good show. I am enjoying it enough to read the light novel.

@Papa Rat - The Invid are all from the master himself John Moscato or @captain america here on the forums. All resin kits. The purple shock troops were my first attempts at multiple part resin kits that required pinning together so they look a little less good than the rest of the Invid. I got better with each release. He sometimes re-releases kits so keep an eye here on the forums. I'll take some better pics of the two big ones when I try to get LED lights in the cabinets. In other news, ALL Texas parts are now painted, clear coated and ohh my!!!, we must be making forward process if she has her numbers on her hull! 😁

Browncoats!! They’ve been hinting this for weeks Let’s hope it returns https://www.instagram.com/reel/DV6Js56jT3F/?igsh=YW1rNW50bnBhcW1i

Hahahaha thanks

Real good looking mech @Papa Rat! Should change your name to Big Papa! And a lot of god looking models in those cases @derex3592! Quite the collection, and I love that big Zentradi ship.

Box art.