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Over a year ago I covered MMC's Shiftlane, their version a Rollbar, a retool of their version of Swindle. And then... well, nothing for a long time. But I don't really do full reviews for repaints, and I don't buy nearly as much 3P stuff I used to (and when I do, I don't really buy repaints). But... I did get the rest of the set. So the first one after Shiftlane was Chops, the MMC version of Ro-Tor. Now, the animation models for Robots In Disguise were a lot closer to the toys than the G1 Combaticons. MMC cleverly flipped Shiftlane's torso around. For Chops, they remolded the front of his torso. For the most part, that works for him. The new torso is pretty cartoon accurate, and aside from having Vortex's little feet he's accurate enough down through the legs. MMC tucked Vortex's tail and use the engine nacelles to make for more G1 cartoon-accurate, but that actually works against Chops, since Ro-Tor's toy-accurate arms were clearly the helicopter tail. Ro-Tor also shouldn't have the little arm guns that Vortex does, but Chops has all the same accessories that their Vortex did. Transformation is the same as Vortex, which is to say it's still my least favorite of the set. The helicopter mode was designed to walk a fine line between G1 cartoon-accurate and a realistic Seasprite. Again, it's the kind of thing that worked pretty well for the Vortex version, but the RiD animation was much closer to the simplified look of the toy. To that end, I don't think that Chops came out badly, per se. The realistic helicopter is fine, but some details are a bit off. Why isn't the nose red? Where's the gray panel on the side? The third release was Astrolift, aka Movor. Again, MMC made a few modifications to make the mold a bit more RiD-accurate. He's got new feet, and a partly new chest. As with Chops, the new chest is indeed more accurate, but the faux wheels are kind of unnecessary. And while the arms are made from the front of the shuttle, same as Blast-Off, details like the visible pink cockpit windows are missing. I'm not sure why MMC didn't just paint a fake windows onto part of his arm where the actual cockpit could cover over it. As for the shuttle mode, well, Movor always had more realistic colors than Blast-Off, and the realistic look pretty good with MMC's (fairly) realistic design (the engine bells are still wrong). It's worth pointing out, though, that in the cartoon Movor was drawn rather strangely, with small wings, a rectangular fuselage, and sharply angled engine nacelles, so aside from the colors Astrolift isn't exactly cartoon-accurate here. Another thing to note is that Movor was animated with the larger cannons from the toy over the wings/near the rear of the fuselage. Since MMC's Blast-Off didn't include those, neither does Astrolift... just the smaller pistol, which still folds up and tucks into a spot near the top rear of the fuselage. The fourth release was Fortiflex, their Armorhide. Fortiflex has remolded hip skirts, which better resemble the trapezoidal hips of Armorhide's character model. From the waist down, no complaints. From the waist up, though... well, Brawl's animation model was pretty different from the G1 toy, with a much smaller chest and treads for shoulders. Armorhide's animation model, being closer to the toy, kept the big tank chest and the arms where the treads were on the backs of his arms, not the front. The remolded chest does sort of look like the front of the tank, but it's clearly not as protruding, and no changes to the arms means you've got treads and dark browns where we should have tan bits from the top of the tank. Tank mode is still looking sharp, though. Again, MMC likes realistic details so we've got the periscope, mirrors, and working hatches. Although Armorhide didn't use them in the cartoon, he's still go the rear-mounted double-barreled gun that came with Brawl. Megalith, aka Mega-Octane, finishes up the set. I don't think it's particularly controversial to say that Onslaught was the weakest of MMC's Combaticons due to being the most hampered by the all-in-one gimmick, and that's certainly still the case with Megalith. However, MMC's Onslaught, due largely to his transformation, was always a bit more toy-ish than the other four, and this is something that works in Megalith's favor as the wheels on his torso and the extra kibble on the backs of his shoulders are all cartoon-accurate now. Even the large orange pelvis is. You just have to squint and remember that it's all supposed to be pelvis, regardless of where his hips and waist swivel are. As far as mold changes go, the only difference is some minor changes to the molds of his chest panels. Note that he comes with both an orange version of Onslaught's original gun, as well as the gun and boxes from the upgrade kit they did for their Bruticus. Transformation is the same, and the truck mode is basically just Onslaught's in a different color scheme. I suppose the grill could be a little more cartoon-y, but I think it's fine overall. Of course, if you're this far in, you're probably not in because you want the Decepticon Commandos, you're probably in for Ruination, so here's Eversus, the combined mode. Like Megalith on his own, I think Eversus benefits a bit from the toy-style torso. You'll notice that the head and chest are the ones that came with the Bruticus upgrade kit; Eversus does NOT have the Blast-Off chest and G1 cartoon Bruticus head were stock on Onslaught. The chest is painted with details from the Japanese release of Car Robots Dorailer. However, while the torso goes a long way toward the Ruination look, being designed first and foremost as Bruticus does hold him back in a few ways. His left arm lacks the big red guns from the RiD Ro-Tor toy, just the little ones from Vortex. And his elbow bends like Vortex, whereas the cartoon had the side of the helicopter as the front of the arm. Likewise, the front of his left arm was the side of Movor, and presented as white. The biggest difference, though, is that Armorhide connects backward in the cartoon, with the turret on the back of his leg and the front of the tank as his knee. But Brawl was designed to match the G1 cartoon, with the turret on the shin. The other reality is that in RiD Ruination frequently flipped his arms and legs, with Armorhide as the right arm, Rollbar as the left arm, Ro-Tor as the right leg, and Movor as the left. But since Bruticus only had his "standard" configuration in the G1 cartoon, MMC only designed their Bruticus with the single combination, so that's the only one that Eversus gets. So, I guess the question is whether or not the whole set is worth it. And I think that's an interesting question. On the one hand, the strong toy aesthetics and Megaltih and, by extension, the core of Eversus, actually seem to work better for Ruination than they did as Bruticus. Plus, while MMC was competing at the time with Zeta and Unique Toys, there really hasn't been too many takes on Ruination, and certainly not at this scale. I think, despite the compromises that come with being designed as a Bruticus first, this is a solid take on the characters and it goes great with Fans Hobby's Scourge. Top it off with better joint tolerances all around than Bruticus, and I'd say that I'm quite glad to have this set. But, the thing is, there are enough quirks with these designs that I don't really want to own two of each of these molds. And in the years since MMC first released their Bruticus, we've gotten another take on an MP Bruticus from Magic Square. So while this set does satisfy my desire for Ruination, it also makes me want to sell the MMC Bruticus and buy Magic Square's.

