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Scyla

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  1. Scyla
    One can only speculate. But Tracks is loaded with strange design decisions. It is almost like when Hasbro decided to add chrome to collector figures (Leader Jetfire) because collectors love chrome. I assume the same thought process could happened with Tracks where they thought that collectibles should have ratchets joints because it is a collectible and then put them in. The same goes for the knee joints that have ratchets for no apparent reason. I guess you could say that the ratchet helps to keep the arms straight in flying car mode but they are solidly pegged into place so I don't get it. Maybe they help to align different parts in the various modes. I have to transform the toy a bunch to get a better idea where this comes from.
  2. Scyla

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Scyla replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    I still would prefer S.H.Figuarts of the idols to be posed in front of the Valkyries. Due to the smaller scale they would not distract that much from the Valkyrie and don't take up much display space. And you could pose them in any pose you want (man that sounds dirty ).
  3. Scyla
    Has anyone brought up the idea that Mirage could be Mylenes and Gamlins daughter? I got a play by the rules attitude and stiff behavior from her that I think would fit with Gamlins personality. Of course Gamlin is such a push-over that Milia would have no hard time to "convince" him to take the Jenius family name. She could also inherited Mylenes piloting skills while good not quite as excellent as Max/Milia/Gamlin. [edit:] This would go well with the mysterious Lady M being Mylene who used here connections to get Mirage into the Delta squadron.
  4. Scyla
    I usually don't put Decepticon logos on my unofficial toys. The reason being that, while I have a few sheets of Reprolabels, they look terrible. I prefer the solid ones with the white outline but from Reprolables they weren't able to cut it in a way where you have a sharp white outline that is consistent in width around the spikes of the head crest. For the smaller symbols it is even worse because there are not coutures whatsoever. I even asked them if they can offer some better cut ones but this doesn't seem to be possible which is weird because I think the clear ones with the white outlines are better cut. I haven't messed with the Ocean Design ones yet but from what I gathered they are try transfers so less room for mistakes. The Autobot stickers are way better. The second issue is that Thrid Party companies seem to be unable to create emblem spots that fit the stickers. They are either not the right size (Bovis chest spot) or have an awkward shape (I'm looking at you FansToys). Having just a plain area where I could stick the emblem seems to be an impossibility for those companies. As for the Fortis alt-mode I have him the same way as Bovis because the hand-food mortar is more secure that way and I can slot his melee weapons into the ridges on the bottom.
  5. Scyla
    I saw the movie a second time yesterday and it is still a good movie. It was enjoyable to watch unlike Episode 1-3 that where cringeworthy the second time. They major problems still persists: it it too much like Episode 4 and I think the whole deal with the Resistance where underdeveloped and misleading. They could easily said in the title scroll that the galactic senate created a special black ops devision led by Leia to deal with the First Order and everything would be fine. Another issue arose during the viewing in that what in how incredible convenience it was that Rei was on Yakku. In Episode 4 Vader is chasing Leia to Tatooine where she wants to get Obi-Wans help who is watching over Luke so it is a logic progression of events. In The Force Awakes Rei just happens to be on that planet. Maybe we learn later that the Max von Sydow character was on Yakku for a reason sot is not a big deal. We also got the whole picture on what's happening on Tatooine after six movies so I assume you could say the same thing after watching Episode 4 only.
  6. Scyla
    The problem with Tracks is that you can't get a straight standing relaxed pose with the ratchets. The arms are either straight or bend too much for a relaxed pose. They just look wrong and unnatural. On the other hand maybe this is another one of my robot fetishes.... elbow joints.... weird. Because I have specific issues with the elbow design of MMCs Commotus and Anarchus.
  7. Scyla
    I wonder if the naming has any impact on the story. Maybe the VF-31 Siegfrieds kill the Drakens, bath in their servo fluid (i.e. blood), become invulnerable, find the treasure, go on merry adventures, marry some giant women but then get betrayed but the higher-ups and allies who know their weak spot through intrigues... ...or maybe the names just sound cool to Japanese people.
