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  2. M'Kyuun
    Well, to really appreciate the scope of toy options available to us, one needs to consider both official lines (Hasbro's main line, i.e. currently "Age of the Primes" under the Legacy umbrella, and Studio Series, which is a slightly more premium take, or supposed to be, on characters as they appeared in various media), Takara's Missing Link line which reengineers the G1 toys to feature full articulation and improved complexity all while retaining the look of the OG toys in both modes, Takara's own lines which recreate figs from the Japanese TF shows, the MPG line( formerly Masterpiece), their own releases of Studio Series and mainline toys, oft with better paint apps than their American versions, and other independent lines like their current Wild King show/toys aimed at younger kids. Additionally, there is Robosen, who's producing high-end, sophisticated, fully motorized, self-transforming, walking, talking Transformers. They currently represent the pinnacle of technology as its applied to our favorite Robots in Disguise, even featuring phrases recorded by the original voice actors. They come at a significant price tag, but they're astounding achievements and really cool additions to one's collection. They're a bit out of my price range, but they represent everything that I oft dreamed of in a "perfect' Transformers toy. Lastly, we get to third party companies who've been serving the fandom for about two decades now with figures both faithful to source and with a range of liberties taken in virtually every scale, from legends (slightly smaller than official main line) to Masterpiece, with varying levels of complexity, detail, 'animation accuracy', etc. there are also companies like Blokees, who make non-transforming model kits of popular TF characters, companies like ThreeZero, formerly ThreeA, who make high-end incredibly detailed non-transforming TF figures. I'm likely forgetting a few, but these are the ones that occur off the top of my head. Lots of options for the intrepid Transformers fan. As for the combiner frame system, I'm of two minds: yes, it imbues the gestalt with much greater stability than the poor Combiner Wars figures, but at what point does it simply become an easy crutch to lean on in lieu of better engineering. They didn't use a frame for Devastator, which proves they can make a combiner without it. Granted, Devy has large partsforming bits to complete the gestalt, but aside from the mad all-in-one wizardry of MMC, the vast majority of combiners, official and non, have relied on partsforming bits to accomplish mashing a bunch of smaller robots into a big one. It's an acceptable concession, and one I think most of us, even the most ardent no-partsforming critics like myself, have come to accept, if grudgingly. It's simply the most practical and economical way to achieve the combining gimmick. Hasbro's frame system is a similar tactic, love it or hate it. I'd prefer they used it more sparingly, allowing the limb-bots to actually be the limbs instead of accoutrement on a frame, but I get the reasoning behind it. If there's a cheap and easy solution, Hasbro will find it, although Takara does most of the heavy design work, so it's a good bet they're more to blame for the heavy use of the frame in lieu of more creative engineering solutions. Macross, alas, is such a niche franchise, especially on this side of the Pacific, largely due to Harmony Gold's litigious shenanigans over the last nigh-40 years, damn them. The subsequent rarity of toys, especially high-end toys like Yamato/Arcadia's, cause availability and pricing to put them out of reach of many a fan. It's the sad reality of Macross fans everywhere, unfortunately. I was hoping that Big West's and Harmony Gold's agreement as well as Disney's airing of the majority of the various Macross Series would spark a renewed interest in the franchise in the West, especially a heightened desire for the toys, but that hasn't happened. Thus the anemic status quo remains. I'm thinking he will be able to pull off that pose and probably poses more dynamic than that. They're just teasing us right now. I want to see that list done, too, especially the Datsuns (I want Prowl in the worst way), the cassettes, some of whom, like Ravage, are in desperate need of a good update. FWIW Fans Toys did a pretty good job with their version of Ravage for Acoustic Wave, both of which are pretty peak. I'm really curious how they'd approach the van brothers, as the Diaclone toys just never really fit in well with the rest of the Diaclone car bots, which makes their inclusion in the TF toyline, which seemed to cherry-pick the best looking of the bunch, oddly questionable in retrospect. We have Floro Dery to thank for the much-improved bot modes in the animation. However, Missing Link is all about improving the G1 toys as they were, warts and all, and it remains to be seen how or if they'll attempt to do something with them. We definitely need Soundwave, Megatron, and the Seekers as well. I'm most curious to see how they'll improve both of the latter. I want a fully poseable G1 Megatron.
  3. Mog
    Pretty cool take on Ken’s theme:
  4. sh9000
    $399.
  5. sh9000
    I want more HMR Orguss releases instead of the one and done.
  6. sh9000
    Emperor Doom.
  7. sh9000
    Player 2 Cammy.
  8. Graham
    Nope. Deathly silence from Bandai. I'm not gonna hold my breath waiting for these. My feeling is, if Bandai had planned to release the FP's they would have released them together with the Bogue SV-262Hs, following the trend of recent releases which are bundled together with the FPs, Such as Hayate's VF-31J Super, Alto's VF-25F Super, Michael's VF-25G Super, Alto's VF-25F Tornado, Alto's VF-171EX, the recent Brera VF-27 Super.
  9. sh9000
  10. sh9000
    Honest Trailer.
  11. sh9000
  12. sh9000
    From the resin prototype of ML Ultra Magnus I can see new joints in the hands, hips, knees, ankles, and Matrix Chamber. Ultra Magnus can finally do its own G1 box art pose. And I also want the G1 Datsun brothers to be released in ML along with the rest of the cars, Seekers, Dinobots, and as many other G1.