After a bit of work and worry about an askew tail, my Sea Vixen has her boom(s)! Thom

HG 1/100 VF-31C.

SS 86 Hot Rod is cool. I think the slightly pinker release coming out later will still be good too. Hope they release a SS 86 Rodimus and give it a new mold.

Happy 30th Anniversary.

Conan the Barbarian.

GI Joe Classified Pythona.

From that trailer, it looks like audiences will be asking for Refunds for Silent Hill. It seems almost prophetic that YouTube's recommendation bar that pops up at the end of that trailer has Doom: Annihilation on it.

AstroMagnumblogspot delivers another great catalog from Savie Toys. This time there is a Hikaru VF-1S (no Strike arts). I don’t think we ever found out who made the 1990 Bootleg VF-1S (Grey or White) Super Valkyrie that was recovered as a Strike but had Blue Super Parts, nor the CeppiRatti versions. This might be a clue. Note the stickers on are now on the inside of the vertical stabilizers.

BBTS is usually pretty good at coming through with things. Since it’s a Japan only item, they probably did what they do for Bandai web exclusives and have a purchaser that gets them and then ships them most likely by slow boat

I appreciate it, otherwise I might cry. 😉 It's definitely not a perfect model, I tend to go fast and loose to get results quickly and prevent myself from getting frustrated or bored with a project. "Good enough" but don't look too close at the edges. I'm sure I'll keep working at it to keep cleaning it up and moving it closer to "right", but the calves will have to wait for the moment. I'll also remind folks that the model (the updated one as shown above, both fighter and battroid) is available at the link below for anyone to pick up and put their own spin on. I'd love to see other people's takes on it. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MEqAULkJDzBoGyFBrgRHBX7C7_ZVdfcg?usp=sharing

Yes, Kind of hard to judge what Bandai might do with this! But since they done some retooling and are making new moulds the should use the opportunity to deliver at least one a year until the 50th. Anniversary comes around which is considered a big number even in Japan! The possibilities are endless, It's who is in charge that's always the question! If it's someone who is a big fan it can be carried very far, If it's a pencil pusher, it could die with one.... But for now I'll gladly add this one to my collection and be happy with that! 🤗 P.S. I would go nuts for a VF-1D chunky monkey! 🤣

Awww grand daddy gundam wants wings too.

Who wouldn't..?

@Perxion The vehicle and small Lunk looks great, nice job. Thank you for the update, it is much appreciated. Have a great weekend. MB

Hello everyone! First piece finished from all the orders I received! Then the driver needs to be painted. This truck is part of Darrin's order. This week I'll finish the rifles gun, and then I'll move on to the missiles, which are numerous! This Lunk and Annie 1:12 scale are part of Morgen Black's order: I'll upload more photos of the rifles when they're ready, probably next weekend. Thanks and have a great weekend! Mekanimuss.

Yes, it was a Japan-only release which was why the usual Japanese hobby sites didn't carry it. Very strange release. BBTS should have known MONTHS ago if they hadn't been able to secure inventory. Maybe Sentinel has indicated an international release is going to be announced soon and BBTS is waiting on that to coincide with an announcement that everyone's preorders will be part of that release whenever it's scheduled for. OR... maybe BBTS had them delivered by boat and there have been logistical hiccups. We should be finding out soon!

Wasn't it supposed to be a Japanese release only? BBTS release date is for this month. Can't remember if it was pushed from October or September.

Really beautiful pics. It does have the LOTR vibe, that actor who plays Link, looks like the actor played young Anakin Skywalker, in SW-E1. I remember when SW-E1 came out back in 99, I used to say they should make a Zelda movie, based on Ocarine of Time, with the young actor playing Link and Natalie Portman as Zelda .

I wonder if BBTS will come through...

Hope you eventually have time to come around to the textures too then. What you did for the wings look too sharp and make the original textures look murky in contrast 😂 I just found a few nitpicks around the canopy and chest area too, but I'll leave you alone for now lol