  8. Scyla
    Quick side note. You can peg Felisabers gun onto the underside of the main barrel of Feral Rex arm cannon if you want to have everything combined.
  9. Scyla
    Regarding the ratchet joints. I love them they are great, the more ratchet joints the better. BUT they have to be good designed to not be a hindrance. Most problems stem from ratchets that have few indents. On MP Tracks for example you can't get the arms in a natural, neutral expression. On most of the recent Hasbro Transformers you can have the legs either be stock straight or at a 45 degree angle. This starts to be an issue on the collectors end too where you have $200 third party masterpiece style figures that can't pose well. If this is the case I would rather take a friction joint that is maintainable than a ratchet joint who is not useful.
  10. Scyla

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Scyla replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    It is a non issue for me too but I got the impression that other members thought the prototype was close to a production version of the toy so I shared my thoughts on why I think this is not the case. I could be wrong though as this is always a possibility.
  11. Scyla
    Thanks David, I will look it up.
  12. Scyla
    There is a group that is doing a whole new Menasor based on the IDW comics. It has a great head sculpt and looks the part. At the moment there are only gray prototype images so no idea how it will turn out. FansProject M³ set on the other hand is a great Menasor in my opinion but does not go well together with any other combiner besides the FansProject/Maketoys ones. I second that Warden is a great toy but it ins rooted deeply in the IDW style and the alt-mode (tank) is kinda so so. It is awesome if you thinking in terms of a transformable Super Robot Chogokin toy.
  13. Scyla
    Opened and transformed MP Tracks for QC check (gotta get two more items done in the 11 day window). Yeah he is the better one of the mold I was pleased to see that all of the windows have the same tint. Due to the inside of the car the rear windows look like they are different from the front one but they are all the same. On the other hand why not choose a color that would look consistent throughout. The included stand is ok. The included fixed pose Raul not. A few odd things I noticed this time around. There are some peg holes where the stem of the ankle rests. The part even has a peg but I can't get it pegged in. Is it supposed to do that? Yes the plate at the base of the head can lock in but Tracks looks kinda stupid that way and while I really love the leg transformation I think he would have looked better if the cut outs on the shins where on the other side. I know it is not line-art accurate but it just looks not great with half the knee joint showing on the outer side and on the inner side the panel has nothing behind it. If they could slide 5mm outwards it would look way better. THE BACKPACK IS A MESS and really is a detriment to the whole toy. I can't stress that enough. The ratchets in the arm make them look stiff and unnatural in every position. Sadly Tracks has some QC issues. The biggest would be a defective ratchet in one of the knees where the leg dangles freely between two clicks. The other are mostly loose joints compared to Roadrage. Tracks also has one of those too big pegs that hold the lower legs together. I thought I would break something transforming him for the first time. This toy is a mess. I'm probably a bit unfair now and I'm partly to blame. I usually buy one MP toy per mold but I made an exception for Roadrage since she is the first female MP Transformer and looked rad in the images with the big gun and all the remolding done. Sadly having to check both toys for QC issues on the same evening made the feeling worth that they where not worth picking up two of them. I get it, it is purely my fault. I thin Vangelus from the TFW podcast said it best. When you played with the Hasui MPs there was a point where they felt you where done. Everything lined up and they stand there proud. With Tracks you always have the nagging feeling that something is not right. something is not aligned correctly he doesn't have a stance. I'm now even less thrilled with the upcoming MP Ironhide... maybe I should quitting my MP collection now. I should probably give it a few days to let it sink in.... ....on a different note I still have the unopened VF-0S to cheer me up.
  14. Scyla
    What I did with Fortis guns was to peg them into the soles of this folded up forelegs. You can unpeg them and turn them around so that they face upwards. Than you can peg the two gun boxes into those and they look like shoulder turrets. They can even be positioned to your linkings. As for weapon storage you can slot the melee weapons into the ridges on their bellies and the guns can peg into the holes into the feet. That way you don't have to store them on the outside of the animal legs. The both really offer a great amount of play patterns. I don't want to give all of it away so you can experiment with them a bit.