  13. sh9000
    I don't think that info is correct. Matt Smith will be in it. https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-starfighter-cast
  14. sh9000
    Star Wars MGS TIE Reaper x2.
  15. Today
  16. renegadeleader1
    The cynic in me is saying watch Star Wars Starfighter not be about starfighters and space combat, but be some Bloodsport knockoff fighting tournament set in the Star Wars universe.
  17. Duke Togo
    Hell of a cast. And an Oscar-winning cinematographer.
  18. mikeszekely
    Oh, that's cool to know someone who worked on the Charger's development! Like I said earlier, I don't know if it's going to win over the V8 crowd, and I'm not sure the Daytona actually counts as a muscle car, but I definitely prefer whatever it is to the electric "Mustang."
  19. rsvictor1976
    Yeah, I keep seeing YouTube reviewers saying the same thing about how it’s a great time to be a Transformer collector now. I was really impressed with the Studio Series Optimus Prime for how anime accurate it is and the price point (at least compared to Macross toys). And I’ve always had a weakness for Devastator. My only regret is missing out on that Legacy Menasor set. I’m still a little on the fence about the Age of the Primes combiners using that frame system, but I guess for the sake of accuracy and stability it makes sense.
  20. Axelay
    I think one of my biggest WTFs about this show is that Morrow is supposed to be a cyborg apparently incorporating tech which is over 65 years old... but yet can still interface with modern tech like it's not an issue. That seems like a bit of a stretch to me. TVs from 65 years ago aren't exactly going to be able to interface (easily) with tech from 2025. Trying to imagine that level of future-proofing is very difficult for me to accept. I hope there's some bit of explanation for this. I honestly really want Kirsch to catch him.
  21. Axelay
    Too damned long. I was foaming at the mouth with the first photos. C'mon Arcadia, give me something NEW which I have wanted since college.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Welcome back to the fold! The toys have come a long way, and for the most part, the SS86 line has been delivering the toys that I think the majority of us have wanted from Hasbro/Takara since the 80s. I've been in the game since it all kicked off in Sept '84, and I'm thrilled that they're finally making figs of the G1 characters that are a balanced mix of toon and original toy, although they tend to skew more towards the animation aesthetic, which seems to be what most fans want. But yeah, we're eating well, as the saying goes, and while it took them about thirty years too long to get around to it, I'm glad they're doing it now while the G1 generation is still around to enjoy them. You picked a good time to come back to the hobby, as G1 fans have never been so well served. Cheers and enjoy!
  23. Seto Kaiba
    I can attest that when this one was first pitched there was a good deal of debate over whether it was "crazy enough to work" or just regular crazy. 🤔 I worked on this one personally, and while I'm limited in what I can say by a raft of NDAs I've been dying to hear what someone outside the fast feedback fleet has to say about it, so I greatly appreciate you sharing your experience. Yeah, TPTB felt that the Charger lost a certain je ne sais quoi without making some proper engine noise. I know some were hoping a simulated engine note would offset some of the hesitancy potential buyers might feel at the prospect of an otherwise-silent muscle car. One of the tradeoffs of e-motors vs. an internal combustion engine and mechanical transmission. When there's nothing mechanical stopping you from delivering maximum torque to the wheels even at 0rpm, certain precautions have to be taken in launch calibration to avoid damaging or outright destroying tires on an aggressive step-in. Even a comparatively dozy BEV like the Fiat 500e can easily lay down a strip of smoking rubber or shred a tire without that calibration. (I found that out the hard way.) I'm glad to hear that you enjoy it, your earlier difficulty aside.
  24. M'Kyuun
    I was hoping for a showcase of the articulation, which is kinda the point of this line, but I guess they're milking the anticipation for all it's worth. Anyway, the hips are now separated from the rest of the red slab and that separation is cleverly hidden behind UM's WWE belt. Moreover, there's clearly a hinge visible behind his shin plate that corresponds nicely to a knee joint. Needless to say, I'm sure Takara succeeded in imbuing the fig with at least a modicum of leg articulation and they did an excellent job of hiding the changes necessary to pull it off. Honestly, I wouldn't have thought they'd tackle this fig, at least not yet given the number of first season bots that have yet to get the ML treatment. However, this is a nice flex of their problem-solving capabilities and talents, as this guy poses more problems to be solved than the average car-bot. While I'm not yet invested in the ML line, from both a G1 fan's POV and an engineering POV, I enjoy seeing how Takara approaches each toy to give it the articulation that so many of us, like me, wish they'd had originally. Many of those old toys are going to prove challenging, like UM here, and I'm excited to see how they solve the obstacles that each toy presents while maintaining the look of the OG toys. I hope Megatron is on the to-do list. And Prowl. And Soundwave and his cassette minions, who could all do with some updated engineering since the MP fig.
  25. Yesterday
  26. Swann
    This band is better than The Cure. Was never a fan of them. Bauhaus is far more superior.
  27. locidm
    Even Ms. Leavitt is impressed with your four Olsen specials. Gotta say I like the old darker color more.
  28. Big s
    I just saw the preview yesterday and was kinda surprised there’d be a sequel. Especially so soon
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