  15. Scyla
    So MP Roadrage and Tracks arrived today and I made the mistake to open Roadrage first. With this version the whole mold just falls apart. Besides the not so stellar Tracks, Roadrage has a few additional problems. First she isn't able to hold her own gun because they thought the slot in the wrist joint is a good idea which is to swallow for a save connection. You can turn the wrist 180 degrees and it will fit ok but than you look at the top side of the fist in certain poses. Designing the gun so it goes over the forearm and slot into the tab from the fist transformation or having a flap that encloses the whole fist would have solved the issue. Next it seems like the base head plate seems to be redesigned so now it can be forcefully snapped into the chest like on Tracks. So Roadrage has a free floating platform that is out of whack as soon as you touch the figure and relies solely on the friction of the transformation joints. If this joint is loose the head won't be able to stay in place. This is a serious bummer. I also haven't found a place to peg in the gun in car-mode (not flying-car). Now back to the original mode. After handling the figure I got the idea that it was forcefully designed to not be fun. The backpack is too far away from the back of the bot and too high but every attempt of a fan mode is in vain because the joints are designed in a way so you can't collapse the backpack or lower it which would be in the range of possibility but they designed a nub into the joint so it is limited in rotation. Otherwise you could collapse the backpack which would look better once the toy is on display. Same goes for the wings which could have used an additional joint to fold them to the outside of the trunk but the way they are the hinder shoulder articulation you could move them out of the way for certain poses but they start to look unsightly. The whole backpack is just a mess it could be really cool was it able to collapse on itself but it has no movable parts in them. Looking at the figure it seems rather easy to have the sides of the trunk fold int and collapse the rear bumper thus having a smaller backpack that sits closer to the back reducing the overall gaps on the toy. Also with Tracks Takara decided that the small car-bots need now ratchets (knees and elbows) which have absolutely no benefit for the toy and limit articulation. I can't get her forearm into a natural looking pose. The toy has some good sides though. The leg transformation is creative and fun. Same goes for the forearm. On the QC side Takara was able to paint all the white opaque enough so that is a smooth solid surface. The mold also is able to create a good looking flying-car mode. The back is than hollow but I guess some panels to cover them up was not in the budget. Overall the mold is disappointing. Doubly so because I was really looking forward to MP Tracks (and MP Magnus) because those where the first toys where Hasui had no say on the final toy and it shows. And the toys show this. MP Ultra Magnus (Hasui and Kobayashi co production), MP Star Saber (Yuki) and MP Tracks (Kobayashi it seems) are a letdown to what we got since MP-10. They are all not up to par and I think MP Ironhide will show this also. They are not bad but comparing them to what was released before leaves a stale taste. From handling MP-10 - MP-21 I know MP Roadrage could have been awesome and knowing this is a huge detriment in my enjoyment of the toy. MP Laserwave looks awesome from what I've seen so all hope is not lost. Than again MP Hot Rodimus looks so terrible (a scaled down MP-09 with aweful proportions) so maybe Laserwave will be the last hurray. Oh well maybe Takara will switch to MP Beast Wars so I could finish my MP collection and be done with. It saddens me to say that some 3rd party companies doing a better job, FansToys and MMC in particular so more money will go to them. At the moment I would say I skip MP Hot Rodimus in favor of FansToys offering. [edit:] Quick addendum. I saw many reports on the side view mirrors. On my road rage I noticed that they didn't sit flush (and would fall out all the time) so I tried to push them in until they where flush with the car. Not they won't fall out anymore and I haven't noticed any stress marks on the toy.
  16. Scyla

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Scyla replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    Well that gives us a nice time frame for the VF-31 DX Chogokin release doesn't it? [edit:] Wikipedia states that the last episode of Frontier aired on November the 25th 2008. The first news I could find on the V1 VF-25 was from the 29th of August 2008. I assume the release date was the 31st of December 2008. Since they revealed the toy news about the VF-31 so early in the Delta lifespan probably indicates that we will get the VF-31 hopefully later this year. Ah yes that looked so promising. (http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=27410)
  17. Scyla
  18. Scyla
    In anticipation of the VF-4 reissue I watched a few transformation videos and noticed that the intake warning markings seem like out of place and too far away from the edge and too small. I've looked at the images over at M³ and real life jet intake warnings and they seem to come in variable sized but are almost always at the edge of the intake. Even in the line art they are mostly bigger and aligned with the edge. I was asking myself if I'm the only one that is put off by this and than had a sudden epiphany. I'm the David Hingtgen of tampo printings. ... ...
  19. Scyla
    I think it is from the VF-25F/G Tornado packs. They had built in adapters to help stabilize the toy in Gerwalk-Mode. [edit:] Could also be the V1 pack but I'm fairly certain it is from the Tornado parts
  20. Scyla
    I'm glad you're enjoying your toys. I was a but worried since I got the feeling we talked you into them. A few things. Once you have Talon in hand you can peg his wing backpack into either Leo Dux or Tigris so you can make a flying lion or tiger if your into such things. Second you can turn Leo Dux' tail around 180 degrees. I have it that way so it gives the illusion of a more natural looking tail. Third you can utilize Leo Dux' hips to give his alt-mode a more feline shape so he has either a arched back or the other way round. This is good for howling poses.
  21. Scyla
    So today I've continued my read on the MtmtE comic. I'm now up to volume 5 where they encounter Star Saber. I dig the IDW design and since I was terribly disappointed with MP Star Saber it got me thinking if MMC could remold their Carnifex (IDWish Overlord) into an IDW Star Saber: The fact that the remolded Fortis into Bovis and Spartan into Commotus so well and seeing that they seem to do IDW Lockdown and Cyclonus from the same mold they could bush it even further and to a Star Saber. Maybe this is wishful thinking but I just want a good Star Saber.
  22. Scyla
    I have a few Takara Transformers items in focus. The first one is Legends Sprung (Springer). I think he would look good with the Reformatted bots but since I don't have any Wreckers I think it might be not worth the effort. Sadly I passed on the MechIdeas toys and now they are gone (well there is an Ironfist on preorder at BBTS). I guess I would be in for the transformation. The second one is Super Mode Armada Starscream. I would much rather have an Armada Skywarp. The problem is this will be the freebie for the TFCC subscription service I believe so I'm not sure if I can secure one and if they will be able to release it since Hasbro seems to have pulled the license from Funpub. I really like the mold and the blue color scheme looks good so I'm tempted.
  23. Scyla
    I opened two more Q Transformers today. Black Megatron is ok but more of the same. Nemesis Prime is great though. They are just so much fun and addicting. I think I got enough now since I got all my regular Transformers characters I'm interested in. Maybe a Galvatron and Cyclonus would get me back. Honestly if you shop at a store that offers some kind of warehouse you should throw a few into an order. They are a great finger candy. [edit:] You should order yourself a MMC Metal Slug tank.
  24. Scyla

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Scyla replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    This post got me thinking. The prototype of the SV-262 looks far more advanced than the VF-31. Could it be that Bandai would release the SV-262? I doubt that so why is it that way? I assume it could be that the release of the Delta Valkyries is still far away given the state of the prototype. It could be 2017 away seeing how there will be a YF-29 Alto Custom in April and maybe a VF-25G reissue later on. How long after the release of the Frontier preview episode where the V1 VF-25 released?
  25. Scyla
    Do you have the legends class Shockwave for Bruticus to hold? I think it is intended for him to have him as a gun since the G2 set has Shockwave included. Shockwave is basically the WhatsHisName/Blackjack/Groove of the Combaticons.
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